Rebel of the Regency: Caroline Mathilde, Queen of Denmark and Norway

The scandalous saga of another royal Caroline

I’m writing Rebel of the Regency, a new biography of England’s uncrowned Queen, Caroline of Brunswick (coming at you in early 2026 from Hanover Square Press! Stay tuned for pre-order info!!). If you don’t know who Caroline is, here’s my primer on her scandalous life.

When researching her female relatives, I became captivated by the saga of her aunt, Caroline Mathilde. Our Caroline never met this Aunt, so there wasn’t a way to incorporate this saga into my book, but I had to share the story, so here you go!

To set the scene, Caroline Mathilde was the ninth and youngest child of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. You’ve likely heard of her eldest brother, George III, also known as the King from Hamilton, or that hot guy in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. That’s the family unit into which Caroline Mathilde was born. She never met her father, who passed away about three months before her birth. Her godparents were her brother George and her sister Augusta, who would later become Caroline of Brunswick’s mother.

This group of siblings grew up in quasi-seclusion, raised by their very religious mother who wanted to keep them away from the depravities of the English royal court. Caroline Mathilde was educated well for that time, excelled in music (she played harpsichord and had a beautiful singing voice), and was fluent in English, Italian, French, and German.

Caroline Mathilde, portrait by Catherine Read (1767)

When she was thirteen, Caroline Mathilde was proposed to marry Christian, the fifteen-year-old Crown Prince of Denmark. In fact, the initial marriage proposal was for Caroline Mathilde’s older sister, Louisa Anne, but she was overlooked due to her health issues. During the marriage preparations, the Danish King passed away, and Christian became King Christian VII.