A Royal Affair 15

The most dramatic love story in Danish history is the affair between King Christian VII's physician, Johan Struensee, and the English born queen of Denmark, Caroline Mathilda in the early 1770's. During the past 40 years, several screen adaptations of this emotional chapter in Danish history have been on the drawing board, but it isn’t until now, with Nikolaj Arcel’s A Royal Affair, that a Danish feature film about one of the country’s most fascinating dramas reaches the silver screen.

Raised in England, Caroline Mathilda is sent to Denmark to be married to King Christian whilst still in her teens. He's capricious, promiscuous, and occasionally cruel, but before long it becomes clear he's actually mentally ill. When German advisor Johann Struensee arrives to help him control his affairs, Caroline is taken with Struensee’s wisdom and Enlightenment thinking and before long, they fall deeply in love. Realising that with his power over the insane King they have a real opportunity to influence their country, they begin to think of ways in which they can reform Denmark for the better.

Starring Mads Mikkelsen and Alicia Vikander, A Royal Affair is directed by Nikolaj Arcel, who is behind award-winning features such as King’s Game (2004) and The Island of Lost Souls (2007). Lately Arcel was nominated for the most prestigious film prize in Scandinavia, The Nordic Film Council Prize, for his dramacomedy Truth About Men (2010). Arcel also wrote the screenplay for Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – an accomplishment for which he earned a BAFTA nomination.