Quote of the week
A myth is far truer than a history, for a history only gives a story of the shadows, whereas a myth gives a story of the substances that cast the shadows.
Annie Besant
Hello friends,
Another quiet week is gone. The weather has been fantastic and I managed a few walks down to the sea.
On Sunday I participated in a six hour webinar on writing, which was very interesting and inspiring.
Last week I promised to tell you about a few happenings of the castles of Rosenborg and Christiansborg. I am sure there are many more connected to them, and maybe, one day, I will find out more. Today’s story turned out to be rather long, so the other one has to wait.
The sad lives of Christian VII and Caroline Mathilde
As we all know, royal marriages in the old days had nothing to do with love. There were pure diplomatic and strategic thoughts behind. No wonder that so many of them were unhappy, although there were a few which turned out very well. This is not one of them. In this ménage à trois we meet king Christian VII of Denmark, Queen Caroline Mathilde and the king’s physician Johann Friedrich Struensee.
Christian VII (1749-1808)
Christian’s life was miserable already from the start. His mother died when he was three and his father took not much notice of him. Christian was educated by tutors, of which the first one, the Count of Reventlow, was incredibly cruel and beat him up regularly.
This would be cause enough for a miserable life, but on top of that he probably suffered from schizophrenia. “In 1906 Christiansen interpreted it as a case of dementia praecox, i.e. schizophrenia. It is now suggested that Christian's insanity, like that of George III (his cousin), might have been due to porphyria - the 'royal malady', possibly inherited through his mother, Princess Louise of England or his father, King Frederik V, who died from an illness which retrospectively resembles a case of porphyria.” (Schioldann J. 'Struensee's memoir on the situation of the King' (1772): Christian VII of Denmark. Christian VII was not a suitable monarch. Hist Psychiatry. 2013.)
Amid all the worries about the king’s health it was decided that he had to marry. The choice fell on his cousin from England.
Caroline Mathilde (1751-1775)
Caroline Mathilde was the daughter of Frederick Lewis of Wales and Augusta of Sachsen-Gotha, and sister to Georg III of England. Only 15 years old, she travelled to Denmark to marry, alone and far away from her monastery-like upbringing. She was totally ignorant about marriage and had no idea about her future husband’s illness. Very quickly she became isolated with only a lady’s maid who befriended her. Her husband did not care much about her.
Johann Friedrich Struensee (1737-1772)
J.F. Struensee was born in Germany, educated in Halle and working as a physician in Altona (Hamburg), at the time under Danish administration. He became Christian’s physician and they travelled together on the King’s Grand Tour of Europe. After the tour he followed the king back to Copenhagen. Struensee had a calming influence on Christian and they became good friends. Struensee was much inspired by the Enlightenment.
The road towards disaster
From the beginning there was no intimacy between the king and the queen after the marriage, but at a point Christian was persuaded to do his duty. This led to the birth of Crown Prince Frederick, on January 28, 1768. That was the end of the King’s interest in his wife.
The King was very pleased with Struensee and made him his royal advisor. Caroline Mathilde was captured by the charming and good looking doctor, and they entered into a relationship. In July 1771 the Queen gave birth to Princess Louise Augusta, officially considered daughter of the King, but is widely accepted to be Struensee’s daughter. The same year Struensee was appointed Privy Cabinet minister. He had full control over the King and thus received unlimited power. He used it to carry out reforms, such as freedom of the press. During 13 months ‘in power' he introduced 1069 cabinet edicts, many focusing on criminal reforms, all in the name of Enlightenment. It is considered that Caroline Mathilde was sharing the power with him.
Enough is enough, at least that is what the dowager Queen thought. On a winter’s day in January 1772, she and her conspirators launched a coup against the couple and they were arrested. Struensee was accused of having acted against the Royal Law, was tried and sentenced to death. The queen was taken prisoner of state to Kronborg Castle.
Queen Caroline Matilde’s marriage to the King was dissolved and she was expelled from Denmark. She spent her exile in the Celle Castle, close to Hanover. Her children were to stay in Denmark, she never saw them again. She lived a quiet life and died in 1775 by scarlet fever, at the age of 23. So much tragedy and drama is what people go through during a full life. She went through it all during her 23 years. One only hopes she got a little bit of love as well.
King Christian was 23 years old during these turbulent times. The rest of his life was spent controlled by his regents and under the spell of his madness. He died from a stroke in 1808, 59 years old. A tragic life for someone who probably would have been happier if he had not been a king.
The Legacy
Frederik VI (1768-1839)
Frederick’s childhood was difficult, loosing all contact with his mother when he was four, and never being close to his father. His education was appalling, but he had a sense of duty and determination. He took power through a coup in 1784. In 1790 he married Marie Sophie Frederick of Hesse-Kassel. They had two daughters. The family was very popular.
Louisa Augusta (1771-1843)
She grew up at Christiansborg Palace, together with her four-year-old brother, the crown prince. The two kept a close relationship their whole life.
In May 1768 the 14-year-old Louise Augusta married the 20-year-old Duke Frederick Christian II of Augustenborg at Christiansborg Palace. She was a very extrovert person, was always at the centre of attention wherever she lived, and is said to have had many lovers. Among them doctor C.F. Suadacini, who treated her for infertility. It was believed he is the father of her children, but it has not been proven. One wonders if it was the husband who had problems with the fertility?
With the years, and political turmoil her relationship with her husband fell apart. He died in 1814 and Louise Augusta took care of the Augustenborg estates and the children’s upbringing, one daughter and two sons. Her daughter Caroline Amalie, became the second wife of Christian VIII. Louise Agusta was born as the daughter of a Queen of Denmark, and died as the mother of a Queen of Denmark.
Further background
You know what it is like sometimes. You hear about a place or a person, or a word you have never heard before. All of a sudden it pops up everywhere. So it was when I wrote the above. I found one of the pods I am listening to;
talking about the Royal Affair
talking about P.O. Enquist’s book about the affair, The Visit of the Royal Physician
remembering the film A Royal Affair with Alicia Vikander, Mads Mikkelsen and Mikkel Følsgaard.
I was happy to discover the book on my shelves, so reading now, and then I will be watching the film.
This week
Books
On Monday one of my book clubs met for the first time in person. We have been on-line for the last two years. It was so nice to be able to speak freely. We read The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turston. A very strange book, which I did not like at all. But we had a fantastic discussion, as always when members have different views on a book.
Andrea Cervenka, a Swedish economy journalist, held a talk on his book Girig-Sverige (Greedy Sweden my transl.) The sub-title is how ‘Folkhemmet became a paradise for the super rich’. (‘Folkhemmet’, "The people's home", is usually referred to as a political concept in the history of the Swedish Social Democratic Party and the Swedish welfare state.) Interesting and scaring insights in how the economy works; for people who work and for people who live on capital income. Will be a very interesting read.
Links
I have two blogs;
The Content Reader, (in English) where I write about books
and
Den tillfälliga besökaren (in Swedish) where I share my life and interests in books, history, travel and everything that makes life interesting.
If you want to leave a comment or discuss something you can comment in the post or send me an e-mail to thecontentreadernewsletter(at)gmail.com