Charlotte Helene von Schindel (1690–1752) was a Danish noble, a

lady in waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

and a royal mistress of King Frederick IV of Denmark.

Early life

Charlotte Helene von Schindel was born as daughter of Wiglas von Schindel and his wife, Anna Helen von

Horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

. Her family were once ruling Dukes of Bernstadt and belonged to

German nobility The German nobility (german: deutscher Adel) and royalty were status groups of the medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the German-speaking area, until the b ...

, originally from

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

. She became the lady in waiting of Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg, the morganatic spouse by bigamy of King Frederik IV.

Frederick IV's mistress

After the death of Vieregg in 1704, Schindel became Frederick's lover and was given the title Countess of

Frederiksholm Naval Station Holmen ( da, Flådestation Holmen) is one of several naval stations of the Royal Danish Navy, supplementing the two Danish naval bases in Frederikshavn and Korsør. Founded in the late 17th century, it is also a visitor attract ...

, which was an acknowledgement of her status as an official royal mistress. In 1709, the monarch planned to marry her, but those plans were met with great opposition from the church who, when the King asked them if the law against bigamy should apply also to kings, assured him that it did. She had a daughter by him (1710), who died soon after. In 1709 and 1710, Frederick IV gave her the estates Bavelse and Næsbyholm.

Later life

The relationship ended in 1711; Frederick entered into his relationship with Countess Anne Sophie von Reventlow and ordered Charlotte Helene von Schindel to leave court for her estate in

Själland Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

. She initially stopped at

Fyn Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as ...

and claimed to be pregnant with Frederick's child, but the pregnancy turned out to be false. Charlotte Helene von Schindel hosted a vivid social life at her estate and entered into a relationship with the noble Ernst G. Bülow, with whom she had a child. The couple tried to conceal the birth, but when the monarch was informed, they were given permission to marry, and did so on 9 February 1716. The whole affair attracted attention and Frederick IV ordered the couple to leave Denmark. They settled in Holstein, where they lived until Bülow's death in 1721. Von Schindel then lived with her sister in Silesia and then in Berlin, before she settled in Flensburg in Denmark in 1750. Her relative was the Silesian noblewoman Catherine von Schindel, Duchess of Bernstadt.

References

Nordisk familjebok / Uggleupplagan. 8. Feiss - Fruktmögel

Gyldendal, Den store danske
* Michael Bregnsbo (Danish): Til venstre hånd: danske kongers elskerinder (To the left hand: mistresses of Danish Kings) {{DEFAULTSORT:Schindel, Charlotte Helene Von 1690 births 1752 deaths Danish ladies-in-waiting Mistresses of Frederick IV of Denmark 18th-century Danish women 18th-century Danish landowners 18th-century Danish women landowners