Frederick VII., king of Denmark, son and successor of Christian VIII., born in Copenhagen, Oct. 6, 1808, ascended the throne Jan. 20, 1848, died at Gliicksburg, Nov. 15, 1863. His mother was the princess Charlotte Frederike of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. From 1826 to 1828 he travelled in various parts of Europe, and studied in Geneva. He married on Nov. 1, 1828, the princess Wilhelmina Maria of Denmark, whom he divorced in 1837; and in the same year he was removed by royal order to Fredericia in Jutland. His exile ended with his father's accession to the throne in 1839, when he was appointed governor of Funen and member of the council of state. In June, 1841, he married the princess Caroline Charlotte Marianne of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, whom he also put away in September, 1846; and in August, 1850, he contracted a morganatic marriage with a milliner of Copenhagen whom he had created Countess Danner in 1848. The principal events of his reign are the revolt of Schleswig-Holstein in 1848, and the subsequent war, and the abolition of the Sound dues in 1857, for an account of which see Denmark. After the restoration of peace he left the control of the government in the hands of the ministry, and devoted himself to his favorite study of archaeology.

While yet crown prince he was president of the royal archaeological society, which place he held till his death. He published a number of works on that subject, among them Ueber den Bau der Biesenbetten der Vorzeit (1857.) With his death the elder line of the royal house of Oldenburg became extinct. His equestrian statue was unveiled at Copenhagen on Oct. 7, 1873.