Struensee was able to win over the young king to his ideas about an enlightened state and the reforms that went with it. Christian finally had a mission, a sense of purpose, and he then started to take measures like an active head of state for the first time.
At first Caroline Matilda took Struensee for just another of her husband’s favourites. It was only at the king’s insistence that the two met at all. Thanks to Struensee’s efforts to improve the relationship between the royal couple, and the fact that Struensee had successfully vaccinated the crown prince against smallpox, Caroline Matilda also came to trust him, and a close relationship soon developed between the pair.
Struensee’s bourgeois outlook on life enabled the royal couple to implement some longed-for freedoms. The king, the queen and the physician retired from court whenever possible to spend time in the countryside. Struensee’s access to the royal couple enabled him to bring about numerous reforms and exert a huge amount of influence on the way Denmark was governed.
Jens Juel
Oil on canvas, 1771
Bomann Museum Celle / City of Celle BM00895/ST The painting by the Danish court painter Jens Juel sensitively depicts the king's slender face with its fine features.
Jens Juel
Oil on canvas, 1771
Bomann Museum Celle / City of Celle BM00896/ST Caroline Mathilde - like Struensee - wears the Order of Mathilde, which she founded herself.
Jens Juel
Oil on canvas, 1771
Bomann Museum Celle / City of Celle BM00897/ST The royal couple and their bourgeois friend were depicted by the Danish court painter in three paintings of equal size - this alone was an affront.