Valdemar IV of Denmark (The Danish North Sea)

Valdemar IV was King of Denmark from 1252 until his death in 1257. He was the eldest son of King Abel of Denmark and Matilda of Holstein.

Not much is known about King Valdemar's early life, but sometime between 1249 and 1252, he was held prisoner in the Archbishopric of Cologne as the hostage of the Prince-Archbishop. King Abel was able to obtain the release of his son and died by the time Valdemar returned to Denmark.

Valdemar was crowned king in Copenhagen in November 1252. His uncle, Prince Christopher, claimed the throne and Valdemar had him and his supporters swiftly executed out of fear for a possible uprising in Christopher's favor. By the next year, Valdemar imprisoned his own brother, Abel, possibly for his [Abel's] opposition to Valdemar's order to execute supporters of Christopher.

In 1261, Valdemar married Princess Beatrice of England, granddaughter of the last King of England, John Lackland. The couple had seven children, three of whom became Kings of Denmark and East Anglia.