Caroline Matilda Of Great Britain - A DOOMED Love Affaire

Caroline Mathilde of Hanover was born on July 22, 1751 at Leicester House in London. She was born almost four months after the death of her father, Friedrich, Prince of Wales. Her mother was Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. Caroline Mathilde's eldest brother, George, became Prince of Wales upon their father's death and succeeded his grandfather, George II, as King George III of Great Britain and Ireland in 1760. Caroline grew up away from the court at Kew Palace, where her mother planted and tended gardens. Her mother shared this passion with the Prime Minister, Lord Bute, with whom she was said to have a relationship. Only two public appearances are known from Caroline Mathilde's youth. In 1761, she was present at her brother's coronation as King, and in 1764, she acted as bridesmaid at the marriage of her eldest sister, Augusta, to the Brunswick hereditary prince, Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand. Otherwise, little is known about her youth. At the age of 13, Caroline Mathilde was betrothed, without her knowledge, to the Danish-Norwegian King Christian VII, who was her first cousin and two years her senior. This marriage had been arranged to consolidate Denmark-Norway's good relations with Great Britain. On July 14, 1766, after long negotiations, the marriage contract was signed. Due to Christian VII's mental illness, and the hopes that the marriage would put a stop to Christian's debauchery, an early marriage was requested by Denmark, although King George III considered his sister too young to be wed. Nonetheless, on October 1, 1766, the by-proxy wedding ceremony took place in London, after which the young bride was handed over to Denmark. The actual wedding took place on November 8, 1766, at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. The coronation of Caroline Mathilde and Christian VII took place on May 1, 1767. Christian took little notice of his young wife, and continued to amuse himself together with numerous court parties and with his sadomasochistic mistress Anna Catherine Benthagen. The young queen endeavored to get to know her new home, but increasingly suffered from her husband's disregard and the strict court etiquette. On January 28, 1768, at the age of 16, Caroline gave birth to her first child, the Crown Prince and later King of Denmark and Norway, Friedrich VI. Shortly afterwards, the king dismissed her lady-in-waiting Louise von Plessen, because von Plessen had urged the king to treat his young wife more kindly. Margrethe von der Leeuwe, the sister of one of the king's favorites, became von Plessen's successor. In May of that same year, Christian VII set off on a long journey through Europe with visits to Altona, Paris and London. Caroline Mathilda was not allowed to accompany him, although she would have liked to visit her mother. She spent the summer with her son at Friedrichsburg Castle. The king returned to Copenhagen on January 12, 1769 and brought Johann Friedrich Strunze to his court as his personal physician. He had met Strunze at the beginning of his journey in Altona. Strunze was apparently able to deal with the king's mental instability and the king developed a special trust in him. Strunze's arrival was initially met with suspicion by Caroline Mathilda, who did not appreciate Christian's other favorites. Caroline Mathilda was extremely unhappy in her marriage to Christian, whose mental illness became increasingly pronounced. During a stay at Friedrichsburg Castle in the summer of 1769, Strunze recommended that the royal couple go horseback riding together to promote health and togetherness. The 19-year-old queen took great pleasure in the rides suggested by Strunze. The fact that she sat in trousers in a gentleman's saddle for the sake of better mobility caused a great stir in the fans and soon the queen became the content of numerous scandalous pamphlets. During a smallpox epidemic in Copenhagen in 1770, Strunze vaccinated crown prince Friedrich against smallpox and by doing so, he finally won the queen's affection and trust. Caroline fell in love with Strunze and began a love affair with him in the spring of 1770 at the latest, an affair which the king was apparently indifferent to. In the summer of 1771, Strunze was also present when the court traveled to Traventhal Palace. According to the later statements of her chambermaids, Caroline Mathilda was frequently ill during the entire journey and had not spent a single night with the king but sought the company of his personal physician all the more. Princess Louise Augusta was born at Hirschholm Palace on July 7, 1771. It is almost certain that Louise was Strunze's daughter. Christian VII, however, recognized Louise Augusta despite all doubts. On the occasion of her christening, he raised Strunze to the rank of feudal count. Rumors about the queen's relationship with Strunze increased and went as far as the suspicion that a couple wanted to get rid of the king in order to be able to marry. These rumors were deliberately spread among Strunze's opponents because Strunze continuously worked to reduce the power of the nobility. Soon, a document was handed over to the king's stepmother, Juliane of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, which reported on a plot to force the king to abdicate. Consequently, Strunze was arrested and the queen was placed in protective custody at Kronborg Castle. All of the queen's correspondence was confiscated and examined for traces of a conspiracy. A commission was set up to investigate the matter. On March 8, 1772, Carolina Matilda was presented with Strunze's confession. She herself signed an already prepared confession, having been given hope that it might save Strunze's life. On March 14, the divorce proceedings were opened, although Carolina Matilda was not allowed to testify and the verdict was already determined before the proceedings began. The king, who possibly knew nothing of the divorce proceedings, was also not present. On April 6, the divorce was pronounced. Surprisingly, Luise Augusta, whose father was always considered to be Strunze, was recognized as a royal princess. Luise Augusta later married Friedrich Christian II, the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. The official proceedings against Strunze began on April 21, 1772. He was accused of treason, usurpation of office and enrichment, in addition to his relationship with Carolina Matilda. There was no doubt about the outcome of the trial, as he had already been found guilty on April 15, which was six days before the trial began. The execution of Johann Friedrich Strunze took place on April 28, 1772. Carolina Matilda was banished from court and her brother, the English king George III, demanded that she be moved to English territory, where she would be cared for at his expense. On May 31, 1772, she had to say goodbye to her daughter, whom she had had with her until that time, and Carolina left Denmark. Carolina Matilda traveled to the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, which fell under the jurisdiction of George III. At first, she stayed in the hunting lodge of Goerde, where she was visited by her sister Augusta as soon as she arrived. During the summer, Sel Palace, which had been unused for 70 years, was renovated and refurnished for Carolina. In October 1772, she moved to Sel, where she was received with great joy and festivities. During her time in Brunswick, Carolina's small court was wide open to all classes of the population and her societies were enlivened by interesting personalities from the middle classes. Previously known for her beauty, Carolina Matilda took refuge in food and gained a lot of weight. She lived in the hope that her divorced husband would be removed from the throne due to his mental illness and that she would be allowed to return to Denmark to see her children. But this never happened. Just three years later, Carolina Matilda of Hanover, not yet 24 years old, died unexpectedly on May 10, 1775, after a six-day illness, which was probably scarlet fever. Her body was buried the same night in the ducal crypt in the town church of St. Mary in Sel, next to the grave of her great-grandmother Sophie Dorothea because of the risk of infection. Thank you for watching.