The Lost Queen: The Tragedy of a Royal Marriage

Caroline-Matilda - Captive Queen to a Royal Madman... She came to the bridal bed half child, half woman, and looked with terror upon the king who barely troubled to mask his contempt for her. There had been whispers about the fledgling ruler of Denmark...about his dark moods, his murderous tantrums, his strange lusts. But no one could speak out against a marriage that united two such powerful kingdoms as England and Denmark. Bewildered, lonely, and hungry for affection, she turned to the one man who dared to be her friend--the king's physician. He knew the trugh, knew that without his warmth and protection Caroline could not survive. He became her refuge...and her lover...and her greatest danger. In "The Lost Queen," Norah Loft has created a spellbinding tale that vividly evokes the stark contrasts of 18th-century Denmark: the cruelty, poverty, and oppression of existence under an absolute monarch sinking into madness; the royal court with its pomp and pageantry; and the hatreds and intrigues that swirled around the young, lovely figure who was, briefly, its queen. *** "A gem of a novel...rich in the atmmosphere of the 18th century...a poignant and romantic love story in Norah Lofts' best style." -- Book Press. A novel based on the life of George III's sister, Princess Caroline-Matilda, whose marriage brought her to the throne and whose secret love brought her to disaster. This is a story of high romance and tragedy, a moving drama of human frailty set against the implacable demands of a royal crown. With careful attention to the historical record, Norah Lofts has recreated Caroline-Matilda's life in a tale that vividly evokes the stark contrasts of 18th century Denmark; the cruelty, poverty and oppression of existence under an absolute monarch sinking into madness; the royal court with its pomp and pageantry, and the hatreds and intrigues that swirled around the young, lovely figure who was, briefly, its queen. * * * 'Princesses are born to be exiled. What is the alternative? Spinsterhood? 'Thus the future of Caroline Matilda, youngest sister of George III, was settled - exile to a foreign country, and marriage to a nearly insane Crown Prince of Denmark. Entreatingly prompted by a sense of foreboding, she begged that one of her sisters be sent in her place. But Caroline was the healthiest, the strongest of the English princesses, and as well as being exiled, princesses were meant to brood mares...Here is the life of Caroline Matilda set against the stark contrasts of 18th century Denmark; the cruelty, poverty and oppression of life under an absolute monarch sinking into madness; and the hatreds and court intrigues that swirled around the young English girl who was Queen of Denmark.