Editing Frederick III of Denmark (section)

=== Proclaimed king ===
The death of his elder brother Christian in June 1647 opened the possibility for Frederick to be elected heir apparent to the Danish-Norwegian throne. However, this issue was still unsettled when Christian IV died on 28 February 1648. After long deliberation among the Danish [[Estates of the realm|Estates]] and in {{lang|da|[[Rigsraadet]]}} (royal council), he was finally accepted as his father's successor. On 6 July, Frederick received the homage of his subjects, and he was crowned on 23 November. However, due to misgivings about the rule of Christian IV, as well as Frederick's previous confrontational administrations in Bremen and Verden and his quarrels with [[Anders Bille]], he was only elected after he had signed a {{lang|da|[[Haandfæstning]]}} charter.<ref name="gyldendal" /> The {{lang|da|Haandfæstning}} included provisions curtailing the already diminished royal prerogative in favour of increased influence for the {{lang|da|Rigsraadet}}.<ref name="Britannica" />

[[File:Frederik III i rustning.jpg|thumb|180px| Portrait by [[Karel van Mander III]], 1656]]

In the first years of his reign, {{lang|da|Rigsraadet}} was the main power center of Danish politics. However, Frederick wielded more effective power than what the {{lang|da|Haandfæstning}} officially granted. He eventually succeeded in removing the two most influential members of {{lang|da|Rigsraadet}} from office in 1651: his brothers-in-law [[Corfitz Ulfeldt (1606–1664)|Corfitz Ulfeldt]] and [[Hannibal Sehested (governor)|Hannibal Sehested]].<ref name="gyldendal" /> Ulfeldt went into exile in Sweden where he turned traitor, while Sehested was restored to favour in 1660.