Frederik IX (1899-1972), of the House of Glücksborg, was king of Denmark from 1947 to 1972. Frederik, also spelled Frederick, was born on March 11, 1899. He served as regent (temporary ruler) on a number of occasions when his father, Christian X, was out of the country or ill. In 1953, during Frederik’s reign, Denmark’s new constitution made the monarchy mainly a ceremonial office. But the monarchy remained important symbolically. Frederik died on Jan. 14, 1972, and his oldest daughter succeeded him as Margrethe II.
See also Margrethe II .