The Struensee affair, and its gruesome ending with the reformer’s execution, caused a stir all over Europe at the time. The “scandalous” nature of the story with its transgressions and broken taboos attracted the interest of people from across the political spectrum – both those who were open to change and those who wanted a return to the old order. A scandal at court, an adulterous relationship, an open affair between two people of different ranks, an attempted revolution – all of this has kept the story of the Struensee affair alive in the cultural imagination for centuries.
Since we have very little original testimony from the individuals involved, it has always been easy for people to project all kinds of their own ideas onto the story – and that is still the case to this day.
G. Grevedon, Paris
Coloured lithograph, 19th century
Bomann Museum Celle
BGR00732
In this lithograph, Caroline Matilda’s eyes have been coloured brown for reasons unknown, even though portraits painted during her lifetime always show her with blue eyes
Adolph Lønborg
Lithograph, 19th century
Bomann Museum Celle
BGR00491
19th-century depictions of Caroline Matilda tend to be heavily romanticised. She is portrayed as pious and innocent – her affair was mostly disputed by the prudish society of the 19th century.
Photograph, 1892
Bomann Museum Celle
0003628
To mark Celle’s 600th anniversary in 1892, a play featuring “ten historical scenes” from Celle’s past was staged outside the castle. The actress Dorothea Bente played Caroline Matilda, with an entire chapter being devoted to the queen’s benevolence and innocence.