Louise of Hesse-Kassel

Born in Kassel on 7 September 1817, Louise was the daughter of Prince William of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Charlotte of Denmark, and a niece of the Danish king. Her own descent from King Frederick III helped legitimize her husband Christian IX's claim when he took the Danish throne on 15 November 1863. For one year she was also Duchess of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg before those territories were lost. What followed was a long reign defined less by her own rule than by her children's marriages: Frederick VIII became King of Denmark, Alexandra married into the British crown, George took the Greek throne, Maria Feodorovna became Empress of Russia, Thyra married into Hanover, and Valdemar remained in Denmark. She died at Bernstorff Palace on 29 September 1898 and was buried at Roskilde Cathedral, having woven her bloodline through the map of Europe.