Johann Friedrich Struensee
Encyclopedia
Count Johann Friedrich Struensee (5 August 1737 – 28 April 1772) was a German doctor. He became royal physician to the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark
and a minister in the Danish government. He rose in power to a position of “de facto
” regent
of the country, where he tried to carry out widespread reforms. His affair with Queen Caroline Matilda (“Caroline Mathilde”) caused scandal, especially after the birth of a daughter, Princess Louise Augusta, and was the catalyst for the intrigues and power play that caused his downfall and dramatic death. He died unmarried.
theologian
and minister Adam Struensee (baptized in Neuruppin
on 8 September 1708 – Rendsburg
, 20 June 1791), Pfarrer ("curate
") in Halle an der Saale in 1732, "Dr. theol. (h. c.) von Halle" ("Doctor of Theology
from the University of Halle
) in 1757, pastor in Altona
between 1757 and 1760, "Kgl. Generalsuperintendant von Schleswig und Holstein" ("Royal general superintendent
of Schleswig and Holstein") between 1760 and 1791, and his wife (m. Berleburg, 8 May 1732) Maria Dorothea Carl (Berleburg, 31 July 1716 – Schleswig
, 31 December 1792), a respectable middle-class family that believed in religious tolerance. Three of the Struensee sons went to University, but none became theologians like their father; two of the daughters married ministers.
Johann Friedrich entered the University of Halle on 5 August 1752 at the age of fifteen where he studied Medicine
, and graduated as a Doctor in Medicine ("Dr. Med.") on 12 December 1757. The university exposed him to Age of Enlightenment
ideals, and social and political critique and reform. He supported these new ideas, becoming a proponent of atheism
, the writings of Claude Adrien Helvétius
, and other French materialists.
When Adam and Maria Dorothea Struensee moved to Altona in 1758, where the elder Struensee became pastor of Marienkirche (Mary’s Church), Johann Friedrich moved with them. He was soon employed as a public doctor in Altona, in the estate of Count Rantzau, and in the Pinneberg District
. ("Stadsfysikus i Altona og Landfysikus i Grevskabet Rantzau") His wages were meager, and he expected to supplement them with private practice.
His parents moved to Rendsburg
in 1760 where Adam Struensee became first superintendent (comparable to bishop
) for the duchy, and subsequently superintendent-general of Schleswig-Holstein
. Johann Struensee, now 23 years old, had to set up his own household for the first time. His lifestyle expectations were not matched by his economics. His superior intelligence and elegant manners, however, soon made him fashionable in the better circles, and he entertained his contemporaries with his controversial opinions.
He was ambitious, and petitioned the Danish government in the person of Denmark’s Minister of Foreign Affairs
Johann Hartwig Ernst, Count von Bernstorff for funds. He tried his hand at writing Enlightenment treatises, and published many of them in his journal Zum Nutzen und Vergnügen ("For benefit and enjoyment").
and Count Schack Carl Rantzau, leader of a circle of followers of the Enlightenment who treated Struensee as his protégé. They managed to maneuver Struensee into a position as King Christian VII
's travelling physician, also with the hope that he could give them access to the royal court again.
June–July 1767 the king had spent the summer in Schleswig-Holstein, along with his court
and chancellery
. Struensee was a clever doctor, and having somewhat restored the king's health while visiting the area, gained the king's affection. He was retained as travelling physician ("Livmedikus hos Kong Christian VII") on 5 April 1768, and accompanied the entourage on the King’s foreign tour to Paris and London via Hannover from 6 May 1768 to 12 January 1769. He was given the title of State Councilor ("etatsråd") on 12 May 1768, barely a week after leaving Altona. In that year he also became a Doctor in Medicine from the University of Oxford
("Dr. med. i Oxford").
During the nine month trip he developed a close relationship with the king. The king’s ministers Bernstorff
and Finance Minister H.C. Schimmelmann
saw Struensee as having a positive influence on the king, and stood behind his being named the king's personal physician January 1769 after their return to Copenhagen
.
Struensee was very involved with the upbringing of the Crown Prince Frederick VI along the principles of Enlightenment, such as outlined by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
's challenge to return to nature. However he had his own rather strict interpretation of Rousseaus ideas, by isolating the child, and encouraging him to manage things largely on his own. He also took Rousseau's advice about cold being beneficial for children literally, and the Crown Prince was thus only sparsely clothed even during winter time.
Struensee was named royal adviser (forelæser) and konferensråd on 5 May 1770 and "Maître des requêtes" on 18 December.
The royal court and government spent the summer of 1770 in Schleswig-Holstein (Gottorp
, Traventhal
and Ascheberg
).
On 15 September the King dismissed Bernstorff, and two days later Struensee became 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.
Next, he dismissed all department heads, and abolished the Norwegian stadholderships. Henceforth the cabinet, with himself as its motive power, became the one supreme authority in the state. Other reforms included the establishment of foundling
hospitals, the abolition of capital punishment
for theft and of the employment of torture
in judicial process, the doing away with such demoralizing abuses as perquisites, and of "lackeyism," or the appointment of great men's domestics to lucrative public posts.
Struensee 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 favor of abstract principles. He also did not speak Danish
, conducting his business in German
. In order to be sure of obedience he dismissed wholesale without pension or compensation the staffs of all the public departments, substituting for old and experienced officials nominees of his own, in many cases untried men who knew little or nothing of the country they were supposed to govern.
While initially the Danish people favored his reforms, they began to turn against him. When Struensee abolished all censorship
of the press, it mostly resulted in a flood of anti-Struensee pamphlets.
Still in spite of all his blunders, it is clear that, for a short time at least, middle-class opinion was, on the whole, favourable to him; and had he been wise, he might perhaps have been able to defy any hostile combination. What incensed the people most against him was the way in which he put the king completely on one side; and this feeling was all the stronger as, outside a very narrow court circle, nobody seems to have believed that Christian VII was really mad, but only that his will had been weakened by habitual ill usage; and this opinion was confirmed by the publication of the cabinet order of 14 July 1771, appointing Struensee "gehejme kabinetsminister" or "Geheimekabinetsminister", with authority to issue cabinet orders which were to have the force of royal ordinances, even if unprovided with the royal sign-manual.
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. The society which daily gathered round the king and queen excited the derision of the foreign ambassadors. The unhappy king was little more than the butt of his environment, but occasionally the king would put up a show of obstinacy and refuse to carry out Brandt's or Struensee's orders. And once, when he threatened his keeper, Brandt, with a flogging for some impertinence, Brandt ended up in a struggle with the king, and in the course of this he struck the king in the face.
Things were at their worst during the winter of 1771. Struensee created himself and Brandt counts on 30 November that year. But the countless dismissals of government officials and officers in the course of his administrative reforms, he steadily built up a large group of enemies. This feeling of unhappiness with his reign spread through the populace as well.
The king, queen, Struensee and Enevold Brandt, along with the royal court spent the summer of 1771 at Hirschholm Palace
north of Copenhagen, and stayed there until late in the autumn. On 7 July the Queen gave birth to a daughter, Louise Augusta; and a proclamation commanded that a Te Deum
in honour of the event should be sung in all the churches.
The court moved to Frederiksberg Palace
just west of Copenhagen on 19 November.
The general ill will against Struensee, which had been smouldering all through the autumn of 1771, found expression at last in a secret conspiracy against him, headed by Rantzau-Ascheburg and others, in the name of the Queen Dowager
Juliana Maria
, who in this way was willing to wrest power away from the king, and secure her and her son’s position of power for many years to come.
The court returned to Christiansborg Palace
on 8 January 1772. The season's first masquerade ball was held at the Court Theatre on 16 January.
Early in the morning of 17 January 1772, Struensee, Brandt and Queen Caroline Matilda were arrested in their respective bedrooms, and the perceived liberation of the king, who was driven round Copenhagen by his deliverers in a gold carriage, was received with universal rejoicing. The chief charge against Struensee was that he had usurped the royal authority in contravention of the Royal Law (Kongelov). He defended himself with considerable ability and, at first, confident that the prosecution would not dare to lay hands on the queen, he denied that their liaison had ever been criminal. The queen was taken as prisoner of state to Kronborg Castle
.
On 27 April/28 April Struensee and Brandt were condemned first to lose their right hands and then to be beheaded; their bodies were afterwards to be drawn and quartered. Sentence of death was the least that Struensee had to expect. The Kongelov had no provisions for when the ruler was insane and unfit for government, so as a commoner who had imposed himself in the circles of nobility, he was condemned as being guilty of lèse majesté
and usurpation of the royal authority, both capital offences according to paragraphs 2 and 26 of the Kongelov, although he had only done what many had done before him, and others would do after him with no repercussions.
He awaited his execution at Kastellet, Copenhagen
. The sentences were carried out on the 28 April 1772 with Brandt being executed first.
of 1784. Many backfired on him, and were opposed by the aristocracy who had much to lose from these "Enlightenment" era reforms, especially the fear of a weakened or toppled political and economic elite. He was demonised by a chorus of disgust, gossip and lies all the way to his execution, and these reverberated unchallenged for many years to come. The conservative reaction to his reforms, helped, however, build a positive climate for their eventual realisation.
His affair with the queen was intolerable to the public at large, although sexual infidelity was not unusual in royal circles, and the king himself was notorious for his sexual exploits. Judgement of the queen's affair was much harsher than that accorded the king, and Victorian-era morality
in the next century was not kinder to either Struensee or Caroline Matilda.
The King himself considered Struensee a great man, even after his death. Written in German on a drawing the king made in 1775, three years after Struensee’s execution, was the following: "Ich hätte gern beide gerettet" ("I would have liked to have saved them both"), referring to Struensee and Brandt.
Christian VII of Denmark
Christian VII was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death. He was the son of Danish King Frederick V and his first consort Louisa, daughter of King George II of Great Britain....
and a minister in the Danish government. He rose in power to a position of “de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
” regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
of the country, where he tried to carry out widespread reforms. His affair with Queen Caroline Matilda (“Caroline Mathilde”) caused scandal, especially after the birth of a daughter, Princess Louise Augusta, and was the catalyst for the intrigues and power play that caused his downfall and dramatic death. He died unmarried.
Upbringing and early career
Born at Halle an der Saale and baptized at Kirche St. Moritz on 7 August 1737, Struensee was the third child of six born to PietistPietism
Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to...
theologian
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and minister Adam Struensee (baptized in Neuruppin
Neuruppin
Neuruppin is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. Located on the shore of Ruppiner See , it is the capital of the district of Ostprignitz-Ruppin. Population: 32,800 .-Overview:...
on 8 September 1708 – Rendsburg
Rendsburg
Rendsburg is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the northeastern part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the Kreis of Rendsburg-Eckernförde. As of 2006, it had a population of 28,476.-History:...
, 20 June 1791), Pfarrer ("curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
") in Halle an der Saale in 1732, "Dr. theol. (h. c.) von Halle" ("Doctor of Theology
Doctor of Theology
Doctor of Theology is a terminal academic degree in theology. It is a research degree that is considered by the U.S. National Science Foundation to be the equivalent of a Doctor of Philosophy....
from the University of Halle
University of Halle-Wittenberg
The Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg , also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg within Saxony-Anhalt, Germany...
) in 1757, pastor in Altona
Altona, Hamburg
Altona is the westernmost urban borough of the German city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe river. From 1640 to 1864 Altona was under the administration of the Danish monarchy. Altona was an independent city until 1937...
between 1757 and 1760, "Kgl. Generalsuperintendant von Schleswig und Holstein" ("Royal general superintendent
Superintendent (ecclesiastical)
Superintendent is the head of an administrative division of a Protestant church, largely historical but still in use in Germany.- Superintendents in Sweden :...
of Schleswig and Holstein") between 1760 and 1791, and his wife (m. Berleburg, 8 May 1732) Maria Dorothea Carl (Berleburg, 31 July 1716 – Schleswig
Schleswig (city)
Schleswig is a town in the northeastern part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the Kreis Schleswig-Flensburg. It has a population of about 27,000, the main industries being leather and food processing...
, 31 December 1792), a respectable middle-class family that believed in religious tolerance. Three of the Struensee sons went to University, but none became theologians like their father; two of the daughters married ministers.
Johann Friedrich entered the University of Halle on 5 August 1752 at the age of fifteen where he studied Medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, and graduated as a Doctor in Medicine ("Dr. Med.") on 12 December 1757. The university exposed him to Age of Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
ideals, and social and political critique and reform. He supported these new ideas, becoming a proponent of atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, the writings of Claude Adrien Helvétius
Claude Adrien Helvétius
Claude Adrien Helvétius was a French philosopher and littérateur.-Life:...
, and other French materialists.
When Adam and Maria Dorothea Struensee moved to Altona in 1758, where the elder Struensee became pastor of Marienkirche (Mary’s Church), Johann Friedrich moved with them. He was soon employed as a public doctor in Altona, in the estate of Count Rantzau, and in the Pinneberg District
Pinneberg (district)
Pinneberg is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Steinburg and Segeberg, the city of Hamburg and the state of Lower Saxony .-History:...
. ("Stadsfysikus i Altona og Landfysikus i Grevskabet Rantzau") His wages were meager, and he expected to supplement them with private practice.
His parents moved to Rendsburg
Rendsburg
Rendsburg is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the northeastern part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the Kreis of Rendsburg-Eckernförde. As of 2006, it had a population of 28,476.-History:...
in 1760 where Adam Struensee became first superintendent (comparable to bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
) for the duchy, and subsequently superintendent-general of Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
. Johann Struensee, now 23 years old, had to set up his own household for the first time. His lifestyle expectations were not matched by his economics. His superior intelligence and elegant manners, however, soon made him fashionable in the better circles, and he entertained his contemporaries with his controversial opinions.
He was ambitious, and petitioned the Danish government in the person of Denmark’s Minister of Foreign Affairs
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
Johann Hartwig Ernst, Count von Bernstorff for funds. He tried his hand at writing Enlightenment treatises, and published many of them in his journal Zum Nutzen und Vergnügen ("For benefit and enjoyment").
Ministering to King Christian VII
During these almost ten years in Altona he came into contact with a circle of aristocrats that had been rejected from the court in Copenhagen. Among these friends were Enevold BrandtEnevold Brandt
-Biography:Enevold Brandt was born in Copenhagen, and studied law at the University of Copenhagen. He became assistant judge of the Supreme Court of Copenhagen in 1764, royal chamberlain in 1769, and afterwards superintendent of the Royal Theatre...
and Count Schack Carl Rantzau, leader of a circle of followers of the Enlightenment who treated Struensee as his protégé. They managed to maneuver Struensee into a position as King Christian VII
Christian VII of Denmark
Christian VII was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death. He was the son of Danish King Frederick V and his first consort Louisa, daughter of King George II of Great Britain....
's travelling physician, also with the hope that he could give them access to the royal court again.
June–July 1767 the king had spent the summer in Schleswig-Holstein, along with his court
Noble court
The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...
and chancellery
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
. Struensee was a clever doctor, and having somewhat restored the king's health while visiting the area, gained the king's affection. He was retained as travelling physician ("Livmedikus hos Kong Christian VII") on 5 April 1768, and accompanied the entourage on the King’s foreign tour to Paris and London via Hannover from 6 May 1768 to 12 January 1769. He was given the title of State Councilor ("etatsråd") on 12 May 1768, barely a week after leaving Altona. In that year he also became a Doctor in Medicine from the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
("Dr. med. i Oxford").
During the nine month trip he developed a close relationship with the king. The king’s ministers Bernstorff
Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff
Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff , Danish statesman, who came of a very ancient Mecklenburg family, was the son of Joachim Engelke von Bernstorff, Chamberlain to the elector of Hanover.-Early political career:...
and Finance Minister H.C. Schimmelmann
Heinrich Carl von Schimmelmann
Heinrich Carl von Schimmelmann was a German-born Danish nobleman, merchant and statesman.-Early life and career:...
saw Struensee as having a positive influence on the king, and stood behind his being named the king's personal physician January 1769 after their return to Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
.
Rise to power
First he reconciled the king and queen. At first Caroline Matilda (Princess Caroline Matilda) disliked Struensee, but she was unhappy in her marriage, neglected and spurned by the king, and affected by his illness. But Struensee was one of the few people that paid attention to the lonely queen, and he seemed to do his best to alleviate her troubles. Over time her affection for the young doctor grew and by spring 1770 he was her lover; a successful vaccination of the baby crown prince in May still further increased his influence.Struensee was very involved with the upbringing of the Crown Prince Frederick VI along the principles of Enlightenment, such as outlined by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
's challenge to return to nature. However he had his own rather strict interpretation of Rousseaus ideas, by isolating the child, and encouraging him to manage things largely on his own. He also took Rousseau's advice about cold being beneficial for children literally, and the Crown Prince was thus only sparsely clothed even during winter time.
Struensee was named royal adviser (forelæser) and konferensråd on 5 May 1770 and "Maître des requêtes" on 18 December.
The royal court and government spent the summer of 1770 in Schleswig-Holstein (Gottorp
Gottorp
Gottorf Castle is a castle and estate in the city of Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the ancestral home of the Holstein-Gottorp branch of the House of Oldenburg...
, Traventhal
Traventhal
Traventhal is a municipality in the district of Segeberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It gave name to the Peace of Travendal treaty signed there in 1700....
and Ascheberg
Ascheberg
Ascheberg is a municipality in the district of Coesfeld in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.The neighbouring cities, towns and municipalities of Ascheberg are the city Münster, the town Drensteinfurt , the city Hamm, the town Werne Ascheberg is a municipality in the district of...
).
On 15 September the King dismissed Bernstorff, and two days later Struensee became maître des requêtes (privy counsellor
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
), 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.
In control of the government
At first, Struensee kept himself in the background as he began to control the political machine. However, in December he grew impatient, and on the 8th of that month he abolished the council of state and, and appointed himself maître des requêtes. It became his official duty to present to the king all the reports from the various departments of state. Because King Christian was scarcely responsible for his actions, Struensee dictated whatever answers he pleased.Next, he dismissed all department heads, and abolished the Norwegian stadholderships. Henceforth the cabinet, with himself as its motive power, became the one supreme authority in the state. Other reforms included the establishment of foundling
Child abandonment
Child abandonment is the practice of relinquishing interests and claims over one's offspring with the intent of never again resuming or reasserting them. Causes include many social and cultural factors as well as mental illness. An abandoned child is called a foundling .-Causes:Poverty is often a...
hospitals, the abolition of capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
for theft and of the employment of torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
in judicial process, the doing away with such demoralizing abuses as perquisites, and of "lackeyism," or the appointment of great men's domestics to lucrative public posts.
Struensee 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 favor of abstract principles. He also did not speak Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, conducting his business in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. In order to be sure of obedience he dismissed wholesale without pension or compensation the staffs of all the public departments, substituting for old and experienced officials nominees of his own, in many cases untried men who knew little or nothing of the country they were supposed to govern.
While initially the Danish people favored his reforms, they began to turn against him. When Struensee abolished all censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
of the press, it mostly resulted in a flood of anti-Struensee pamphlets.
Still in spite of all his blunders, it is clear that, for a short time at least, middle-class opinion was, on the whole, favourable to him; and had he been wise, he might perhaps have been able to defy any hostile combination. What incensed the people most against him was the way in which he put the king completely on one side; and this feeling was all the stronger as, outside a very narrow court circle, nobody seems to have believed that Christian VII was really mad, but only that his will had been weakened by habitual ill usage; and this opinion was confirmed by the publication of the cabinet order of 14 July 1771, appointing Struensee "gehejme kabinetsminister" or "Geheimekabinetsminister", with authority to issue cabinet orders which were to have the force of royal ordinances, even if unprovided with the royal sign-manual.
Nor were Struensee's relations with the queen less offensive to a nation which had a traditional veneration for the royal House of Oldenburg
House of Oldenburg
The House of Oldenburg is a North German dynasty and one of Europe's most influential Royal Houses with branches that rule or have ruled in Denmark, Russia, Greece, Norway, Schleswig, Holstein, Oldenburg and Sweden...
, while Caroline Matilda's shameless conduct in public brought the Crown into contempt. The society which daily gathered round the king and queen excited the derision of the foreign ambassadors. The unhappy king was little more than the butt of his environment, but occasionally the king would put up a show of obstinacy and refuse to carry out Brandt's or Struensee's orders. And once, when he threatened his keeper, Brandt, with a flogging for some impertinence, Brandt ended up in a struggle with the king, and in the course of this he struck the king in the face.
Downfall
The king, queen, Struensee and Enevold Brandt, along with the royal court spent the summer of 1771 at Hirschholm Palace
Hirschholm Palace
Hirschholm Palace, also known as Hørsholm Palace, was a royal palace located in present-day Hørsholm municipality just north of Copenhagen, Denmark...
north of Copenhagen, and stayed there until late in the autumn. On 7 July the Queen gave birth to a daughter, Louise Augusta; and a proclamation commanded that a Te Deum
Te Deum
The Te Deum is an early Christian hymn of praise. The title is taken from its opening Latin words, Te Deum laudamus, rendered literally as "Thee, O God, we praise"....
in honour of the event should be sung in all the churches.
The court moved to Frederiksberg Palace
Frederiksberg Palace
Frederiksberg Palace is a Baroque residence, located in Frederiksberg, Denmark, adjacent to the Copenhagen Zoo. It commands an impressive view over Frederiksberg Park, originally designed as a palace garden in the Baroque style...
just west of Copenhagen on 19 November.
The general ill will against Struensee, which had been smouldering all through the autumn of 1771, found expression at last in a secret conspiracy against him, headed by Rantzau-Ascheburg and others, in the name of the Queen Dowager
Queen Dowager
A queen dowager or dowager queen is a title or status generally held by the widow of a deceased king. In the case of the widow of a deceased emperor, the title of empress dowager is used...
Juliana Maria
Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Duchess Juliane Marie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel , , was queen of Denmark between 1752 and 1766, second consort of king Frederick V of Denmark and Norway, mother of the prince-regent Hereditary Prince Frederick of Denmark and Norway and herself de facto regent 1772–1784.- Early life and queen :Born...
, who in this way was willing to wrest power away from the king, and secure her and her son’s position of power for many years to come.
The court returned to Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace, , on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, is the seat of the Folketing , the Danish Prime Minister's Office and the Danish Supreme Court...
on 8 January 1772. The season's first masquerade ball was held at the Court Theatre on 16 January.
Early in the morning of 17 January 1772, Struensee, Brandt and Queen Caroline Matilda were arrested in their respective bedrooms, and the perceived liberation of the king, who was driven round Copenhagen by his deliverers in a gold carriage, was received with universal rejoicing. The chief charge against Struensee was that he had usurped the royal authority in contravention of the Royal Law (Kongelov). He defended himself with considerable ability and, at first, confident that the prosecution would not dare to lay hands on the queen, he denied that their liaison had ever been criminal. The queen was taken as prisoner of state to Kronborg Castle
Kronborg Castle
Kronborg is a star fortress situated near the town of Helsingør on the extreme northeastern tip of Zealand at the narrowest point of the Øresund, the sound between Denmark and Sweden...
.
On 27 April/28 April Struensee and Brandt were condemned first to lose their right hands and then to be beheaded; their bodies were afterwards to be drawn and quartered. Sentence of death was the least that Struensee had to expect. The Kongelov had no provisions for when the ruler was insane and unfit for government, so as a commoner who had imposed himself in the circles of nobility, he was condemned as being guilty of lèse majesté
Lèse majesté
Lese-majesty is the crime of violating majesty, an offence against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state.This behavior was first classified as a criminal offence against the dignity of the Roman republic in Ancient Rome...
and usurpation of the royal authority, both capital offences according to paragraphs 2 and 26 of the Kongelov, although he had only done what many had done before him, and others would do after him with no repercussions.
He awaited his execution at Kastellet, Copenhagen
Kastellet, Copenhagen
Kastellet, located in Copenhagen, Denmark is one of the best preserved fortifications in Northern Europe. It is constructed in the form of a pentagram with bastions at its corners...
. The sentences were carried out on the 28 April 1772 with Brandt being executed first.
History's judgment
Many of Struensee's reforms were reasonable, but badly timed and poorly executed; many of them were eventually realised many years later, most notably after the coup d'étatCoup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
of 1784. Many backfired on him, and were opposed by the aristocracy who had much to lose from these "Enlightenment" era reforms, especially the fear of a weakened or toppled political and economic elite. He was demonised by a chorus of disgust, gossip and lies all the way to his execution, and these reverberated unchallenged for many years to come. The conservative reaction to his reforms, helped, however, build a positive climate for their eventual realisation.
His affair with the queen was intolerable to the public at large, although sexual infidelity was not unusual in royal circles, and the king himself was notorious for his sexual exploits. Judgement of the queen's affair was much harsher than that accorded the king, and Victorian-era morality
Victorian morality
Victorian morality is a distillation of the moral views of people living at the time of Queen Victoria's reign and of the moral climate of the United Kingdom throughout the 19th century in general, which contrasted greatly with the morality of the previous Georgian period...
in the next century was not kinder to either Struensee or Caroline Matilda.
The King himself considered Struensee a great man, even after his death. Written in German on a drawing the king made in 1775, three years after Struensee’s execution, was the following: "Ich hätte gern beide gerettet" ("I would have liked to have saved them both"), referring to Struensee and Brandt.
In literature
- The visit of the royal physician (Livläkarens besök) (1999, novel) by Per Olov EnquistPer Olov EnquistPer Olov Enquist, better known as P. O. Enquist, is a Swedish author. He has worked as a journalist, playwright and novelist...
. - The Favorite of the Queen (Der Favorit der Königin) (1935, novel) by Robert Neumann.
- The Lost Queen by Norah LoftsNorah LoftsNorah Lofts, née Norah Robinson, was a 20th century best-selling British author. She wrote more than fifty books specialising in historical fiction, but she also wrote non-fiction and short stories...
, a biography of Queen Caroline Matilda, naturally gives a major place to Struensee