The Royal Danish CollectionRosenborgCastle historyInterior and objects15 Christian VII's RoomLouise Augusta

Louise Augusta

In this portrait Princess Louise Augusta wears a brown dress with lace pleats along the square neckline and on the sleeves. She is decorated with Christian VII’s order, consisting of brilliants on a blue ribbon with silver and a red edge. The flowers are typical of the age’s focus on all things natural, and exemplifies that Jens Juel’s work in the portrait genre also reflected the evolution of society. His earliest portraits were partly characterised by the opulence of the rococo, while his later work distances itself from it, and the portraits become gradually more naturalistic. Juel was influenced by a bourgeois realism which was, however, adapted and toned down in step with his circle of customers being widened to society’s upper echelons.

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Christian VII

Christian VII was the King of Denmark-Norway from 1766, son of Frederik V and Louise of Great Britain. Married in 1766 to Caroline Mathilde of Great Britain and father of Frederik VI.

Louise Augusta

Princess Louise Augusta was married to Frederik Christian of Augustenborg in 1786. She was the mother of Caroline Mathilde, the Queen of Christian VIII.

Christian VII, 1789

Portrait of Christian VII in his coronation robes.

Christian VII's robe

Christian 7th couldn’t himself decide what to wear on his coronation in 1767. Since his great-great-great-great grandfather Christian 4th’s coronation, it had become a tradition that new kings wore a special, fine and expensive coronation suit. It was made of white silk woven with gold, and cut to imitate the style of a Spanish nobleman from the late 1500’s. At the coronation ceremony the King put on the red velvet mantle embroidered with gold, and lined with ermine, one of the most exclusive royal symbols in all of Europe. The garments and mantle kept their old-fashioned style, like the ceremony itself, for almost 300 years, right up to the last Danish coronation in 1840. Coronations are the most glorious ceremonies in the hierarchy of power. The clothes that the King wore, in the time before television cameras, helped to make him visible at a distance. The coronation robes are the manifestation of his ascending the throne, with God’s benediction, and it had to be highly visible, with sweeping lengths of silk velvet, glittering jewels, gold brocaded fabrics, cascades of lace, and fluttering plumes. The garments were heavy, expensive, uncomfortable and delicate, which forced the King to move slowly and solemnly. A king’s daily garments in 1767 mainly resembled the new, fashionable uniforms, so his coronation garments – which he only wore that one day – looked very exotic. His short, skirt-like breeches and the fitted doublet were just as peculiar in 1767 as knee breeches and lace cravats would be for us today.

J.F. Struensee, 1824

Portrait of Count J.F. Struensee. Copy by Hans Hansen, 1824, of original by Jens Juel.

Juliane Marie

Juliane Marie, 1729-96, Juliane Marie became Queen of Denmark when she married Frederik V in 1752. Her father was Duke Ferdinand Albrecht of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. She was the mother of Prince Frederik, the Heir Presumptive.

Jens Juel

The painter Jens Juel represents something close to the high point of Danish portrait painting of the 18th century. He later became a much celebrated court painter.