The King's Law () or (also called the Danish Royal Law of 1665) was the absolutist constitution of Denmark and Norway from 1665 until 1849 and 1814, respectively. It established complete hereditary and absolute monarchy and formalized the king's absolute power, and is regarded the most sovereign form of all the European expressions of absolutism. Some scholars of legal history assert that with Europe's least circumscribed form of absolutism, Denmark "may be considered the most absolute of all the absolute European monarchies". It is the only formal constitution of any absolute monarchy, and has therefore been the subject of considerable historical and academic attention.
The King's Law comprises 40 articles and is divided into seven main chapters. Articles 1 to 7 determine the royal absolute power, and the following articles contain rules on the king's authority and guardianship, on the king's accession and anointing, on the indivisibility of the kingdoms, on princes and princesses, on the king's duty to maintain absolute monarchy, and on the succession.
In Denmark, the majority of the King's Law was replaced in 1849 by the new constitution, when Denmark became a parliamentary monarchy, although two articles of the King's Law are still applicable: firstly Article 21, requiring the king's permission for the departure and marriage of princes and princesses, and secondly Article 25, according to which princes and princesses of the blood can be criminally and civilly prosecuted only on the king's orders. This legal immunity is one of the most extensive in Europe and has, amid recurring debate, shielded Danish royals from prosecution in cases involving traffic violations, misconduct, and refusal to testify, among other things.
The King's Law was read aloud during the king's coronation and anointing, but not officially published until 1709. Two original copies are currently accessible to the public, one at the Danish National Archives, and one at Rosenborg Castle (both in Copenhagen). The copy at Rosenborg is King Frederik X's private property and is stored in the treasury vault along with the Danish Crown Regalia.
Background
After Denmark–Norway's catastrophic defeat by Sweden in the Dano-Swedish War (part of the Second Northern War) in 1660, an assembly of the estates of the realm () was summoned to Copenhagen by king Frederik III, above all in order to reorganize the kingdom's finances. The burghers especially felt that the nobility had not lived up to its responsibilities (securing the army and defence of the kingdom), which were the justification for its privileges. In this tense situation, negotiations for various reforms went forward until the beginning of October, but in vain. On 11 October, the king ordered the city gates of Copenhagen to be closed so that no one could leave without the permission of the king and the mayor. Under intense pressure from the burghers of Copenhagen and through the threat that force might be employed against the Danish nobility, the estates were persuaded to "agree" to transfer absolute power to the crown, Frederik III.
Completion This new constitution (, ) for Denmark–Norway, which in 40 articles gave the king absolute power and all the rights of the sovereign, and also fixed the rules of succession, was influenced by contemporary European political thinking, especially by Jean Bodin and Henning Arnisaeus.
When the constitutional discussions were completed, Schumacher rewrote the new King's Law in duplicate. One was placed in the Privy Council's Archives (), i.e. in the State Archives (afterwards the Danish National Archives), another at Rosenborg Castle together with the state crowns (Christian IV's and Christian V's) and the other crown regalia. Moreover, the fact that Schumacher had a very large part of the credit for the law is evident from the fact that he countersigned it.Kongeloven af 1665. Lex Regia [King's Law of 1665. Lex Regia]. Cultural sociologist Bjørn Andersen. Version 1.10. 2 May 2007
Text and publication The King's Law was published during the reign of Frederick IV, engraved throughout, the royal copy bound in red velvet elaborately embroidered in gold and silver thread with the king's monogram in the centre.
Essentially, the King's Law stated that the King was to be 'revered and considered the most perfect and supreme person on the Earth by all his subjects, standing above all human laws and having no judge above his person, [...] except God alone'. It effectuated the divine right of kings.
Summary of the King's Law The law dictated the three primary duties of the Danish absolute monarch:
To worship God, according to the Augsburg Confession (Lutheranism). To keep the kingdoms (Denmark-Norway) undivided. To ensure that the King's power did not deteriorate.
In exchange, the king was given unrestricted rights and was, according to the constitution, responsible only to God. For example, he had the unrestrained legislative and executive power, he could declare war and make peace, and was the head of the church. ChapterArticles (Sections)Content1PreludeIntroduced with "Lex Regia, which is the supreme King's Law", the constitution starts with the phrase "The best beginning to everything is to begin with God". The prelude puts forward arguments for the introduction of absolute monarchy.2Constitutional provisions and absolute power§§ 1-7The king was to be the supreme head and judge of the people, and independent of all laws except the King's Law itself and respect for rights of property. For anyone to suggest a change in the law was made treason. The document itself expressly forbade any amendment.3Rules for guardian rule in the case of an underage monarch§§ 8-14The king is considered of (legal) age at 14 years of age. The king himself can regulate guardianship in the event of his premature death. If he has not done so, then the mother is the king's guardian, to whom the seven chief ministers are bound. If the mother is dead or otherwise unable to perform the duties of a regent, the next male relative, who has reached the age of 17, will take her place.4Provisions on the king's accession and anointing§§ 15-18The king cannot give any obligation or oath - "from him, orally or in writing, since he cannot be bound by his subjects as a free and unbound sole king". As soon as the king has come of age, he should be anointed to "receive God's blessing as soon as possible and the Lord's powerful assistance".5Indivisibility of the realm§ 19The realm of Denmark and Norway shall not be divided, since "reason and experience sufficiently teach that one unified and interconnected power is much stronger (...) than that which is separate and dispersed, and the greater the power and dominion of one lord and king, the safer he and his subjects live for the attacks of all external enemies".6Princes and princesses of blood§§ 20-25Regulates the relationship of the king to the family members, for example, that no family member living in Denmark may marry without the king's permission (similar to the British Royal Marriages Act). The apanage and the maintenance of the princes are also regulated there. Articles 21 and 25 are still applicable to this day.7Detailed provisions for hereditary succession§§ 26-40The King's Law set forth a type of agnatic succession law that only allows for the succession of cognates (relations through females) in the alternative after the extinction of all the entitled to inherit agnates of the royal house - even in the most distant genealogical lines. Only when this occurs, that is, when there is no more agnate in the entire dynasty, does King's Law grant the cognate, man or woman who is the last king's closest genealogical relation, a right of succession to the throne. In practise, this was therefore a system of agnatic-cognatic primogeniture.
Repealing Denmark In the epilogue to the June Constitution of 1849, the King's Law was repealed except for Articles 27 to 40 (on the succession) and Articles 21 and 25 (concerning the royal princes and princesses). The King's law's provisions on the succession were repealed by the Act of Succession of 1953.
Although the King's Law was repealed, many of the king's prerogatives of the Danish Constitution have a precursor in the King's Law. Thus, several of the prerogatives are directly to be found in the King's Law.
Remaining articles still in force The two articles of the King's Law that remain in force concern a range of regulations governing the members of the Danish Royal Family and the internal rules of the Royal Household, and were expressly retained when the other provisions of the law were repealed. The intent behind their retention was to preserve the monarch’s traditional authority over internal affairs of the royal household, and they are regarded as a form of dynastic or domestic law () within the new constitutional framework.
The Danish Ministry of Justice has repeatedly confirmed the continued validity of the provisions, which have been applied on various occasions, and they constitute some of the oldest unamended legal provisions still in force in Danish legal history.
Article 21: marriage and travel restrictions Article 21 of the King's Law prohibits the marriage, travel or foreign enlistment of members of the royal family without the king's permission. It reads:
The rules governing the marriage of individuals in line to the throne were further restricted in the Act of Succession of 1953, which also requires the approval of the Council of State and results in automatic forfeiture of the right of inheritance if permission is not granted. Article 21 is therefore considered obsolete with regard to the question of marriage.
Article 25: legal immunity Article 25 concerns the immunity of members of the royal family. It prescribes:
In effect, this means that members of the Danish royal family enjoy complete legal immunity from both criminal prosecution and civil litigation, an exemption that applies uniformly across all levels of the judiciary. This immunity corresponds to the monarch’s own protection under Section 13 of the Constitution, which declares the King’s person inviolable and free from legal responsibility. As a consequence, royal family members cannot be compelled to stand trial or testify before any court. However, the reigning monarch retains the discretionary authority to waive this immunity in exceptional cases. They remain some of the broadest royal immunity provisions in Europe.
While the royal houses in other European monarchies also enjoys similar rights and privileges, these are generally far less extensive than those that have persisted since the era of absolutism in Denmark. Thus, in Norway, the rule requiring the King's consent for legal proceedings against members of the royal family applies only to cases that concern "their persons" whereas in Sweden as well as in the United Kingdom, the dynasts are subject to the ordinary courts, just like all other citizens.
Article 25 not only shields the royal family from ordinary judicial proceedings but also vests the sovereign with broad and unilateral powers to enforce and discipline members of the royal family. In 1945, for instance, King Christian X expelled his sister-in-law, Princess Helena (wife of Prince Harald), because she was a Nazi sympathiser.