Life and Times of Her Majesty Caroline Matilda, Vol. 3 (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. 3 (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
On March 3, the sentence of the commissioners was made known,
which decreed the highest criminal penalty against Chamberlain von
Beringskjold, that is, like Struensee and Brandt, loss of honour, life,
and property.
The king resolved on this that Beringskjold, although he had added more
than one offence to his original crimes, should be spared the extreme
penalty, but as a dangerous criminal remain in secure arrest; be degraded
from his dignity as chamberlain; and be told that, on the slightest
attempt to renew his designs, he would suffer death. This penalty,
however, was in no way intended to degrade or humiliate his innocent wife
or her sons.
On April 9, the convict was informed of the royal pardon, and the
chamberlain's key taken from him for the second time. He was left in
the citadel under arrest, but no one was allowed access to him but Dean
Thybring. For all that, early in May he found means to write a letter
to his wife, which really reached its destination. In this letter he
complains of the "incredible godless treatment he had endured;" dropped
hints about the charges brought against him; and gave instructions for
further correspondence; stating, in conclusion, that he had already
written twice, for which purpose paper and pens were given him by special
orders of the commandant.
When Frau von Beringskjold received this letter, she was so affected by
its contents, that she was attacked by a mortal disease. In her dying
moments, however, she handed the letter to Quartermaster Schiött, who at
once forwarded a copy to Eickstedt, and shortly after, by the general's
orders, the original to Guldberg.
Beringskjold was now removed to Munkholm, where he took the place of
Falckenskjold, who had been overthrown by his machinations, and was kept
in the strictest arrest in the rock fortress. When, two years later, the
government passed into other hands, Beringskjold fancied that the hour of
his deliverance had arrived. He therefore hastened to send a petition to
Copenhagen, in which he requested a revision of his trial, but naturally
gained no hearing from the son of Caroline Matilda. However, the gentle
young prince allowed the originator of the conspiracy of 1772 to walk
about the fortress and pay visits, and his sons were ordered to give him
a portion of what they had inherited from their mother.
A few years later, Beringskjold obtained his removal to the fortress
of Bergenhuus, where he remained as a prisoner till 1795, but lived in
incessant contention with the commandant, Major-General de Mothe, and the
officers. In the last-named year he obtained the regent's permission to
end his days in the unfortified town of Stavanger, in Southern Norway,
where he was placed under the supervision of the bailiff. He lived here
eight years, and died in 1803, at the great age of upwards of eighty
years.
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