Caroline Matilda’s daughter Louise Augusta was widely believed to have been fathered by Struensee, since the royal couple were no longer intimate at the time of her conception and the affair between Struensee and the queen was at its height. Louise Augusta was always officially recognised by the royal family as Christian VII’s daughter, however.
She was less than a year old when she was separated from her mother. After that, she and her brother grew up in the care of their step-grandmother, Juliana Maria. She and Frederick remained close their whole lives. In 1768, Louise Augusta married Frederick Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Augustenburg-Sonderburg. She became the great-grandmother of Augusta Victoria, the last German empress.
Jens Juel
Oil on canvas, 1785
Bomann Museum Celle / Stadt Celle
BM00934/ST
The Danish court painter Jens Juel painted Louise Augusta’s portrait at the same time as her brother’s. The 14-year-old’s features strongly resemble Struensee’s in a similar portrait of him by the same artist.