Caroline Matilda of Great Britain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Caroline Matilda of Great Britain | |
|---|---|
| Queen consort of Denmark and Norway | |
 |
|
| Portrait by Jens Juel, 1771 | |
| Tenure | 8 November 1766 – 10 May 1775 |
| Spouse | Christian VII |
| Issue | |
| Frederick VI Louise Augusta, Duchess of Augustenborg |
|
| Full name | |
| Caroline Matilda Danish: Caroline Mathilde |
|
| House | House of Oldenburg House of Hanover |
| Father | Frederick, Prince of Wales |
| Mother | Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha |
| Born | 11 July 1751 Leicester House, London |
| Died | 10 May 1775 (aged 23) Celle, Germany |
| Burial | 13 May 1775 Celle, Germany |
Caroline Matilda of Great Britain (Danish: Caroline Mathilde; 11 July 1751 – 10 May 1775) Queen of Denmark and Norway from 1766 to 1772 and a member of the British Royal Family.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Caroline Matilda was the youngest child of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, hence her title. Her father died suddenly about three months before her birth. She was born at Leicester House in London, and was given the style and title HRH Princess Caroline Matilda[1], as daughter of the Prince of Wales, though, by the time of her birth, the title of Prince of Wales had passed to her brother George. Both of her names were used due to her aunt, Princess Caroline, being alive. The princess was christened ten days later, at the same house, by The Bishop of Norwich, Thomas Hayter. Her godparents were her brother The Prince of Wales, her paternal aunt The Princess Caroline and her sister Princess Augusta.[2]
[edit] Marriage
At the age of fifteen, Caroline Mathilde, as she was known in Denmark, left her family behind in Britain in order to travel to Denmark and marry her cousin, Christian VII of Denmark. The wedding took place on 8 November 1766 at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. Her eldest brother, by then King George III, was anxious about the marriage, even though he wasn't fully aware that the bridegroom was mentally ill.
Caroline Matilda had two children, both of whom were officially fathered by Christian VII.
- Frederick VI of Denmark (1768–1839)
- Princess Louise Auguste of Denmark (1771–1843)
On 28 January 1768 Caroline Mathilde gave birth to the Crown Prince, later to become King Frederick VI of Denmark and Norway. In May of the same year Christian VII took his long tour of Europe, including stays in Altona, Paris and London. At the same time Caroline Mathilde spent the summer at Frederiksborg Castle with her new child before returning to Copenhagen in the autumn.
The king returned to Copenhagen on 12 January 1769, bringing with him Johann Friedrich Struensee as royal physician, and later minister in his court. He had met Struensee in Altona during the beginning of his travels. Struensee could apparently handle the king's instability, which was a great relief to the king's advisers, and the king developed a confidence in him.
Caroline Mathilde was unhappy in her marriage, neglected and spurned by the king, and affected by his illness. Struensee encouraged the king to improve his relationship with Caroline Mathilde, and Christian VII showed his attention to her in the form of a three-day birthday party on 22 July 1769.
[edit] Affair
Caroline Matilda was unhappy in her marriage, neglected and spurned by the king, and affected by his illness. The Queen was well aware that Struensee was behind these improvements, and her interest in the charming doctor developed. Over time her affection for the young doctor grew and by spring 1770 he was notoriously her lover; a successful vaccination of the baby crown prince in May still further increased his influence.
Through the Queen, Struensee gained control over the King and took over absolute power in Denmark. On 15 September the King dismissed Bernstorff, and two days later Struensee becomes maître des requêtes (privy counsellor), consolidating his power and starting the 16 month period generally referred to as the "Time of Struensee". When in the course of the year the king sank into a condition of mental torpor, Struensee's authority became paramount, and he held absolute sway for ten months, between 20 March 1771 and 16 January 1772.
During this time he issued no fewer than 1069 cabinet orders, or more than three a day. For this reason, he has been criticized for having an imprudent "mania" for reform. Other criticisms of Struensee are that he did not respect native Danish and Norwegian customs, seeing them as prejudices and wanting to eliminate them in favour of abstract principles.
Nor were Struensee's relations with the queen less offensive to a nation which had a traditional veneration for the royal House of Oldenburg, while Caroline Matilda's shameless conduct in public brought the Crown into contempt. On 17 June 1771 the royal court took summer residence at Hirschholm Palace in present-day Hørsholm municipality.
On 7 July, Caroline Mathilde gave birth to her second child, Princess Louise Auguste, whose father was almost certainly Struensee.
The court moved to Frederiksborg Palace on 19 November and then back to Christiansborg Castle on 8 January 1772.
Struensee and Caroline Mathilde were both arrested in the middle of the night between 16 January and 17 January, after a masked ball at the royal theatre at Christiansborg Castle. Caroline Mathilde was taken to Kronborg Castle to await her judgement. Struensee and his accomplice Enevold Brandt were executed on 28 April 1772. Their marriage ended up in divorce in that same year.
[edit] Later life
Caroline Mathilde was divorced, and on 28 May she was deported on board an English frigate to Celle, residing at Celle Castle in her brother's German territory of Hanover. She never saw her children again.
She did not give up hope of returning to Denmark and seeing her ex-husband deposed[citation needed], but her indiscreet behaviour dismayed her brother, and he was reluctant to have her back in England, even if she had been willing to return.[citation needed]
She died suddenly of scarlet fever at Celle on 10 May 1775. She was buried in the Stadtkirche St. Marien in Celle.
[edit] Titles, styles, honours and arms
[edit] Titles and styles
- 11 July 1751 – 8 November 1766: Her Royal Highness Princess Caroline Matilda[1]
- 8 November 1766 – 10 May 1775: Her Majesty The Queen of Denmark and Norway
[edit] Ancestors
[edit] Legacy
In 1969 the British writer Norah Lofts published The Lost Queen, a biographical novel of the life of Queen Caroline Matilda. The English composer Peter Maxwell Davies wrote a ballet based on Caroline's marriage, enitled Caroline Mathilde which was first performed in 1991. In 1999 the Swedish writer Per Olov Enquist published The visit of the royal physician (Livläkarens besök), which tells the story of Struensee. In 2006 the British historian Stella Tillyard published A Royal Affair: George III and his Scandalous Siblings , which includes a long account of Queen Caroline Matilda.
[edit] Bibliography
- (Danish) Amdisen, Asser. Til nytte og fornøjelse Johann Friedrich Struensee (1737-1772). Denmark: Akademisk Forlag, 2002. ISBN 8750037307.
- (Danish) Bregnsbo, Michael. Caroline Mathilde: magt og skæbne : en biografi. Denmark: Aschehoug, 2007. ISBN 9788711118566
- Tilliyard, Stella. A Royal Affair: George III and his Scandalous Siblings. London: Chatto & Windus, 2006. ISBN 9780701173067
[edit] References
- ^ a b The announcement of her bethrothal in The London Gazette refer to her as "Princess Caroline Matilda"
- ^ Yvonne's Royalty Home Page: Royal Christenings
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Caroline Matilda of Great Britain |
| Royal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel |
Queen consort of Denmark 1766-1775 |
Succeeded by Marie Sophie of Hesse-Kassel |
| Queen consort of Norway 1766-1775 |
||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
