We signed that protocol in 1852 on the mistaken assumption that Augustenborg's son had been consulted and had consented to his father selling his rights, which his father led us to believe. Why Frederick waited so long to inform us we are endeavoring to discover. Be that as it may, we have learned this assumption was not true. Therefore, a central premise of our signing, as the King of Denmark well remembers, that there was no other claimant, was categorically false. Therefore, we renounce the protocol.
To the point of Sweden, the Treaty of Ribe clearly states the duchies cannot be separated. He who holds Holstein must hold Schleswig too.
In recognition of the King of Denmark's refusal to withdraw his forces in the allotted time, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Empire of Austria announces that a state of war now exists between them and the Kingdom of Denmark.
~Wilhelm I, King of Prussia
~Franz, Emperor of Austria