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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 familiarto the reading public, it is surely that of the Queen of Denmark, who isbelieved to have loved not wisely but too well. The fate of Struenseehas supplied the motive for countless works more or less historical, fornovels, and even for an opera. Hence it might reasonably be assumed thatthe man who ventured on intruding on the English public another workon such a thoroughly worn-out topic, must be either very impudent orvery foolish; and yet I have ventured to do so through neither of thesefailings, but for reasons which have been duly weighed, and which appearto my mind to convey their justification.
The first of these motives is, that within a very recent period aperfectly new light has been thrown on the whole affair, by permissionbeing granted to examine the privy archives of Copenhagen. From these[Pg x]I have been enabled to derive the hitherto unpublished documents andreports of the judges, and thus prove on what worthless evidence thedivorce of the queen was passed. At the same time, a great deal of freshmatter has been rendered available about the two unhappy men who fellvictims to a mistaken sense of justice.
The late King of Denmark, who wisely thought that publicity was thebest safeguard of thrones, also allowed the "Mémoires de mon Temps"of the Landgrave Charles of Hesse Cassel, brother-in-law of ChristianVII., to be printed for private circulation. I have been enabled toprocure a copy of this work through the kindness of Baron von Jenssen Tusch, who obtained it from the Princeof Augustenburg; and the many curious details of the Court of Denmarkit contains have been woven largely into my text. Another work whichhas afforded me very material assistance is the "Memoirs of Reverdil,Secretary to Christian VII.," which appeared two or three years ago, butis little known in this country.
Lastly, the private journals of Sir N. W. Wraxall have been laid undercontribution to a great extent. It was made known by the publication of the "Post-humous[Pg xi]Memoirs" that he had been connected with the Queen of Denmark, but itwas only during last year that I discovered how much my grandfather knewof the affair, and how well he had kept silence on the subject. I haveransacked his journals, correspondence, &c., in the interests of thepresent work, and these have enab