by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025
Christopher II, King of Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia
Christopher II reigned as King of Denmark from 1320 until he was deposed in 1326 and then reigned again from 1329 until he died in 1332, although he was imprisoned during part of that period. Born on September 29, 1276, Christopher II was the third of the seven children and the second of the three sons of Eric V, King of Denmark, and Agnes of Brandenburg. His paternal grandparents were Christopher I, King of Denmark, and Margrethe Sambiria. Johann I, Margrave of Brandenburg, and his second wife, Brigitte of Saxony, were Eric VI’s maternal grandparents.
Christopher II had six siblings, but three died in childhood:
- Eric VI, King of Denmark (1274 – 1319), married Ingeborg Magnusdotter of Sweden, no surviving children, had eight sons who died as children, and six miscarriages
- Richeza of Denmark (circa 1272 – 1308), married Nicholas II, Lord of Werle, had two children
- Martha of Denmark (born between 1277 and 1282 – 1341), married Birger, King of Sweden, had six children
- Katharine of Denmark (circa 1281 – 1283), died in childhood
- Valdemar of Denmark (? – 1304), died in childhood
- Elisabeth of Denmark (1280 – 1283), died in childhood
Through his widowed mother’s second marriage to Gerhard II, Count of Holstein-Plön, Christopher had one half-brother:
Christopher II’s father, King Eric V, tried to enforce control over the church and nobility. In 1272, King Eriv V’s conflict with the church was brought to a resolution with the help of Pope Gregory X. However, by 1282, King Eric V had so offended the Danish nobles that he was forced to accept a charter, a kind of Danish Magna Carta, which limited his authority and guaranteed the rights and customs that preserved the nobles’ power. Despite the progress with the nobles’ power, several nobles swore an oath to murder King Eric V in revenge for personal slights or unpopular policies. After a long hunt on November 22, 1286, led by Rane Jonsen, King Eric V and his attendants could not find their way back to the king’s farm at Viborg. Rane suggested that they take shelter in the church barn in the village of Finderup. The assassins, dressed as Franciscan friars, were kept informed as to the king’s whereabouts and waited for everyone to settle down for the night. Once the king fell asleep, they rushed from their hiding places and stabbed and hacked the king to death. Christopher’s elder brother was only twelve years old when he succeeded their father as Eric VI, King of Denmark.
Around 1300, Christopher married Euphemia of Pomerania, the daughter of Bogislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania, and his second wife, Margarete of Rügen. Their marriage was likely political and was arranged to provide Christopher with ties to Pomerania and Rügen through Euphemia’s parents.
Christopher and Euphemia had six children:
- Margarethe of Denmark (circa 1305 – 1340); married Ludwig V, Duke of Bavaria, had one daughter
- Eric of Denmark (1307 –1331), married Elizabeth of Holstein-Rendsburg, no children
- Otto, Duke of Lolland and Estonia (circa 1310 – after 1347), unmarried
- Agnes of Denmark (? – 1312), died young
- Heilwig of Denmark (circa 1315)
- Valdemar IV, King of Denmark (1320 – 1375), married Helvig of Schleswig, had six children, including Margrethe I, Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, founder of the Kalmar Union, which united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden under a single monarch from 1397 to 1523
Christopher’s brother, Eric VI, King of Denmark, died on November 13, 1319. Since Eric was childless, he was succeeded by his younger brother, Christopher II, King of Denmark. Denmark had lost economic power due to many wars and had a high level of debt. Christopher tried to continue his brother’s expansionist policy, but financial issues and pledging of large tracts of land to German rulers led to the rebellion of the church and nobility.
In 1326, a coalition of German rulers and Danish rebels led by Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg, dethroned King Christopher II. The Danish nobility appointed Gerhard’s twelve-year-old nephew, Valdemar V, Duke of Schleswig, as Valdemar III, King of Denmark, with Gerhard serving as Regent. Christopher was forced to abdicate and was exiled. Denmark was now totally held by nobles, and this was unpopular with the peasants. Many of the nobles were foreigners, and they imposed new taxes. In 1328, the peasants in Zealand rose in rebellion, but the rebellion was quelled. Another rebellion in Jutland in 1329 had more success, but was also quelled in the end.
Christopher lived in exile until 1329, when he was restored as King of Denmark with the cooperation of his half-brother Johann III, Count of Holstein-Plön. However, he was reduced to the position of a puppet king. In 1331, Christopher attempted to exploit a conflict between Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg, and Johann III, Count of Holstein-Plön, but it ended in a military defeat. Under the terms of the settlement between the two Counts, Christopher was allowed to retain the title King of Denmark, but in reality had no power whatsoever. He was given a simple house at Sakskøbing on the island of Lolland in south Denmark, which was burned by German mercenaries.
Nykøbing Castle; Credit – Wikipedia
Christopher was then imprisoned at Nykøbing Castle, now demolished, which was located on today’s Slotsbryggen in Nykøbing Falster, Denmark. He died there on August 2, 1332, a month before his 56th birthday. Christopher II, King of Denmark, was buried in the choir of the Sorø Abbey Church in Sorø, Zealand, Denmark, where his wife Queen Euphemia and their son King Valdemar IV are also buried.
On their sarcophagus are bronze effigies of Christopher and Euphemia, and a daughter who died young. Denmark was without a king until 1340, when Christopher II’s youngest son, Valdemar (IV), was elected King of Denmark as part of a compromise with Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg, and Johann III, Count of Holstein-Plön.
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Works Cited
- Autoren der Wikimedia-Projekte. (2005). König von Dänemark (1320–1326 und 1329–1332). Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christoph_II._(D%C3%A4nemark)
- Bidragsydere til Wikimedia-projekter. (2003). Konge af Danmark (1276-1332). Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christoffer_2.
- Flantzer, Susan. (2025). Eric V, King of Denmark. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/eric-v-king-of-denmark/
- Flantzer, Susan. (2025). Eric VI, King of Denmark [Review of Eric VI, King of Denmark]. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/eric-vi-king-of-denmark/
- Wikipedia Contributors. (2024). Christopher II of Denmark. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_II_of_Denmark
- Wikipedia Contributors. (2025). Euphemia of Pomerania. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation.
