by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025
Valdemar the Young, detail from the Royal Frieze in Saint Bendt’s Church in Ringsted, Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia
Valdemar the Young was the Junior King of Denmark, co-regent with his father, Valdemar II, King of Denmark, from 1215 until he died in 1231. He was born circa 1209, the only surviving child of King Valdemar II and Dagmar of Bohemia, the first of his two wives. Dagmar died in childbirth in 1212, giving birth to a stillborn son.
In 1214, Valdemar the Young’s father, Valdemar II, married again to Berengaria of Portugal, daughter of King Sancho I of Portugal and Dulce of Aragon. In 1221, like his first wife, Berengaria also died in childbirth, delivering a stillborn child. However, Valdemar II and Berengaria had four surviving children, the half-siblings of Valdemar the Young:
- Eric IV, King of Denmark (1216 – 1250), married Jutta of Saxony, had two sons who died young, and four daughters
- Sophie of Denmark (1217 – 1247), married Johann I, Margrave of Brandenburg, had five sons and one daughter
- Abel of Denmark, King of Denmark (1218 – 1252), married Matilda of Holstein, had three sons
In 1215, at a meeting of the Danish nobles convened by King Valdemar II, the nobles swore an oath to Valdemar the Young. He was then elected Co-King of Denmark at the Viborg Landsthing, one of three main regional assemblies in Denmark. Co-Kings originated in France by the House of Capet and later in other European monarchies. During a festival in Schleswig in the summer of 1218, attended by fifteen bishops and three dukes, Valdemar the Young was anointed and crowned Junior King of Denmark in Schleswig Cathedral.
Eleanor of Portugal, Queen of Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia
On June 24, 1229, Valdemar the Young married Eleanor of Portugal, daughter of Afonso II, King of Portugal, and Urraca of Castile, in Ribe, Denmark. Eleanor died in childbirth on August 28, 1231, delivering her only child, a son, who died six months later.
Death of Valdemar the Young by the Danish painter Christian Emil Andersen; Credit – Wikipedia
On November 28, 1231, Valdemar the Young was accidentally shot by an arrow while hunting and died the same day. He was buried at Saint Bendt’s Church in Ringsted, Denmark, near his wife Eleanor.
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Works Cited
- Autoren der Wikimedia-Projekte. (2012). Dänischer Mitregent und König von Dänemark. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldemar_(Schleswig)
- Bidragsydere til Wikimedia-projekter. (2013). Dansk Medkonge 1215-1231. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdemar_den_Unge
- Flantzer, Susan. (2025). Valdemar II, King of Denmark [Review of Valdemar II, King of Denmark]. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/valdemar-ii-king-of-denmark/
- Wikipedia Contributors. (2025). Valdemar the Young. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
