A Royal Affair

Come to the Kingdom of Denmark, and relive the story of love and madness, idealism and intrigue, set forth in the film A Royal Affair, in a guided city walk.

Meet the brilliantly bizzare young King Christian 7 and his young Queen Caroline Mathilde, and see the 18th century Danish court through the eyes of their physician Johan Friedrich Struensee.

Christiansborg Palace on Slotsholmen in Copenhagen was the royal court's main residence from the 1400s until 1794, when the royal family moved to Amalienborg Palace.

King Christian 7 was born in Christiansborg Palace 29 January 1749. In 1766 he married Queen Caroline Mathilde in the Palace Chapel, and it was in the Court Theatre, her lover Struensee was arrested 17 January 1772.

Frederiksberg Palace lies on top of Valby Hill overlooking the beautiful Frederiksberg Garden in the Copenhagen district of Frederiksberg.

The insane King Christian 7, his wife Queen Caroline Mathilde and her secret lover Johan Friedrich Struensee lived in the palace at the end of the 1700s. In the palace basement you will find Caroline Mathilde's famous marble bathroom.

Frederiksborg Palace is situated on three islets in the castle lake in Hillerød, north of Copenhagen. The palace, which is surrounded by the beautiful Frederiksborg Palace Garden, was built in the Dutch Renaissance style at the beginning of the 1600s by King Christian 4.

At the Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Palace you will find portraits of both Johan Friedrich Struensee and Queen Caroline Mathilde made ​​by the artist Jens Juel.

The area in Vesterbro that is now called Amerikavej and the ground which the music venue VEGA is built on, was in the 1700s known as Gallows Hill.

It was here Johan Friedrich Struensee's dismembered body parts were hung on wheels after his execution 28 April 1772 on Østerfælled. It is believed that his body parts hung there for a few years before they were buried in the gallows.

In the heart of Hørsholm Palace Garden you will find Hørsholm Church, where Hirschholm Palace once stood. Here in this remote place one of Denmark's largest royal scandals played out - the love affair between Queen Caroline Mathilde and her physician Johan Friedrich Struensee.

In 1771 the pair spent the summer in the palace, where Caroline Mathilde gave birth to a girl, Princess Louise Augusta, whom her husband King Christian 7 acknowledged as his daughter, but all knew she was in fact Struensee's.

Hørsholm Museum tells the story of one of Europe's most beautiful baroque palaces, Hirschholm Palace, where the love affair between Queen Caroline Mathilde and her physician Johan Friedrich Struensee played out.

The museum exhibits models, plans and paintings as well as individual objects from the palace. There are also portraits of some of the people whose fate is linked to the castle. Hørsholm Museum also has quite a large Struensee collection of written critism against him and press coverage from around 1770.

Hørsholm Palace Garden is called so because it used to encircle the now demolished Hirschholm Palace, north of Copenhagen.

Hirschholm Palace was an impressive Baroque building, where the love scandal between the insane King Christian 7's wife Queen Caroline Mathilde and her lover physician Johan Friedrich Struensee played out. Take a walk in Caroline Mathilde and Struensee's footsteps, sit on a bench and feel the history.

Kronborg Castle in Elsinore, north of Copenhagen, is one of northern Europe's finest Renaissance castles. It is located at the entrance to Oresound and was built in 1574-1585.

Kronborg Castle is probably the most famous Danish castle, known worldwide from Shakespeare's Hamlet. It was also here that Queen Caroline Mathilde in 1772 was under house arrest following her affair with Johan Friedrich Struensee.

Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen is home to some of Denmark's greatest cultural treasures. The castle was built in 1606-1634 by Christian IV as a pleasure castle. In the basement you will find the Danish crown jewels and regalia.

At Rosenborg Castle you can also see a portrait of Johan Friedrich Struensee, painted by Hans Hansen in 1824, and a portrait of Queen Caroline Mathilde painted in 1771 by Jens Juel.

The magnificent red-brick cathedral with its impressive tall spires is considered one of Denmark’s most important architectural monuments, and it is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

In the early 1400s, the cathedral was designated royal burial place, and since the Reformation, all Danish kings have found their final resting place here. The insane King Christian 7 and his son Frederik 6 are both buried here.

Royal Copenhagen was originally named The Royal Porcelain Factory and was founded in 1775. In all the years they have produced products with deep respect for the history and traditions of the craftsmanship, but never without renewal.

Royal Copenhagen is purveyor to the royal Danish court and was eagerly supported by Dowager Queen Juliane Marie, stepmother to the insane King Christian 7, by its establishment in 1775. We can thank Christian 7 himself for Royal Copenhagen's most famous dinnerware ever: Flora Danica.

Saint Petri Church in the heart of the old Latin Quarter in Copenhagen is more than 400 years old. The church has a German-speaking congregation and is a treasure of stories about Danish-German relations for centuries.

Johan Friedrich Struensee was German and came to Denmark at 31 years old as King Christian 7's physician. His remains are buried in a child's coffin in the crypt under the tomb of Saint Petri Church.

Johan Friedrich Struensee was beheaded 28 April 1772 on Øster Fælled in Copenhagen. At the National Museum in Copenhagen you can see the original axe that was used to decapitate the young physician and queen's lover.

The stories say that he first got his right hand cut off and then his head, which only separated from his body by the third blow. For a period of time Struensee also resided in the Prince's Palace, where the National Museum in Copenhagen is located today.

The Citadel in Copenhagen was founded by Danish King Christian IV in 1626. You will find it on the border of inner Copenhagen and the area of Østerbro.

Johan Friedrich Struensee was arrested on the night of 17 January 1772 and placed under arrest at the Citadel, where he stayed until his trial, where he 21 February was questioned and subsequently convicted of treachery for his affair with Queen Caroline Mathilde.

The Theatre Museum is situated in the Old Court Theatre. Its collection describes Danish theatre history from the 1700s to the present day.

17 January 1772 the theatre was also center stage for a dramatic event. It was after a masquerade ball at the court theatre that Queen Caroline Mathilde and her lover Johan Friedrich Struensee were arrested and charged with lèse-majesté.

In the 1700s Østerfælled was located, where Fælledparken in Østerbro is today. Where people today are walking their dogs, sunbathing and playing football, people were then executed for treachery.

17 January 1772 the 34-year-old Johan Friedrich Struensee was arrested for his love affair with Queen Caroline Mathilde. He was sentenced to death and beheaded 28 April 1772 on Østerfælled, approximately where Denmark's National Stadium PARKEN is located today.