The Danish authorities have recognised hundreds of marriages involving children.

The Danish newspaper Berlingske has obtained internal documents showing that for decades the Danish authorities have allowed child marriages, in some cases for children as young as nine.

The documents reveal that the Danish ministry of social affairs and housing has allowed several hundred marriages for non-Western minors over the past thirty years,

the Norwegian Document news portal reported.

These marriages were typically concluded abroad and later received official recognition in Denmark by what is known as a kongrebev. Dating back hundreds of years, the kongrebev (royal letter or charter) is a kind of dispensation from certain rules granted by the king. It has become most infamous for allowing the recognition of marriages involving minors. This practice was abolished in 2017, but authorities continued to approve and recognise marriages with children.

According to the documents, the Danish authorities have registered around 20 thousand marriages involving children since 1970, with the youngest marrying at the age of nine.

The documents obtained by the Danish newspaper Berlingske show that after 1986, 1,093 marriages with minors were concluded in Denmark, and 8,663 marriages concluded abroad were recognized.

The figures reveal that 300 marriages were concluded with 14-year-old children, 86 marriages with 13-year-olds, 49 marriages with 12-year-olds, 17 marriages with 11-year-olds, 11 marriages with 10-year-olds, and 13 children entered marriage as young as nine years old.

Researcher Sofie Danneskiold-Samsose highlighted that

the big age difference between child brides and adult men indicates forced marriage in many cases.