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Denmark under Christian X – King of Denmark: 14 May 1912 – 20 April 1947 King of Iceland: 1 December 1918 – 17 June 1944
1915 Silver Krone 24mm (7.41 grams) 0.800 Silver (0.1929 ASW)
Reference: KM# 819
CHRISTIAN X KONGE AF DANMARK VBP, Portrait of Christian X, facing right.
KRONE, Coat of arms in the center, porpoise left, barley ear right, denomination bottom.
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 Christian X (Christian Carl Frederik Albert Alexander Vilhelm; 26 September 1870 – 20 April 1947) was the King of Denmark from 1912 to 1947 and the only king of Iceland (where the name was officially spelled Kristján), between 1918 and 1944.
He was the third Danish monarch of the House of Glücksburg and the first member of his family since king Frederick VII to have actually been born into the Danish royal family; both his father and his grandfather were born as princes of a German ducal family. Among his siblings was King Haakon VII of Norway .
His character as a ruler has been described as authoritarian, and he strongly stressed the importance of royal dignity and power, in spite of the growing importance of democracy. His reluctance to embrace democracy resulted in the Easter Crisis of 1920 , in which he dismissed the democratically elected cabinet with which he disagreed, and instated one of his own choosing. This was nominally his right in accordance with the constitution, but facing the risk of the monarchy being overthrown he was forced to accept democratic control of the state and the role as a nominal constitutional monarch.
In spite of becoming unpopular due to his resistance to democracy, during the German Occupation of Denmark he did become a popular symbol of resistance to German occupation, particularly because of the symbolic value of the fact that he rode every day through the streets of Copenhagen unaccompanied by guards. He also became the subject of a persistent urban legend according to which, during Nazi occupation, he donned the Star of David in solidarity with the Danish Jews . This is not true, as Danish Jews were not forced to wear the Star of David. However, the legend likely stems from a 1942 British report that claimed he threatened to don the star if this was forced upon Danish Jews. This is also supported by the king’s personal diary, where the following entry can be found:
When you look at the inhumane treatment of Jews, not only in Germany but occupied countries as well, you start worrying that such a demand might also be put on us, but we must clearly refuse such this due to their protection under the Danish constitution. I stated that I could not meet such a demand towards Danish citizens. If such a demand is made, we would best meet it by all wearing the Star of David.
In addition, he helped finance the transport of Danish Jews to unoccupied Sweden , where they would be safe from Nazi persecution.With a reign spanning two world wars, and his role as a rallying symbol for Danish national sentiment during the German Occupation, he has become one of the most popular Danish monarchs of modern times.
Accession
On 14 May 1912, King Frederick VIII died after collapsing from shortness of breath whilst taking a walk in a park in Hamburg , Germany . He had been returning from a recuperation stay in Nice , France , and was staying anonymously in the city before continuing to Copenhagen . Christian was in Copenhagen when he heard about his father’s demise and ascended the throne as Christian X.
Death of the king
On his death in Amalienborg Palace , Copenhagen , in 1947, Christian X was interred along other members of the Danish royal family in Roskilde Cathedral near Copenhagen. Although he had been behind the politics of Erik Scavenius, a cloth armband of the type worn by members of the Danish resistance movement was placed on his coffin at castrum doloris .
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