Adam Gottlob Moltke

Adam Gottlob von Moltke
Portrait of Moltke
Member of the Privy Council of Denmark
In office 1747–1766
Court Marshal of Denmark
In office 1743–1747
Lord Chamberlain of Denmark
In office 1730–1743
Personal details
Born	10 November 1710 Sjælland, Denmark
Spouse(s)	Christiane Frederikke von Brüggemann Sophie Hedevig von Raben
Children	Joachim Godske Moltke Ulrikke Augusta Vilhelmine Moltke
Parent(s)	Joachim von Moltke Magdalene Sophia von Cothmann
Relatives	Adam Wilhelm Moltke (grandson)
Residence	Bregentved
Awards	Ordre de l'Union Parfaite Fellow of the Royal Society

Count Adam Gottlob von Moltke (10 November 1710 – 25 September 1792)

In 1722, through one of his uncles, young Moltke became a page at the Danish court, in which capacity he formed a lifelong friendship with the crown prince Frederick, later King Frederick V.^[1]

Reign of Frederick V

In 1730, immediately after his accession, Frederick made Moltke

As the companion of the king, Moltke's influence grew to the point that foreign diplomatists declared he could make and unmake ministers at will. Especially notable is Moltke's attitude towards the two distinguished statesmen who played the leading parts during the reign of Frederick, Johan Sigismund Schulin and The Elder Bernstorff. Schulin he revered, but Bernstorff irritated him with his affected airs of superiority. But though a Prussian intrigue was set up for the supersession of Bernstorff by Moltke, the latter, convinced that Bernstorff was the right man in the right place, supported him with unswerving loyalty.^[2]

Count Moltke's appointment as

On the death of Frederick, who died in his arms on 14 January 1766, Moltke's influence came to an end.[4] The new king, Frederick's son, Christian VII, could not endure him, and exclaimed, with reference to his lanky figure: "He's stork below and fox above". At that time Moltke was also unpopular, because he was, wrongly, suspected of enriching himself from the public purse.^[2] Therefore, in July 1766, Moltke was dismissed from all his positions and retired to his estate at Bregentved.

On 8 February 1768, through the interest of Russia, to whom he had always been sympathetic, he regained his seat in the council, but his renewed influence was to be brief. As Christian VII's reign was marked by mental illness,^[5][6] he was heavily influenced by his personal physician Johann Friedrich Struensee. Struensee had risen steadily in power and from 1770 to 1772, was de facto regent of the country.^[7]

On 10 December 1770, Moltke was again dismissed without a pension for refusing to have anything to do with the liberal Struensee.

Personal life

He was married to Christiane Frederikke von Brüggemann (1712–1760). After her death, he married Sophie Hedevig von Raben (1732–1802), the daughter of Christian Frederik von Raben, the Gouverneur (or Bishop) of the Diocese of Lolland–Falster from 1737 to 1763.^[10] Between his two wives, Moltke was said to have had 22 sons, five of whom became cabinet ministers, four who became ambassadors, two who became generals, and all of whom went into public service.^[11]

• Christian Frederik von Moltke (b. 1736)
• Catharine Sophie Wilhelmine Caroline von Moltke (b. 1737), who married Count
  and Norway who was married to Frederick V of Denmark^[12]
• Caspar Herman Gottlob von Moltke (b. 1738)
• Ulrikke Augusta Vilhelmine Moltke (b. 1740), who married Hans Schack, 4th Count of Schackenborg in 1757.
• Christian Magnus Friedrich Moltke (1741–1813), who was married to Frederikke Elisabeth Reventlow
• Frederik Ludvig von Moltke (b. 1745)
• Joachim Godske Moltke (1746–1818)
• Adam Ferdinand Gottlob von Moltke (b. 1748)
• Juliane Maria Frederica Lovisa von Moltke (b. 1751)

Adam Gottlob Moltke lived in retirement until his death on 25 September 1792.^[2]

Amalienborg

From 1748 to 1749, the district of

On 26 February 1794, the Royal Family found itself homeless after the Christiansborg Palace fire. As the Moltke and Schack families were willing to part with their mansions for promotion and money,^[13] the royal family, headed by the King Christian VII, acquired the first of the four palaces in the course of a few days, and commissioned Caspar Frederik Harsdorff to turn it into a royal residence. The family occupied the new residence December 1794. These mansions (now called Palaces) form the modern palace of Amalienborg.^[13]

In 1753, Moltke, as Director for the Danish Asiatic Company, commissioned an equestrian statue of King Frederik V from French sculptor Jacques-Francois-Joseph Saly. The foundation stone was laid in place in 1760 at the 100-year celebration of political absolutism in Denmark. The statue was finally unveiled in 1771, five years after King Frederik V's death in 1766.

In 1766–1769, he commissioned Caspar Frederik Harsdorff to build a memorial chapel for himself at Karise Church in Faxe, which had been begun Harsdorff's former teacher, architect Nicolas-Henri Jardin.^[14]

Moltke owned a large art collection which was displayed in his palace; this was later opened to the public. In 1885 a catalogue was published of the collection, which consisted mostly of