Count Enevold Brandt (7 September 1738 - 28 April 1772) was a
Danish courtier
A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...
.
Biography
Brandt was born in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
, and studied law at the
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University.
...
. He became assistant judge of the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
of Copenhagen in 1764, royal
chamberlain in 1769, and afterwards superintendent of the Royal Theatre. In 1770, he replaced
Conrad Holck as the companion and favorite of King
Christian VII after the intervention of
Struensee, who became his friend and
de facto ruler of
Denmark-Norway the same year.
[August Fjelstrup: Damerne ved Karoline Mathildes Hof, 1909.]
Brandt had a relationship with
Amalie Sophie Holstein, used his position with the king to pay off her gambling debts, and in practice left the position as the king's caretaker to
Élie Salomon François Reverdil for her.
Struensee disliked her because she allegedly made Brandt defiant toward him, and as her spouse proved himself not useful as a politician, the Holstein couple was allowed to stay at court because of Brandt.
[August Fjelstrup: Damerne ved Karoline Mathildes Hof, 1909.]
He became involved in the
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup
, is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
of 17 January 1772 and, together with his friend
Struensee, to whose advancement he had contributed, was condemned to death, his execution following on 28 April 1772.
Notes
References
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1738 births
1772 deaths
Court of Christian VII of Denmark
18th-century Danish jurists
People from Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen alumni
Danish royal favourites
18th-century Danish people
Danish courtiers
18th-century executions by Denmark
Christian VII of Denmark
Executed Danish people
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