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Caroline Matilda of Great Britain (Danish: Caroline Mathilde) (11 July 1751 – 10 May 1775) was Queen of Denmark and Norway from 1766 to 1772 and a member of the British Royal Family.
[edit] Early lifeCaroline 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] She was brought up by her strict mother away from the English court and was described as natural and informal; she enjoyed out-doors life and riding. She could speak Italian, French and German, and was described as an accompliced singer with a beautiful voice. [edit] MarriageAt 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 recognized as the issue of Christian VII:
On 28 January 1768, Caroline Matilda gave birth to the crown prince, later to become King Frederick VI of Denmark and Norway. [edit] QueenShe was described as vivid and charming. Although not called a beauty, she was regarded as attractive; it was said, that her appearance was able to attract the attention of men withouth the criticism of women. Her natural and unaffected personality was not popular at the strict Danish court. She was close to her first lady-in-waiting, Louise von Plessen, who, as she regarded the king's friends to be immoral, acted to isolate Caroline Mathilde from Christian. Her husband did not like her; there were rumours that he was homosexual. The Danish king was persuaded to consummate the marriage for the sake of the succession, and after a son was born, he turned his interest to courtesan Støvlet-Cathrine, whith whom he visited the brothels of Copenhagen. Caroline Matilda was unhappy in her marriage, neglected and spurned by the king. When Plessen was exiled from court in 1768, she lost her closest confidane, which made her alone and isolated. In May 1768 Christian VII took his long tour of Europe, including stays in Altona, Paris and London. During his absence, Caroline Mathilde aroused attention when she took walks in Copenhagen instead of travelling by carriage, which was considered scandalous. Caroline Mathilde spent the summer at Frederiksborg Castle with her new child before returning to Copenhagen in the autumn. [edit] AffairThe king returned to Copenhagen on 12 January 1769, bringing with him Johann Friedrich Struensee as royal physician, who would later also become a 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. 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. The Queen was well aware that Struensee was behind these improvements, and her interest in the charming doctor developed. Her affection for the young doctor grew; in January 1770 he was given his own bedroom in the royal palace, and by spring 1770 he was her lover. A successful vaccination of the baby crown prince in May still further increased his influence. In 1770, the king became more and more isolated and less counted upon as his mental health deteriorated; Caroline Matilda, until now ingored at court, became the center of the royal court's attention, and gatthered folowers called "The queens party", “Dronningens Parti”. She gained a new confidence and showed herself in public at horse back dressed as a man. Suported of her new informal power position at court, Struensee ruled through the king. On 15 September 1770 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. Her way of openly demonstrating her new happiness, and riding in public dressed as a man was seen as shocking. On the birtday of the king in 1771 she founded the order of Mathilde-Ordenen. On 17 June 1771 the royal court took summer residence at Hirschholm Palace in present-day Hørsholm municipality. Here, she lived happily with her children and her lover and was painted in the style of the newly modern country life; this summer is described as an idyll. On 7 July 1771, Caroline Mathilde gave birth to her second child, Princess Louise Auguste, whose father was almost certainly Struensee. This was also considered scandalous; the girl was called “la petite Struensee”, though officially accepted as princess. The court moved to Frederiksborg Palace on 19 November and then back to Christiansborg Castle on 8 January 1772. [edit] DivorceStruensee 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. She was allowed to keep her daughter with her. She is believed to have been pressed or manipulated to admit the relationship by the interrogator. She was not given any advisors. She initially denied her relationship to Struensee in the hope to save him. The marriage of Caroline Matilda and Christian was dissolved by divorce in april 1772. After the divorce, Struensee and his accomplice Enevold Brandt were executed on 28 April 1772. [edit] Later life On May 28 1772, Caroline Mathilde 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. In Celle, she was known for her charity toward poor children and orphans. She also reunited with Louise von Plessen. 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] In 1774, she became the center of a plot with the intent to make her the regent of Denmark as the guardian of the crown prince, instigated by Ernst Schimmelmann with the Englishman Nathaniel Wraxall as a messenger. Wraxal met her many times and she used him as messenger to her brother, whos support she desired. She herself wrote to her brother George III in 1775, in which she asked for his aprouval for the plan, which she referred to as “this scheme for my Sons happiness”. 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
[edit] AncestorsAncestors of Caroline Matilda of Great Britain [edit] LegacyIn 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
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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