CHAPTER VIII.

CHAPTER VIII.AT THE COURT OF DENMARK.1767-1768.The relations between the King and Queen did not improve as time went on. Matilda was frightened by Christian’s wildness and dissipation, piqued by his indifference, and wounded by his sarcasms. Though she was very young she had a high spirit, and did not submit quietly to insult. Her position at the court, of which she was nominally the reigning Queen, was very unsatisfactory—the King was autocrat and she was nothing—even in trifling questions concerning the royal household she was not consulted, and if she ventured to express an opinion it was ignored. She had no relative to whom she could look for guidance. The Queen-Mother, Sophia Magdalena, had retired to Hirschholm; she was nearly seventy years old, and since the fall of Moltke had abjured politics and given herself up to good works. The Queen-Dowager, Juliana Maria, was secretly hostile, and Matilda did not trust her, though the three Queens at this time, as Reverdil says, lived outwardly “dans une grande intimité et dans un ennui paisible”. The King’s sister, the Princess Louise, was too much absorbedin her husband and child to be of any use to her sister-in-law, and the King’s aunt, Charlotte Amelia, had never appeared at court since Matilda arrived in Denmark. So the young Queen had to seek the advice of her chief lady, Madame de Plessen, and she was guided by her in all things. It was the wish of this lady to bring back to the lax court of Christian VII. the stiff and wearisome etiquette that had prevailed in the reign of the King’s grandfather, Christian VI. In her eyes Matilda was not only a young married woman, but the Queen of the land, whom the King himself might only approach according to the rules of etiquette. Christian must be made to understand that Queen Matilda was his honoured consort, and not his mistress.It is possible that, had the young couple been left to themselves, they would in time have understood one another better, and learned to make allowances for each other. They were little more than children when they married, and quarrelled like children; they would probably have been reconciled afterwards like children, and become better friends. But they were not left to themselves. Madame de Plessen chose to stand between husband and wife in their most intimate relations, and with disastrous results. She was especially to blame in embittering the Queen’s mind against the King by repeating every thoughtless utterance of his, and magnifying every foolish deed. In Madame de Plessen’s opinion the Queen could only acquire an influence over her husband by treating him withcoldness, and resisting his advances. The ladies of the court were ready to throw themselves into the King’s arms at the least provocation—not that he ever gave them any—and Madame de Plessen thought that he would value most what it was not easy to obtain. In pursuance of this policy she advised the Queen to treat him with coyness and reserve. For instance, the King came unannounced one morning into the Queen’s room while she was dressing. A kerchief had just been placed around her neck; the King pushed it aside and pressed a kiss upon his wife’s shoulder. Whereupon Madame de Plessen held up her hands in disgust, and the Queen, taking her cue from the duenna, feigned anger, and reproached her husband for disarranging her kerchief. The King snatched it off her bosom, tore it in pieces, and threw it on the floor. He did not come back for several days.Again, Madame de Plessen was annoyed because the King sent in the evening to know if the Queen had retired to bed; she considered it wanting in respect to the Queen, and advised Matilda to put a stop to it. The next time the King sent to make his inquiry, the answer was returned that her Majesty was playing chess and would not retire until her game was finished. The King waited until twelve o’clock, and then he came into the Queen’s apartments and found her still playing chess with Madame de Plessen. Very much annoyed he began to walk up and down the room without saying a word, and the game was not finished until the clock struckone. The Queen then said she wished to have her revenge, and he saw Madame de Plessen give a triumphant smile. Then he understood what was meant. He left the room in a fury, and banged the door after him, and did not come near the Queen again for a fortnight. There were many such scenes as these, and each one left the relations between the King and Queen more strained than before, until within a year of their marriage they were thoroughly alienated from one another.The immediate result of Madame de Plessen’s interference was to drive the King still further into dissipation and folly. Prevented from enjoying his wife’s society as he would, he spent his evenings with his friends, who included the wildest spirits of the court. The King’s evening parties, which he held in his own rooms, had long ceased to bear even a superficial resemblance to the celebrated gatherings of Frederick the Great; they assumed by degrees a more and more noisy and riotous character. The young men indulged in sham fights and wrestling to develop the King’s “smartness”—this was the word he used to denote his physical strength. These fights, indulged in after plentiful libations of wine, often proved destructive of the furniture, and sometimes ended in high words and bad temper. But the fighting was comparatively harmless. The King’s evening gatherings unfortunately did not stop here, but degenerated into excesses which recalled the orgies described in the pages of Juvenal and Petronius. Even Sperling seems tohave found these dissipations too much for him. At any rate he gradually lost the King’s favour, and was replaced by Brandt, a page of the chamber.Enevold Brandt was a few years older than Christian VII. He came of an ancient Danish family: his father had been a privy councillor and private secretary to Queen Sophia Magdalena, but he died before his son’s birth. His mother married again Baron Söhlenthal, and young Brandt was brought up in his stepfather’s house. At an early age he went to Copenhagen to study law, and passed his examinations with flying colours. In his vacations Brandt travelled widely: he was a polished man of the world and possessed brilliant social qualities. Christian VII., who was clever enough to appreciate cleverness in others, took a great fancy to him, for a time. Honours, both legal and courtly, were showered upon him. He was appointed an assessor of the Court of Chancery, a page of the chamber, and an assessor of the Supreme Court. Brandt was below the middle height, and though his face could not be described as handsome, he had an air of distinction. After Christian’s accession he was a good deal about the person of the King, and was of great use in arranging the masquerades. It was thought that he would succeed Sperling as the King’s first favourite, but Christian quickly tired of his friends, and as soon as the masquerades were over Brandt found himself eclipsed in the royal favour by Holck.Conrad, Count Holck, despite his wildness and extravagancies, was the best of Christian VII.’sfavourites (and bad was the best). Unlike Sperling and Brandt, he was neither an intriguer nor a self-seeker. He was a dare-devil youth, wealthy, handsome, and brimming over with boisterous good-humour and animal spirits. Christian VII. found Holck an excellent foil for the dark moods and the morbid humours that occasionally beset him, and the pair soon became fast friends.Brandt and Holck were always at the King’s evening gatherings, and sought to outvie one another in their master’s favour by proposing fresh extravagancies. There were many others; among them a young Englishman named Osborne, who held a commission in the Danish service, Count Danneskjold-Laurvig, and some older men, including Saldern the Russian envoy. By way of variety the King resumed his nocturnal expeditions, which he had abandoned since his marriage. Accompanied by his wild companions he roamed the streets of Copenhagen in disguise, visiting taverns and houses of ill-repute, molesting peaceable citizens, fighting with the watchmen, and breaking lamps and windows. Of course these freaks got abroad and set a fashion, and bands of disorderly youths prowled about the city at night in imitation of the King and his companions, thereby causing great difficulty to the superintendent of the police, for they pretended often to be the King’s party, and for fear of mistake he hardly dared to make an arrest. Things came to such a pass at last that the watchmen lost patience, and determined not to let the rioters off easily,whether they belonged to the King’s party or not. On one occasion, pretending not to know, they caught the King and belaboured him so unmercifully that he had to retire to bed for some days, and pretend that he was ill of the fever.[81]On another night, however, he achieved a triumph, and brought home a club as a trophy, which he had wrested from one of the watchmen.[81]The Saxon minister at Copenhagen in his despatch of April 12, 1768, states that the King’s indisposition was due to a wound he received in one of these combats with the watchmen.Details of these extravagancies came to the young Queen’s ears from time to time, through the medium of Sperling, who, now that he was superseded in the King’s favour, attached himself to the Queen’sentourage, and, with his uncle, Reventlow, who was the Queen’s chamberlain, was often to be seen in the apartments of Madame de Plessen. Prejudiced by Sperling the Queen took a violent dislike to Holck, whose evil influence over the King she believed to be the cause of all her troubles. Holck ascribed the Queen’s dislike of him to Madame de Plessen, whom he regarded as his enemy, and he retaliated after the manner of his kind. Not only did he treat the Queen with scant respect, but he declared that she was piqued because he did not make love to her. He also behaved to Madame de Plessen with great rudeness, and instigated the coarse and mischievous jokes whereby the King sought to make the chief lady’s position intolerable at court and so force her to resign. But thesetactics proved unavailing, for the more rudely Madame de Plessen was treated by the King the more closely did she cling to her post. She determined to protect the Queen come what might, and Matilda, in return, identified herself with Madame de Plessen’s friends, and regarded her chief lady’s enemies as her own. On July 22, 1767, the Queen attained her sixteenth birthday, but to punish her the King would not celebrate it.In August, 1767, Christian VII. determined to make a tour through Holstein. The Queen, who was fond of travel, eagerly desired to accompany the King, and the royal tour was made the subject of many entreaties and negotiations on her part and the part of her household. But to further mark his displeasure the King refused to take her, and a serious quarrel took place between them. The Queen was to be pitied, because the indifference she had shown towards her husband had in great part been assumed at the suggestion of Madame de Plessen. She was now likely to become a mother, and, by a natural instinct, she had grown into an inclination for the father of her child. But she attributed the King’s refusal not to Madame de Plessen but to Holck (who, it is very possible, had something to do with it), and insisted that if the King would not take her he should not take Holck either. After much difficulty she carried the point, but her victory only enraged the King, and gave her no satisfaction.Reverdil, who was the Queen’s friend, did hisbest to patch up the quarrel. He accompanied the King on his tour through Holstein, and urged him to write affectionate letters to his wife. He pointed out that, considering the state of the Queen’s health, there was need to indulge her in her whims and fancies. Christian, who was still smarting from the interference of Madame de Plessen, consented with an ill grace, and only on condition that Reverdil composed the letters and he merely copied them. These letters pacified Matilda; she was ignorant of their real authorship, and replied with affection. The King did not distinguish himself during his tour or increase the loyalty of the duchy. He offended, by his frivolity and recklessness, the old Holstein nobility, who, if somewhat barbarous, were very strict in their ideas of what a King should be.Edward, Duke of York, brother of Queen Matilda.EDWARD, DUKE OF YORK, BROTHER OF QUEEN MATILDA.From the Painting by G. H. Every.While Christian VII. was absent in Holstein Matilda heard of the death of her favourite brother, Edward Duke of York, a gallant, high-spirited youth. The Duke chose the navy as a profession, and if his promotion in it was rapid (he was promoted to be a rear-admiral at the age of twenty-three), he showed himself to be a brave sailor, and distinguished himself under Howe at the bombardment of Cherbourg. After the capture of the town the Duke gave the French ladies a ball. “He told them he was too young to know what was good breeding in France, and therefore he should behave as if meaning to please in England, and he kissed them all.”[82]The young Prince was a great favouritewith the ladies. His first love was the beautiful and witty Charlotte, Countess of Essex. He then transferred his affections to the even more beautiful Duchess of Richmond, sister-in-law of Lady Sarah Lennox. But the most serious of all his love affairs was his passion for Lady Mary Coke, a young widow, who found herself at an early age “the envy of her sex; in the possession of youth, health, wealth, wit, beauty and liberty”. The young and ardent Duke seems to have given her a promise of marriage, for during his lifetime she always spoke of him to her friends as her betrothed, and after his death displayed immoderate grief. The Duke’s numerous love affairs and his constant pursuit of pleasure naturally involved him in money difficulties. The Princess-Dowager of Wales declined to supplement her second son’s allowance, and often lamented his extravagance, but George III. was fond of his volatile brother, and occasionally helped him, though it was against his strict principles to do so. One day the Duke went to St. James’s in a state of the greatest dejection, and, when he saw the King, sighed heavily. The King asked him why he was so low-spirited. “How can I be otherwise,” said the Duke, “pressed as I am by creditors and without a penny to pay them?” The King, much affected, pressed a thousand pound note into his brother’s hand. The Duke gravely read every word of it aloud, then marched out of the room singing, “God save great George our King!”[82]The Georgian Era, vol. i.The Duke of York had kept up a constantcorrespondence with Queen Matilda since she had left England; he wrote to her from Paris a few weeks before his death telling her that he was making a tour through France, and intended, before he returned to England, to travel northwards and pay her a visit at Copenhagen. But on his journey to the south of France the Duke caught a chill, and when he arrived at Monaco he was taken seriously ill. For fourteen days he lingered in great suffering, alleviated only by the affectionate offices of the gentlemen of his suite and the kindness of the Prince of Monaco. The Duke died on September 17, 1767, at the age of twenty eight. His body was removed on board the British ship-of-warMontreal, and conveyed home to be buried in Westminster Abbey.The news of the Duke of York’s death reached Copenhagen on October 10, and the English envoy was under some difficulty how best to break the news to the Queen, in her delicate state of health. He writes: “My apprehensions of the effect it might have had on her Danish Majesty in her present situation, whenever she became acquainted with it, made me communicate my first intelligence of it to Madame de Plessen, of whose caution and discretion in this instance I have no doubt, that she might take such methods of preparing the Queen for it as she judged most likely to lessen the shock, which otherwise so unexpected an event might be attended with. I have the pleasure to acquaint you that her Majesty has suffered as little as (considering thegreat tenderness of her disposition) could well be expected.”[83][83]Gunning’s despatch, Copenhagen, October 13, 1767.Queen Matilda felt her brother’s death keenly, the more so as she had been looking forward to his visit to Copenhagen, when she hoped to confide to him her troubles, and ask his help and guidance. When Christian heard of his Queen’s loss, he wrote her (through Reverdil) an affectionate letter of condolence. The Queen was touched by this consideration; she felt tenderly towards her husband, and was anxious to be friends. When the King returned from Holstein, the Queen drove out eight leagues from Copenhagen to meet him. But Christian’s greeting was cold and formal, though he got into her coach and drove back with her into Copenhagen, so that the citizens might think that he was on good terms with his Queen.After her husband’s return Matilda made several efforts to win his love, and behaved to him with the utmost submission, but he did not respond. Her pathetic desire to please him, her extreme youth and loneliness, the fact that she was soon to become the mother of his child—these considerations had no weight with Christian VII. He repulsed his wife’s advances, and treated her with rudeness and contempt, conduct which, under the circumstances, was peculiarly brutal. He made coarse jokes about her condition; he even tried to force Holck, whom she detested, upon her as master of her household. She refused with tears and agitation, so the King madehim court marshal, and gave him the management of all the festivities at court, where comedies, balls and masquerades succeeded one another without interruption.In addition to Christian’s cruelty to his Queen, he flaunted his infidelity before her eyes. He had no inclination for the ladies of the court (indeed the company of refined women seemed distasteful to him), but at Holck’s suggestion he sought the society of women politely termed “actresses,” and thereby derived no little amusement and distraction. Holck, however, was not responsible for a woman whose acquaintance the King made at this time, who went by the nickname ofStovlep Katerine, or “Catherine of the Gaiters”. This woman, according to Reverdil, was brought before the King’s notice by Count Danneskjold-Laurvig. Her real name appears to have been Anna Catherine Benthaken, and she was the natural daughter of an eminent officer in the Danish service. As a child she was brought up in the household of this officer, but after his death her mother married a retired soldier, who was by trade a tailor who made gaiters. As Catherine was penniless she accompanied her mother to her stepfather’s poor house, where, in return for her board and lodging, she was obliged to sew gaiters—hence her nickname. But she could not brook this life long, and having a vivacious temperament and some natural gifts she sought other means of livelihood. Copenhagen in the eighteenth century offered few opportunities ofhonest work for unmarried women, so Catherine first became an opera dancer, and then the mistress of an Englishman, Sir John Goodrich.[84]She lived with him for some time, and was generally known as “Milady”. At the time Christian made her acquaintance, “Milady” was a good-looking young woman, with a fine figure, and an excellent taste in dress. She was amusing and witty, and equal to any wild scheme the King might conceive. It was her ambition to becomemaîtresse en titre, and to this end she lent herself to all kinds of extravagancies in order that she might gain greater influence over the King. Before long “Milady” achieved her ambition; she received the honour of an invitation to a masquerade at the palace, and the King showed his preference to the court by dancing with her nearly all the evening. Queen Matilda was spared the sight of this insult, for in consequence of her state of health she was unable to be present, but the incident was duly reported to her, and filled her with grief and resentment.[84]Sir John Goodrich was nominated by the British Government Minister Plenipotentiary to Sweden, but, through the intrigues of the French Government, he never got nearer Stockholm than Copenhagen.CHAPTER IX.THE BIRTH OF A PRINCE.1768.Queen Matilda gave birth to a son and heir—the future King Frederick VI.—on January 28, 1768. Titley thus records the event: “Yesterday the Queen of Denmark fell in labour, and about ten o’clock at night was happily delivered of a prince, to the extreme satisfaction of her royal consort and the whole court. The Queen, God be praised, and the new-born prince are this morning both as well as can be expected. This very important and much desired event happened but an hour or two before the anniversary of the King of Denmark’s own birthday, and we are now celebrating the double festivity. The birth of an heir male to the Crown has completely fulfilled the ardent wishes and prayers of the public, and consequently spread a real joy through all ranks of the people here.”[85][85]Titley’s despatch, Copenhagen, January 29, 1768.A few days later the infant prince was christened by the name of Frederick. The ceremony took place in the Queen’s bedchamber, and nobody was admitted except the ministers and council—the English envoy was not invited. Queen Juliana Maria, towhom the birth of this prince was the death-blow of her hopes, and the Princess Charlotte Amelia (represented by proxy), were the godmothers, and Prince Frederick, the King’s brother, was the godfather. The King had wished for a public ceremonial, but the babe was sickly and ailing, and it was deemed necessary to baptise him as soon as possible. During her illness the Queen was fenced round by the most rigid etiquette by Madame de Plessen; she was attended in turn by Madame de Plessen, a lady-in-waiting, and the wife of a Knight of the Elephant. The infant was attended by two court ladies, who were changed according to rank, and this absurd formality continued until all the court ladies had shared the privilege. The Queen, a short time after her confinement, had also to undergo the ordeal of sitting up in bed (the royal infant in a bassinet by the side of the bed) and receiving the congratulations of the court ladies and gentlemen, who filed through the room in procession. The fatigue of this levee, or perhaps Madame de Plessen’s wearisome formalities, made the Queen seriously ill. Gunning, who never lost a chance of attacking his arch-enemy, wrote to Lord Weymouth:—“Her Danish Majesty has been very much indisposed for some days, but her physicians, who own that they were not without apprehensions, now assure me that all danger is over. It is with the greatest concern that I think myself obliged to acquaint your lordship with my fears that her Majesty’s indisposition has been occasioned, in somemeasure, by the imprudent conduct of the lady who is hergrande maîtresse. I thought it my duty to acquaint General Conway with the character of Madame de Plessen immediately after her nomination to a post that I could wish she had never filled, expressing at the same time my desire that her Majesty might be informed of it. And in some despatches subsequent to the Queen’s arrival here, I applied for instructions with regard to my explaining this matter to her Majesty, but not having had any orders to do so, I could not with propriety, and consistent with my duty, venture upon it, though I daily saw the fatal effects of the ascendant this lady acquired. Her Majesty’s sweetness of disposition and her natural vivacity could not but, as indeed it did, attract the esteem and affection of a young Prince who had so great a share of the latter. Had she been allowed to follow the bent of her own inclinations, it would have been so firmly established that nothing could have shaken it. But this would not have answered the end of those who advised a different conduct. The Queen’s influence and ascendant would then have been too great, and she herself would not have been subject to that of others.... An attention to the situation her Majesty has been in of late has prevented the King’s executing the resolution he has long taken of removing hergrande maîtresse, but as soon as the Queen’s health is thoroughly established, I understand this is to take place.”[86][86]Gunning’s despatch, Copenhagen, February 17, 1768.Gunning proved right in his conjecture, for a few weeks later Madame de Plessen was suddenly dismissed. The King would hardly have dared to take this step if others had not come to his assistance. Madame de Plessen had made many enemies by her tactless conduct, but her political intrigues were the direct cause of her fall. So long as the French party was in the ascendant all went well with her, but during the last year Russia had grown in power and influence at the Danish court. Russia, through her two envoys, Saldern, the envoy in Holstein, and Filosofow, the envoy in Copenhagen, had gained the ear of the Prime Minister, Bernstorff, and other persons holding high office, notably of Baron Schimmelmann,[87]Grand Treasurer. Moreover, Saldern was a personal friend of the King, and joined him in many of his wildest dissipations; and it is probable that he won Christian over to Russia by giving him money to defray his extravagancies. Saldern was a terrible man, a semi-barbarian, with rough brutal strength and domineering will that bore down all opposition. He knew that Reventlow, the Queen’s chamberlain, and Madame de Plessen were on the side of France; he determined to get rid of them, and to this end used all his influence with the King. Reventlow was dismissed with ignominy, andSperling, his nephew, soon followed; but Madame de Plessen remained, and until she was gone Saldern could not feel safe against French intrigues. He regarded the Queen’s household as the centre of the French party, and he hated Matilda because she supported Madame de Plessen. A letter of Saldern’s, written about the end of January, 1768, gives an insight into the character of the man. “My great torment,” he wrote, “comes from the Queen. She has lost her right arm in Reventlow, but she still has the left in Plessen, a mischievous woman, but I will deprive her of this arm also.... When the King goes to see the Queen she tells him he ought to be ashamed of himself, and that the whole city says he lets himself be governed by me. She only says this out of revenge, because I sent away her flea-catcher (sa preneuse de puces). The King tells me all this, and I show himmon égide, and we laugh together.”[88][87]Schimmelmann was a German-Jew by birth, and a type of the rogue now called a “financier”. After a career as a money-lender, during which he amassed a fortune, he arrived in Denmark. He possessed great financial ability, and made himself so useful to the Danish Government that he was given first the title of Baron, then the Order of the Elephant, and lastly appointed Grand Treasurer.[88]Mémoires de Reverdil, pp. 122-23.All the same it was some months before Saldern could screw up the King’s courage to the point of dismissing Madame de Plessen, but at last he succeeded. As soon as the Queen was convalescent the King ran away with Saldern to Frederiksborg, and from the safe shelter of that retreat he despatched a signed order to Madame de Plessen commanding her to quit the palace immediately on its receipt, without taking leave of the Queen. As the King was all-powerful, there was nothing for Madame de Plessen to do but obey; indeed she feared for herlife if she remained in Copenhagen. So she fled with all speed, the same day she received the order, to her estate of Kokkedal, on the Sound.Queen Matilda receiving the congratulations of the court on the birth of the Crown Prince Frederick.QUEEN MATILDA RECEIVING THE CONGRATULATIONS OF THE COURT ON THE BIRTH OF THE CROWN PRINCE FREDERICK.From a Contemporary Print.Bernstorff was ordered to acquaint the Queen with the King’s resolution and declare it to be irrevocable. When the Queen was told that her first lady had gone, there was a most painful scene—she burst into tears and refused to be comforted. Her anger and resentment against the King knew no bounds, and she declared she would never forgive him. The whole of the Queen’s household was now changed; all her friends were sent away, and nominees of Holck and Saldern put in their places. The King wished to appoint as chief lady, Madame von Berkentin, who had intrigued against Madame de Plessen, but the Queen absolutely refused to admit her to her presence, and so, after much angry recrimination the vacant post was bestowed upon Madame von der Lühe, who was not any more pleasing to the Queen from the fact that she was the sister of Count Holck. But Madame von der Lühe proved more satisfactory than the Queen expected, and gradually won her confidence; the worst appointment was that of Fräulein von Eyben as maid-of-honour. This woman, who had by no means an unsullied reputation, was false and untruthful—a spy who sought opportunity to betray her mistress.Madame de Plessen was pursued with relentless severity, and two days after her dismissal from the Danish court she was ordered to quit the kingdom.She withdrew to Hanoverian territory, and finally settled at Celle. She was forbidden to hold any communication with her former mistress, but it is probable that she managed to evade this order. The separation was a bitter grief both to the Queen and her chief lady. Despite her domineering disposition and want of tact, Madame de Plessen dearly loved her young mistress, and would have died, had it been necessary, for her sake. She was by nature hard and undemonstrative, but the helpless little Queen had found a tender spot in her heart, and the maternal love she felt for her mistress was all the more fierce because of its concentration; in shielding her from the contamination of the court she was like a tigress guarding her young. Perhaps it was the very fierceness of her devotion which led her into errors of judgment, but great though these were, if she had avoided political intrigue, she might have retained her place.To Matilda the loss of this good woman, for she was a good woman despite her unamiable qualities, was irreparable. Surrounded as she was by spies and enemies, beset by perils and temptations, she knew that she had in her chief lady a disinterested friend, and she clung to her all the more because she had not strength of herself to stand alone. Had Madame de Plessen remained with the Queen, the errors and follies of after years would never have been committed. In the dangerous path Matilda had to tread, beset by pitfalls on every side, she needed some one who would guideher stumbling feet, and lead her in the way she should go.Queen Matilda was not allowed much time to indulge in her grief, for within ten days of Madame de Plessen’s dismissal she had to hold a court, at which she received the congratulations of the foreign ministers and Danish nobility on the birth of her son. The day was observed as a general holiday, and in the evening there was a banquet and ball at the Christiansborg Palace. If she wrote to England to complain of the hard treatment she had suffered in thus being deprived of one in whom she placed confidence, she probably received little comfort from her brother. We find Lord Weymouth writing to Gunning before Madame de Plessen’s dismissal: “The King would not be sorry to hear of her removal,”[89]and after it: “I assure you that the King is thoroughly sensible of the zealous and dutiful motives which engaged you to see with so much concern the dangerous tendency of that lady’s influence”.[90][89]Lord Weymouth’s despatch to Gunning, March 18, 1768.[90]Ibid., May 4, 1768.In the same despatch (May 4, 1768) Lord Weymouth announced the death of the Princess Louisa Anne, and enclosed a sealed letter from George III. to the Queen, whose sorrows now came upon her thick and fast, for her sister’s death was the second bereavement she had sustained within a few months, in addition to the loss of her faithful Plessen. Louisa Anne, who had once been putforward as a possible Queen of Denmark, had been always an invalid, and was so diminutive in stature that, though she completed her nineteenth year before she died, she looked like a sickly child of thirteen. There is nothing recorded of her beyond that she was a lover of literature, and of an amiable disposition.The death of her sister furnished the Queen with an excuse for not appearing at court festivities, which became wilder and more dissolute, and were attended by many persons of ill-fame, both men and women. Prominent among them was “Catherine of the Gaiters,” who had now gained great influence over the King, and led him (or he led her) into the wildest excesses. It was one of Christian’s peculiarities that he liked to see women dressed as men, and to humour him “Milady” disguised herself in the uniform of a naval officer and accompanied the King and his friends on their night adventures. During her varied career “Milady” had made several enemies among women of her own walk in life: they were jealous of her prosperity and spoke ill of her. To revenge herself she induced the King and his party to enter the houses where these women lived, smash the windows and throw the furniture into the street. The watchmen had secret orders to take no notice of these proceedings, but they often found it difficult to prevent the populace from rising in indignation. Reverdil, who viewed theliaisonbetween the King and “Milady” with disgust, once saw Christian returning to the palace, boasting loudly ofhis exploits, and he could not refrain from uttering the sarcasm, “Voilà un beau chemin à la gloire”. The King was exceedingly angry, and said, “Do not mock at me. Scold me if you will, but do not mock at me.”Reverdil did not heed the warning, and a few evenings later at the palace theatre he saw “Milady” sitting in a prominent box and covered with jewels; below her were the maids of honour, and facing her was the Queen. Reverdil was standing near Holck, who was responsible for this arrangement, and he thus gave vent to his indignation. “Sir,” said he, “though a hundred times you have turned into ridicule what I have said, I say again that a man can be neither a good subject, nor a good servant, who does not weep to see such a creature thus defy the Queen, and the King make himself, to the great peril of the state, thegreluchonof a foreign minister.” Holck turned on his heel. The next morning Reverdil received a written order from the King commanding him to leave Copenhagen within twenty-four hours. The out-spoken Swiss lost no time in obeying the order, and left the country. When he returned to Copenhagen three years later the situation had changed.Reverdil was not the only one who entered a protest against the ascendency of “Catherine of the Gaiters”. She had induced the King to buy her a palace, create her a baroness, and promise her a pension, but in the hour of her triumph she fell as suddenly as she had risen. The shameful scenes inthe streets had so moved the honest people of Copenhagen to indignation that they threatened to rise in revolt unless the woman was dismissed. So threatening was their attitude and so loud were their murmurs that at last the ministers resolved to act. They sought the assistance of Schimmelmann and Saldern to convince the King that matters had reached danger-point. The latter then went with Bernstorff to the King, and by trading on his fears, persuaded him to sign an order commanding Catherine to quit the kingdom at once. The King signed without much difficulty; perhaps he was frightened, perhaps he was already weary of her. Catherine was arrested at her house and conducted across the frontier to Hamburg, where the obsequious municipality put her into prison.[91][91]There she remained for some years. Eventually Struensee set her at liberty, but she never returned to Copenhagen.Dismissal and banishment now formed the order of the day at Copenhagen. Prince Charles of Hesse had left the capital under the cloud of the King’s displeasure, and though he was later given as a consolation the vice-royalty of the duchies, he was for a time in exile. Reventlow, by making friends with the Russian party, had managed to crawl back into office, but not to a place in the household of the Queen. Brandt soon followed Sperling into banishment. He became jealous of the reigning favourite Holck, and wrote the King a private letter containing severe reflections on Holck’s conduct. As might have been expected the King showed the letter toHolck, with the result that Brandt was commanded to quit the capital within twenty-four hours, and Danish territory within eight days. Holck was more in favour than before, and the Queen’s position more unhappy.The King, now that he was deprived of the society of “Milady,” and a check put upon his follies, suffered fromennui, and determined to travel. He proposed to visit England and France, and to be absent from Denmark six months. His ministers, who at another time would have opposed the idea of the King being away from his dominions for so long, now thought it advisable that he should go. The situation had become intolerable. The King was most unpopular with his people, and if he travelled for a time it would not only give an opportunity for scandal and bitter feeling to die down, but it was possible that he would gain wisdom, and return a saner and better man. The question of expense was a considerable one, but in this matter Schimmelmann proved useful—he advanced a loan.When Matilda heard of her husband’s intended tour, she pleaded hard to accompany him, especially as he was going to England. The desire to see again her family and native country made her put aside her pride, and beg this favour of the King with all the eloquence in her power. But he refused on several grounds, the real reason being that he did not want her with him. She then prayed that Madame de Plessen might come back to her duringthe King’s absence, and it was said that Christian, before he started, promised to grant this, but when he had gone a little way on his journey he withdrew his promise. Under the circumstances the Queen came to the wise resolution of retiring from the capital altogether during the King’s absence. It was necessary for her to be on her guard, for it was rumoured that an intrigue was set on foot to deprive her of the regency in the event of the King’s demise.[92]No doubt Juliana Maria thought that the post of regent should be filled either by herself, or her son Frederick, whose chances of succession to the throne had been greatly lessened by the birth of Matilda’s son. There had been some idea of appointing a regent during the King’s absence from his dominions, but the claims of the rival Queens were too delicate to decide, and the difficulty was avoided by appointing a council of regency composed of Counts Thott and Moltke and Baron Rosenkrantz.[92]Gunning’s despatch, Copenhagen, May 14, 1768.Christian VII. left Copenhagen in May, 1768, on his tour; his suite consisted of no less than fifty-six persons, chief among them being Bernstorff, the principal Secretary of State. The King travelled south through Schleswig, where he remained some little time; the two Russian envoys, Saldern and Filosofow, were there, and weighty diplomatic matters were discussed. The treaty by which Russia exchanged her claims on ducal Schleswig and Holstein for the counties of Oldenburg andDelmenhorst was arranged there—a treaty of great importance to Denmark.[93][93]Peter III. of Russia had made a claim upon his hereditary states of Holstein-Gottorp in 1762, and was preparing to enforce it when he was deposed and assassinated. His consort and successor, Catherine the Great, agreed to an amicable settlement of the affair by exchange.The King then proceeded through the southern part of his dominionsviâKiel to Ahrensburg, near Hamburg. Here, without knowing it, he took one of the most important steps of his life. He appointed John Frederick Struensee, a doctor of Altona, his travelling physician, and Struensee joined the King’s suite forthwith.A few days later Christian quitted Denmark. After paying a visit of reconciliation to his brother-in-law, Prince Charles of Hesse, at Hanau, near Frankfort, he travelled down the Rhine to Cologne, and thence to Amsterdam and Brussels. From Brussels he journeyed to Calais, where his brother-in-law, George III., had sent theMaryyacht to convey him to England.

AT THE COURT OF DENMARK.

1767-1768.

The relations between the King and Queen did not improve as time went on. Matilda was frightened by Christian’s wildness and dissipation, piqued by his indifference, and wounded by his sarcasms. Though she was very young she had a high spirit, and did not submit quietly to insult. Her position at the court, of which she was nominally the reigning Queen, was very unsatisfactory—the King was autocrat and she was nothing—even in trifling questions concerning the royal household she was not consulted, and if she ventured to express an opinion it was ignored. She had no relative to whom she could look for guidance. The Queen-Mother, Sophia Magdalena, had retired to Hirschholm; she was nearly seventy years old, and since the fall of Moltke had abjured politics and given herself up to good works. The Queen-Dowager, Juliana Maria, was secretly hostile, and Matilda did not trust her, though the three Queens at this time, as Reverdil says, lived outwardly “dans une grande intimité et dans un ennui paisible”. The King’s sister, the Princess Louise, was too much absorbedin her husband and child to be of any use to her sister-in-law, and the King’s aunt, Charlotte Amelia, had never appeared at court since Matilda arrived in Denmark. So the young Queen had to seek the advice of her chief lady, Madame de Plessen, and she was guided by her in all things. It was the wish of this lady to bring back to the lax court of Christian VII. the stiff and wearisome etiquette that had prevailed in the reign of the King’s grandfather, Christian VI. In her eyes Matilda was not only a young married woman, but the Queen of the land, whom the King himself might only approach according to the rules of etiquette. Christian must be made to understand that Queen Matilda was his honoured consort, and not his mistress.

It is possible that, had the young couple been left to themselves, they would in time have understood one another better, and learned to make allowances for each other. They were little more than children when they married, and quarrelled like children; they would probably have been reconciled afterwards like children, and become better friends. But they were not left to themselves. Madame de Plessen chose to stand between husband and wife in their most intimate relations, and with disastrous results. She was especially to blame in embittering the Queen’s mind against the King by repeating every thoughtless utterance of his, and magnifying every foolish deed. In Madame de Plessen’s opinion the Queen could only acquire an influence over her husband by treating him withcoldness, and resisting his advances. The ladies of the court were ready to throw themselves into the King’s arms at the least provocation—not that he ever gave them any—and Madame de Plessen thought that he would value most what it was not easy to obtain. In pursuance of this policy she advised the Queen to treat him with coyness and reserve. For instance, the King came unannounced one morning into the Queen’s room while she was dressing. A kerchief had just been placed around her neck; the King pushed it aside and pressed a kiss upon his wife’s shoulder. Whereupon Madame de Plessen held up her hands in disgust, and the Queen, taking her cue from the duenna, feigned anger, and reproached her husband for disarranging her kerchief. The King snatched it off her bosom, tore it in pieces, and threw it on the floor. He did not come back for several days.

Again, Madame de Plessen was annoyed because the King sent in the evening to know if the Queen had retired to bed; she considered it wanting in respect to the Queen, and advised Matilda to put a stop to it. The next time the King sent to make his inquiry, the answer was returned that her Majesty was playing chess and would not retire until her game was finished. The King waited until twelve o’clock, and then he came into the Queen’s apartments and found her still playing chess with Madame de Plessen. Very much annoyed he began to walk up and down the room without saying a word, and the game was not finished until the clock struckone. The Queen then said she wished to have her revenge, and he saw Madame de Plessen give a triumphant smile. Then he understood what was meant. He left the room in a fury, and banged the door after him, and did not come near the Queen again for a fortnight. There were many such scenes as these, and each one left the relations between the King and Queen more strained than before, until within a year of their marriage they were thoroughly alienated from one another.

The immediate result of Madame de Plessen’s interference was to drive the King still further into dissipation and folly. Prevented from enjoying his wife’s society as he would, he spent his evenings with his friends, who included the wildest spirits of the court. The King’s evening parties, which he held in his own rooms, had long ceased to bear even a superficial resemblance to the celebrated gatherings of Frederick the Great; they assumed by degrees a more and more noisy and riotous character. The young men indulged in sham fights and wrestling to develop the King’s “smartness”—this was the word he used to denote his physical strength. These fights, indulged in after plentiful libations of wine, often proved destructive of the furniture, and sometimes ended in high words and bad temper. But the fighting was comparatively harmless. The King’s evening gatherings unfortunately did not stop here, but degenerated into excesses which recalled the orgies described in the pages of Juvenal and Petronius. Even Sperling seems tohave found these dissipations too much for him. At any rate he gradually lost the King’s favour, and was replaced by Brandt, a page of the chamber.

Enevold Brandt was a few years older than Christian VII. He came of an ancient Danish family: his father had been a privy councillor and private secretary to Queen Sophia Magdalena, but he died before his son’s birth. His mother married again Baron Söhlenthal, and young Brandt was brought up in his stepfather’s house. At an early age he went to Copenhagen to study law, and passed his examinations with flying colours. In his vacations Brandt travelled widely: he was a polished man of the world and possessed brilliant social qualities. Christian VII., who was clever enough to appreciate cleverness in others, took a great fancy to him, for a time. Honours, both legal and courtly, were showered upon him. He was appointed an assessor of the Court of Chancery, a page of the chamber, and an assessor of the Supreme Court. Brandt was below the middle height, and though his face could not be described as handsome, he had an air of distinction. After Christian’s accession he was a good deal about the person of the King, and was of great use in arranging the masquerades. It was thought that he would succeed Sperling as the King’s first favourite, but Christian quickly tired of his friends, and as soon as the masquerades were over Brandt found himself eclipsed in the royal favour by Holck.

Conrad, Count Holck, despite his wildness and extravagancies, was the best of Christian VII.’sfavourites (and bad was the best). Unlike Sperling and Brandt, he was neither an intriguer nor a self-seeker. He was a dare-devil youth, wealthy, handsome, and brimming over with boisterous good-humour and animal spirits. Christian VII. found Holck an excellent foil for the dark moods and the morbid humours that occasionally beset him, and the pair soon became fast friends.

Brandt and Holck were always at the King’s evening gatherings, and sought to outvie one another in their master’s favour by proposing fresh extravagancies. There were many others; among them a young Englishman named Osborne, who held a commission in the Danish service, Count Danneskjold-Laurvig, and some older men, including Saldern the Russian envoy. By way of variety the King resumed his nocturnal expeditions, which he had abandoned since his marriage. Accompanied by his wild companions he roamed the streets of Copenhagen in disguise, visiting taverns and houses of ill-repute, molesting peaceable citizens, fighting with the watchmen, and breaking lamps and windows. Of course these freaks got abroad and set a fashion, and bands of disorderly youths prowled about the city at night in imitation of the King and his companions, thereby causing great difficulty to the superintendent of the police, for they pretended often to be the King’s party, and for fear of mistake he hardly dared to make an arrest. Things came to such a pass at last that the watchmen lost patience, and determined not to let the rioters off easily,whether they belonged to the King’s party or not. On one occasion, pretending not to know, they caught the King and belaboured him so unmercifully that he had to retire to bed for some days, and pretend that he was ill of the fever.[81]On another night, however, he achieved a triumph, and brought home a club as a trophy, which he had wrested from one of the watchmen.

[81]The Saxon minister at Copenhagen in his despatch of April 12, 1768, states that the King’s indisposition was due to a wound he received in one of these combats with the watchmen.

Details of these extravagancies came to the young Queen’s ears from time to time, through the medium of Sperling, who, now that he was superseded in the King’s favour, attached himself to the Queen’sentourage, and, with his uncle, Reventlow, who was the Queen’s chamberlain, was often to be seen in the apartments of Madame de Plessen. Prejudiced by Sperling the Queen took a violent dislike to Holck, whose evil influence over the King she believed to be the cause of all her troubles. Holck ascribed the Queen’s dislike of him to Madame de Plessen, whom he regarded as his enemy, and he retaliated after the manner of his kind. Not only did he treat the Queen with scant respect, but he declared that she was piqued because he did not make love to her. He also behaved to Madame de Plessen with great rudeness, and instigated the coarse and mischievous jokes whereby the King sought to make the chief lady’s position intolerable at court and so force her to resign. But thesetactics proved unavailing, for the more rudely Madame de Plessen was treated by the King the more closely did she cling to her post. She determined to protect the Queen come what might, and Matilda, in return, identified herself with Madame de Plessen’s friends, and regarded her chief lady’s enemies as her own. On July 22, 1767, the Queen attained her sixteenth birthday, but to punish her the King would not celebrate it.

In August, 1767, Christian VII. determined to make a tour through Holstein. The Queen, who was fond of travel, eagerly desired to accompany the King, and the royal tour was made the subject of many entreaties and negotiations on her part and the part of her household. But to further mark his displeasure the King refused to take her, and a serious quarrel took place between them. The Queen was to be pitied, because the indifference she had shown towards her husband had in great part been assumed at the suggestion of Madame de Plessen. She was now likely to become a mother, and, by a natural instinct, she had grown into an inclination for the father of her child. But she attributed the King’s refusal not to Madame de Plessen but to Holck (who, it is very possible, had something to do with it), and insisted that if the King would not take her he should not take Holck either. After much difficulty she carried the point, but her victory only enraged the King, and gave her no satisfaction.

Reverdil, who was the Queen’s friend, did hisbest to patch up the quarrel. He accompanied the King on his tour through Holstein, and urged him to write affectionate letters to his wife. He pointed out that, considering the state of the Queen’s health, there was need to indulge her in her whims and fancies. Christian, who was still smarting from the interference of Madame de Plessen, consented with an ill grace, and only on condition that Reverdil composed the letters and he merely copied them. These letters pacified Matilda; she was ignorant of their real authorship, and replied with affection. The King did not distinguish himself during his tour or increase the loyalty of the duchy. He offended, by his frivolity and recklessness, the old Holstein nobility, who, if somewhat barbarous, were very strict in their ideas of what a King should be.

Edward, Duke of York, brother of Queen Matilda.EDWARD, DUKE OF YORK, BROTHER OF QUEEN MATILDA.From the Painting by G. H. Every.

EDWARD, DUKE OF YORK, BROTHER OF QUEEN MATILDA.From the Painting by G. H. Every.

While Christian VII. was absent in Holstein Matilda heard of the death of her favourite brother, Edward Duke of York, a gallant, high-spirited youth. The Duke chose the navy as a profession, and if his promotion in it was rapid (he was promoted to be a rear-admiral at the age of twenty-three), he showed himself to be a brave sailor, and distinguished himself under Howe at the bombardment of Cherbourg. After the capture of the town the Duke gave the French ladies a ball. “He told them he was too young to know what was good breeding in France, and therefore he should behave as if meaning to please in England, and he kissed them all.”[82]The young Prince was a great favouritewith the ladies. His first love was the beautiful and witty Charlotte, Countess of Essex. He then transferred his affections to the even more beautiful Duchess of Richmond, sister-in-law of Lady Sarah Lennox. But the most serious of all his love affairs was his passion for Lady Mary Coke, a young widow, who found herself at an early age “the envy of her sex; in the possession of youth, health, wealth, wit, beauty and liberty”. The young and ardent Duke seems to have given her a promise of marriage, for during his lifetime she always spoke of him to her friends as her betrothed, and after his death displayed immoderate grief. The Duke’s numerous love affairs and his constant pursuit of pleasure naturally involved him in money difficulties. The Princess-Dowager of Wales declined to supplement her second son’s allowance, and often lamented his extravagance, but George III. was fond of his volatile brother, and occasionally helped him, though it was against his strict principles to do so. One day the Duke went to St. James’s in a state of the greatest dejection, and, when he saw the King, sighed heavily. The King asked him why he was so low-spirited. “How can I be otherwise,” said the Duke, “pressed as I am by creditors and without a penny to pay them?” The King, much affected, pressed a thousand pound note into his brother’s hand. The Duke gravely read every word of it aloud, then marched out of the room singing, “God save great George our King!”

[82]The Georgian Era, vol. i.

The Duke of York had kept up a constantcorrespondence with Queen Matilda since she had left England; he wrote to her from Paris a few weeks before his death telling her that he was making a tour through France, and intended, before he returned to England, to travel northwards and pay her a visit at Copenhagen. But on his journey to the south of France the Duke caught a chill, and when he arrived at Monaco he was taken seriously ill. For fourteen days he lingered in great suffering, alleviated only by the affectionate offices of the gentlemen of his suite and the kindness of the Prince of Monaco. The Duke died on September 17, 1767, at the age of twenty eight. His body was removed on board the British ship-of-warMontreal, and conveyed home to be buried in Westminster Abbey.

The news of the Duke of York’s death reached Copenhagen on October 10, and the English envoy was under some difficulty how best to break the news to the Queen, in her delicate state of health. He writes: “My apprehensions of the effect it might have had on her Danish Majesty in her present situation, whenever she became acquainted with it, made me communicate my first intelligence of it to Madame de Plessen, of whose caution and discretion in this instance I have no doubt, that she might take such methods of preparing the Queen for it as she judged most likely to lessen the shock, which otherwise so unexpected an event might be attended with. I have the pleasure to acquaint you that her Majesty has suffered as little as (considering thegreat tenderness of her disposition) could well be expected.”[83]

[83]Gunning’s despatch, Copenhagen, October 13, 1767.

Queen Matilda felt her brother’s death keenly, the more so as she had been looking forward to his visit to Copenhagen, when she hoped to confide to him her troubles, and ask his help and guidance. When Christian heard of his Queen’s loss, he wrote her (through Reverdil) an affectionate letter of condolence. The Queen was touched by this consideration; she felt tenderly towards her husband, and was anxious to be friends. When the King returned from Holstein, the Queen drove out eight leagues from Copenhagen to meet him. But Christian’s greeting was cold and formal, though he got into her coach and drove back with her into Copenhagen, so that the citizens might think that he was on good terms with his Queen.

After her husband’s return Matilda made several efforts to win his love, and behaved to him with the utmost submission, but he did not respond. Her pathetic desire to please him, her extreme youth and loneliness, the fact that she was soon to become the mother of his child—these considerations had no weight with Christian VII. He repulsed his wife’s advances, and treated her with rudeness and contempt, conduct which, under the circumstances, was peculiarly brutal. He made coarse jokes about her condition; he even tried to force Holck, whom she detested, upon her as master of her household. She refused with tears and agitation, so the King madehim court marshal, and gave him the management of all the festivities at court, where comedies, balls and masquerades succeeded one another without interruption.

In addition to Christian’s cruelty to his Queen, he flaunted his infidelity before her eyes. He had no inclination for the ladies of the court (indeed the company of refined women seemed distasteful to him), but at Holck’s suggestion he sought the society of women politely termed “actresses,” and thereby derived no little amusement and distraction. Holck, however, was not responsible for a woman whose acquaintance the King made at this time, who went by the nickname ofStovlep Katerine, or “Catherine of the Gaiters”. This woman, according to Reverdil, was brought before the King’s notice by Count Danneskjold-Laurvig. Her real name appears to have been Anna Catherine Benthaken, and she was the natural daughter of an eminent officer in the Danish service. As a child she was brought up in the household of this officer, but after his death her mother married a retired soldier, who was by trade a tailor who made gaiters. As Catherine was penniless she accompanied her mother to her stepfather’s poor house, where, in return for her board and lodging, she was obliged to sew gaiters—hence her nickname. But she could not brook this life long, and having a vivacious temperament and some natural gifts she sought other means of livelihood. Copenhagen in the eighteenth century offered few opportunities ofhonest work for unmarried women, so Catherine first became an opera dancer, and then the mistress of an Englishman, Sir John Goodrich.[84]She lived with him for some time, and was generally known as “Milady”. At the time Christian made her acquaintance, “Milady” was a good-looking young woman, with a fine figure, and an excellent taste in dress. She was amusing and witty, and equal to any wild scheme the King might conceive. It was her ambition to becomemaîtresse en titre, and to this end she lent herself to all kinds of extravagancies in order that she might gain greater influence over the King. Before long “Milady” achieved her ambition; she received the honour of an invitation to a masquerade at the palace, and the King showed his preference to the court by dancing with her nearly all the evening. Queen Matilda was spared the sight of this insult, for in consequence of her state of health she was unable to be present, but the incident was duly reported to her, and filled her with grief and resentment.

[84]Sir John Goodrich was nominated by the British Government Minister Plenipotentiary to Sweden, but, through the intrigues of the French Government, he never got nearer Stockholm than Copenhagen.

THE BIRTH OF A PRINCE.

1768.

Queen Matilda gave birth to a son and heir—the future King Frederick VI.—on January 28, 1768. Titley thus records the event: “Yesterday the Queen of Denmark fell in labour, and about ten o’clock at night was happily delivered of a prince, to the extreme satisfaction of her royal consort and the whole court. The Queen, God be praised, and the new-born prince are this morning both as well as can be expected. This very important and much desired event happened but an hour or two before the anniversary of the King of Denmark’s own birthday, and we are now celebrating the double festivity. The birth of an heir male to the Crown has completely fulfilled the ardent wishes and prayers of the public, and consequently spread a real joy through all ranks of the people here.”[85]

[85]Titley’s despatch, Copenhagen, January 29, 1768.

A few days later the infant prince was christened by the name of Frederick. The ceremony took place in the Queen’s bedchamber, and nobody was admitted except the ministers and council—the English envoy was not invited. Queen Juliana Maria, towhom the birth of this prince was the death-blow of her hopes, and the Princess Charlotte Amelia (represented by proxy), were the godmothers, and Prince Frederick, the King’s brother, was the godfather. The King had wished for a public ceremonial, but the babe was sickly and ailing, and it was deemed necessary to baptise him as soon as possible. During her illness the Queen was fenced round by the most rigid etiquette by Madame de Plessen; she was attended in turn by Madame de Plessen, a lady-in-waiting, and the wife of a Knight of the Elephant. The infant was attended by two court ladies, who were changed according to rank, and this absurd formality continued until all the court ladies had shared the privilege. The Queen, a short time after her confinement, had also to undergo the ordeal of sitting up in bed (the royal infant in a bassinet by the side of the bed) and receiving the congratulations of the court ladies and gentlemen, who filed through the room in procession. The fatigue of this levee, or perhaps Madame de Plessen’s wearisome formalities, made the Queen seriously ill. Gunning, who never lost a chance of attacking his arch-enemy, wrote to Lord Weymouth:—

“Her Danish Majesty has been very much indisposed for some days, but her physicians, who own that they were not without apprehensions, now assure me that all danger is over. It is with the greatest concern that I think myself obliged to acquaint your lordship with my fears that her Majesty’s indisposition has been occasioned, in somemeasure, by the imprudent conduct of the lady who is hergrande maîtresse. I thought it my duty to acquaint General Conway with the character of Madame de Plessen immediately after her nomination to a post that I could wish she had never filled, expressing at the same time my desire that her Majesty might be informed of it. And in some despatches subsequent to the Queen’s arrival here, I applied for instructions with regard to my explaining this matter to her Majesty, but not having had any orders to do so, I could not with propriety, and consistent with my duty, venture upon it, though I daily saw the fatal effects of the ascendant this lady acquired. Her Majesty’s sweetness of disposition and her natural vivacity could not but, as indeed it did, attract the esteem and affection of a young Prince who had so great a share of the latter. Had she been allowed to follow the bent of her own inclinations, it would have been so firmly established that nothing could have shaken it. But this would not have answered the end of those who advised a different conduct. The Queen’s influence and ascendant would then have been too great, and she herself would not have been subject to that of others.... An attention to the situation her Majesty has been in of late has prevented the King’s executing the resolution he has long taken of removing hergrande maîtresse, but as soon as the Queen’s health is thoroughly established, I understand this is to take place.”[86]

[86]Gunning’s despatch, Copenhagen, February 17, 1768.

Gunning proved right in his conjecture, for a few weeks later Madame de Plessen was suddenly dismissed. The King would hardly have dared to take this step if others had not come to his assistance. Madame de Plessen had made many enemies by her tactless conduct, but her political intrigues were the direct cause of her fall. So long as the French party was in the ascendant all went well with her, but during the last year Russia had grown in power and influence at the Danish court. Russia, through her two envoys, Saldern, the envoy in Holstein, and Filosofow, the envoy in Copenhagen, had gained the ear of the Prime Minister, Bernstorff, and other persons holding high office, notably of Baron Schimmelmann,[87]Grand Treasurer. Moreover, Saldern was a personal friend of the King, and joined him in many of his wildest dissipations; and it is probable that he won Christian over to Russia by giving him money to defray his extravagancies. Saldern was a terrible man, a semi-barbarian, with rough brutal strength and domineering will that bore down all opposition. He knew that Reventlow, the Queen’s chamberlain, and Madame de Plessen were on the side of France; he determined to get rid of them, and to this end used all his influence with the King. Reventlow was dismissed with ignominy, andSperling, his nephew, soon followed; but Madame de Plessen remained, and until she was gone Saldern could not feel safe against French intrigues. He regarded the Queen’s household as the centre of the French party, and he hated Matilda because she supported Madame de Plessen. A letter of Saldern’s, written about the end of January, 1768, gives an insight into the character of the man. “My great torment,” he wrote, “comes from the Queen. She has lost her right arm in Reventlow, but she still has the left in Plessen, a mischievous woman, but I will deprive her of this arm also.... When the King goes to see the Queen she tells him he ought to be ashamed of himself, and that the whole city says he lets himself be governed by me. She only says this out of revenge, because I sent away her flea-catcher (sa preneuse de puces). The King tells me all this, and I show himmon égide, and we laugh together.”[88]

[87]Schimmelmann was a German-Jew by birth, and a type of the rogue now called a “financier”. After a career as a money-lender, during which he amassed a fortune, he arrived in Denmark. He possessed great financial ability, and made himself so useful to the Danish Government that he was given first the title of Baron, then the Order of the Elephant, and lastly appointed Grand Treasurer.

[88]Mémoires de Reverdil, pp. 122-23.

All the same it was some months before Saldern could screw up the King’s courage to the point of dismissing Madame de Plessen, but at last he succeeded. As soon as the Queen was convalescent the King ran away with Saldern to Frederiksborg, and from the safe shelter of that retreat he despatched a signed order to Madame de Plessen commanding her to quit the palace immediately on its receipt, without taking leave of the Queen. As the King was all-powerful, there was nothing for Madame de Plessen to do but obey; indeed she feared for herlife if she remained in Copenhagen. So she fled with all speed, the same day she received the order, to her estate of Kokkedal, on the Sound.

Queen Matilda receiving the congratulations of the court on the birth of the Crown Prince Frederick.QUEEN MATILDA RECEIVING THE CONGRATULATIONS OF THE COURT ON THE BIRTH OF THE CROWN PRINCE FREDERICK.From a Contemporary Print.

QUEEN MATILDA RECEIVING THE CONGRATULATIONS OF THE COURT ON THE BIRTH OF THE CROWN PRINCE FREDERICK.From a Contemporary Print.

Bernstorff was ordered to acquaint the Queen with the King’s resolution and declare it to be irrevocable. When the Queen was told that her first lady had gone, there was a most painful scene—she burst into tears and refused to be comforted. Her anger and resentment against the King knew no bounds, and she declared she would never forgive him. The whole of the Queen’s household was now changed; all her friends were sent away, and nominees of Holck and Saldern put in their places. The King wished to appoint as chief lady, Madame von Berkentin, who had intrigued against Madame de Plessen, but the Queen absolutely refused to admit her to her presence, and so, after much angry recrimination the vacant post was bestowed upon Madame von der Lühe, who was not any more pleasing to the Queen from the fact that she was the sister of Count Holck. But Madame von der Lühe proved more satisfactory than the Queen expected, and gradually won her confidence; the worst appointment was that of Fräulein von Eyben as maid-of-honour. This woman, who had by no means an unsullied reputation, was false and untruthful—a spy who sought opportunity to betray her mistress.

Madame de Plessen was pursued with relentless severity, and two days after her dismissal from the Danish court she was ordered to quit the kingdom.She withdrew to Hanoverian territory, and finally settled at Celle. She was forbidden to hold any communication with her former mistress, but it is probable that she managed to evade this order. The separation was a bitter grief both to the Queen and her chief lady. Despite her domineering disposition and want of tact, Madame de Plessen dearly loved her young mistress, and would have died, had it been necessary, for her sake. She was by nature hard and undemonstrative, but the helpless little Queen had found a tender spot in her heart, and the maternal love she felt for her mistress was all the more fierce because of its concentration; in shielding her from the contamination of the court she was like a tigress guarding her young. Perhaps it was the very fierceness of her devotion which led her into errors of judgment, but great though these were, if she had avoided political intrigue, she might have retained her place.

To Matilda the loss of this good woman, for she was a good woman despite her unamiable qualities, was irreparable. Surrounded as she was by spies and enemies, beset by perils and temptations, she knew that she had in her chief lady a disinterested friend, and she clung to her all the more because she had not strength of herself to stand alone. Had Madame de Plessen remained with the Queen, the errors and follies of after years would never have been committed. In the dangerous path Matilda had to tread, beset by pitfalls on every side, she needed some one who would guideher stumbling feet, and lead her in the way she should go.

Queen Matilda was not allowed much time to indulge in her grief, for within ten days of Madame de Plessen’s dismissal she had to hold a court, at which she received the congratulations of the foreign ministers and Danish nobility on the birth of her son. The day was observed as a general holiday, and in the evening there was a banquet and ball at the Christiansborg Palace. If she wrote to England to complain of the hard treatment she had suffered in thus being deprived of one in whom she placed confidence, she probably received little comfort from her brother. We find Lord Weymouth writing to Gunning before Madame de Plessen’s dismissal: “The King would not be sorry to hear of her removal,”[89]and after it: “I assure you that the King is thoroughly sensible of the zealous and dutiful motives which engaged you to see with so much concern the dangerous tendency of that lady’s influence”.[90]

[89]Lord Weymouth’s despatch to Gunning, March 18, 1768.

[90]Ibid., May 4, 1768.

In the same despatch (May 4, 1768) Lord Weymouth announced the death of the Princess Louisa Anne, and enclosed a sealed letter from George III. to the Queen, whose sorrows now came upon her thick and fast, for her sister’s death was the second bereavement she had sustained within a few months, in addition to the loss of her faithful Plessen. Louisa Anne, who had once been putforward as a possible Queen of Denmark, had been always an invalid, and was so diminutive in stature that, though she completed her nineteenth year before she died, she looked like a sickly child of thirteen. There is nothing recorded of her beyond that she was a lover of literature, and of an amiable disposition.

The death of her sister furnished the Queen with an excuse for not appearing at court festivities, which became wilder and more dissolute, and were attended by many persons of ill-fame, both men and women. Prominent among them was “Catherine of the Gaiters,” who had now gained great influence over the King, and led him (or he led her) into the wildest excesses. It was one of Christian’s peculiarities that he liked to see women dressed as men, and to humour him “Milady” disguised herself in the uniform of a naval officer and accompanied the King and his friends on their night adventures. During her varied career “Milady” had made several enemies among women of her own walk in life: they were jealous of her prosperity and spoke ill of her. To revenge herself she induced the King and his party to enter the houses where these women lived, smash the windows and throw the furniture into the street. The watchmen had secret orders to take no notice of these proceedings, but they often found it difficult to prevent the populace from rising in indignation. Reverdil, who viewed theliaisonbetween the King and “Milady” with disgust, once saw Christian returning to the palace, boasting loudly ofhis exploits, and he could not refrain from uttering the sarcasm, “Voilà un beau chemin à la gloire”. The King was exceedingly angry, and said, “Do not mock at me. Scold me if you will, but do not mock at me.”

Reverdil did not heed the warning, and a few evenings later at the palace theatre he saw “Milady” sitting in a prominent box and covered with jewels; below her were the maids of honour, and facing her was the Queen. Reverdil was standing near Holck, who was responsible for this arrangement, and he thus gave vent to his indignation. “Sir,” said he, “though a hundred times you have turned into ridicule what I have said, I say again that a man can be neither a good subject, nor a good servant, who does not weep to see such a creature thus defy the Queen, and the King make himself, to the great peril of the state, thegreluchonof a foreign minister.” Holck turned on his heel. The next morning Reverdil received a written order from the King commanding him to leave Copenhagen within twenty-four hours. The out-spoken Swiss lost no time in obeying the order, and left the country. When he returned to Copenhagen three years later the situation had changed.

Reverdil was not the only one who entered a protest against the ascendency of “Catherine of the Gaiters”. She had induced the King to buy her a palace, create her a baroness, and promise her a pension, but in the hour of her triumph she fell as suddenly as she had risen. The shameful scenes inthe streets had so moved the honest people of Copenhagen to indignation that they threatened to rise in revolt unless the woman was dismissed. So threatening was their attitude and so loud were their murmurs that at last the ministers resolved to act. They sought the assistance of Schimmelmann and Saldern to convince the King that matters had reached danger-point. The latter then went with Bernstorff to the King, and by trading on his fears, persuaded him to sign an order commanding Catherine to quit the kingdom at once. The King signed without much difficulty; perhaps he was frightened, perhaps he was already weary of her. Catherine was arrested at her house and conducted across the frontier to Hamburg, where the obsequious municipality put her into prison.[91]

[91]There she remained for some years. Eventually Struensee set her at liberty, but she never returned to Copenhagen.

Dismissal and banishment now formed the order of the day at Copenhagen. Prince Charles of Hesse had left the capital under the cloud of the King’s displeasure, and though he was later given as a consolation the vice-royalty of the duchies, he was for a time in exile. Reventlow, by making friends with the Russian party, had managed to crawl back into office, but not to a place in the household of the Queen. Brandt soon followed Sperling into banishment. He became jealous of the reigning favourite Holck, and wrote the King a private letter containing severe reflections on Holck’s conduct. As might have been expected the King showed the letter toHolck, with the result that Brandt was commanded to quit the capital within twenty-four hours, and Danish territory within eight days. Holck was more in favour than before, and the Queen’s position more unhappy.

The King, now that he was deprived of the society of “Milady,” and a check put upon his follies, suffered fromennui, and determined to travel. He proposed to visit England and France, and to be absent from Denmark six months. His ministers, who at another time would have opposed the idea of the King being away from his dominions for so long, now thought it advisable that he should go. The situation had become intolerable. The King was most unpopular with his people, and if he travelled for a time it would not only give an opportunity for scandal and bitter feeling to die down, but it was possible that he would gain wisdom, and return a saner and better man. The question of expense was a considerable one, but in this matter Schimmelmann proved useful—he advanced a loan.

When Matilda heard of her husband’s intended tour, she pleaded hard to accompany him, especially as he was going to England. The desire to see again her family and native country made her put aside her pride, and beg this favour of the King with all the eloquence in her power. But he refused on several grounds, the real reason being that he did not want her with him. She then prayed that Madame de Plessen might come back to her duringthe King’s absence, and it was said that Christian, before he started, promised to grant this, but when he had gone a little way on his journey he withdrew his promise. Under the circumstances the Queen came to the wise resolution of retiring from the capital altogether during the King’s absence. It was necessary for her to be on her guard, for it was rumoured that an intrigue was set on foot to deprive her of the regency in the event of the King’s demise.[92]No doubt Juliana Maria thought that the post of regent should be filled either by herself, or her son Frederick, whose chances of succession to the throne had been greatly lessened by the birth of Matilda’s son. There had been some idea of appointing a regent during the King’s absence from his dominions, but the claims of the rival Queens were too delicate to decide, and the difficulty was avoided by appointing a council of regency composed of Counts Thott and Moltke and Baron Rosenkrantz.

[92]Gunning’s despatch, Copenhagen, May 14, 1768.

Christian VII. left Copenhagen in May, 1768, on his tour; his suite consisted of no less than fifty-six persons, chief among them being Bernstorff, the principal Secretary of State. The King travelled south through Schleswig, where he remained some little time; the two Russian envoys, Saldern and Filosofow, were there, and weighty diplomatic matters were discussed. The treaty by which Russia exchanged her claims on ducal Schleswig and Holstein for the counties of Oldenburg andDelmenhorst was arranged there—a treaty of great importance to Denmark.[93]

[93]Peter III. of Russia had made a claim upon his hereditary states of Holstein-Gottorp in 1762, and was preparing to enforce it when he was deposed and assassinated. His consort and successor, Catherine the Great, agreed to an amicable settlement of the affair by exchange.

The King then proceeded through the southern part of his dominionsviâKiel to Ahrensburg, near Hamburg. Here, without knowing it, he took one of the most important steps of his life. He appointed John Frederick Struensee, a doctor of Altona, his travelling physician, and Struensee joined the King’s suite forthwith.

A few days later Christian quitted Denmark. After paying a visit of reconciliation to his brother-in-law, Prince Charles of Hesse, at Hanau, near Frankfort, he travelled down the Rhine to Cologne, and thence to Amsterdam and Brussels. From Brussels he journeyed to Calais, where his brother-in-law, George III., had sent theMaryyacht to convey him to England.

CHAPTER X.CHRISTIAN VII. IN ENGLAND.1768.Christian VII. landed at Dover on August 9, 1768. He was received with especial marks of distinction, a salute was fired from the cannon of the castle, and the vessels in the harbour were dressed with flags. Royal coaches were in waiting, and Lord Hertford and Lord Falmouth received him on behalf of the King. The King of Denmark’s suite consisted of Count Bernstorff, his principal Secretary of State, Count Moltke the younger, Grand Marshal, Count Holck, Master of the Wardrobe, Baron Schimmelmann, Treasurer, Baron Bülow, Lord-in-Waiting, Dr. Struensee, Physician, and several others.Christian declined the royal coaches, and preferred to travel in a post-chaise to avoid ceremony. With the principal members of his suite he pushed on ahead, leaving the others to follow with the baggage. Lord Hertford told his Majesty that the clergy and the corporation of Canterbury, through which city he was to pass, had made great preparations to receive him. The King was annoyed, for he was travellingincognitoas thePrince of Traventhal, and his object in coming to England was to amuse himself, and not to be wearied by receiving addresses from mayors and Church dignitaries—for the clergy in particular he had a dislike. He said to Bernstorff: “The last King of Denmark who entered Canterbury laid it to ashes. I wish the citizens had remembered that, and then perhaps they would have let me pass unnoticed.” But Bernstorff told Christian that he must at least receive the address, which he did with ill grace, but he declined the luncheon prepared in his honour.The King of Denmark arrived in London at seven o’clock in the evening, and when his coach pulled up before St. James’s Palace, Holck exclaimed, “By God, this will never do! This is not a fit place to lodge aChristianin!” In truth the somewhat dingy exterior of St. James’s Palace was not, at first sight, likely to impress a foreigner, but when the King entered he pronounced his lodgings tolerable. George III. had spent £3,000 in refurnishing a suite of apartments for his brother-in-law. Moreover, he defrayed the cost of his royal guest’s table during his stay in England, at the cost of £84 a day, without wine, and the wine bill, no doubt, was a heavy addition. He also decorated the King of Denmark’s sideboard with the splendid gold plate of Henry VII., which was seldom used, except at coronation banquets, and was brought from the Tower especially for the occasion. These marks of respect, it may be supposed, George III. paid to the office of the King, for it is certain that he dislikedthe man, and heartily wished him anywhere but at St. James’s.Christian VII. had invited himself to the English court, and came as a most unwelcome guest. His visit was singularly ill-timed, for the Wilkes riots had taken place recently, and the King was unpopular, and much worried and annoyed. Moreover, the court was in mourning for the Princess Louisa Anne, and the King wished to give none but the absolutely necessary receptions this year. He disliked festivities as much as the King of Denmark revelled in them, and he grudged the outlay which the visit of his self-invited guest entailed. Besides, George III., who was a model of the domestic virtues, had heard of the profligacy of the King of Denmark, and the cruelty and disrespect with which he treated his Queen. Matilda had written home piteous complaints of the sufferings she endured, and though George III. declined to interfere between man and wife, and advised his sister to make the best of her lot, he felt just resentment against her husband, who ill-treated her so grossly.[94][94]George III.’s repugnance to the King of Denmark’s visit is shown in the following note which he wrote to Lord Weymouth before he came: “As to-morrow is the day you receive foreign ministers, you will acquaint M. de Dieden (the Danish minister) that I desire he will assure the King, his master, that I am desirous of making his stay in this country as agreeable as possible. That I therefore wish to be thoroughly apprized of the mode in which he chooses to be treated, that I may exactly conform to it. This will throw whatever may displease the King of Denmark, during his stay here, on his shoulders, and consequently free me from thatdésagrément; but you know very well that the whole ofit is very disagreeable to me.” [Richmond Lodge, June 8, 1768.]In pursuance of these sentiments George III., though he had every necessary preparation made for the King of Denmark, showed no warmth in welcoming him. He was holding a levee in St. James’s Palace the very hour that Christian arrived there, but instead of hastening to greet him, he sent a formal message to the effect that he would receive him at the Queen’s House (now Buckingham Palace) at half-past five o’clock. To the Queen’s House, therefore, at the appointed hour Christian repaired. George III.’s reception of his cousin and brother-in-law was cold and formal, and immediately it was over he left London for Richmond Lodge, where he remained in seclusion nearly the whole time of the King of Denmark’s stay in England.Christian then went to Carlton House to pay his respects to his mother-in-law. His reception there was less frigid, but far from satisfactory. The Princess-Dowager of Wales could not help showing him how anxious she was about her daughter. She overwhelmed her son-in-law with inquiries concerning his wife’s health, which wearied him greatly, and he could not refrain from saying in an audible whisper to Holck, “Cette chère maman m’embête terriblement”. The Princess-Dowager reopened the question of Madame de Plessen’s dismissal, acting, no doubt, at the request of Queen Matilda, and prayed the King to reinstate her, as she was afraid for her daughter to be exposed to the temptations of the court without a strict duenna. Christian, who was visibly annoyed, said he would not oppose Madame dePlessen’s return, if the Princess-Dowager insisted upon it, but if she came back he and the Queen must occupy separate palaces, as he was determined never to have Madame de Plessen under his roof again. As this would involve a virtual separation, the Princess-Dowager forebore to press the point further. She reported her ill-success to Matilda, and begged her to submit to the inevitable, and try to conciliate her husband. Now that she saw what manner of man her son-in-law was, the Princess-Dowager regretted the part she had played in bringing about this unhappy marriage.Ill-health and many sorrows had softened this stern Princess’s heart; life had not gone smoothly with her of late. The one friend in whom she trusted, Lord Bute, had been driven from England by her implacable enemies. Bute had taken office at the request of the Princess-Dowager, and for her sake he had laid it down. The ostensible ground he gave for his resignation was ill-health, the real one was a chivalrous desire to check the flood of cowardly insult aimed through him at the second lady in the land. The Princess-Dowager urged him not to make the sacrifice, for she well knew it would be in vain, and she proved to be right. Bute was still pursued with a relentless hatred, and his enemies were not satisfied until they had driven him first from London and then out of the country. Unable to withstand the storm any longer Bute went into exile, and at the time when Christian VII. visited England, he was wandering about Italy under theincognitoof Sir John Stewart. The Princess-Dowager was much cast down by the loss of her friend, with whom she could hardly correspond, without fear of her letters being intercepted. Moreover, her sorrows were increased by the death of two of her children (the once numerous family of Frederick Prince of Wales was now reduced to five), and by the unsatisfactory conduct of her two younger sons, the Dukes of Gloucester and Cumberland, who showed tendencies (the latter especially) to folly and extravagance.Carlton House, Pall Mall, the residence of the Princess Dowager of Wales.CARLTON HOUSE, PALL MALL, THE RESIDENCE OF THE PRINCESS-DOWAGER OF WALES.From a Print, temp. 1765.The visit of her son-in-law, the King of Denmark, so far from comforting her, only increased her anxiety. The more she saw of him the more she disliked him. He was restive under her covert reproaches, and at last entirely lost her good graces by his impertinence. The Princess was telling fortunes by cards one evening with one of her ladies, to whom Christian had given a diamond star. The King said to her: “Chère maman, which King am I in your pasteboard court?” “Lady——,” said the Princess-Dowager archly, “calls you the King of Diamonds.” “What do you call Holck?” asked Christian. “Oh, by a more flattering title—the King of Hearts.” This nettled the King, who retorted: “And pray,chère maman, what do you call Lord Bute—the Knave of Hearts?” This repartee greatly discomposed the Princess-Dowager. She flushed crimson, and gathered up the cards without a word.Though Christian was so unwelcome at court,he was exceedingly well received by all classes of the nation, who made him the hero of the hour. The fact that the King disliked him rather increased his popularity than otherwise. The King and Queen, in consequence of the seclusion in which they lived, had little or no influence on society. George III. preferred a quiet domestic life with his wife and children, routs, balls and assemblies had no attractions for him. Therefore London society, which loves the presence of royalty, hailed the King of Denmark with delight. All the fine ladies were in love with him, all the fine gentlemen sought the honour of his acquaintance, imitated his dress and deportment, and even copied his eccentricities. The rumour of his vices lent an additional piquancy. He was nicknamed “the Northern Scamp,” and the ladies invented a headdress in his honour, which was known as the “Danish fly”. “The King of Denmark,” writes Whately to George Grenville, “is the only topic of conversation. Wilkes himself is forgotten, even by the populace.”[95]The people cheered him wherever he went, and the nobility vied with one another in giving him splendid entertainments. First to have the honour of entertaining “the royal Dane” was Lady Hertford, who gave a brilliant assembly at Hertford House. Horace Walpole, who was present, writes:—“I came to town to see the Danish King. He is as diminutive as if he came out of a kernel in the Fairy Tales. He is not ill made, nor weakly made,though so small; and, though his face is pale and delicate, it is not at all ugly.... Still he has more royalty than folly in his air, and, considering he is not twenty, is as well as any one expects any king in a puppet show to be.... He only takes the title ofAltesse(an absurd mezzo-termine), but acts king exceedingly; struts in the circle, like a cock-sparrow, and does the honours of himself very civilly.”[96]And again: “He has the sublime strut of his grandfather (George II.), and the divine white eyes of all his family on the mother’s side.... The mob adore and huzza him, and so they did at the first instant. They now begin to know why, for he flings money to them out of the window; and by the end of the week, I do not doubt they will want to choose him for Middlesex. His court is extremely well ordered, for they bow as low to him at every word as if his name were Sultan Amurath. You would take his first minister for only the first of his slaves.... There is indeed a pert young gentleman who a little discomposes this august ceremonial; his name is Count Holck, his age three-and-twenty; and his post answers to one that we had formerly in England ages ago, called, in our tongue, a royal favourite.”[97][95]Grenville Papers, vol. iv.[96]Walpole’sLetters, vol. v., edition 1857.[97]Ibid.Lady Hertford’s assembly was followed by a magnificent entertainment at Syon House, given by the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. “An inexpressible variety of emblematical deviceswas illuminated by more than fifteen thousand lamps, and the temple erected in the inner court was ornamented by transparent paintings, which had a very happy effect.”[98]A gala performance was also given at the opera, which was attended by all the rank and fashion of the town, though the King and Queen were absent. After the opera the King went to Mrs. Cornelys’ house in Soho Square (a sort of Assembly Rooms at that period). “Mrs. Cornelys had put the apartments in all the possible order that a few hours’ notice would admit of, and the whole was splendidly illuminated with upwards of two thousand wax lights. The moment the King entered the grand room the music (consisting of French horns, clarinets, bassoons, etc.) began playing, and his Majesty seemed very much pleased at the agreeable manner of his reception. Dancing was proposed; the King opened the ball with the Duchess of Ancaster, and named the second minuet with the Countess of Harrington; the minuets were succeeded by English country dances, and those by the French cotillons.”[99][98]The Annual Register, 1768.[99]Ibid.Christian’s maternal aunt, the Princess Amelia, was indignant with George III. for the way he ignored his royal guest, and she gave a grand entertainment at Gunnersbury House in honour of her Danish nephew. “The entertainment was extremely magnificent. Invitations were given to upwards of 300 of the nobility. The supper consisted of 120 dishes; a grand fire-work was then played off; and the ball, which was very splendid, ended about three o’clock on Saturday morning.”[100]The Duke of Gloucester was present, but the King and Queen did not attend. The lovely Lady Talbot, who was much admired by Christian, was the belle of the ball, and wore a diamond coronet worth £80,000. The beautiful and lively Lady Bel Stanhope also created a sensation, and Holck fell in love with her. It is said that he proposed marriage, but Lady Bel, or her parents, would not hear of it. The Princess Amelia declared herself to be very fond of her nephew, who, she said, reminded her of her sister, Queen Louise, but she was distressed that he did not get on better with his wife, and asked him why. “Pourquoi?” replied Christian, “Pourquoi?—elle est si blonde!” Walpole has something to say on this head too, for he tells us, “At the play ofThe Provoked Wife, he (the King) clapped whenever there was a sentence against matrimony—a very civil proceeding when his wife was an English Princess”.[100]The Annual Register, 1768.George III.’s neglect of the King of Denmark occasioned so much comment that he at last reluctantly gave a ball in Christian’s honour at the Queen’s House, at which the Princess-Dowager of Wales, the Duke of Gloucester, and a great number of the nobility were present. The Princess Amelia was not asked; the King owed her a grudge for the way in which she had forced his hand in giving anentertainment to her nephew—an example he was bound to follow. The King of Denmark opened the ball with Queen Charlotte, and King George danced a minuet with the Duchess of Ancaster, who seems to have been the greatest lady of the day outside the royal family.Christian VII. showed no hurry to quit a country where he was so well received, and in September, when London was empty, he made several tours in the provinces. It was a very wet summer, and the rains were heavier than had been known in the memory of man. “The Serpentine river in Hyde Park rose so high that it forced down a part of the wall, and poured with such violence upon Knightsbridge, that the inhabitants expected the whole town to be overflowed; the canal in St. James’s Park rose higher than ever was known; in short, no man living remembered so much rain-fall in so short a time.”[101]Several parts of the country were flooded, and the high roads rendered impassable; travelling by coach always slow, became slower still, and in some places was attended with difficulty and even danger. But these things did not daunt Christian, who rushed about the country, from one end to another, stopping nowhere for any time, and apparently taking no interest in anything he saw. Even the polite writer in theAnnual Register, who devoted pages to Christian’s doings, was constrained to say: “His journeyings are so rapid, and his stay at places so short, that, if he is not a youth of morethan common talents, he must have a very confused idea of what he sees”.[101]The Annual Register, September 1, 1768.Horace Walpole, who now pursued the King of Denmark with strange malignity, writes: “You know already about the King of Denmark, hurrying from one corner of England to the other, without seeing anything distinctly, fatiguing himself, breaking his chaise, going tired to bed in inns, and getting up to show himself to the mob at the window. I believe that he is a very silly lad, but the mob adore him, though he has neither done nor said anything worth repeating; but he gives them an opportunity of getting together, of staring and of making foolish observations.”[102]Bernstorff excused the King’s indifference on the ground that he was short-sighted. This also served to explain many apparent discourtesies, for Christian often ignored people to whom he had been most gracious a few days before. It is probable that Horace Walpole was one of the victims of this little peculiarity, and that accounts for the venom with which he writes of the King. Christian may also have ignored Walpole’s niece, Lady Waldegrave, who had secretly married the Duke of Gloucester, and who, though the marriage was not declared, already gave herself the airs of a princess of the blood.[102]Walpole’sLetters, vol. v., edition 1857.Christian’s first excursion was to York. Attended by a retinue of a hundred and twenty persons he set out from London, and, in passing, visited Cambridge. The Vice-Chancellor, the heads of houses,the doctors, professors, proctors and other officials of the university, clad in their scarlet robes, received the King at the entrance of the senate house, and conducted him to a chair of state, where an address was presented to him. The King was invited to a public luncheon, but he excused himself, and asked the Vice-Chancellor to supper with him at his inn. Christian shirked all ceremony, and saw the sights of Cambridge in his riding coat and boots. At York the Corporation made every preparation to entertain him in a splendid manner, but the King declined all formalities, saw the races, visited the Minster and other public buildings, and the next day set out on his return journey to London, going round by way of Liverpool and Manchester, “where he was particularly gratified by viewing the stupendous works of the Duke of Bridgewater, at which he expressed both astonishment and pleasure”.A few days after the Danish King’s return to London he again set forth on a visit to Oxford. He was received in state by the Vice-Chancellor and officials of the university, and in full convocation had the degree of Doctor of Civil Law conferred upon him. Bernstorff, Holck and other members of the Danish suite also received honorary degrees, and Struensee had conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Medicine. After Oxford the King visited several places, and was perpetually on the road. When he was at Newmarket for the races the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge waited on him, and in the name of the university presented anaddress, and graces for conferring the same degree upon the King and his nobles as they had received at Oxford.The grandest entertainment provided for Christian was his state visit to the City of London. The Lord Mayor with the aldermen and sheriffs, all in their robes, set out in coaches from the Guildhall for the Three Cranes, where they embarked at eleven o’clock in the morning on board the city state barge, “the streamers flying, a select band of water-music playing, and the principal livery companies attending in their respective barges,” to Westminster, where they awaited the arrival of Christian from St. James’s Palace. The King came punctually, and as he set foot on the city barge a royal salute was fired, and loud cheers rent the air from the vast crowds of people who lined the banks on either side, thronged the bridges, and crowded the river on innumerable craft. The procession glided down the Thames to the Temple Stairs. “During the course of this grand passage on the water his Majesty frequently expressed himself highly pleased, and his admiration of the several great and beautiful objects round him; and sometimes condescended to come forward in order to gratify the curiosity of the people, who eagerly fought to get a sight of his royal person, though at the hazard of their lives.”[103]Arrived at the Temple Stairs the King landed, took his seat in the Lord Mayor’s coach, and proceeded to the MansionHouse. The streets through which he passed were gaily decorated, and crowded “with an innumerable populace, while the windows and tops of houses were equally crowded with spectators of both sexes, whose acclamations, together with the ringing of bells, and the shouts of the multitude, loudly expressed their joy at his Majesty’s presence; his Majesty expressed his surprise at the populousness of this city, and his satisfaction at the kindness of the citizens”.[104][103]The Annual Register.[104]Ibid.Arrived at the Mansion House an address was read to the King by the City Recorder. Curiously no direct mention was made of Queen Matilda, but we take from it one passage to show the gross and servile flattery which characterised the whole effusion. “The many endearing ties which happily connect you, Sir, with our most gracious Sovereign, justly entitle you to the respect and veneration of all his Majesty’s faithful subjects; but your affability and other princely virtues, so eminently displayed during the whole course of your residence among us, have in a particular manner charmed the citizens of London, who reflect with admiration on your early and uncommon thirst for knowledge, and your indefatigable pursuit of it by travel and observation, the happy fruits of which they doubt not will be long employed and acknowledged within the whole extent of your influence and command.” Christian returned a suitable reply in Danish, and, “upon notice that the dinner was served, his Majesty wasconducted into the Egyptian Hall, where his Majesty condescended to proceed quite round, that the ladies (who made a most brilliant appearance in the galleries) might have a full view of his royal person”. The banquet was a Gargantuan one, and took four hours to work through. Several toasts were drunk to the sound of a trumpet, but, at the King’s request, without speeches. In addition to the usual loyal toasts, were added those of the King of Denmark and Norway and his Consort, Queen Matilda. The King himself proposed two toasts, “Prosperity to the British Nation,” and “Prosperity to the City of London”.[105][105]The Annual Register.At eight o’clock his Majesty took his leave, the City Fathers going before him to his coach bearing wax lights. The King returned to St. James’s Palace through crowded streets, brilliantly illuminated in his honour. The whole visit was a remarkable tribute to his undeserved popularity. Truly there must be some strange glamour around the name of king, when a prince like this, who had never said or done anything worth recording, and a great deal which was quite unfit to be recorded, received from the greatest city in the world an ovation which could not be surpassed if he had been one of the world’s greatest heroes.Moreover, the King of Denmark was pursuing in London the same scandalous amusements as those which had revolted his subjects in Copenhagen. Incredible though it may seem, night after night heand his favourite, Holck, disguised as sailors, would pass hours drinking and frolicking in the stews and pot-houses of St. Giles’. These adventures generally began after midnight. Christian would leave some splendid entertainment given in his honour by the proudest of the English nobility, and hurrying back to St. James’s would change his clothes, and start out again to seek distraction in the lowest forms of dissipation. These extraordinary predilections were perfectly well known to many people of rank and fashion, and the knowledge filtered down to the mob, who cheered the Danish King whithersoever he went. Perhaps they lent, such was the depravity of the age, an additional zest to the cheers. Even Queen Matilda, left behind in far-off Denmark, heard from London of her husband’s transgressions. It is said that she wrote to her aunt, the Princess Amelia: “I wish the King’s travels had the same laudable object as those of Cyrus, but I hear that his Majesty’s chief companions are musicians, fiddlers, and persons designed for inglorious employments. What a wretched levee! And his evening amusements are said to be still more disgraceful. His delicacy and sentiment cannot be supposed to dignify these fleeting gratifications. If I had not experienced his fickleness and levity at home, I could not have heard, without emotion and disquietude, of his infidelities abroad.”[106][106]Memoirs of an Unfortunate Queen.Having said this much in condemnation ofChristian VII. in England, it is only fair to turn the other side of the shield, and record one or two anecdotes of him which may have accounted, to some extent, for his undoubted popularity. One day he saw a poor tradesman seized in his shop by two bailiffs, who thrust him into a hackney coach, despite the lamentations of his weeping wife and family, and drove off to the Marshalsea. The King commanded Count Moltke to follow the coach and find out all particulars. Moltke reported that the unlucky man had contracted a debt in the course of his business, and had been charged exorbitant interest. The King paid the debt, set the man free from prison, and gave him five hundred dollars to start anew. This was only one instance of several exhibitions of generosity, for he gave away considerable sums to liberate poor debtors from the Marshalsea and Fleet. Christian had also a habit of scattering money among the crowd, which would account for many cheers—though money was scarce in Denmark its King had always plenty to throw away on his travels.One day when Christian stepped out of his coach to enter St. James’s Palace, a fine buxom girl, who formed one of the little crowd that always assembled to witness the King’s goings out and comings in, burst through the line, caught the King in her arms, and, fairly lifting him off the ground, kissed him heartily. “Now,” said she, “kill me if you like, I shall die happy, for I have kissed the prettiest fellow in the world.” Christian, far from being offended,was delighted with this tribute to his charms. He gave the girl a crown and ran laughing up the stairs. But after this incident it was necessary to have a double line of attendants, as other maidens might have been tempted to repeat the experiment, for the King, though so small, was much admired by the ladies of all classes. He was fond of dining in public at St. James’s, that is to say, he sat at a table in the middle of the room, and the general public, chiefly women, were admitted to a space at one end, shut off by a rail, whence they could see “the Northern Scamp” eat his dinner. Powdered, painted, patched, perfumed, richly dressed in silk, velvet and lace, and besprinkled with jewels, Christian looked like a Dresden china figure. The men said he resembled a girl dressed in a man’s clothes, but the women adored him.Six weeks had passed since the King of Denmark’s arrival in England, yet he showed no inclination to depart. But the King of England, who had to bear the cost of his maintenance, thought that it was high time for him to return to his Queen and country. Other hints proving vain, George III. invited his royal guest to what he pointedly called a “farewell entertainment” at Richmond Lodge, on September 26. “A most elegant structure,” we read, “was erected, in the centre of which was a large triumphal arch, about forty feet high, of the Grecian order, decorated with figures, trophies and other embellishments.” The entertainment was equal to the magnificence of the structure, andthe fireworks were the finest ever exhibited in England. The road from St. James’s Palace to Richmond Lodge, along which Christian passed, was illuminated by upwards of fifteen thousand Italian lamps.The Danish King accepted this “farewell entertainment,” but still showed no signs of saying farewell. The Princess-Dowager of Wales, therefore, by way of speeding the parting guest, gave a supper party on October 1, to bid him good-bye. It consisted of three tables, one for their Majesties and the Princess-Dowager, a second for the King of Denmark and fifty of the nobility, and a third for the Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV., then a boy of six years old) and his attendants. The supper party accomplished the object for which it was given, and Christian VII. named the much-wished-for day of his departure, which, however, was not for another fortnight.On October 10 the King of Denmark gave a masquerade ball to his English friends, who had entertained him so lavishly. The ball took place at the Opera House in the Haymarket, and two thousand five hundred guests responded to the “royal Dane’s” invitation. Queen Charlotte did not appear, she did not approve of masquerades; her virtuous husband also did not approve of them, but could not resist the temptation of being present, though he compromised with his conscience by peeping at the gay scene from a private box, behind transparent shutters. The Princess Amelia,who was old and infirm, witnessed the revels from another box, where she sat the whole evening masked. The scene was one of great brilliancy, and the value of the jewels worn on this occasion was estimated at upwards of £2,000,000. The company must have been rather mixed, and a good many people lost articles of jewellery, which they never recovered. The following account of the ball is taken from theGentleman’s Magazine:—The masked ball given by Christian VII. at the opera house, Haymarket.THE MASKED BALL GIVEN BY CHRISTIAN VII. AT THE OPERA HOUSE, HAYMARKET.From the “Gentleman’s Magazine,” 1768.“His Danish Majesty came in, masked, between ten and eleven o’clock, dressed in a domino of gold and silver stuff, a black hat and white feather, walked about with great good nature and pleasantry until twelve, then withdrew with a select company to supper and appeared no more.... The Duke of Cumberland was in a crimson domino, trimmed with gold, black hat and white feather. The Duke of Gloucester in a purple domino, white hat and white feather. Her Grace the Duchess of Northumberland appeared in the character of Rembrandt’s wife, in a close black gown trimmed with gold, a rounded coif, a short apron tucked up, and a painter’s brush in her hand. Lady Bel Stanhope and her sister represented pilgrims in brown gowns with blue sashes trimmed with silver, and small hats laced round with diamonds. The Countess of Harrington and the two young ladies, her daughters, were extremely simple in their appearance, but at the same time extremely elegant.... His Grace the Duke of Northumberland was in a Persian habit, with a fine turban richly ornamented with diamonds. LordGrosvenor was in a splendid suit of the Turkish fashion. The Duchess of Ancaster, in the character of a Sultana, was universally admired; her robe was purple satin bordered with ermine, and fluttered on the ground so much in the style of Eastern magnificence that we were transported in fancy to the palaces of Constantinople.... Many of the most superb, as well as the best fancied dresses in the whole assembly were those of eminent citizens, or those who had acquired their fortunes by trade.”Another account says: “The principal grotesque characters were the conjurer, the black, and the old woman. There was also a Methodist preacher, a chimney sweeper, with his bag, shovel and scraper, and a boar with a bull’s head, all of which were supported with great good humour.”[107][107]The Annual Register.Two days after the masquerade the King of Denmark held a levee at St. James’s Palace, at which a large company attended to take leave of him. The following day he went to Queen’s House to say farewell to the King and Queen, and to Carlton House to wish the Princess-Dowager good-bye. Christian made several valuable presents before his departure, but the most notable was a gold box studded with diamonds which he gave to Garrick, the great actor, and begged him to receive it as a small token of the regard he had for his genius.The King of Denmark posted to Dover on October 15, and on his way thither he broke thejourney at Chatham and went up the Medway on H.M.S.Victory, and inspected the British fleet. It chanced that the young officer who commanded theVictorywas Gambier, who forty years later, in 1807, was the Admiral commanding the English fleet that bombarded Copenhagen. The following day the King of Denmark left England, after a stay of more than two months, and sailed for France.Christian VII. went to Paris where he remained for some time as the guest of the French King, Louis XV. It would not be germane to this history to give a detailed account of the King of Denmark’s experiences in Paris. He was splendidly entertained by the King and the French nobility, and welcomed on all his public appearances with enthusiasm. His private amusements were of the same nature as those he had followed in London. If it had been possible to corrupt Christian’s morals more than they were corrupted his experiences in Paris would have done it. France was then slowly going down the steps that led to the revolution. The heartlessness, extravagance and immorality of the nobility stood in fearful contrast to the brutality, misery and ignorance of the people. Already could be heard the mutterings of the coming storm, but the Danish King had no eyes to see, nor ears to hear, nor mind to understand anything beyond the amusements of the passing hour.

CHRISTIAN VII. IN ENGLAND.

1768.

Christian VII. landed at Dover on August 9, 1768. He was received with especial marks of distinction, a salute was fired from the cannon of the castle, and the vessels in the harbour were dressed with flags. Royal coaches were in waiting, and Lord Hertford and Lord Falmouth received him on behalf of the King. The King of Denmark’s suite consisted of Count Bernstorff, his principal Secretary of State, Count Moltke the younger, Grand Marshal, Count Holck, Master of the Wardrobe, Baron Schimmelmann, Treasurer, Baron Bülow, Lord-in-Waiting, Dr. Struensee, Physician, and several others.

Christian declined the royal coaches, and preferred to travel in a post-chaise to avoid ceremony. With the principal members of his suite he pushed on ahead, leaving the others to follow with the baggage. Lord Hertford told his Majesty that the clergy and the corporation of Canterbury, through which city he was to pass, had made great preparations to receive him. The King was annoyed, for he was travellingincognitoas thePrince of Traventhal, and his object in coming to England was to amuse himself, and not to be wearied by receiving addresses from mayors and Church dignitaries—for the clergy in particular he had a dislike. He said to Bernstorff: “The last King of Denmark who entered Canterbury laid it to ashes. I wish the citizens had remembered that, and then perhaps they would have let me pass unnoticed.” But Bernstorff told Christian that he must at least receive the address, which he did with ill grace, but he declined the luncheon prepared in his honour.

The King of Denmark arrived in London at seven o’clock in the evening, and when his coach pulled up before St. James’s Palace, Holck exclaimed, “By God, this will never do! This is not a fit place to lodge aChristianin!” In truth the somewhat dingy exterior of St. James’s Palace was not, at first sight, likely to impress a foreigner, but when the King entered he pronounced his lodgings tolerable. George III. had spent £3,000 in refurnishing a suite of apartments for his brother-in-law. Moreover, he defrayed the cost of his royal guest’s table during his stay in England, at the cost of £84 a day, without wine, and the wine bill, no doubt, was a heavy addition. He also decorated the King of Denmark’s sideboard with the splendid gold plate of Henry VII., which was seldom used, except at coronation banquets, and was brought from the Tower especially for the occasion. These marks of respect, it may be supposed, George III. paid to the office of the King, for it is certain that he dislikedthe man, and heartily wished him anywhere but at St. James’s.

Christian VII. had invited himself to the English court, and came as a most unwelcome guest. His visit was singularly ill-timed, for the Wilkes riots had taken place recently, and the King was unpopular, and much worried and annoyed. Moreover, the court was in mourning for the Princess Louisa Anne, and the King wished to give none but the absolutely necessary receptions this year. He disliked festivities as much as the King of Denmark revelled in them, and he grudged the outlay which the visit of his self-invited guest entailed. Besides, George III., who was a model of the domestic virtues, had heard of the profligacy of the King of Denmark, and the cruelty and disrespect with which he treated his Queen. Matilda had written home piteous complaints of the sufferings she endured, and though George III. declined to interfere between man and wife, and advised his sister to make the best of her lot, he felt just resentment against her husband, who ill-treated her so grossly.[94]

[94]George III.’s repugnance to the King of Denmark’s visit is shown in the following note which he wrote to Lord Weymouth before he came: “As to-morrow is the day you receive foreign ministers, you will acquaint M. de Dieden (the Danish minister) that I desire he will assure the King, his master, that I am desirous of making his stay in this country as agreeable as possible. That I therefore wish to be thoroughly apprized of the mode in which he chooses to be treated, that I may exactly conform to it. This will throw whatever may displease the King of Denmark, during his stay here, on his shoulders, and consequently free me from thatdésagrément; but you know very well that the whole ofit is very disagreeable to me.” [Richmond Lodge, June 8, 1768.]

In pursuance of these sentiments George III., though he had every necessary preparation made for the King of Denmark, showed no warmth in welcoming him. He was holding a levee in St. James’s Palace the very hour that Christian arrived there, but instead of hastening to greet him, he sent a formal message to the effect that he would receive him at the Queen’s House (now Buckingham Palace) at half-past five o’clock. To the Queen’s House, therefore, at the appointed hour Christian repaired. George III.’s reception of his cousin and brother-in-law was cold and formal, and immediately it was over he left London for Richmond Lodge, where he remained in seclusion nearly the whole time of the King of Denmark’s stay in England.

Christian then went to Carlton House to pay his respects to his mother-in-law. His reception there was less frigid, but far from satisfactory. The Princess-Dowager of Wales could not help showing him how anxious she was about her daughter. She overwhelmed her son-in-law with inquiries concerning his wife’s health, which wearied him greatly, and he could not refrain from saying in an audible whisper to Holck, “Cette chère maman m’embête terriblement”. The Princess-Dowager reopened the question of Madame de Plessen’s dismissal, acting, no doubt, at the request of Queen Matilda, and prayed the King to reinstate her, as she was afraid for her daughter to be exposed to the temptations of the court without a strict duenna. Christian, who was visibly annoyed, said he would not oppose Madame dePlessen’s return, if the Princess-Dowager insisted upon it, but if she came back he and the Queen must occupy separate palaces, as he was determined never to have Madame de Plessen under his roof again. As this would involve a virtual separation, the Princess-Dowager forebore to press the point further. She reported her ill-success to Matilda, and begged her to submit to the inevitable, and try to conciliate her husband. Now that she saw what manner of man her son-in-law was, the Princess-Dowager regretted the part she had played in bringing about this unhappy marriage.

Ill-health and many sorrows had softened this stern Princess’s heart; life had not gone smoothly with her of late. The one friend in whom she trusted, Lord Bute, had been driven from England by her implacable enemies. Bute had taken office at the request of the Princess-Dowager, and for her sake he had laid it down. The ostensible ground he gave for his resignation was ill-health, the real one was a chivalrous desire to check the flood of cowardly insult aimed through him at the second lady in the land. The Princess-Dowager urged him not to make the sacrifice, for she well knew it would be in vain, and she proved to be right. Bute was still pursued with a relentless hatred, and his enemies were not satisfied until they had driven him first from London and then out of the country. Unable to withstand the storm any longer Bute went into exile, and at the time when Christian VII. visited England, he was wandering about Italy under theincognitoof Sir John Stewart. The Princess-Dowager was much cast down by the loss of her friend, with whom she could hardly correspond, without fear of her letters being intercepted. Moreover, her sorrows were increased by the death of two of her children (the once numerous family of Frederick Prince of Wales was now reduced to five), and by the unsatisfactory conduct of her two younger sons, the Dukes of Gloucester and Cumberland, who showed tendencies (the latter especially) to folly and extravagance.

Carlton House, Pall Mall, the residence of the Princess Dowager of Wales.CARLTON HOUSE, PALL MALL, THE RESIDENCE OF THE PRINCESS-DOWAGER OF WALES.From a Print, temp. 1765.

CARLTON HOUSE, PALL MALL, THE RESIDENCE OF THE PRINCESS-DOWAGER OF WALES.From a Print, temp. 1765.

The visit of her son-in-law, the King of Denmark, so far from comforting her, only increased her anxiety. The more she saw of him the more she disliked him. He was restive under her covert reproaches, and at last entirely lost her good graces by his impertinence. The Princess was telling fortunes by cards one evening with one of her ladies, to whom Christian had given a diamond star. The King said to her: “Chère maman, which King am I in your pasteboard court?” “Lady——,” said the Princess-Dowager archly, “calls you the King of Diamonds.” “What do you call Holck?” asked Christian. “Oh, by a more flattering title—the King of Hearts.” This nettled the King, who retorted: “And pray,chère maman, what do you call Lord Bute—the Knave of Hearts?” This repartee greatly discomposed the Princess-Dowager. She flushed crimson, and gathered up the cards without a word.

Though Christian was so unwelcome at court,he was exceedingly well received by all classes of the nation, who made him the hero of the hour. The fact that the King disliked him rather increased his popularity than otherwise. The King and Queen, in consequence of the seclusion in which they lived, had little or no influence on society. George III. preferred a quiet domestic life with his wife and children, routs, balls and assemblies had no attractions for him. Therefore London society, which loves the presence of royalty, hailed the King of Denmark with delight. All the fine ladies were in love with him, all the fine gentlemen sought the honour of his acquaintance, imitated his dress and deportment, and even copied his eccentricities. The rumour of his vices lent an additional piquancy. He was nicknamed “the Northern Scamp,” and the ladies invented a headdress in his honour, which was known as the “Danish fly”. “The King of Denmark,” writes Whately to George Grenville, “is the only topic of conversation. Wilkes himself is forgotten, even by the populace.”[95]The people cheered him wherever he went, and the nobility vied with one another in giving him splendid entertainments. First to have the honour of entertaining “the royal Dane” was Lady Hertford, who gave a brilliant assembly at Hertford House. Horace Walpole, who was present, writes:—

“I came to town to see the Danish King. He is as diminutive as if he came out of a kernel in the Fairy Tales. He is not ill made, nor weakly made,though so small; and, though his face is pale and delicate, it is not at all ugly.... Still he has more royalty than folly in his air, and, considering he is not twenty, is as well as any one expects any king in a puppet show to be.... He only takes the title ofAltesse(an absurd mezzo-termine), but acts king exceedingly; struts in the circle, like a cock-sparrow, and does the honours of himself very civilly.”[96]And again: “He has the sublime strut of his grandfather (George II.), and the divine white eyes of all his family on the mother’s side.... The mob adore and huzza him, and so they did at the first instant. They now begin to know why, for he flings money to them out of the window; and by the end of the week, I do not doubt they will want to choose him for Middlesex. His court is extremely well ordered, for they bow as low to him at every word as if his name were Sultan Amurath. You would take his first minister for only the first of his slaves.... There is indeed a pert young gentleman who a little discomposes this august ceremonial; his name is Count Holck, his age three-and-twenty; and his post answers to one that we had formerly in England ages ago, called, in our tongue, a royal favourite.”[97]

[95]Grenville Papers, vol. iv.

[96]Walpole’sLetters, vol. v., edition 1857.

[97]Ibid.

Lady Hertford’s assembly was followed by a magnificent entertainment at Syon House, given by the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. “An inexpressible variety of emblematical deviceswas illuminated by more than fifteen thousand lamps, and the temple erected in the inner court was ornamented by transparent paintings, which had a very happy effect.”[98]A gala performance was also given at the opera, which was attended by all the rank and fashion of the town, though the King and Queen were absent. After the opera the King went to Mrs. Cornelys’ house in Soho Square (a sort of Assembly Rooms at that period). “Mrs. Cornelys had put the apartments in all the possible order that a few hours’ notice would admit of, and the whole was splendidly illuminated with upwards of two thousand wax lights. The moment the King entered the grand room the music (consisting of French horns, clarinets, bassoons, etc.) began playing, and his Majesty seemed very much pleased at the agreeable manner of his reception. Dancing was proposed; the King opened the ball with the Duchess of Ancaster, and named the second minuet with the Countess of Harrington; the minuets were succeeded by English country dances, and those by the French cotillons.”[99]

[98]The Annual Register, 1768.

[99]Ibid.

Christian’s maternal aunt, the Princess Amelia, was indignant with George III. for the way he ignored his royal guest, and she gave a grand entertainment at Gunnersbury House in honour of her Danish nephew. “The entertainment was extremely magnificent. Invitations were given to upwards of 300 of the nobility. The supper consisted of 120 dishes; a grand fire-work was then played off; and the ball, which was very splendid, ended about three o’clock on Saturday morning.”[100]The Duke of Gloucester was present, but the King and Queen did not attend. The lovely Lady Talbot, who was much admired by Christian, was the belle of the ball, and wore a diamond coronet worth £80,000. The beautiful and lively Lady Bel Stanhope also created a sensation, and Holck fell in love with her. It is said that he proposed marriage, but Lady Bel, or her parents, would not hear of it. The Princess Amelia declared herself to be very fond of her nephew, who, she said, reminded her of her sister, Queen Louise, but she was distressed that he did not get on better with his wife, and asked him why. “Pourquoi?” replied Christian, “Pourquoi?—elle est si blonde!” Walpole has something to say on this head too, for he tells us, “At the play ofThe Provoked Wife, he (the King) clapped whenever there was a sentence against matrimony—a very civil proceeding when his wife was an English Princess”.

[100]The Annual Register, 1768.

George III.’s neglect of the King of Denmark occasioned so much comment that he at last reluctantly gave a ball in Christian’s honour at the Queen’s House, at which the Princess-Dowager of Wales, the Duke of Gloucester, and a great number of the nobility were present. The Princess Amelia was not asked; the King owed her a grudge for the way in which she had forced his hand in giving anentertainment to her nephew—an example he was bound to follow. The King of Denmark opened the ball with Queen Charlotte, and King George danced a minuet with the Duchess of Ancaster, who seems to have been the greatest lady of the day outside the royal family.

Christian VII. showed no hurry to quit a country where he was so well received, and in September, when London was empty, he made several tours in the provinces. It was a very wet summer, and the rains were heavier than had been known in the memory of man. “The Serpentine river in Hyde Park rose so high that it forced down a part of the wall, and poured with such violence upon Knightsbridge, that the inhabitants expected the whole town to be overflowed; the canal in St. James’s Park rose higher than ever was known; in short, no man living remembered so much rain-fall in so short a time.”[101]Several parts of the country were flooded, and the high roads rendered impassable; travelling by coach always slow, became slower still, and in some places was attended with difficulty and even danger. But these things did not daunt Christian, who rushed about the country, from one end to another, stopping nowhere for any time, and apparently taking no interest in anything he saw. Even the polite writer in theAnnual Register, who devoted pages to Christian’s doings, was constrained to say: “His journeyings are so rapid, and his stay at places so short, that, if he is not a youth of morethan common talents, he must have a very confused idea of what he sees”.

[101]The Annual Register, September 1, 1768.

Horace Walpole, who now pursued the King of Denmark with strange malignity, writes: “You know already about the King of Denmark, hurrying from one corner of England to the other, without seeing anything distinctly, fatiguing himself, breaking his chaise, going tired to bed in inns, and getting up to show himself to the mob at the window. I believe that he is a very silly lad, but the mob adore him, though he has neither done nor said anything worth repeating; but he gives them an opportunity of getting together, of staring and of making foolish observations.”[102]Bernstorff excused the King’s indifference on the ground that he was short-sighted. This also served to explain many apparent discourtesies, for Christian often ignored people to whom he had been most gracious a few days before. It is probable that Horace Walpole was one of the victims of this little peculiarity, and that accounts for the venom with which he writes of the King. Christian may also have ignored Walpole’s niece, Lady Waldegrave, who had secretly married the Duke of Gloucester, and who, though the marriage was not declared, already gave herself the airs of a princess of the blood.

[102]Walpole’sLetters, vol. v., edition 1857.

Christian’s first excursion was to York. Attended by a retinue of a hundred and twenty persons he set out from London, and, in passing, visited Cambridge. The Vice-Chancellor, the heads of houses,the doctors, professors, proctors and other officials of the university, clad in their scarlet robes, received the King at the entrance of the senate house, and conducted him to a chair of state, where an address was presented to him. The King was invited to a public luncheon, but he excused himself, and asked the Vice-Chancellor to supper with him at his inn. Christian shirked all ceremony, and saw the sights of Cambridge in his riding coat and boots. At York the Corporation made every preparation to entertain him in a splendid manner, but the King declined all formalities, saw the races, visited the Minster and other public buildings, and the next day set out on his return journey to London, going round by way of Liverpool and Manchester, “where he was particularly gratified by viewing the stupendous works of the Duke of Bridgewater, at which he expressed both astonishment and pleasure”.

A few days after the Danish King’s return to London he again set forth on a visit to Oxford. He was received in state by the Vice-Chancellor and officials of the university, and in full convocation had the degree of Doctor of Civil Law conferred upon him. Bernstorff, Holck and other members of the Danish suite also received honorary degrees, and Struensee had conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Medicine. After Oxford the King visited several places, and was perpetually on the road. When he was at Newmarket for the races the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge waited on him, and in the name of the university presented anaddress, and graces for conferring the same degree upon the King and his nobles as they had received at Oxford.

The grandest entertainment provided for Christian was his state visit to the City of London. The Lord Mayor with the aldermen and sheriffs, all in their robes, set out in coaches from the Guildhall for the Three Cranes, where they embarked at eleven o’clock in the morning on board the city state barge, “the streamers flying, a select band of water-music playing, and the principal livery companies attending in their respective barges,” to Westminster, where they awaited the arrival of Christian from St. James’s Palace. The King came punctually, and as he set foot on the city barge a royal salute was fired, and loud cheers rent the air from the vast crowds of people who lined the banks on either side, thronged the bridges, and crowded the river on innumerable craft. The procession glided down the Thames to the Temple Stairs. “During the course of this grand passage on the water his Majesty frequently expressed himself highly pleased, and his admiration of the several great and beautiful objects round him; and sometimes condescended to come forward in order to gratify the curiosity of the people, who eagerly fought to get a sight of his royal person, though at the hazard of their lives.”[103]Arrived at the Temple Stairs the King landed, took his seat in the Lord Mayor’s coach, and proceeded to the MansionHouse. The streets through which he passed were gaily decorated, and crowded “with an innumerable populace, while the windows and tops of houses were equally crowded with spectators of both sexes, whose acclamations, together with the ringing of bells, and the shouts of the multitude, loudly expressed their joy at his Majesty’s presence; his Majesty expressed his surprise at the populousness of this city, and his satisfaction at the kindness of the citizens”.[104]

[103]The Annual Register.

[104]Ibid.

Arrived at the Mansion House an address was read to the King by the City Recorder. Curiously no direct mention was made of Queen Matilda, but we take from it one passage to show the gross and servile flattery which characterised the whole effusion. “The many endearing ties which happily connect you, Sir, with our most gracious Sovereign, justly entitle you to the respect and veneration of all his Majesty’s faithful subjects; but your affability and other princely virtues, so eminently displayed during the whole course of your residence among us, have in a particular manner charmed the citizens of London, who reflect with admiration on your early and uncommon thirst for knowledge, and your indefatigable pursuit of it by travel and observation, the happy fruits of which they doubt not will be long employed and acknowledged within the whole extent of your influence and command.” Christian returned a suitable reply in Danish, and, “upon notice that the dinner was served, his Majesty wasconducted into the Egyptian Hall, where his Majesty condescended to proceed quite round, that the ladies (who made a most brilliant appearance in the galleries) might have a full view of his royal person”. The banquet was a Gargantuan one, and took four hours to work through. Several toasts were drunk to the sound of a trumpet, but, at the King’s request, without speeches. In addition to the usual loyal toasts, were added those of the King of Denmark and Norway and his Consort, Queen Matilda. The King himself proposed two toasts, “Prosperity to the British Nation,” and “Prosperity to the City of London”.[105]

[105]The Annual Register.

At eight o’clock his Majesty took his leave, the City Fathers going before him to his coach bearing wax lights. The King returned to St. James’s Palace through crowded streets, brilliantly illuminated in his honour. The whole visit was a remarkable tribute to his undeserved popularity. Truly there must be some strange glamour around the name of king, when a prince like this, who had never said or done anything worth recording, and a great deal which was quite unfit to be recorded, received from the greatest city in the world an ovation which could not be surpassed if he had been one of the world’s greatest heroes.

Moreover, the King of Denmark was pursuing in London the same scandalous amusements as those which had revolted his subjects in Copenhagen. Incredible though it may seem, night after night heand his favourite, Holck, disguised as sailors, would pass hours drinking and frolicking in the stews and pot-houses of St. Giles’. These adventures generally began after midnight. Christian would leave some splendid entertainment given in his honour by the proudest of the English nobility, and hurrying back to St. James’s would change his clothes, and start out again to seek distraction in the lowest forms of dissipation. These extraordinary predilections were perfectly well known to many people of rank and fashion, and the knowledge filtered down to the mob, who cheered the Danish King whithersoever he went. Perhaps they lent, such was the depravity of the age, an additional zest to the cheers. Even Queen Matilda, left behind in far-off Denmark, heard from London of her husband’s transgressions. It is said that she wrote to her aunt, the Princess Amelia: “I wish the King’s travels had the same laudable object as those of Cyrus, but I hear that his Majesty’s chief companions are musicians, fiddlers, and persons designed for inglorious employments. What a wretched levee! And his evening amusements are said to be still more disgraceful. His delicacy and sentiment cannot be supposed to dignify these fleeting gratifications. If I had not experienced his fickleness and levity at home, I could not have heard, without emotion and disquietude, of his infidelities abroad.”[106]

[106]Memoirs of an Unfortunate Queen.

Having said this much in condemnation ofChristian VII. in England, it is only fair to turn the other side of the shield, and record one or two anecdotes of him which may have accounted, to some extent, for his undoubted popularity. One day he saw a poor tradesman seized in his shop by two bailiffs, who thrust him into a hackney coach, despite the lamentations of his weeping wife and family, and drove off to the Marshalsea. The King commanded Count Moltke to follow the coach and find out all particulars. Moltke reported that the unlucky man had contracted a debt in the course of his business, and had been charged exorbitant interest. The King paid the debt, set the man free from prison, and gave him five hundred dollars to start anew. This was only one instance of several exhibitions of generosity, for he gave away considerable sums to liberate poor debtors from the Marshalsea and Fleet. Christian had also a habit of scattering money among the crowd, which would account for many cheers—though money was scarce in Denmark its King had always plenty to throw away on his travels.

One day when Christian stepped out of his coach to enter St. James’s Palace, a fine buxom girl, who formed one of the little crowd that always assembled to witness the King’s goings out and comings in, burst through the line, caught the King in her arms, and, fairly lifting him off the ground, kissed him heartily. “Now,” said she, “kill me if you like, I shall die happy, for I have kissed the prettiest fellow in the world.” Christian, far from being offended,was delighted with this tribute to his charms. He gave the girl a crown and ran laughing up the stairs. But after this incident it was necessary to have a double line of attendants, as other maidens might have been tempted to repeat the experiment, for the King, though so small, was much admired by the ladies of all classes. He was fond of dining in public at St. James’s, that is to say, he sat at a table in the middle of the room, and the general public, chiefly women, were admitted to a space at one end, shut off by a rail, whence they could see “the Northern Scamp” eat his dinner. Powdered, painted, patched, perfumed, richly dressed in silk, velvet and lace, and besprinkled with jewels, Christian looked like a Dresden china figure. The men said he resembled a girl dressed in a man’s clothes, but the women adored him.

Six weeks had passed since the King of Denmark’s arrival in England, yet he showed no inclination to depart. But the King of England, who had to bear the cost of his maintenance, thought that it was high time for him to return to his Queen and country. Other hints proving vain, George III. invited his royal guest to what he pointedly called a “farewell entertainment” at Richmond Lodge, on September 26. “A most elegant structure,” we read, “was erected, in the centre of which was a large triumphal arch, about forty feet high, of the Grecian order, decorated with figures, trophies and other embellishments.” The entertainment was equal to the magnificence of the structure, andthe fireworks were the finest ever exhibited in England. The road from St. James’s Palace to Richmond Lodge, along which Christian passed, was illuminated by upwards of fifteen thousand Italian lamps.

The Danish King accepted this “farewell entertainment,” but still showed no signs of saying farewell. The Princess-Dowager of Wales, therefore, by way of speeding the parting guest, gave a supper party on October 1, to bid him good-bye. It consisted of three tables, one for their Majesties and the Princess-Dowager, a second for the King of Denmark and fifty of the nobility, and a third for the Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV., then a boy of six years old) and his attendants. The supper party accomplished the object for which it was given, and Christian VII. named the much-wished-for day of his departure, which, however, was not for another fortnight.

On October 10 the King of Denmark gave a masquerade ball to his English friends, who had entertained him so lavishly. The ball took place at the Opera House in the Haymarket, and two thousand five hundred guests responded to the “royal Dane’s” invitation. Queen Charlotte did not appear, she did not approve of masquerades; her virtuous husband also did not approve of them, but could not resist the temptation of being present, though he compromised with his conscience by peeping at the gay scene from a private box, behind transparent shutters. The Princess Amelia,who was old and infirm, witnessed the revels from another box, where she sat the whole evening masked. The scene was one of great brilliancy, and the value of the jewels worn on this occasion was estimated at upwards of £2,000,000. The company must have been rather mixed, and a good many people lost articles of jewellery, which they never recovered. The following account of the ball is taken from theGentleman’s Magazine:—

The masked ball given by Christian VII. at the opera house, Haymarket.THE MASKED BALL GIVEN BY CHRISTIAN VII. AT THE OPERA HOUSE, HAYMARKET.From the “Gentleman’s Magazine,” 1768.

THE MASKED BALL GIVEN BY CHRISTIAN VII. AT THE OPERA HOUSE, HAYMARKET.From the “Gentleman’s Magazine,” 1768.

“His Danish Majesty came in, masked, between ten and eleven o’clock, dressed in a domino of gold and silver stuff, a black hat and white feather, walked about with great good nature and pleasantry until twelve, then withdrew with a select company to supper and appeared no more.... The Duke of Cumberland was in a crimson domino, trimmed with gold, black hat and white feather. The Duke of Gloucester in a purple domino, white hat and white feather. Her Grace the Duchess of Northumberland appeared in the character of Rembrandt’s wife, in a close black gown trimmed with gold, a rounded coif, a short apron tucked up, and a painter’s brush in her hand. Lady Bel Stanhope and her sister represented pilgrims in brown gowns with blue sashes trimmed with silver, and small hats laced round with diamonds. The Countess of Harrington and the two young ladies, her daughters, were extremely simple in their appearance, but at the same time extremely elegant.... His Grace the Duke of Northumberland was in a Persian habit, with a fine turban richly ornamented with diamonds. LordGrosvenor was in a splendid suit of the Turkish fashion. The Duchess of Ancaster, in the character of a Sultana, was universally admired; her robe was purple satin bordered with ermine, and fluttered on the ground so much in the style of Eastern magnificence that we were transported in fancy to the palaces of Constantinople.... Many of the most superb, as well as the best fancied dresses in the whole assembly were those of eminent citizens, or those who had acquired their fortunes by trade.”

Another account says: “The principal grotesque characters were the conjurer, the black, and the old woman. There was also a Methodist preacher, a chimney sweeper, with his bag, shovel and scraper, and a boar with a bull’s head, all of which were supported with great good humour.”[107]

[107]The Annual Register.

Two days after the masquerade the King of Denmark held a levee at St. James’s Palace, at which a large company attended to take leave of him. The following day he went to Queen’s House to say farewell to the King and Queen, and to Carlton House to wish the Princess-Dowager good-bye. Christian made several valuable presents before his departure, but the most notable was a gold box studded with diamonds which he gave to Garrick, the great actor, and begged him to receive it as a small token of the regard he had for his genius.

The King of Denmark posted to Dover on October 15, and on his way thither he broke thejourney at Chatham and went up the Medway on H.M.S.Victory, and inspected the British fleet. It chanced that the young officer who commanded theVictorywas Gambier, who forty years later, in 1807, was the Admiral commanding the English fleet that bombarded Copenhagen. The following day the King of Denmark left England, after a stay of more than two months, and sailed for France.

Christian VII. went to Paris where he remained for some time as the guest of the French King, Louis XV. It would not be germane to this history to give a detailed account of the King of Denmark’s experiences in Paris. He was splendidly entertained by the King and the French nobility, and welcomed on all his public appearances with enthusiasm. His private amusements were of the same nature as those he had followed in London. If it had been possible to corrupt Christian’s morals more than they were corrupted his experiences in Paris would have done it. France was then slowly going down the steps that led to the revolution. The heartlessness, extravagance and immorality of the nobility stood in fearful contrast to the brutality, misery and ignorance of the people. Already could be heard the mutterings of the coming storm, but the Danish King had no eyes to see, nor ears to hear, nor mind to understand anything beyond the amusements of the passing hour.

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