page_title: Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel
section_title: Influence
hierarchical_section_title: Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel / Queen of Denmark and Norway / Influence
context_page_description: Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel was Queen of Denmark and Norway by marriage to King Christian V. Although she hadn't much political influence, she was a successful businesswoman in her many estates and protected foreign Protestant non-Lutherans from opression. She gained popularity for defending Copenhagen from Swedish forces in 1700.
context_section_description: King Christian V disliked his wife's Pro-Brandenburg sympathies and soon took care to remove Charlotte Amalie from exerting any influence in state affairs. She was nevertheless regarded as a potential power holder at court, and the French ambassador noted:  "While the queen has little influence, the favorite ministers does fear her, as they know how much she despise them". After the fall of Peder Griffenfeld in 1676, hr main political enemies were represented by her mother-in-law, who worked to maintain her political influence, and courtier Vincens Hahn, who belonged to the circle around the royal mistress Sophie Amalie Moth. SpyJustine Cathrine Rosenkrantz, was placed among her ladies-in-waiting by the Hahn party to ascertain that Charlotte Amalie didn't involve herself in politics.
  Even if she could achieve little without the support of the king, Charlotte Amalie tried to press political issues on her own. During the Scanian War (1675–79), her husband allied with her uncle, the Elector of Brandenburg, against Sweden. She actively worked to preserve the alliance and benefit Brandenburg interests in Denmark "in occasions when this wouldn't have been expected by a queen of Denmark". It is noted how she protected the Brandenburgian military Tromp and disfavored Danish rival Niels Juel. 
  A rich landowner, Charlotte Amalie owned and actively managed several estates around the country, including Frederiksdal, Bagsværd, Dronninglund, Dronninggaard, Gentofte Gaard, Vendsyssel Børglum Kloster, Stevns Herred, Frøslev Gods, and Vemmetofte Gods. She founded and skillfully supervised factories in some of her estates, such as paper mills and playing cards factories. Both her lands goods and industry products resulted in considerable profits.   
  Although Charlotte Amalie was pious, her view on religion was a Protestant ecumenical one: she corresponded with Protestants of different churches and expressed that she saw little difference between the Reformed church and the Lutheran faith, a view which was radical at the time.  She protected the members of the Reformed church in Denmark, particularly the Huguenots, where they were benefited by her protection. This included the family of her secretary and advisor Johann Heinrich Lincker, who was married to Huguenot woman named Susanne du Mont. She was supported in her tolerance by business people, who saw the need of the qualifications of the immigrants, and was opposed by the conservative church, who regarded all non Lutherans as an affront to the King and God, a view which the her husband did lean somewhat towards himself.  The law of 1685, in which immigrants of Protestant of churches where granted the privilege of a certain degree of freedom of religion, are attributed to the efforts of Charlotte Amalie, who served as the spokesperson of the foreign Protestant non-Lutherans. She supported the foundation of one French and one German Protestant church with her own funds, Even including the congregations on her will.
caption: Royal Monogram of Queen Charlotte Amalie of Denmark.