Princess Charlotte Amelia, the king's aunt, only lived for religious practices and charity. She inhabited the palace of Amalienborg, named after her, in the great royal market, which is now the Academy, and the memory of her benefactions to the poor still flourishes among the Danish people.[46] Princess Louise, the king's dearly loved sister, had only shortly before been married, and felt herself much too happy to envy her sister-in-law.
After the arrival of the young queen one festival followed another, to which the public were generally admitted, although some amusements were reserved for the court, to which only the élite were invited. At the commencement of Christian's reign only Danish plays and ballets were performed at the theatre, but now the king ordered a French troupe from Paris, who first gave their performances on the Danish stage, but afterwards in a theatre expressly prepared for them in the Christiansborg.
On December 4, the first masquerade was given at the palace to the first six classes, to which all the officers of the garrison and the foreign envoys were invited. During the reign of Frederick V., jovial though it was, no attempt had been made to introduce such mummeries, as the sober Danes called them, but Christian considered that he could go to any lengths.
The court, yearning for amusements of every description, even resolved to give theatrical performances, in which the king and suite played the chief parts. Among other pieces performed was Voltaire's Zaire, which exactly suited Christian's taste. It was played in the original, and the king represented one of the principal characters with great applause. At first, only a select circle was admitted to the performances, but, gradually, the public were invited as well.
But while the court amused themselves, the public, generally, murmured. At the head of the malcontents was Reventlow, who would rush into Frau von Plessen's apartments, brandishing the bills sent in to him for payment, and objurgating fiercely. His nephew, Von Sperling, knew how to stir up his bile, by casting on those whom he wished to injure the mad expenses which he had himself suggested. It was he, in fact, who most contributed to bring into fashion theatricals and masked balls. The youth of the king, and the ennui which began at an early period to oppress him, supplied an excuse for these expensive amusements, which were madness in a poor and indebted state. Still, the public might have pardoned it if the court had managed to attract respect, for nations, though victims to the magnificence of their sovereigns, readily forgive, and even take a pride in lavish expenditure when they believe they share it; but the king, indulging in the most puerile amusements, running without object from one palace to the other, and decried by the complaints of his own ministers about his private conduct, entirely forfeited public respect. A proof of this was furnished during the first winter of his reign. A building belonging to the palace, from which it was only separated by a canal, and in which was a brewery with an immense wood store, having caught fire, Münter,[47] a German preacher, took advantage of the occasion to preach a sermon against the king's person and the amusements of the court. He represented the misfortunes of the nation as being at their height and irremediable, unless Providence granted immediate help, and unless the warning just given produced a salutary effect. This sermon, it is true, caused the preacher a reprimand, but it was greatly applauded by austere persons and devotees.[48]
And what did Caroline Matilda think of her reception? An opinion can be formed from the following interesting letter which she wrote home, describing her voyage and arrival in Copenhagen, to her brother the Duke of York:—
Copenhagen, December 25, 1766.
Sir and dear Brother,As this epistle will exceed the bounds of a common letter, you may call it Travels through part of Germany and Denmark, with some cursory remarks on the genius and manners of the people.
Our navigation, though fortunate enough, seemed to me tedious and uncomfortable. I almost wished a contrary wind had driven me back to that coast from which I had sailed with so much regret. Were I a man, I do not think I should envy you the mighty post of admiral, as I am a true coward on the main. Though I found the opposite shore very different from that of England, in regard to populousness, agriculture, roads and conveniences for travelling, I was glad to be safely landed, and vowed to Neptune never to invade his empire; only wishing that he would be graciously pleased to let me have another passage to the Queen of the Isles. What I have seen of Germany exhibits a contrast of barren lands and some few cultivated spots; here and there some emaciated cattle, inhospitable forests, castles with turrets and battlements out of repair, half inhabited by counts and barons of the Holy Empire, wretched cottages, multitudes of soldiers, and a few husbandmen; pride and ceremonial on one side, slavery and abjection on the other.
As for principalities, every two or three hours I entered the dominions of a new sovereign; and, indeed, often I passed through the place of their highnesses' residence without being able to guess that it was the seat of these little potentates; I only judged by the antiquity of their palaces, falling to ruins, that these princes may justly boast of a race of illustrious progenitors, as it seemed they had lived there from time immemorial. As we judge of everything by comparison, I observed that there is more comfort, more elegance, more conveniency, in the villa of a citizen of London than in these gloomy mansions, hung up with rotten tapestries, where a serene highness meurt d'ennui, in all the state of a monarch, amongst a few attendants, called master of the horse, grand ecuyer, grand chamberlain, without appointments. There is no such thing here as a middle class of people living in affluence and independence.
Both men and women of fashion affect to dress more rich than elegant. The female part of the burghers' families at Hamburg and Altona dress inconceivably fantastic. The most unhappy part of the Germans are the tenants of the little needy princes, who squeeze them to keep up their own grandeur. These petty sovereigns, ridiculously proud of titles, ancestry, and show, give no sort of encouragement to the useful arts, though industry, application, and perseverance, are the characteristics of the German nation, especially the mechanical part of it.
The roads are almost impassable. The carriages of the nobility and gentry infinitely worse than the stage-coaches in England; and the inns want all the accommodations they are intended for.
You may easily imagine that the sight of a new queen, from the position of the kingdom to the capital, brought upon my passage great crowds of people from the adjacent towns and villages, yet I believe you may see more on a fair day from Charing Cross to the Royal Exchange than I have met upon the road from Altona to Copenhagen. The gentlemen and ladies who were sent to compliment me, and increased my retinue, made no addition to my entertainment. Besides the reservedness and gravity peculiar to their nation, they thought it was a mark of respect and submission never to presume to answer me but by monosyllables.
What I have seen of Danish Holstein and of the duchy of Schleswig, is well watered, and produces plenty of corn. The inhabitants of those countries differ little or nothing from other Germans. Some parts of Jutland consist of barren mountains; but the valleys are, in general, well inhabited and fruitful. The face of the country presents a number of large forests, but I did not see a river navigable for a barge of the same burden as those that come up the river Thames to London. Spring and autumn are seasons scarcely known here; to the sultry heat of August succeeds a severe winter, and the frost continues for eight months, and with little alteration. It seems as if the soil were unfavourable to vegetable productions, for those that have been procured for my table, at a great expense, were unsavoury, and of the worst kind. As game is here in plenty, and the coasts are generally well supplied with fish, I could have lived very well on these two articles had they been better dressed, but their cookery, which is a mixture of Danish and German ingredients, cannot be agreeable to an English palate.
I shall not attempt to learn the language of the country, which is a harsh dialect of the Teutonic. The little French and High-Dutch I know will be of great service to me at court, where they are generally spoken with a bad accent and a vicious pronunciation. The peasants, as to property, are still in a state of vassalage; and the nobility, who are slaves at court, tyrannize over their inferiors and tenants in their dominions. These poor husbandmen, with such discouragements to industry, are obliged to maintain the cavalry in victuals and lodgings; likewise to furnish them with money. These disadvantages, added to their natural indolence, make this valuable class of people less useful and more needy than in free states, where they enjoy, in common with other subjects, that freedom which is a spur to industry. You must not expect any conveniency and accommodation in their inns; all those I found upon the road had been provided by the court.
Copenhagen, though a small capital, makes no contemptible appearance at a distance. All the artillery of the castles and forts, with the warlike music of the guards and divers companies of burghers, in rich uniforms, announced my entry into this royal residence. I was conducted, amidst the acclamations of the inhabitants, to the palace, when the king, the queen dowager, and Prince Frederick, her son, with the nobility of both sexes, who had, on this occasion, displayed all their finery, received me with extraordinary honours, according to the etiquette. The king's youth, good nature, and levity, require no great penetration to be discerned in his taste, amusements, and his favourites. He seems all submission to the queen, who has got over him such an ascendancy as her arts and ambition seem likely to preserve. Her darling son, whom she wished not to be removed a step farther from the throne, is already proud and aspiring like herself.
I have been more than once mortified with the superior knowledge and experience for which the queen takes care to praise herself, and offended at the want of respect and attention in the prince. As such unmerited slights cannot be resented without an open rupture, I rather bear with them than disunite the royal family, and appear the cause of court cabals, by showing my displeasure. It seems the king teaches his subjects, by example, the doctrine of passive obedience. Few of the courtiers look like gentlemen; and their ladies appear, in the circle, inanimate, like the wax figures in Westminster Abbey.
I have been lately at Frederiksborg. It is a magnificent house, built in the modern taste, but ill-contrived, and situated in the most unhealthy soil, in the middle of a lake. The paintings and furniture are truly royal.
To remind me that I am mortal, I have visited the cathedral church of Roeskilde, where the kings and queens of Denmark were formerly buried. Several of their monuments still exist, which are, as well as this ancient structure, of a Gothic taste.
As you flatter me with the pleasure of seeing you soon in Copenhagen, I postpone mentioning other particulars till this agreeable interview, and remain, with British sincerity,
Sir, and dear brother,
Your most affectionate sister,
Matilda Caroline.
If any differences subsisted between the couple at this time, they did not reach the public knowledge; and the conduct of Caroline Matilda was that of a most devoted wife. Thus, when Christian was attacked in April, 1767, by a scarlet fever, which was thought infectious, the queen assiduously attended him; nor would she leave him, day or night, till his life was out of danger. On the following May 1, their Majesties' coronation was performed in the chapel of the Christiansborg Palace, by the Bishop of Seeland. On this occasion, his Majesty assumed the motto of Gloria ex amore patriæ. As the kings of Denmark do not receive the crown from any other hands than their own, the ceremony of putting it on is performed by themselves.[49] It was about this time that Prince Charles first entertained doubts as to Christian's sanity. He imparted his suspicions to Bernstorff, who acknowledged the truth of his remark, for Count de St. Germain had spoken to him about it, and said: "The king has a singular and very rare malady; in France we call it fou de cœur."