How an Enlightenment physician briefly seized control of the eighteenth-century Danish monarchy
In short: In 2012, the historical drama A Royal Affair captivated audiences with the true story of Johann Friedrich Struensee, a German doctor who became the de facto ruler of Denmark. By manipulating a mentally ill king and sparking a forbidden romance, he attempted to overhaul a nation before his dramatic downfall.
The film centers on the volatile court of King Christian VII of Denmark-Norway, a monarch suffering from mental illness. When Johann Friedrich Struensee, a physician steeped in Enlightenment ideals, arrives at court, he quickly gains the King's trust. By acting as a confidant and ghostwriting progressive speeches for the monarch, Struensee effectively bypasses the traditional Privy Council to implement radical reforms, including the abolition of both torture and state censorship.
Central to the narrative is the illicit affair between Struensee and Queen Caroline Matilda, who felt isolated in her marriage. Their relationship becomes a political liability when the Queen Dowager, Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, exposes their bond. This discovery provides the leverage needed for the statesman Ove Høegh-Guldberg to orchestrate a coup. Despite the King's initial reluctance to punish his friend, Struensee is eventually executed, and his progressive policies are largely dismantled.
While the film is celebrated for its lavish production, historians note significant creative liberties. For instance, the real Struensee never mastered the Danish language, relying instead on German, which deepened his alienation from the public. Furthermore, the film uses a framing device involving a letter from the exiled Queen to her children, a plot point that experts argue would have been dangerously imprudent in reality, as it risked exposing the true parentage of Princess Louise Auguste and branding her a bastard.
The production process itself was a complex endeavor, involving legal negotiations over the rights to Per Olov Enquist’s novel, The Visit of the Royal Physician. To ensure the film remained distinct from the source material, the production team even hired an individual to compare the screenplay against the book. Despite these hurdles, the film achieved significant international success, grossing over 14 million dollars worldwide against a budget of approximately 7.8 million dollars.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: A Royal Affair
- Also: Wikidata — A Royal Affair · CC0
- Also: Wikidata — A Royal Affair · CC0
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