Struensee responded with empathy to Christian’s mental state and to Caroline Matilda’s depression, which had been triggered by her isolation at court. He tried to understand their specific situations. At the same time, he achieved something which nobody at the Copenhagen court had thought possible: he brought about a reconciliation between the royal couple, who had become increasingly distant and hostile towards each other since the birth of the crown prince. In doing so, Struensee strengthened not only his own position at court but also that of Caroline Matilda, who now had more influence over the king. Tolerated by Christian, a romantic relationship developed between the queen and the physician. As time went on, their affair became public knowledge.
Peder Henrik Kristian Zahrtmann
Oil on canvas, 1881
Bomann Museum Celle
BM01391
Around a century later, the Danish artist Zahrtmann painted his “court scenes”, a series of history paintings that portray the relationship between the royal couple and Struensee in a smug and allusive way.
Copperplate engraving by Michael Keyl, second half of the 18th century
Bomann Museum Celle
0007023
In 1771, Caroline Matilda, Struensee and Christian spent six months at the king’s summer residence outside Copenhagen. Accompanied only by their most necessary servants, they lived out the illusion of a bourgeois idyll in the countryside.
Andreas Thornborg
Gouache on parchment, after 1771
Bomann Museum Celle
BM01231
Christian’s “mano cornuta” gesture (the sign of the horns) alludes to his status as a “cuckolded husband” and thus to the affair between Caroline Matilda and Struensee.