The Royal Danish CollectionRosenborgCastle historyInterior and objects7A: The stairway to the Stair TurretCount Griffenfeld

Count Griffenfeld

Peder Schumacher, Count Griffenfeld (1635-99). Painting by Abraham Wuchters. Griffenfeld was the first man of bourgeois birth to exploit the new possibilities offered by the absolute monarchy. It was now the grace of the king alone that decided positions at court, and this gave the bourgeoisie the chance to gain influential positions. Griffenfeld rose to the post of High Chancellor of the Realm, before falling out of favour under Christian V, and spent the majority of the rest of his life in captivity.

Relations

Christian V with His Half-Brother, c. 1671

Christian V in conversation with his elder half-brother Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, and with Count Anthon Aldenburg (1633-1680). Grisaille by Anton Steenwinkel. The Gyldenløve family, the king’s ‘natural’, which is to say illegitimate children, played an important role in the political machinations of 17th century Denmark. As children of the king, they had high status in the class-divided society. At the same time, however, they were excluded from line of succession, and thus had no dynastic ambitions, making them extremely loyal to the reigning king. Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve was the issue of a relationship Frederik (III) had with Margrethe Pape, before he married Sophie Amalie in 1643.

Christian V as the prince elect

It was considered of great importance to be able to defend not only the people but more sayingly the various provinces and borders of the danish kingdom.

Christian V's Crown

The Crown of the Absolute Monarchs, used by the kings from Christian V to Christian VIII.

Christian V's coronation

Christian V’s coronation in the chapel of Frederiksborg Palace in 1671. Sketch for an engraving, painted by Michael von Haven.

The Ampulla

The Ampulla of gold with enamel and table-cut stones. Made for the coronation of Frederik III in 1648 by an unknown goldsmith in Copenhagen. Used at anointings during the period of Absolutism.

The Royal Statutes

The Royal Statutes, was the constitution of the Danish absolute monarchy 1665-1849, in a silver case with Frederik III's monogram.

Griffenfeld, 1675

Portrait of Count Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld. Enamelled miniature made by Paul Prieur 1675.

Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld

Peder Schumacher was the son of pub-owner Joachim Schumacher but attained the rank and position of Count and Chancellor.