Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve, Count of Samsø

Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve
Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve
Count of Samsø
	Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve, son of Christian V.; The Portrait Collection at Frederiksborg Palace.
Count of Samsøe
Reign	1698—1719
Predecessor	Sophie Amalie Moth
Successor	Christian Danneskiold-Samsøe [da]
Born	24 June 1678; Brattingsborg, Samsø, Denmark
Died	8 December 1719 (aged 41); Køge Bugt
Buried	Brattingsborg, Samsø, Denmark
Noble family	Danneskiold-Samsøe
Father	Christian V of Denmark
Mother	Sophie Amalie Moth
Occupation	Admiral in the Royal Danish Navy; Governor of Iceland

Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve, Count of Samsø (1678 – December 1719) was a Danish Admiral in the Royal Danish-Norwegian Navy and Governor of Iceland. He was an acknowledged illegitimate son of King Christian V of Denmark and his officially acknowledged royal mistress Sophie Amalie Moth.

Life

When Gyldenløve was 6 years old, his father appointed him Governor of Iceland, then a Danish possession, a position that he held until his death, although he never visited the country.^[1]

Although Frederick IV of Denmark strongly distrusted nobility, his half-brother, Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve became Lieutenant General Admiral of the Danish Fleet in 1697, ultimately going on to become Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. He is also recognized as the founder of the Royal Danish Naval Academy.

By the outbreak of the Great Northern War General-Admiral Gyldenløve and the fleet were ready for the confrontation, but to no avail. The allied fleets of Sweden, Britain and the Dutch Republic sailed into the Øresund, and, since they severely outnumbered the Danish fleet (61 ships of the line against 21), prevented the Danish fleet from interdicting the Swedish troop transports. Under the cover of these combined fleets, Charles XII of Sweden put troops ashore and bombarded Copenhagen, thus ending the early Danish participation in the Great Northern War.

By 1709, when the war resumed, Gyldenløve had risen in the organization. Under his command, late in the autumn of 1712 the North Squadron joined with the Baltic fleet. Lord High Admiral Gyldenløve had gathered the fleet to support the siege of Stralsund. This fleet attacked the Swedish fleet while they were offloading transports on 29 September; Gyldenløve's fleet fired 80 transport ships, making it impossible for Sweden to relieve Stralsund. This represented a notable victory. The fleet played a continued role in the siege of Stralsund, ultimately resulting in the loss of the city and the flight of Charles XII to Sweden.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve, Count of Samsø

16. Frederick II of Denmark

8. Christian IV of Denmark

17. Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow

4. Frederick III of Denmark

18. Joachim Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg

9. Anne Catherine of Brandenburg

19. Margravine Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin

2. Christian V of Denmark

20. William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

10. George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

21. Princess Dorothea of Denmark

5. Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg

22. Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt

11. Landgravine Anne Eleonore of Hesse-Darmstadt

23. Margravine Magdalene of Brandenburg

1. Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve, Count of Samsø

24. Poul Mathiassen Moth

12. Mathias Poulsen Moth

25. Margrethe Volradsdatter Schröder

6. Poul Mathiassen Moth

13. Ingeborg Jørgensdatter

3. Sophie Amalie Moth

14. Rudolph Burenæus

7. Ida Dorothea Bureneus

15. Ida Rothfelsen

References

^ Sigurgeir Steingrímsson, tr. Bernhard Scudder, [Árni Magnússon (1663–1730) – live and work]^{[permanent dead link‍]}, The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.

Sources

Admiral Thunderbolt, by Hans Christian Adamson, Chilton Company, 1959.
Dansk biografisk Lexikon / VI. Bind, by Carl Frederik Bricka (1887–1905)

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[1] Sigurgeir Steingrímsson, tr. Bernhard Scudder, [Árni Magnússon (1663–1730) – live and work]^{[permanent dead link‍]}, The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies.

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