Struensee Reformed Denmark Before Execution

German-Danish physician Johann Friedrich Struensee became personal doctor to Denmark’s mentally ill King Christian VII and gradually rose to become the country’s de facto ruler. Between December 1770 and January 1772, he issued 1,069 cabinet orders, abolishing torture, forced labor, and press censorship while banning the colonial slave trade and introducing numerous administrative reforms. Struensee also became the lover of Queen Caroline Matilda, and their affair created a public scandal after she gave birth to a daughter widely believed to be his. A palace coup removed him in January 1772, and he was convicted of usurping royal authority before being executed on April 28.

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