Hold onto your tea cups, folks. The scandals you've seen on screen have nothing on the real-life intrigue of “A Royal Affair.” Set in the majestic courts of 18th century Denmark, this juicy tale involves King Christian VII, his British-born queen, Caroline Matilda, and the king's charismatic physician Johann Friedrich Struensee. This is a story of romantic and political twists, powerful alliances, and—spoiler alert—downright betrayal.
The setting is Denmark in the 1770s, a time when Europe’s idee of enlightenment was rubbing up against the deeply entrenched autocratic notions of monarchy. Into this world stepped Caroline Matilda, sent off like political cattle to be the young queen of a mentally troubled King Christian VII. It's almost like the plot of a soap opera was written by someone who thought it would be fun to mix a high school gossip fest with intricate political strategy. Enter Johann Friedrich Struensee, the court physician with a penchant for progressive ideas. While you might expect a doctor to focus on matters of physical health, Struensee took his role a step further by becoming involved in matters of the heart—and state.
With King Christian showing more interest in jesters and galas than reigning, Struensee and Caroline Matilda gravitated toward each other, not just romantically, but intellectually. It was a recipe brewed for scandal that reflected a cocktail of ambition, ideology, and passion. This illicit relationship quickly flourished into a poltical partnership with Struensee wielding power that most politicians can only dream of. By 1771, Struensee was effectively acting as regent of Denmark, pushing sweeping reforms that would concern any conservative.
Struensee’s reforms were radical: from abolishing torture and censorship to establishing free press and schools. These moves were as mind-boggling back then as the extreme measures some of today’s politicians are trying to push. The problem? He was never elected, never had a political mandate. He was, ostensibly, simply the queen's lover and the king’s top advisor.
Naturally, power-hungry individuals rarely go unnoticed, and Struensee was no exception. His reforms, while popular in some circles, rankled the Danish nobility who, unable to fathom having their centuries-old privileges stripped away, wanted blood. Such intellectual overreach without a moral backbone inevitably leads to downfall—here, it was both spectacular and gory, a tragic fall from grace that should serve as a cautionary tale.
On a cold January night in 1772, a coup led by the Queen Dowager, Juliane Marie, unravels the entire situation. Struensee’s fate was sealed when he was arrested and charged with usurping royal authority—a chronic illness afflicting some people in positions they should never occupy. The would-be dictator was condemned to death in a spectacle more fitting for a Shakespearean tragedy than modern governance.
Meanwhile, Queen Caroline Matilda paid the price of this scandal with a speedy divorce from the king and her subsequent exile. She spent her final years under house arrest in Germany, far from the kingdom she tried to influence. Her personal tragedy became the kind of morality play that keeps one questioning the shrewdness of certain historical romantic decisions.
Now, while liberals may herald this as a footnote in history where progressive ideas were being advanced, the real lesson lies in examining how radical approaches devoid of any institutional respect can damage an entire nation. Those opportunistic enough to take undue advantage of their proximity to power while inciting populism without democratic endorsement will always face public reckoning. And reckoning did come—swift and unforgiving.
A Royal Affair is more than just a riveting yarn of forbidden love; it is a poignant lesson about how unchecked ideological zeal can lead one to misjudge personal and national boundaries. In the end, things that start with a scandal often end with a spectacular fall. Longevity, whether in power or prosperity, always chooses prudence over passion.