Christian VII (Copenhagen, 29 January 1749 – Rendsborg, 12 March/13 March 1808) was King of Denmark and Norway, and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death. He was the son of Frederick V, King of Denmark, and his first consort Louisa, daughter of George II of Great Britain.
He became king on his father’s death on 14 January 1766, weeks before his 17th birthday. All the earlier accounts agree that he had a winning personality and ...
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Christian VII (Copenhagen, 29 January 1749 – Rendsborg, 12 March/13 March 1808) was King of Denmark and Norway, and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death. He was the son of Frederick V, King of Denmark, and his first consort Louisa, daughter of George II of Great Britain.
He became king on his father’s death on 14 January 1766, weeks before his 17th birthday. All the earlier accounts agree that he had a winning personality and considerable talent, but he was badly educated, systematically terrorized by a brutal governor, Detlev Greve zu Reventlow, and hopelessly debauched by corrupt pages, and while he seems to have been intelligent and certainly had periods of clarity, Christian suffered from severe mental problems, possibly schizophrenia.
After his marriage at Christiansborg Palace on 8 November 1766 to his cousin Princess Caroline Matilda (known in Denmark as Queen Caroline Mathilde), a sister of King George III of Great Britain, he abandoned himself to the worst...
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