Frederik Christian Rosenkrantz
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Frederik Christian Rosenkrantz (January 19, 1724 - May 15, 1802) was a
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
noble, statesman and a wealthy landowner.


Background

Frederik Christian Rosenkrantz was born in
Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
. He was the son of Privy
Iver Rosenkrantz Iver Eriksen Rosenkrantz (5 December 1674 – 13 November 1745) was a Danish statesman and landowner. Education and early career Iver Rosenkrantz was born at Rosenholm Castle (''Rosenholm Slot'') in Hornslet, Denmark. He was the son of Erik Ro ...
(1674–1745) and
Charlotte Amalie Skeel Charlotte Amalie Skeel (1700-1763), was a Danish noble. She was the object of a famous scandal of the royal court. Skeel was the issue of Christen Skeel (1663-1709) and Charlotte Amalie von Plessen (1683-1760). In 1721, she married Iver Rosenkr ...
(1700-63). Frederik Christian Rosenkrantz became a
varlet de chambre ''Valet de chambre'' (), or ''varlet de chambre'', was a court appointment introduced in the late Middle Ages, common from the 14th century onwards. Royal households had many persons appointed at any time. While some valets simply waited on t ...
(''kammerjunker'') in 1741 and a
chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...
in 1748. In 1749, he was appointed as a Judge of the
Supreme Court of Denmark The Supreme Court (, lit. ''Highest Court'', , ) is the supreme court and the third and final instance in all civil and criminal cases in the Kingdom of Denmark. It is based at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen which also houses the Danish Par ...
, a position he held until 1771. Likewise, he was released from the court in 1749 when he was appointed into envoyé extraordinaire for the
Prussian court The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
and in 1751 by the
English court The courts of England and Wales, supported administratively by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales. The United Kingdom does not have a ...
. In 1760 he was appointed as a
Knight of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known ...
.


Early career

In 1763, Rosenkrantz's career received a tremendous boost; the king appointed him to the war secretary of the navy, as well as the first Director in the newly created road building system (''vejbygningsvæsen''). He also admitted into the
Ordre de l'Union Parfaite The Ordre de l'Union Parfaite was created by Queen consort Sophie Magdalene of Denmark and Norway on 7 August 1732 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of her happy marriage with King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway. It was given to both men ...
. In 1764, he received the title of Privy Councillor and in 1765 began working for the
General Trading Company The General Trade Company ( da, Det almindelige Handelskompagni) was a Dano-Norwegian trading company charged with administering the realm's settlements and trade in Greenland. The company existed from 1747 to 1774 and managed the government of Gre ...
(''Det almindelige Handelskompagni''). In January 1766, he became the war secretary of State Government service. But Rosenkrantz's predecessor as head of the fleet, Count
Frederik Danneskiold-Samsøe Frederik Danneskjold-Samsøe (1 November 1703 – 18 July 1778) was a Danish politician, minister, admiral, chief of the Danish marine and count of the Barony Marselisborg. In his time Danneskjold-Samsøe held numerous public offices and was award ...
(1703–1778) complained to
Christian VII Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was a monarch of the House of Oldenburg who was King of Denmark–Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. For his motto he chose: "''Gloria ex amore patriae''" ...
that the fleet was not being run properly. The king responded by dismissing Rosenkrantz from all his important government positions. In 1767, he was appointed to the privy council (''konseillet'') and a member of the government's inner circle. Finally, he became part of the
Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...
in 1769. Frederik Christian Rosenkrantz retired when he was 46 years old, but was associated with people who would attempt to overthrow the
Struensee Count, Lensgreve Johann Friedrich Struensee (5 August 1737 – 28 April 1772) was a German-Danish physician, philosopher and statesman. He became royal physician to the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark and a minister in the Danish gove ...
government, the result was that he was relieved of his ministerial pension. It was disastrous for him as he had accumulated a huge debt of 140,000 dollars.


Prime Minister

For the next 13 years Frederik Christian Rosenkrantz lived privately on his estates. He occasionally worked at the court but had no official office. In 1784, Crown Prince Frederik conducted his coup and deposed Hoegh-Guldberg government. The circle around the crown prince chose to take some experienced men in the government, including Frederick Christian Rosenkrantz. He was re-appointed as prime minister and president of the Admiralty and Commissioner to Council (''kommissariatskollegiet''). He was considered an experienced administrator and could bring the government a continuity to the time before
Johann Friedrich Struensee Lensgreve Johann Friedrich Struensee (5 August 1737 – 28 April 1772) was a German-Danish physician, philosopher and statesman. He became royal physician to the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark and a minister in the Danish government. ...
(1737-1772). He remained in this office until June 1788.


Family life

On 11 October 1748 he was married to Dorte Reedtz (1730-1801) in the Church of Our Lady (''Vor Frue Kirke''). She was the daughter of Chamberlain Tonne Reedtz of Barritskov Manor (1700–1743). They had 3 sons who were born between 1749 and 1762. While the last two died shortly after birth, the oldest Iver Rosenkrantz-Levetzau (1749-1787) lived until age 38.


Legacy

Frederik Christian Rosenkrantz was the
Rosenkrantz Rosenkranz is the German word for rosary. Rosenkranz, Rosenkrantz, Rosencrance, Rosencrans or Rosencrantz may refer to: * Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two characters in Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'' * ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'', a 1966 ...
family's most prominent man since the 1600s. From his parents he inherited the
Stamford House Stamford House was a Remand and Assessment centre for youth in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was demolished and replaced by Hammersmith Academy Hammersmith Academy is a non-denominational, all-ability, co-educational secondary acade ...
,
Rosenholm Castle Rosenholm Castle ( da, Rosenholm Slot) is Denmark's oldest family-owned castle. It is located on Djursland, north of Hornslet and northeast of Aarhus. It is one of the best-preserved complexes from the golden age of the manor house – from 15 ...
in
Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
and the
North Zealand North Zealand, also North Sealand ( da, Nordsjælland), refers to the northern part of the Danish island of Zealand which is not clearly defined but generally covers the area north of Copenhagen. The Danish tourist authorities have recently in ...
manor houses
Egholm Egholm is a Danish island in the Limfjord The Limfjord ( common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in north Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it has been regarded as a fjord ever since Viking t ...
, Ryegaard and Krabbesholm. In addition, he bought Trudsholm and his wife inherited Barritskov in Jutland.


See also

*
Rosenkrantz (noble family) Rosenkrantz (one line spelled ''Rosencrantz'') is the name of family which belong to Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and German nobility. The family is known since the 14th century and belongs to the old and high nobility. It has played a prominent ...


References


External links


Skeel & Kannegaard Genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenkrantz, Frederik Christian Danish diplomats 1724 births 1802 deaths Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog 18th-century Danish people 18th-century Danish nobility Danish civil servants Rosenkrantz family