Christian VII

[Daniela]

Christian VII (January 29, 1749-March 13, 1808), King of Denmark and Norway, Duke of Schleswig and Holstein. He was the son of Frederick V, King of Denmark, and his first consort Louisa, daughter of George II of Great Britain.
He became king on his father's death on January 14, 1766. All the earlier accounts agree that he had a winning personality and considerable talent, but he was badly educated, systematically terrorized by a brutal governor, Detlev Reventlow, and hopelessly debauched by corrupt pages, and while he seems to have been intelligent and certainly had periods of clarity, Christian suffered from severe mental problems, possibly schizophrenia.
After his marriage in 1766 to Caroline Mathilde, daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales, he abandoned himself to the worst excesses, especially debauchery. He publicly declared that he could not love Caroline Mathilde, because it was "unfashionable to love one's wife". He ultimately sank into a condition of mental stupor. Symptoms during this time included paranoia, self-mutilation and hallucinations. He became submissive to upstart Johann Friedrich Struensee, who rose steadily in power in the late 1760s. The neglected and lonely Caroline Mathilde drifted into an affair with Struensee.
In 1772, the king's marriage with Caroline Mathilde was dissolved. Struensee was arrested and executed in that same year. Christian signed Struensee's arrest warrant with indifference, and under pressure from his paternal grandmother, Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, who had led the movement to have the marriage dissolved. Caroline Mathilde, retaining her title but not her children, eventually left Denmark in exile and passed her remaining days in neighbouring Celle. She died of cancer there on May 11, 1775.
The marriage had produced two children, the future Frederick VI and Princess Louise Augusta. However, it is widely believed that Louise was the daughter of Struensee-portrait comparisons have supported this.
Christian was only nominally king from 1772 onwards. From 1772 to 1784, Denmark was ruled by Christian's stepmother Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, his physically disabled half-brother Frederick and the Danish politician Ove Hoegh-Guldberg. From 1784 onwards, his son Frederick VI ruled permanently as a prince regent. This regency was marked by liberal and agricultural reforms but also by the beginning disasters of the Napoleonic Wars.
Christian died in 1808 at Rendsburg, Schleswig, not of fright as some have suggested, but from a brain aneurism. He was 59.


King Christian VII

[Daniela]

Caroline Mathilde of Great Britain, wife of Christian VII (1751-1775)

Princess Caroline Matilda of Wales (July 11, 1751-May 10, 1775), was a princess of the United Kingdom and Ireland, sister of King George III of the United Kingdom and Queen of Denmark from 1767 to 1772.
Caroline Matilda was the youngest child of Frederick, Prince of Wales and 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 title Princess Caroline Matilda of Wales 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.
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, King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway. The wedding took place on November 8, 1766 at Christiansborg Castle. Her brother was anxious about the marriage, even though he wasn't fully aware that the bridegroom was mentally ill.
On January 28, 1768 Caroline Mathilde gave birth to the Crown Prince, later to become King Frederik 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 January 12, 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 advisors, 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 July 22, 1769. The Queen was well aware that Struensee was behind these improvements, and her interest in the charming doctor developed.
They entered into a love affair in the spring of 1770.
On June 17, 1771 the royal court took summer residence at Hirschholm Palace in present-day Horsholm municipality. On July 7, Caroline Mathilde gave birth to her second child, Princess Louise Augusta, whose father was almost certainly Struensee.
The court moved to Frederiksborg Castle on November 19 and then backs to Christiansborg Castle on January 8, 1772.
Struensee and Caroline Mathilde were both arrested in the middle of the night between January 16 and January 17, after a masked ball at the royal theatre at Christiansborg Castle. Caroline Mathilde was taken to Kronborg Castle to await her judgment.
Struensee and his accomplice Enevold Brandt were executed on April 28, 1772.
Caroline Mathilde was divorced, and deported on board an English frigate to neighboring Celle, Germany on May 28. She never saw her children again.
She did not give up hope of returning to Denmark and seeing her ex-husband deposed, but her indiscreet behavior dismayed her brother, and he was reluctant to have her back in England, even if she had been willing to return.
She died suddenly from throat cancer at Celle on May 10, 1775.

Queen Caroline Mathilde -on right, with her sister Princess Louise Anna


Queen Caroline Mathilde; By Jens Juel, 1771

[kmerov]

Caroline Mathilde in colour

[kmerov]

Her lover Struensee

[kmerov]

And their daughter Louise Augusta

[Marc]

Great Kmerov-thanks for lovely portraits!

[Rosamund]

These portraits of Struensee and Louisa Augusta show a much stronger resemblance.  Thank you for posting them Kmerov.

[Rosamund]

Poor Christian V11, the son of a drunk and abused emotionally and possibly physically as a child.  Had his mother survived his life might have been different. Did his grandmother or stepmother show any affection for him?

[kmerov]

Both queens took an interest in his upbringing, but I don't think they had much to say or had real affection for him, especially Juliane Marie. She prefered her own son and wanted him to be king. Christian VII called her Mama and she called him her son ( in a letter Catherine the Great called Christian for her step-son,but JM replied with "my son" and afterwords it was "your son"). But a cold and superficial relationship I would say!

[Rosamund]

So he had little affection from his stepmother.  Did Christian have a close relationship with any of his three sisters?  As his Hesse brothers-in-law grew up at the Danish Court, did they have regular contact with him?

[kmerov]

I think he had a good relationship with his sisters and the Hesse-princes. He approved of Princess Louises marriage to Carl of Hesse in 1766, (whom he was very fond of) and made him statholder of Norway (this was prior to Christian going completely insane). Later Christian gave his sister an estate who was named Louisenlund in Slesvig.

[ClausErikAndrup]

I am a decendant of Ove Hoegh Guldberg. I wonder if anyone knows of any protraits that may exist of him. Also, I am not able to find much information regarding his descendants or who his predecessors were. I wonder if anyone can steer me in the right direction?

Claus Andrup

[kmerov]

He was born in Horsens, so the city archives propably have some info on his parents and such. Maybe you could start there.
And a portrait and a buste of Guldberg.  

[kmerov]

A portrait of Juliane Marie. She is holding a portrait of Hereditary Prince Frederik, whom she of course wanted to be king, instead of Christian VII

[Rosamund]

I think he had a good relationship with his sisters and the Hesse-princes. He approved of Princess Louises marriage to Carl of Hesse in 1766, (whom he was very fond of) and made him statholder of Norway (this was prior to Christian going completely insane). Later Christian gave his sister an estate who was named Louisenlund in Slesvig.

I am glad that he had some affection as he grew up.  From the little I know about Christian I have the impression of a vulnerable child.

Has much discussion occurred in books and articles about his behaviour?  Is it certain that he suffered from schizophrenia?  I have read that it is genetic and the illness doesn't appear to have affected any other person in his family.  As a cousin of George 111, has there been any suggestion of porphyria being the cause of his illness?

Thank you in advance Kmerov for your patience with my questions.