by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2019

Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, Queen of Denmark; Credit – Wikipedia

Caroline Amalie was the second wife of King Christian VIII of Denmark and was his Queen Consort from 1839 – 1848. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark on June 28, 1796, she was the eldest of the three children and the only daughter of Friedrich Christian II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, and Princess Louise Auguste of Denmark. Caroline Amalie’s mother was the only daughter of King Christian VII of Denmark and Caroline Matilda of Wales, the sister of King George III of the United Kingdom. There is strong evidence that Louise Auguste’s father was her mother’s lover Johann Friedrich Struensee.

Caroline Amalie had two younger brothers:

• Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (1798 – 1869), married his second cousin Countess Lovisa-Sophie Danneskjold-Samsøe, had seven children including Friedrich VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein- Sonderburg-Augustenburg whose daughter Augusta Victoria married Wilhelm II, German Emperor and Christian who married Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Helena
• Frederik, Prince of Noër (1800 – 1865), married (1) his second cousin Countess Henriette of Danneskjold-Samsøe, had four children (2) married morganatically Mary Esther Lee, daughter of David Lee, a New York merchant, no children

Princess Caroline Amalie; Credit – Wikipedia

Caroline Amalie spent most of her childhood in Denmark, moving with her family to Augustenborg Palace in her father’s duchy in 1807. In 1808, Prince Christian of Denmark, the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederik of Denmark, became the heir presumptive to the Danish throne when his half-uncle King Christian VII died. King Frederik VI, the new king, the only son of King Christian VII, had no surviving sons. Prince Christian had divorced his first wife and needed a new wife. His half-aunt Princess Louise Auguste of Denmark, also the sister of King Frederik VI, suggested her only daughter Caroline Amalie.

In December 1814, Caroline Amalie became engaged to Christian, now the Hereditary Prince of Denmark. The couple was married on May 22, 1815, at Augustenborg Palace.  After having no success conceiving a child, Christian and Caroline Amalie visited many spas throughout Europe from 1818 – 1822 seeking a cure for their inability to have children. Sadly, the couple remained childless.

King Frederik VI died on December 3, 1839, and Christian inherited the throne as King Christian VIII and Caroline Amalie became Queen. On June 28, 1849, Caroline Amalie attended Christian VIII’s anointing at the Frederiksborg Castle Church. He was the last Danish monarch to be anointed.

Anointing of King Christian VIII and Queen Caroline Amalie by Joseph-Désiré Court, 1841; Credit – Wikipedia

Caroline Amalie was a composer of piano music and founded and supported a number of orphanages. She also was instrumental in opening a school for disadvantaged children and establishing the Women’s Care Association whose purpose was to provide maternity nursing care for needy women.

On January 20, 1848, at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen, 61-year-old King Christian VIII died of blood poisoning after a blood-letting. After her husband’s death, Caroline Amalie spent the winters at Amalienborg Palace and the summers at Sorgenfri Castle north of Copenhagen. Caroline Amalie continued her charitable projects. When Queen Marie, wife of King Frederik VI died in 1852, she took over as patron of the charitable women’s society Det Kvindelige Velgørende Selskab, which remained in existence until 2004.

Caroline Amalie, 1879; Credit -Wikipedia

Caroline Amalie outlived her stepson King Frederik VII and in 1863, saw the resolution of the Danish succession crisis with the establishment of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg when King Christian IX, born Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, became the King of Denmark.

Queen Caroline Amalie survived her husband by 33 years, dying at Sorgenfri Castle north of Copenhagen, Denmark on March 9, 1881, surrounded by the Danish royal family, at the age of 84. She was buried next to her husband at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark in the Frederik V Chapel.

Tomb of Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg – Photo by Susan Flantzer

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Kingdom of Denmark Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Kingdom of Denmark Index
• Danish Orders and Honours
• Danish Royal Burial Sites: House of Oldenburg, 1448 – 1863
• Danish Royal Burial Sites: House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, 1863 – present
• Danish Royal Christenings
• Danish Royal Dates
• Danish Royal Residences
• Danish Royal Weddings
• Line of Succession to the Danish Throne
• Profiles of the Danish Royal Family

Works Cited

• Da.wikipedia.org. (2018). Caroline Amalie. [online] Available at: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Amalie [Accessed 19 Sep. 2018].
• Da.wikipedia.org. (2018). Christian 8.. [online] Available at: https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_8. [Accessed 17 Sep. 2018].
• De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Caroline Amalie von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Amalie_von_Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg [Accessed 19 Sep. 2018].
• De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Christian VIII.. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_VIII. [Accessed 17 Sep. 2018]
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Caroline Amalie of Augustenburg. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Amalie_of_Augustenburg [Accessed 19 Sep. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Christian VIII of Denmark. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_VIII_of_Denmark [Accessed 17 Sep. 2018].