Editing Christian IX (section)

===Marriage===
[[File:Dronning victoria.jpg|thumb|left|Prince Christian's first marriage prospect, [[Queen Victoria]] of the United Kingdom.]]
As a young man, in 1838, Prince Christian, representing Frederick VI, attended the [[coronation of Queen Victoria]] at [[Westminster Abbey]].{{sfn|Thorsøe|1889|p=524}} During his stay in London, he unsuccessfully sought the hand of the young British queen in marriage. Even though she chose to follow her family's wishes and preferred to marry her cousin, [[Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]], the young queen had a good impression of her third cousin Prince Christian, who 25 years later would become father-in-law to her eldest son, the [[Edward VII|Prince of Wales]].{{sfn|Bramsen|1992|p=117-118}}

[[File:Christian IX with his wife Louise Hesse-Kassel.jpg|thumb|Prince Christian and [[Louise of Hesse-Kassel|Princess Louise]] in the 1840s.]]
Instead, Prince Christian entered into a marriage that was to have great significance for his future. In 1841, he was engaged to his second cousin Princess [[Louise of Hesse-Kassel]].{{sfn|Thorsøe|1889|p=524}} She was the daughter of [[Prince William of Hesse-Kassel]], who was a Danish general and the governor of Copenhagen. Prince William was married to [[Christian VIII of Denmark]]'s sister [[Princess Charlotte of Denmark]], and Louise was thus the new king's niece and was closely related to the royal family. Like Prince Christian himself, she was a great-granddaughter of both [[Frederick V of Denmark]] and Landgrave [[Frederick II of Hesse-Kassel]], and thus his double second cousin. Their wedding was celebrated on 26 May 1842 in her parents' residence in [[Frederick VIII's Palace]] at [[Amalienborg]].{{sfn|Thorsøe|1889|p=524}} The bride and groom took their [[honeymoon|bridal tour]] to [[Kiel]] in the [[Duchy of Holstein]], where they visited Prince Christian's older brother, [[Karl, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg|Duke Karl of Glücksburg]], and his wife, Frederick VI's daughter [[Princess Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark|Duchess Vilhelmine]], who had not been able to attend the wedding.{{sfn|Bramsen|1992|p=120}}

Louise was a wise and energetic woman who exercised a strong influence over her husband. After the wedding, the couple moved into the [[Yellow Palace, Copenhagen|Yellow Palace]], where their first five children were born between 1843 and 1853: [[Frederick VIII of Denmark|Prince Frederick]] in 1843, [[Alexandra of Denmark|Princess Alexandra]] in 1844, [[George I of Greece|Prince William]] in 1845, [[Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark)|Princess Dagmar]] in 1847 and [[Princess Thyra of Denmark|Princess Thyra]] in 1853.<ref name=Burke69>{{cite book|editor-last=Montgomery-Massingberd|editor-first=Hugh|editor-link=Hugh Massingberd|title=Burke's Royal Families of the World|volume=1: Europe & Latin America|location=London|publisher=[[Burke's Peerage Ltd]]|year=1977|isbn=0-85011-023-8|page=69}}</ref> The family was still quite unknown and lived a relatively modest life by royal standards.