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Today marks the anniversary of the Birth of King Frederik IX of Denmark, who was born on this day in 1899! The eldest son of King Christian X and Duchess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, he grew up at Sorgenfri Palace, Christian VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg, and Marselisborg Palace in Aarhus, and joined the Danish Royal Navy. In 1935, he married Princess Ingrid of Sweden, and the couple had three daughters, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Princess Benedikte of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, and the lack of a son meant that the constitution was amended to allow his elder daughter to succeed him. After the death of King Christian X in 1947, he succeeded to the Danish Throne as King Frederik IX, and his 25-year reign marked a period of great change in Denmark, becoming a modern welfare state after recovering from the period of Nazi Occupation during the Second World War. King Frederik passed away in 1972, and was succeeded by the popular Queen Margrethe. Queen Ingrid died in 2000.