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LIFE AND TIMES
OF
HER MAJESTY
CAROLINE MATILDA,
QUEEN OF DENMARK AND NORWAY,
AND
SISTER OF H. M. GEORGE III. OF ENGLAND,
FROM FAMILY DOCUMENTS AND PRIVATE STATE ARCHIVES.
BY
Sir C. F. LASCELLES WRAXALL, Bart.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
Wm. H. ALLEN & CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE, S.W.
1864.
[All Rights reserved.]
LEWIS AND SON, PRINTERS, SWAN BUILDINGS, MOORGATE STREET.
TO
HIS MAJESTY CHRISTIAN THE NINTH,
KING OF DENMARK.
INTRODUCTION.
If there be a story which may be supposed to be thoroughly familiar to the reading public, it is surely that of the Queen of Denmark, who is believed to have loved not wisely but too well. The fate of Struensee has supplied the motive for countless works more or less historical, for novels, and even for an opera. Hence it might reasonably be assumed that the man who ventured on intruding on the English public another work on such a thoroughly worn-out topic, must be either very impudent or very foolish; and yet I have ventured to do so through neither of these failings, but for reasons which have been duly weighed, and which appear to my mind to convey their justification.
The first of these motives is, that within a very recent period a perfectly new light has been thrown on the whole affair, by permission being granted to examine the privy archives of Copenhagen. From these I have been enabled to derive the hitherto unpublished documents and reports of the judges, and thus prove on what worthless evidence the divorce of the queen was passed. At the same time, a great deal of fresh matter has been rendered available about the two unhappy men who fell victims to a mistaken sense of justice.
The late King of Denmark, who wisely thought that publicity was the best safeguard of thrones, also allowed the "Mmoires de mon Temps" of the Landgrave Charles of Hesse Cassel, brother-in-law of Christian VII., to be printed for private circulation. I have been enabled to procure a copy of this work through the kindness of Baron von Jenssen Tusch , who obtained it from the Prince of Augustenburg; and the many curious details of the Court of Denmark it contains have been woven largely into my text. Another work which has afforded me very material assistance is the "Memoirs of Reverdil, Secretary to Christian VII.," which appeared two or three years ago, but is little known in this country.
Lastly, the private journals of Sir N. W. Wraxall have been laid under contribution to a great extent. It was made known by the publication of the "Post-humous Memoirs" that he had been connected with the Queen of Denmark, but it was only during last year that I discovered how much my grandfather knew of the affair, and how well he had kept silence on the subject. I have ransacked his journals, correspondence, &c., in the interests of the present work, and these have enabled me, I hope, to bring together much not hitherto known, or, if known, forgotten.
As a humble follower of Lord Macaulay, I have also recognised the value of pamphlets and chap-books, and have been able to obtain, with some cost and trouble, nearly everything published on the palace revolution during 1772 and 1773, in Germany, Denmark, and England. I have also considered it my duty to consult every work at all connected with the subject, and do not think that any one has been omitted.
Whether it has been in my power to prove the innocence of the Queen of Denmark is a question for my readers to decide. I, however, take some credit to myself for publishing for the first time the letter which she wrote on her death-bed to her brother. This letter passed through the hands of the late King of Hanover to the Duchess of Augustenburg, from whom my copy is derived.
Lastly, I have to return my hearty thanks to the many kind friends, at home and abroad, who have aided me in my researches, or directed me where to make them. I should be most ungrateful if I did not single out Mr. Emanuel Deutsch , of the British Museum, who examined the MSS. department thoroughly on my behalf, even though he drew a blank. The same, I regret to say, proved the case at the State Paper Office, while the Foreign Office, where there was a prospect of a successful find in the despatches of Messieurs Gunning and Keith, remained hermetically closed to me. It was some compensation for this refusal to find Sir Augustus Paget , our envoy at Copenhagen, at all times ready to assist me, and even to procure me scarce books from the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs. It is but fair to add, that all the officials of our Foreign Office to whom I applied in turn for admission to their archives, deplored their inability to break through a rule which, for the interests of honest literary research, would be far more honoured in the breach than in the observance.
LASCELLES WRAXALL.
CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
AUGUSTA, PRINCESS OF WALES.
PAGE
Death of the Prince of WalesHis CharacterHis EpitaphThe Eighteenth CenturyBirth of Caroline MatildaLord ButeMelcombe's DiaryThe Great No-Popery CryCharacter of George III.Majority of the Prince of WalesCourt CabalsMiss ChudleighHorace, Prince of Scandalia
MARRIAGE OF CAROLINE MATILDA.
The Youth of Caroline MatildaMemoirs of an Unfortunate QueenEducation of the PrincessSpecimens of her CorrespondenceProposal of MarriageCaroline Matilda's FeelingsThe Royal AssentDeath of the King of DenmarkPublic OpinionThe Marriage PortionThe MarriageFarewell to EnglandLanding in DenmarkEnthusiastic Reception
THE DANISH COURT.
Birth of Christian VII.Death of his MotherJuliana MariaThe Chronique ScandaleuseA Severe Task-MasterThe Prince's EducationReverdilCurious DelusionsThe King's Illness and DeathAccession of ChristianCourt IntriguesThe TriumvirateRoyal Marriages
THE HAPPY COUPLE.
The Meeting at RoeskildeEntrance into CopenhagenThe Queen's HouseholdThe Royal FamilyCourt AmusementsTravelling ImpressionsThe CoronationThe First QuarrelThe King goes to HolsteinDeath of the Duke of YorkMiladyReverdil leaves the CourtThe New FavouriteStrange Conduct of the King
THE KING ON HIS TRAVELS.
Birth of the Crown PrinceBehaviour of the KingRemoval of MiladyEnevold BrandtDismissal of the Grande MatresseBaron SchimmelmannBrandt's Attack on HolckHis BanishmentThe King's JourneyThe Holstein-Gottorp ExchangeStruensee appointed PhysicianArrival in England
CHRISTIAN IN ENGLAND.
George III.The Journey to TownThe Stable YardHorace WalpoleThe First Meeting of the KingsThe Princess of WalesFestivitiesChristian made a D.C.L.The City BanquetThe Bill of FareThe Ball in the HaymarketChristian takes LeaveAnecdotes
CHRISTIAN IN PARIS.
Caroline Matilda at HomeCourt IntriguesFrance under Louis XV.Manners of the Eighteenth CenturyThe DubarryFrench LadiesCasanovaLouis XV. and ChristianFestivitiesPoetical FlummeryChristian's Private AmusementsThe Homeward JourneyReturn to Copenhagen
JOHN FREDERICK STRUENSEE.
The Interim MinistryState of the NationThe King's HealthThe Duke of GloucesterStruenseeHis Education and CareerHis FriendsSchack zu RantzauThe Travelling SurgeonThe Court DoctorThe Parties at CourtPlans of Caroline Matilda
THE COURT DOCTOR.
The Queen's IllnessThe New DoctorThe FavouriteCourt RevelsThe Small-PoxThe Queen's FriendA Trip to HolsteinRecall of BrandtSad Scenes at CourtDownfall HolckRantzau-AschebergThe Foreign EnvoysPresentation of Colours
