The Death of Frederick V of Denmark

Frederick V (Copenhagen, Denmark, 31st March 1723 – Copenhagen, Denmark, 14th January 1766)

Frederick V of Denmark by Carl Gustaf Pilo

Last Autumn we met a lady who presided over a somewhat joyless court, Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. As wife to Christian VI of Denmark of Denmark, she was mother to the man who would succeed his father and become Frederick V and today, I tell the tale of his last weeks. His mother is not the only lady in Frederick's life to visit the Guide and should you wish to meet his first wife, Louise of Great Britain, you can do so here!

After the austere, cold rule of Christian VI, Frederick was a breath of fresh air to the Danish people yet, after two decades, it came to a painful end. In 1760, an inebriated Frederick broke his leg badly and it marked the start of a slow decline into ill-health. A lifetime of high-living, drinking and debauchery now took its toll and the monarch finally began to see the long term impact of his partying lifestyle.

As the years passed following the accident, Frederick grew ever weaker and eventually his physical state was so debilitated that he could barely take care of himself. He was only forty two when he passed away of an undiagnosed ailment, though historian SM Toyne suggested that the cause of death might well be cirrhosis. Regardless of the condition that carried the king off, he was greatly missed by his subjects and, according to his own wishes, was laid to rest beside Louise in Roskilde Cathedral.

Life in the Georgian Court, true tales of 18th century royalty, is available at the links below.

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A Deadly Affair: Count Johann Friedrich Struensee

Count Johann Friedrich Struensee (Prussia, 5th August 1737 – Copenhagen, Denmark, 28th April 1772)

Johann Friedrich Struensee by Hans Hansen after Jens Juel, 1824

Today we mark the death of a polarising figure in Scandinavian court politics, Count Johann Friedrich Struensee. My post on Queen Caroline Mathilde, right back in the early weeks of the Guide, remains a popular item almost a year after it was first published and I thought it might be germane to revisit this turbulent story, with a look at the final act of the life of Struensee.

Struensee was brought into the Danish court to quell the eccentricities of King Christian VII and his decision to emply the doctor was initially applauded by his counsellors, who saw the physician as a much-needed stabilising influence. In fact it was to prove a pivotal moment in the history of the Danish monarchy, shaking the house of Oldenburg to its foundations.  Within a year of Struensee's arrival at court the unhappy Queen Caroline Mathilde and Struensee were lovers; as the king decended deeper into madness, so Struensee's influence at court increased until, in late 1770, he was elected privy counsellor.

Caroline Mathilde by Francis Cotes

By the time of Struensee's rise to power the king was confined and often incoherent, so his former doctor enjoyed a period of virtually unchallenged authority, initiating over a thousand reforms that began with the total restructure of the unwieldy Danish cabinet. One might have expected Christian to be disturbed by these developments but in fact it was the opposite; he delighted in the unusual arrangement, glad to see his wife happy, his own marital responsibilities discharged and the burden of government business lifted from his shoulders. 

However, the ruling classes did not share their monarch's delight and when the queen gave birth to a daughter who was assumed to be Struensee's child, they moved in earnest against him. Facing higher taxes, reduced privilege and more reforms than they knew what to do with, the cabinet and court turned against the queen and her lover, their previously anaemic support for Christian returning with a fervour.

Woodcut depicting the arrest of Johann Friedrich Struensee

On 17th January 1772, Caroline Mathilde and Struensee were arrested. Struensee was charged with usurping royal authority and subjected to interrogation and torture. He mounted an eloquent and passionate defence of his actions but the die was already cast and Struensee was sentenced to have his hand severed and then to be beheaded, drawn and quartered. He was held in readiness for execution at Kastellet in Copenhagen and on 28th April was conveyed to the scaffold.

Woodcut depicting the execution of Johann Friedrich Struensee

Here the grisly sentence was enacted before an audience of tens of thousands. Queen Caroline Mathilde and her daughter were sent into exile in Celle, where the queen died aged just 23, never seeing Denmark again.

Life in the Georgian Court, true tales of 18th century royalty, is available at the links below.

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Anine Frølich: The Death of a Dancer

Anine Marie Magdalene Frølich, (Copenhagen, Denmark, 13th March 1762 – Copenhagen, Denmark, 6th November 1784)

Anine Frølich and Pierre Laurent

A good friend of mine is currently holidaying in Scandinavia and it is no secret to those who know me that I am a great fan of the wonderful country of Denmark. It is in honour of Scandinavia-trotting chum and that lovely country that today I tell the tale of Anine Frølich, a star of Danish dance who lived a tragically short life.

Dance in Denmark was not overwhelmed by native performers and Frølich was to become the first true Danish star of the ballet, after beginning her training at the age of nine in the ballet school of the Court-Theater. Under the tutelage of Pierre Laurent she flourished,  outshining her contemporaries as she hurtled towards stardom.

Frølich was possessed of an astonishing natural talent and imbued her performances with a sense of drama, truly inhabiting and acting the roles she played. When she made her debut in 1773 she became an overnight sensation with her naturalistic style and air of grace and beauty. Audiences flocked to her performances and as she entered her teens Frølich caught the eye of the Court Theater's Italian ballet master, Vincenzo Galeotti, who made her his leading lady.

Vincenzo Galeotti

Galeotti was embarked on a dramatic restructure of the face of Danish ballet, which he saw as overly formal and stylised. With Frølich as his star he changed the face of ballet in Denmark and the pair enjoyed enormous popular and critical success. Despite an age difference of three decades, the couple became lovers but their passion ended in animosity and Frølich's emotional wellbeing deteriorated as she grew more exhausted by her professional engagements.

Aged just 22 the young dancer collapsed during rehearsal and was carried to her home in Copenhagen. Sadly she was never to recover and died within days, plunging her fans and colleagues into mourning.

The Infant Scholar of Lübeck

Christian Heinrich Heineken (Lübeck, Germany, 6th February 1721 – Lübeck, Germany, 27th June 1725)

Christian Heinrich Heineken by Johann Balthasar Probst, 1724

Today's guest is a little boy who lived a short but remarkable life. Delighting the people of Europe with  his intelligence and talents, the infant scholar of Lübeck, was a most extraordinary German child.

Christian was born in to painter and architect Paul Heineken and his wife, Catharina. Before the little boy was one year old he was already able to name items within his home and had already embarked on learning to read. A fluent speaker and reader in German by the time of his first birthday, Christian had polished off the bible in Latin by the age of three. 

Not content with just reading the writings of other people, in 1724 Christian wrote his own History of Denmark and read it at court before King Frederick IV of Denmark. Those who met the child were delighted by his charm and thrilled at his intelligence, and tales of his genius spread across Europe.

The Heineken family and Christian's wet nurse, Sophie Hildebrandt, undertook a tour of the continent and Christian showed off his skills and keen mind. However, the strain of travelling began to take a toll on the party and as Christian was weaned and began to eat more grains, his health began to deteriorate.

Celebrated for his short life, Christian died at the age of four of what is now believed to have been coeliac disease. However, in a final twist, he apparently predicted his own death months before the day came.

Louise of Great Britain, A Well-Loved Queen

Louise of Great Britain (London, England, 7th December 1724 - Copenhagen, Denmark, 19th December 1751)

Queen Louise of Denmark in her Coronation Robes by Carl Gustaf Pilo, 1747

I’ve got the best china out again today to welcome another daughter of the house of Hanover. Louise of Great Britain was a sister to our previous guest, Anne, Princess Royal, and like her, left England behind for the courts of Europe. Like her sibling, Louise made a good marriage and even became a queen, yet her life was to be a short one.

Louise was the youngest surviving daughter of George II and Caroline of Ansbach, then Prince and Princess of Wales. Her christening took place on 22nd December 1724 at Leicester House and among her godparents she counted yet another lady who has previously featured at the Guide, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia.

When Louise was just two years old her father was crowned king and the little girl was raised and educated to make a good marriage. Gregarious, sociable and cultured, she had a charming personality and found it easy to make friends so the family must have been confident that a likely groom would be easy to find. Meanwhile in Denmark the hunt was on to find a bride for the future King Frederick V, son of Christian VI and Sophie Magdalene. Christian hoped that a good dynastic marriage would secure English support for his claim to the Swedish throne and after negotiations, George agreed to marry his daughter to the hedonistic Frederick. The young man was known for his love of women and he had no intentions of settling to married life but he agreed to the match, though impending marriage did nothing to curb his gadding about!

King Christian VI with his family (L to R, Crown Prince Frederick, King Christian VI, Queen Sophie Magdalene, Crown Princess Louise) by Carl Marcus Tuscher, 1744

The couple were married at Altona, Holstein, on 11th December 1743 and eventually had five children, four of whom survived childhood. Louise and Frederick became good friends though he continued to have numerous mistresses and fathered several illegitimate children. If Louise was distressed by her husband’s behaviour she never showed it nor discussed the matter and instead it appears she turned a blind eye, instead throwing herself into life at court.  

Louise and Frederick had been married for almost three years when they became King and Queen of Denmark and Norway on 6th August 1746 and Louise was very popular with the people thanks to her efforts to fit into Danish life. She studied the culture and tradition of her adopted country and learned to speak Danish, ensuring that her children were also raised speaking their native language, an unusual decision in the German-speaking court. 

Louise of Great Britain by Carl Gustaf Pilo, 1751

Under their stewardship the court that had been so dour and stern rang once more to the sound of music and song, Louise invited theatre companies to perform for courtiers and was tirelessly cheerful and charming. Her popularity helped her husband win the favour of his subjects and she was as well-liked at court as she was with the people of Denmark.

The life of this vibrant young woman was to come to an abrupt end in December 1751. Aged just 27, Louise suffered a traumatic miscarriage at Christiansborg Palace and died as a result of complications. Her burial took place at Roskilde Cathedral, the young queen mourned deeply by the nation that had taken her to its heart.

Life in the Georgian Court, true tales of 18th century royalty, is available at the links below.

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The Joyless Court of Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach

Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (Lauf an der Pegnitz, Germany, 28th November 1700 - Copenhagen, Denmark, 27th May 1770)

As a some-time visitor to Denmark it is a pleasure to once again bring you a story from that beautiful country. Today we add another queen to our collection, this one a lady with a certain eye for jewellery and no patience for mothers-in-law.

Sophie Magdalene entered the world in style, born to Christian Heinrich of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach and  Countess Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein at Castle Schonberg. Educated in the ways of a young lady, Sophie Magdalene was dispatched to Poland to serve as lady-in-waiting to Queen Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. She was serving in this role when Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark and future Christian VI of Denmark and Norway, arrived at the court to continue his search for a suitable bride. The highly religious, prudent and discrete Sophie Magdalene attracted the eye of the Crown Prince despite her lower rank and the couple were married on 7th August 1721, eventually having two children.

Christian VI of Denmark by Johann Salomon Wahl 

The couple lived in quiet seclusion, having little interest in matters of society even as they surrounded themselves with opulence. However, they were deeply opposed to the remarriage of Christian's father, Frederick IV, to his second wife, Anne Sophie. Frederick had originally committed bigamy by marrying Anne Sophie whilst his first wife was still living, eventually marrying her a second time once he was widowed. When the king died in 1730, the newly crowned Christian and Sophia Magdalene took immediate action to remove Anne Sophie from any influence. The late king's will was contested and reversed, leaving the new widow with little money and she was removed from Copenhagen and send back to the Klausholm, the country retreat of her birth. Here she would spend the rest of her days as a virtual recluse.

Sophie Magdalene never learned to speak Danish even as queen of the nation and exerted a great influence over her husband. Both king and queen practised pietism and their court was insular yet luxurious and dominated by pomp and ceremony, with Sophie Magdalene serving as her husband's adviser and confidante. However, the new queen flatly refused to wear the crown that her step mother-in-law had once sported and instead commissioned a new crown, adding items from her private belongings to create a collection of crown jewels. The couple also commissioned luxurious new palaces, ruling as absolute monarchs in a court that could be joyless and cold.

Sophie Magdalene believed that both men and women should live respectable lives and in 1732 founded the order Ordre de l'Union Parfaite, an honour to be bestowed on  couples who enjoyed happy and fruitful marriages. For those noblewomen who were single she established a convent wher they could live out their days in piece and piety.

Christian died in 1746 just one day before his 25th wedding anniversary and his son, Frederick V, succeeded him on the throne. The Queen Dowager moved into Hirschholm Palace and continued to influence policy and court. As her health declined she withdrew somewhat from public life and eventually died in Christiansborg Palace, to be interred in Roskilde Cathedral beside her late husband.

Life in the Georgian Court, true tales of 18th century royalty, is available at the links below.

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A Regent to be Reckoned With: Marie of Hesse-Kassel

Marie Sophie Frederikke of Hesse-Kassel (Hanau, Germany, 28th October 1767 – Copenhagen, Denmark, 21st March 1852)

Marie of Hesse-Kassel by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

Yesterday I welcomed a guest writer to the salon and was able to spend the day lounging on the chaise longue eating sweetmeats and drinking tea but today I am back at my bureau, quill in hand. Denmark is a land I have visited on a few occasions and the beauty of the land always astounds, so it is a pleasure to tell the tale of a lady of Denmark, Marie of Hesse-Kassel, Queen consort of Denmark and Norway.

Born to Landgrave Charles of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Louise of Denmark, Marie was the great-granddaughter of George II and spent her childhood years in Denmark, where her father held a number of prestigious offices. Marie's place in life was expected to be that of a wife and mother and by the time she was in her early twenties, her cousin, Frederick (later Frederick VI of Denmark) was looking for a suitable spouse.

Determined to choose his own wife and prove to his advisors that he was his own man, Frederick chose to marry Marie and the couple were united in a lavish ceremony that took place in Gottorp on 31st July 1790. Having spent virtually all her life in Denmark, the new bride was welcomed with open arms by the public though at court she found herself playing second fiddle to Princess Louise Auguste, her new sister-in-law and her husband's closest friend. Despite this she settled well into her new life, becoming a popular queen consort of both Denmark and Norway in 1808.

Marie of Hesse-Kassel by Jens Juel, 1790

Marie found the pressure to produce an heir almost unbearable and she bore her husband eight children, six of whom (including all of their sons) died in infancy. This placed a strain on the royal marriage and Marie's final labour resulted in a serious physical injury that caused her to withdraw from sexual relations with Frederick and he took the far-younger Frederikke Dannemand as a long-term mistress; he would have four children with Frederikke but none of these could be a legitimate heir to the throne.

Despite the trials of her personal life, when the Napoleonic Wars called Frederick away from Denmark, Marie proved herself a more than able regent in his absence, steering the country on a steady and untroubled course When Frederick returned she had more than developed a taste for politics and began to write and publish on issues of political interest, establishing herself as a thinker to be reckoned with and remaining one of her husband's most trusted advisors.

Marie's Tomb

When her husband died, Marie withdrew from public life and continued to indulge her interests in charitable causes, history and politics. Beloved of the people, she was greatly mourned when she died and was buried amid much ceremony in Roskilde Cathedral.

Life in the Georgian Court, true tales of 18th century royalty, is available at the links below.

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Nicolas-Henri Jardin, Royal Building Master

Nicolas-Henri Jardin (St Germain des Noyers, Seine-et-Marne, France, 22nd March 1720 – St Germain des Noyers, Seine-et-Marne, France, 31st August 1799)

Nicolas-Henri Jardin by Peder Als, 1764

Much as I adore my tottering abode on Henrietta Street, there's no denying that it can be a little bit higgledy piggledy. Our subject today is a man who never went near tottering and to whom higgledy piggledy would have been blasphemy; in fact, he was one of the giants of neoclassical architecture and like so many of our recent guests, he hailed from France.

Nicolas-Henri Jardin was barely into double figures when he took up a serious interest in architecture and by the age of 18 was enrolled at the Académie Francaise. A diligent and exemplary student, Jardin became a star student and in 1744 designed a cathedral chancel that won him the Prix de Rome for architecture. With the money he received from the prize he followed so many other artists and creatives to Italy and a place at the prestigious Académie Francaise in Rome, where he would remain until 1748. Here he befriended sculptor Jacques François Joseph Saly and the two would be lifelong friends, with Saly eventually providing Jardin with his greatest opportunities.

Marienlyst Castle, Helsingør

Their studies and roaming concluded, Saly travelled to Denmark to work at the court of King Frederik V whilst Jardin returned to Paris where he would take up the position of resident architect with Michel Tannevot in 1753. In fact, Jardin only remained in Tannevot's employ for a year as the winds of change were blowing through the Danish court. With something of an overhaul of personnel taking place, there was a  need for an innovative, talented architect to complete Frederikskirken, a project begun by Nicolai Eigtved five years earlier, before the architect fell from favour with Frederik.

Saly suggested that his travelling companion from Italy might fit the bill and by the end of 1754, Jardin was in Copenhagen with his apprentice brother, Louis Henri. With a year they were members of Royal Danish Academy of Art, lecturing on architecture under the Director, who just happened to be Jardin's old friend, Saly.

The Yellow Palace, Copenhagen

When Jardin presented the plans for the church to the Royal Building Commission, they were horrified at the enormous expense of the project; not to be deterred, he made minor amendments and resubmitted his work. Once again the Commission balked at the cost yet this time Jardin had already secured the agreement of the King, who declared that work would begin immediately. Due to the complexity of the plans the building process was painfully slow and funds were not always quick to materialise yet Jardin maintained his position of favour at court, taking the role of Royal Building Master in 1760.

Throughout his career, Jardin received many prestigious decorations and plaudits but the stability that he enjoyed as a courtier of Frederik was threatened by the death of the old king and the succession of his unstable son, Christian VII. In 1770 it was projected that the church would not be fully completed for almost eighty years and Christian's advisor, Johann Friedrich Struensee, advised that building should stop for a time in order for the country to divert some of the money that was being ploughed into the project. Jardin was paid off and the unfinished church was left to the elements, falling into ruin before construction finally resumed in 1874.

Bernstorff Palace, Copenhagen

With Struensee's disgrace and arrest in 1771, Christian became distrustful of all who were of foreign birth and Jardin took this as his cue to depart Denmark, with Saly leaving his own position just three months later. Jardin exchanged one palace for another, joining the court of Louis XV and continuing in his good fortune until the storm of revolution blew into Paris. Once again the shrewd architect chose his moment to leave the stage and retired to the town where he had been born, seeing out his final years in prosperity.

Frederik's Church, Copenhagen

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The Short, Scandalous Life of Queen Caroline Mathilde

Caroline Matilda of Great Britain (London, England, 11th July 1751 - Celle, Germany, 10th May 1775)

Caroline Mathilde by Francis Cotes

She went from the House of Hanover to the court of Denmark and ended in scandalous exile and a tragically early death - today marks the birthday of Queen Caroline Matilde.

One of the women to whom grandmother Gilflurt was often favourably compared for the bloom in her cheeks and the grace of her manners, Caroline Mathilde was the youngest child of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. A world away from the formal manners and customs of the Hanoverian court, Caroline's was raised in seclusion following the death of her father and she enjoyed a relatively simple life, delighting in nature and equestrian pursuits.

This quiet, settled existence was to end at the age of 15 when a very reluctant Caroline Mathilde travelled to Copenhagen to become the wife of her cousin, King Christian VII of Denmark. Known as something of an eccentric, the full extent of Christian's mental illness had yet to show itself and from the start their marriage was a far from happy one. Reluctant to consummate the marriage, Christian preferred to spend time with courtesans and prostitutes, frequenting the brothels of the city whilst rejecting all contact with his wife. With the line of succession in jeapardy, Christian's advisers became to whisper that it would be a shame if the king were to be thought of as impotent; their scheming did the trick and the couple finally produced the all-important heir.

By 1769 Christian's eccentricities growing more and more extreme and his decision to bring doctor Johann Friedrich Struensee to court was applauded by his counsellors, who saw the physician as a much-needed stabilising influence. In fact it was to prove a pivotal moment in the history of the Danish monarchy, shaking the house of Oldenburg to its very foundations.  Within a year the queen and Struensee were lovers and as the king grew more disturbed, so Struensee's influence at court increased until, in late 1770, he was elected privy counsellor (maître des requêtes). With the king confined, Struensee enjoyed a period of virtually unchallenged authority, initiating over a thousand reforms that began with the total restructure of the unwieldy Danish cabinet. One might have expected Christian to be disturbed by these developments but in fact it was the opposite; he delighted in the unusual arrangement, glad to see his wife happy, his own marital responsibilities discharged and the burden of government business lifted from his shoulders.

With the guidance and support of Caroline Mathilde, Struensee's reforms included the abolition of torture, the banning of slavery and widespread vaccination against smallpox for the poor. In fact, his experimental inoculation against the disease had been what first brought him to Caroline's attention when his decisive actions saved the life of her son.

The Time of Struensee was over within 16 months. Outraged by Caroline Mathilde's open liaisons with the doctor and her proclivities for dressing as a man and mixing with the populace of Copenhagen, the birth of a daughter that was assumed to be Struensee's child was the final straw. Facing higher taxes, reduced privilege and more reforms than they knew what to do with, the cabinet and court turned against the queen and her lover, their support for Christian returning with a fervour.

In January 1772, Caroline Mathilde and Struensee were arrested and interrogated. In April of that same year the royal marriage ended in divorce and Struensee went to the scaffold.

Having a king for a brother is always handy and George III successfully petitioned to have Caroline Mathilde released from prison and sent into exile in the Hanovarian Celle Castle; here, the former queen of Denmark devoted herself to charity as well as continuing to plan for the day when she would depose Christian and rule as regent. In fact, Caroline never saw Denmark nor her son again and she died of scarlet fever at the age of just 23.

George III rejected calls for Caroline Mathilde to be buried in Westminster Abbey and she was interred in her place of exile, Celle Castle, the final stop in a life that had been short, scandalous and ultimately tragic.

Read more about the tragic life of Caroline Mathilde in my book, Life in the Georgian Court! 

Life in the Georgian Court, true tales of 18th century royalty, is available at the links below.

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