Life and Times of Her Majesty Caroline Matilda, Vol. 2 (of 3): Queen of Denmark and Norway, and Sister of H. M. George III. of EnglandWraxall, Lascelles, Sir
History
Life and Times of Her Majesty Caroline Matilda, Vol. 2 (of 3): Queen of Denmark and Norway, and Sister of H. M. George III. of England
Wraxall, Lascelles, Sir
Caroline Mathilde, Queen, consort of Christian VII, King of Denmark, 1751-1775; Denmark -- History -- Christian VII, 1766-1808
The quoted presumption, that the one might wish to get rid of the
other, cannot be applied to her Majesty, and the same is the case with
the second part of the article, "in order to injure the person with
whom the sin has been committed;" therefore, the entire supposition of
the law, that the accused might bear false witness against him, or her,
self, is not applicable. As, moreover, all the circumstances which were
in this case stated in Count Struensee's confession, and acknowledged
by the queen, have been proved by clear evidence and numerous other
data, which are always the precedents, companions, and results of such
an illicit intercourse, it is my most humble duty to lay all these
things before the commission.
Thus, the answers of Count Struensee to questions 3, 4, and 5, relating
to the time and way in which he entered the queen's apartments, the
ensuing warnings and short abstinence are proved by the evidence of
witnesses. The wives of Councillors Blechinberg and Schiötte, who were
at that time maids of honour to her Majesty, and bed-chamber woman,
Anna Petersen, declare that in the winter of 1769 and the beginning of
1770 they formed suspicions from Struensee's repeated and long visits
to the queen, and maid Petersen more especially noticed that the door
of the dark passage, which leads from the queen's bed-chamber to the
hermitage (Mezzanine floor), was opened on some nights and merely left
ajar; and the deceased lackey Hansen also remarked how he had heard
this door opened at night. After talking together, and consulting
Councillor Blechinberg and the deceased Hansen, they sought to acquire
a certainty in the matter, more especially as they knew that no one but
the queen could open this door, as none else except a bed-chamber woman
had a key to it. With this object they put wax in the keyhole, and bits
of paper between the hinges, and at the same time placed wax in the
wards of the key, which lay on the queen's toilette table. They then
found on each occasion next morning that the wax had fallen both out
of the keyhole and the wards, and the paper slipped out of the hinges
on to the floor, and thus acquired a certainty that the door had been
opened during the night. The waiting maid also strewed powder on the
boards of the dark passage in the evening, and on the next morning all
the witnesses saw marks of large feet in the powder up to the door of
the queen's bedroom, and thence to the bed. In the morning, when such
footsteps were found in front of the bed, maid Petersen and maid Bruhn,
now Councilloress Blechinberg, came in to make the queen's bed, and
called in maid Horn, now Councilloress Schiötte.[72]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account