Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel

Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel (27 April 1650 – 27 March 1714) was Queen of Denmark and Norway by marriage to King Christian V. Although she did not have much political influence, she was a successful businesswoman in her many estates and protected foreign Protestant non-Lutherans from oppression. She gained popularity for defending Copenhagen from Swedish forces in 1700. Early life Charlotte Amalie was born on 27 April 1650, in Kassel, Hesse, Germany. Her parents were William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and Hedwig Sophia of Brandenburg. Her mother was a religiously strict adherent of the Reformed Church and politically oriented toward Brandenburg, both views which were to be shared by her daughter. She was well educated in finances, geography, the languages German, French and Italian, and philosophy. French was to be her preferred written language, though she spoke German with her more intimate friends. Crown Prince Christian of Denmark and Norway was sent to meet Charlotte Amalie in Hesse in 1665 as a marriage prospect arranged by Danish Queen Sophie Amalie, who desired a daughter-in-law that she could control and expected this to be the case for a member of the reformed church who would be religiously isolated in Lutheran Denmark. However, the negotiations were drawn out because of religious concerns. In the marriage contract, Charlotte Amalie was not required to convert and managed to secure the right to keep her faith after her wedding to Christian, who as ruler of Denmark would become the head of the state Lutheran Church, a term which was contested and met some resistance before it was accepted. Crown Princess The marriage was on 15 June 1667 in Nykøbing Slot. Charlotte Amalie was appreciated for learning the Danish language, which was not a given thing for a royal consort in that era and which she mastered prior to becoming Queen. It was said of her that she: "...willingly and completely love not only our people but also our language, that she has learned to speak to our people before even ascending the throne, while bringing shame on those, who has been eating our bread for thirty years and not bothered to learn even thirty Danish words."