The Unicorn Throne of Denmark
Danish kings were crowned on a throne of unicorn horn, worth more than gold. It came from a whale.
What was reported
For centuries Europeans prized 'unicorn horns': long, spiralled white tusks believed to detect poison and cure disease, worth many times their weight in gold. Royal collections displayed them, and drinking cups were made from them.
The coronation throne of the Danish kings, made in the 1660s and kept at Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen, is built largely from these horns, guarded by three life-size silver lions.
Explanations offered
The horns were the tusks of narwhals, Arctic whales whose males grow a single long tooth through the upper lip. Traders brought them from Greenland and kept their origin quiet. In 1638 the Danish scholar Ole Worm showed they came from narwhals, and the trade in 'unicorn' horn faded.
- When
- Throne made in the 1660s
- Where
- Rosenborg Castle, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Witnesses
- European royalty and collectors
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.