page_title: Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
section_title: Queen Dowager
hierarchical_section_title: Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach / Life / Queen Dowager
caption_attribution_description: English: Gouache of Hirschholm Palace north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Painted by Johan Jacob Bruun
context_page_description: Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach was queen-consort of Denmark and Norway by marriage to King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway.
context_section_description: As a queen dowager, she lived a discreet life under the reign of her son Frederick V, with whom she was too different in character to get along.  She disliked his favorite, Adam Gottlob Moltke, whom she blamed for the distance between them.
  She had Hirschholm Palace built, where she spent her summers as a widow, while living in Christiansborg Palace in winter.
  In 1766, her grandon Christian VII succeed to the throne.   During the reign of her grandson, she got more attention, as she was on much better terms with her grandchildren than with her children. Crown Prince Christian and his cousin, Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel, spent much time with the queen dowager on Hirschholm.
  Sophie Magdalene and her grandson, the later King Christian VII, had a warm and close relationship. He could find at the side of his grandmother a loving refuge from his strict overhofmester, Ditlev Reventlow. Christian and his cousin, Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel, spent much time with Sophie Magdalene at Hirschholm Palace, much to Reventlow's regret; he complained that the crown prince "was so spoiled by Sophie Magdalene during his days with her that he became a boy again". In addition, Sophie Magdalene also hosted almost all Christian's birthdays celebrations. 
  Sophie Magdalene was distantly related with King Christian VII's mistress, Anne Cathrine Benthagen, the famous Støvlet-Cathrine, who reportedly was the illegitimate daughter of Prince Georg Ludwig of Brunswick-Bevern, whose sister was married with one of the queen's brothers.    During Christian's reign, Moltke was disfavored and Danneskjöld was favored on her advice.
  She spent her later years in bad health, or, as it was said, in hypochondria.  She died in Christiansborg Palace and was buried in Roskilde Cathedral.
caption: Hirschholm Palace was Sophie Magdalene's favorite summer retreat.
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