E-auction 679-719884 - fwo_1126310 - ANTILLES DANOISES - CHRISTIAN IX 1 Cent Christian IX 1868 Copenhague

DANISH WEST INDIES - CHRISTIAN IX

(1863-1906)

Christian IX (8/04/1818-29/01/1906) became king after the abdication of Frederick VII (1848-1863) and the lost war against Prussia which took Schleswig-Holstein from Denmark. Christian, at the end of his life, was nicknamed "the father-in-law of Europe" because he had married his eldest son, Frederick VIII to the daughter of Charles XV of Sweden, Louise, his daughter Alexandra to Edward VII of England, his other daughter, Marie to Alexander III of Russia. His youngest son, Georges, became King of the Hellenes in 1863, under the name of Georges I. The Danish West Indies include 50 islands for a total of approximately 345 km2. The most important are Saint-Thomas since 1672; Sainte-Croix, given in 1733 by Louis XV to Christian VI in gratitude for the help that came to the aid of King Stanislas Leszczynski; and St-Jean since 1718. These islands were purchased for $25 million in 1917 by the USA and now form the US Virgin Islands.