Danish Court and Struensee Affair

Caroline Matilda of Great Britain married Christian VII of Denmark and Norway in 1766, entering a court already troubled by faction and the young king’s unstable behaviour. The marriage deteriorated while royal government increasingly depended on advisers and favourites.

Johann Friedrich Struensee rose from royal physician to the dominant figure in government. Between 1770 and 1772 he used the king’s authority to issue a rapid programme of Enlightenment-inspired reforms, including changes to censorship, administration and privilege. His intimate relationship with Caroline Matilda made political opposition inseparable from court scandal.

A coup in January 1772 removed Struensee, who was executed in April, while Caroline Matilda’s marriage was dissolved and she was exiled.