In the royal collections are innumerable artefacts that tell the story of the king as head of state, private person, spouse or family man.
In the collections, the objects that symbolise the king’s power and either have been or are still part of the royal ceremonies hold a special status, such as the Lex Regia, the throne, the crown and regalia. A considerable number of these objects were made for the founder of the Danish absolute monarchy, King Frederik III.
At Rosenborg Castle are, among other things, the Lex Regia, which was the absolute monarchy’s founding document, or constitution. The law, which bears the king’s signature and is dated 14 November 1665, is unique in Europe in that it describes the absolute monarch’s power down to the smallest details. This law dictated the three primary duties of the absolute monarch: To worship God, to hold the kingdom together and to ensure that his power did not deteriorate. In exchange, the king was given unlimited rights and was, according to the constitution, responsible only to God.
Until the introduction of the absolute monarchy in 1660, the king of Denmark was formally elected by the Diet, which literally put the crown on the king’s head and thus showed the power of its members to elect and overthrow the king. When the absolute monarchy was instituted, the nobility lost its influence and its power to appoint the king. Instead, royal power was handed down directly to the oldest son, and the moment the king was dead, the crown prince was the new king. The new king immediately put the crown on his head and thereafter let himself be anointed in a grand religious ceremony. The anointment symbolised that the king now got his power directly from God, and he was rubbed on the scalp, chest and right wrist with a consecrated oil. The last anointment was of Christian VIII in 1840. Since the Constitution was adopted in 1849, no coronations or anointments have taken place in Denmark. Instead, the prime minister announces the new king from the balcony at Christiansborg with the famous words, ¨The King is dead, long live the king.¨