Take a seat in Danish history

Today the auction at Bredgade features six Louis XVI armchairs that once belonged to the woman who sat at the top of the table when the kingdom’s affairs were discussed – Frederik V’s second queen, Juliane Marie.

21 May 2014

Watch Anders Fredsted talking about furniture with royal provenance.

Danish furniture, sofa and 14 armchairs – including six with Queen Juliane Marie’s crowned monogram c. 1794-96 and eight made at a later date, 20th century. Estimate: DKK 100,000–150,000.

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However, it was not in her capacity as queen that Juliane Marie made her mark on the history of Denmark. She made her serious foray onto the political scene as a dowager queen, when she participated in the coup d’état against the king’s physician-in-ordinary, count and Privy Cabinet minister J.F. Struensee in 1772. The coup led to Struensee’s execution and the banishment of Christian VII’s queen, Caroline Mathilde, who ended her days at Schloss Celle in Germany in 1775. It is a story that is retold in numerous books and most recently was made into the film named “A Royal Affair” from 2012.

Political influence

After the coup, the dowager queen became an important power factor, exerting a direct influence on the kingdom’s government. Juliane Marie corresponded frequently with the major political figures of the day. Among other things, extensive correspondence with the Russian Tsarina Catherine the Great and Prussia's King Frederick the Great has been kept for posterity.

In later, more romantic times, Juliane Marie’s part in the coup led to her being seen in a harsh light as one of the villains of Danish history. However, it is also worth remembering that Juliane Marie was a prominent patron of literature, theatre, arts and crafts. She was a founding member of Royal Copenhagen and supported prominent Danish artists such as the sculptor Johannes Wiedewelt and the poet Johannes Ewald.

A withdrawn existence

In 1784, the dowager queen was herself the victim of a coup that brought the then Crown Prince (Frederick VI) to power. For the rest of her life, she enjoyed a more withdrawn existence, but continued to live with the rest of the royal family at Christiansborg Palace, and spent the summers at her two residences north of the city – Marienlyst Castle in Elsinore and Fredensborg Palace.

When Christiansborg Palace burned down in 1794, the royal family was forced to find new residences elsewhere in the city. Dowager Queen Juliane Marie purchased “Gyldenløve’s Little Palace” on the corner of Dronningens Tværgade and Bredgade from the merchant Frédéric de Coninck (1740-1811). It was originally built for Frederick III’s son Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve. However, the name of the palace was changed in 1852 to its current name “Moltke’s Palace”, named after the then owner, Denmark’s first prime minister, Count A.W. Moltke (1785-1864).

The dowager queen’s furniture

Juliane Marie had her Copenhagen residence “Gyldenløve’s Little Palace” from 1794 until her death in 1796, when her furniture was sold at an auction held at the palace. In the two years she lived at the palace, the dowager queen’s furniture was stamped with her crowned monogram “JM”, which is why it has been possible to date the armchairs up for auction so precisely. The set of furniture up for auction consists of a sofa and fourteen armchairs, six of which are stamped with the initials “JM”. The other eight armchairs were made in the 20th century. The furniture has belonged to various owners – most recently Ruzzo Heinrich Prinz Reuss von Plauen (1950–1999).

Auction: Wednesday 26 February 2 pm at Bredgade 33, Copenhagen

Preview: 20–24 February at the same address

View all items in the auction