Margrethe von der Lühe (16 February 1741– 1 October 1826) was a Danish courtier; ''

overhofmesterinde Court Mistress (; ; ; ; ) or Chief Court Mistress (; ; ; ; ; ) is or was the title of the senior lady-in-waiting in the courts of Austria, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Imperial Russia, and the German princely and royal courts. Chief c ...

'' to the queen of

Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian: ) is a term for the 16th-to-19th-century multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (includ ...

Caroline Matilda of Great Britain Caroline Matilda of Great Britain (; 1751 – 10 May 1775) was Queen of Denmark and Norway from 1766 to 1772 by marriage to King Christian VII. The youngest and posthumous daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Go ...

, from 1768 to 1770, and the queen dowager,

Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern (Danish: ''Juliane Marie''; 4 September 1729 – 10 October 1796) was List of Danish royal consorts, Queen of Denmark and List of Norwegian royal consorts, Norway from 1752 to 1766 as the second con ...

, from 1772 to 1784.

Life

Margrethe von der Lühe was the daughter of count Christian Christopher Holck and Ermegaard Sophie von Winterfeldt and the sister of

Conrad Holck Frederik Vilhelm Conrad Holck (1745–1800) was a Danish nobleman and courtier. Biography Holck was the son of Major General Christian Christopher Holck til Orebygård (1698–1774) and Ermegaard Sophie Winterfeldt (1702–56). He was raised ...

, the favorite of king

Christian VII of Denmark Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was King of Denmark–Norway, Denmark and Norway and Duke of Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. He was affected by mental illness and ...

. She was inscribed in the Protestant convent Roskilde adelige Kloster in 1750. Margrethe von der Lühe served as lady-in-waiting to princess Louise of Denmark in 1766-68. She married baron Volrad August von der Lühe (1705-1778) in 1767. In 1768, she became ''overhofmesterinde'' (

Mistress of the Robes The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, who would, by appointment, attend on the Queen (whether queen regnant or a queen consort). Queens dowager retained their own mistresses of the robes. In ...

) to queen Caroline Mathilde, after her predecessor Anne Sofie von Berckentin had been unable to serve because of Caroline Matilda's disapproval that her original mistress of the robes Louise von Plessen had been replaced without her consent. Despite her relation to the king's favorite Holck, who was disliked by the queen, she was liked by Caroline Matilda: they had often taken walks together in the countryside previously, and Caroline Matilda reportedly liked her humor. She was given the

Ordre de l'Union Parfaite The Ordre de l'Union Parfaite was created by Queen consort Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, Sophie Magdalene of Denmark and Norway on 7 August 1732 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of her happy marriage with King Christian VI of Denma ...

in 1768. In 1770, she was replaced in her post by Charlotte Elisabeth Henriette Holstein. In 1772, she was given the post of overhofmesterinde with the queen dowager Juliana Maria, the de facto regent at the time. She belonged to the influential figures of the regency regime of Juliane Marie alongside ''

kammarfru A Chamber Woman (Danish: ''Kammerfrue''; German: ''Kammerfrau''; Swedish: ''kammarfru'') was a court office in several European courts. The Chamber Woman was in charge of the wardrobe, cosmetics and other matters concerning the domestic manageme ...

''e Sophie Hedevig Jacobi (married to the king's reader Chr. Fr. Jacobi), Juliane Marie's secretary Johan Theodor Holm and crown prince Frederick's governor Professor Sporon; she is described as ambitious and reportedly used her influence for petitioners whose cause resulted in disagreement between the royal court and the council.Aage Friis,
Andreas Peter Bernstorff og Ove Høegh Guldberg: bidrag til den guldbergske Tids Historie
', 1899

Niels Ditlev Riegels Niels Ditlev Riegels (also Riegelsen) (1755 – 24 August 1802) was a Danish historian, journalist and pamphleteer. Niels Ditlev Riegels was known for his extensive authorship that was extremely critical of the Danish society and institutions. He ...

was reportedly one of her protegees and he may have had her to thank for acquiring a position at court in 1781. Riegels participated in the 1784 coup that deposed Juliana Maria from power, and he dedicated a publication to Margrethe von der Lühe. The same year, Margrethe von der Lühe remarried Christian Frederik Numsen (1741-1811) and left court.

References

* Historisk Tidsskrift, 4. række, 2. bind, s. 695. * Morten Petersen – Oplysningens gale hund, s. 37, Aschehoug, København, 2003 * At Octavia er større end Cleopatra og Stændernes ligevægt vigtig. Viist af græske og romerske skribenters samlede domme og fortællinger i tvende afhandlinger, 1788
Dansk Biografisk Lexikon, bind X, s. 503
* Danmarks Adels Aarbog, Thiset, Hiort-Lorenzen, Bobé, Teisen., (Dansk Adelsforening), 884 - 2011, DAA 1925:440. {{DEFAULTSORT:Luhe, Margrethe von der 1741 births 1826 deaths 18th-century Danish people Danish ladies-in-waiting 18th-century Danish nobility Mistresses of the Robes (Denmark) Ordre de l'Union Parfaite