Odense Castle
At the age of 38, Frederik VII enjoyed the happiest month of his life in Odense
Crown Prince Frederik wanted to keep his commoner sweetheart close to him. In Odense, they could finally be together – and the Crown Prince had never been happier.
Louise Rasmussen was born the bastard daughter of a single mother seamstress; she had a bastard child of her own – and as if that were not enough, she was a former ballet dancer … In the mid-1800s, she was, in the eyes of the aristocracy and the upper reaches of society, a scandalous woman.
Nevertheless, Louise Rasmussen had secured a key to the gate in the wooden palisade around Odense Castle, so that she could secretly visit the Crown Prince in the castle. Once on castle grounds, Louise tapped at the door of the servants’ quarters on the ground floor, before climbing a secret staircase that led directly to the Crown Prince’s dressing room on the first floor. Here, she exited a beautiful cabinet that concealed the entrance to the staircase.
We know that Crown Prince Frederik received visits from Louise at the castle, even though she never officially resided at Odense Castle. For example, the entry in his diary for 19 March 1847 reads: “Spent the whole day at home and argued with Louise.”
The Crown Prince found happiness with Louise
Four months previously, the Crown Prince had officially divorced from his second wife, and he could now finally set Louise Rasmussen up close to himself at Odense Castle.
The former dancer, currently a fashion trader, was gifted a suite of rooms at a farm just outside Odense. She had a horse and carriage at her disposal so that she could easily travel to the castle.
Around Christmas, the 38-year-old Crown prince wrote to her: “… I say to you in all sincerity, that this month has been the happiest of my life; for which I will always be sincerely grateful to you.”
The Crown Prince found happiness with Louise
Four months previously, the Crown Prince had officially divorced from his second wife, and he could now finally set Louise Rasmussen up close to himself at Odense Castle.
The former dancer, currently a fashion trader, was gifted a suite of rooms at a farm just outside Odense. She had a horse and carriage at her disposal so that she could easily travel to the castle.
Around Christmas, the 38-year-old Crown prince wrote to her: “… I say to you in all sincerity, that this month has been the happiest of my life; for which I will always be sincerely grateful to you.”
The manor tales are written by Linda Corfitz