Editing Christian VIII (section)

===Birth and family===
[[File:Juel, Jens - Prince Frederick of Denmark with his family.png|thumb|left|[[Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin|Hereditary Princess Sophia Frederica]] and [[Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark|Hereditary Prince Frederick]] with their three eldest children. Prince Christian stands next to his father. Portrait by [[Jens Juel (painter)|Jens Juel]], 1790.]]
Prince Christian Frederick of Denmark and Norway was born late in the morning on 18 September 1786 at [[Christiansborg Palace]], the principal residence of the [[Danish Monarchy]] on the island of [[Slotsholmen]] in central [[Copenhagen]].<ref name="kirkeboeger">{{ cite web | url=http://www.historie-online.dk/special/daab/kirkeboeger.htm | access-date=18 February 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924030558/http://www.historie-online.dk/special/daab/kirkeboeger.htm | archive-date=24 September 2015 | title=Kongelige i kirkebøgerne | trans-title=Royals in the church records | publisher=Dansk Historisk Fællesråd | website=historie-online.dk | language=da }}</ref> He was officially the eldest son of [[Hereditary Prince Frederick of Denmark and Norway]] and Duchess [[Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]].{{sfn|Thorsøe|1889|p=515}} His father was a younger son of the deceased King [[Frederick V of Denmark]]-Norway and his second wife, Duchess [[Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]], and his mother was a daughter of [[Duke Louis of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]].

On 28 September 1786, the young prince was baptized with the names ''Christian Frederick'' in his mother's chamber at Christiansborg Palace by the royal confessor Christian Bastholm.<ref name="kongeligedaab">{{cite book|first1=Lone|last1=Hindø|first2=Else|last2=Boelskifte|chapter=Kammerfrøkenen bar den unge prins rundt|trans-chapter=The lady-in-waiting carried the young prince around|title=Kongelig Dåb. Fjorten generationer ved Rosenborg-døbefonten|trans-title=Royal Baptisms. Fourteen generations at the Rosenborg baptismal font|publisher=Forlaget Hovedland|year=2007|isbn=978-87-7070-014-6|language=da|pages=57–65}}</ref> His godparents were [[Christian VII of Denmark|King Christian VII]] (his uncle), the dowager queen [[Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel|Juliana Maria]] (his grandmother), [[Frederick VI of Denmark|Crown Prince Frederick]] (his cousin), [[Princess Louise Augusta of Denmark|Princess Louise Augusta]] (his cousin), and [[Frederick Christian II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg|Hereditary Prince Frederick Christian of Augustenburg]].<ref name="kongeligedaab"/>

In the family, however, it was widely acknowledged that the biological father most likely was the Hereditary Prince's [[aide-de-camp]] and [[hofmarschall]] [[Frederick von Blücher]], who probably also fathered Christian Frederick's three younger siblings: [[Princess Juliane Sophie of Denmark|Princess Juliane Sophie]], [[Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark|Princess Louise Charlotte]] and [[Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of Denmark|Prince Frederick Ferdinand]].<ref name="StoreDanske"/>{{sfn|Bramsen|1985|pp=29–31 & 36–37}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Huset Glücksborg. Europas Svigerfader og hans efterslægt |volume=1 |author=Bo Bramsen |year=2002 |page=200 |location=Copenhagen |language=da |isbn=87-553-3230-7 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Kvindelist og kongelast. Blide duer og stride fruer i danmarkshistorien|author=Rie Krarup|year=1985|location=Copenhagen|language=da|isbn=978-87-15-05057-2}}</ref> In a letter written by [[Frederick VI of Denmark|Crown Prince Frederick]] to his brother-in-law [[Frederick Christian II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg|Duke Frederick Christian II of Augustenburg]] in 1805, he thus mentions the Hereditary Prince's goodwill towards his hofmarschall and continues: {{blockquote|... my uncle appreciates the creator of the four, very adorable princes and princesses too much to want to send him away.{{sfn|Dehn-Nielsen|1999|p=12}}}}

When Prince Christian Frederick was born, his father's half-brother, [[Christian VII of Denmark|Christian VII]], was the King of [[Denmark-Norway]], but due to the king's mental illness, he was not able to rule himself. From 1772, Hereditary Prince Frederick had ruled together with his mother, the Dowager Queen [[Juliane Marie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel|Juliane Marie]], and their adviser [[Ove Høegh-Guldberg]]. In 1784, however, the king's only son, the young Crown Prince Frederick (later King [[Frederick VI of Denmark|Frederick VI]]), had seized power in a [[palace revolution]] and was now the real ruler. In Prince Christian Frederick's childhood, his family had a strained relationship with the Crown Prince and his family as a result of these power struggles, but gradually the relationship between the two branches of the royal family was normalized.