Nikolaj Arcel’s A Royal Affair (original Danish title En kongelig affære) is one of the most intelligent and emotionally charged historical dramas of the 21st century. Released in 2012 and starring Alicia Vikander, Mads Mikkelsen, and Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, the film recounts the extraordinary true story of a love affair that changed the destiny of Denmark — and, in many ways, the course of European history.
Set in the late 18th century, the film follows the young English-born Queen Caroline Mathilde, her unstable husband King Christian VII, and the reform-minded physician Johann Friedrich Struensee. Their secret relationship leads to a political revolution guided by the ideals of the Enlightenment — but also to betrayal, tragedy, and death.
A Royal Affair is both an intimate romance and a grand political drama. It explores the tension between passion and principle, the fragility of progress in a corrupt world, and the personal sacrifices that often accompany great historical change.
Plot Overview
The story begins in 1770s Denmark, a kingdom struggling with backward governance and rigid religious conservatism. Queen Caroline Mathilde (Alicia Vikander), the younger sister of Britain’s King George III, is sent to Denmark to marry King Christian VII (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard), a man she has never met.
At first, she hopes for a romantic union, but her dreams are quickly shattered. Christian is eccentric, immature, and emotionally unstable — likely suffering from a form of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. He is more interested in drinking, acting, and the company of prostitutes than his wife. Isolated in the cold, formal Danish court, Caroline finds herself alone and miserable.
The arrival of Johann Friedrich Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen), a German doctor influenced by Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire and Rousseau, marks the turning point of her life. Hired as Christian’s personal physician, Struensee soon gains the king’s trust and becomes his closest advisor. Through his influence, Christian begins to introduce progressive reforms — abolishing censorship, improving healthcare, and curbing the power of the aristocracy.
Caroline, who shares Struensee’s ideals and his love of literature, is drawn to his intellect and compassion. The two fall in love, beginning a secret affair that must remain hidden from the suspicious eyes of the royal court.
As their influence grows, the lovers effectively rule Denmark in Christian’s name, ushering in a brief golden age of reform and reason. However, their progressive policies alarm the conservative nobility and clergy, who conspire to reclaim power. When the affair is exposed, the court turns against them.
Struensee is arrested and executed for treason, and Caroline is exiled, separated from her children. Their love — born from a shared dream of enlightenment — ends in tragedy. Yet their legacy endures: many of their reforms survive, and Denmark gradually becomes one of Europe’s most progressive nations.
Character Analysis
Queen Caroline Mathilde
Alicia Vikander delivers a luminous performance as Queen Caroline. Only 18 when she arrives in Denmark, she embodies youth, intelligence, and idealism. Her transformation from naive bride to politically aware woman reflects the broader awakening of the Enlightenment itself.
Caroline’s loneliness at the Danish court mirrors her emotional and intellectual isolation. Surrounded by pomp and hypocrisy, she yearns for meaning and connection. Struensee becomes both her lover and her intellectual partner — a symbol of the freedom she craves.
Vikander’s portrayal avoids melodrama, instead emphasizing quiet strength and moral conviction. Even in exile, Caroline retains dignity, and her final letter to her children — from which the film takes its framing narration — reveals her unbroken spirit.
Johann Friedrich Struensee
Mads Mikkelsen’s performance as Struensee is one of restrained brilliance. A man of reason and compassion, Struensee is both a physician and a philosopher — a believer in the power of human progress and enlightenment ideals.
His initial goal is to heal the king’s body and mind, but he soon turns his attention to the sickness of society itself. Through Christian, he implements reforms that challenge centuries of oppression. Yet his intellectual idealism blinds him to political realities.
Struensee’s love for Caroline is portrayed as genuine and profound. It humanizes him, grounding his lofty ideals in emotion. But it also becomes his downfall — their affair gives his enemies the pretext they need to destroy him.
His death is depicted not as defeat, but as martyrdom for reason and humanity — a powerful reminder of how progress often demands personal sacrifice.
King Christian VII
Mikkel Boe Følsgaard gives a remarkable performance as the troubled young monarch, earning the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival. Christian is portrayed not as a villain, but as a tragic figure — a man incapable of controlling his impulses or understanding the world around him.
He oscillates between childish playfulness and bursts of cruelty, driven more by insecurity than malice. Yet, under Struensee’s guidance, he shows moments of lucidity and even tenderness. His affection for Struensee, at times resembling dependence or even love, adds emotional complexity to the triangle.
Ultimately, Christian is both the cause and the victim of the tragedy — manipulated by courtiers and unable to protect those who cared for him.
Themes
The Enlightenment and Social Reform
A Royal Affair is, at its heart, a film about the Enlightenment — the intellectual movement that championed reason, liberty, and human rights in 18th-century Europe. Struensee’s reforms — the abolition of torture, introduction of free press, and improvements to welfare — reflect these ideals.
The film juxtaposes Enlightenment rationalism with the ignorance and corruption of the old order. The conservative nobles and clergy, fearing the loss of privilege, represent the forces of reaction that resist progress.
This ideological struggle is not confined to Denmark; it mirrors the broader European shift from absolutism to modern constitutional governance. In this sense, the film is not just a love story but a portrait of a nation at the crossroads of history.
Love and Power
The affair between Caroline and Struensee transcends physical attraction — it is a meeting of minds and ideals. Their love is portrayed as an act of rebellion against a repressive society. In their secret union, passion and politics become intertwined; love itself becomes revolutionary.
However, their relationship also exposes the dangerous intersection between private emotion and public duty. By allowing personal passion to shape political action, they inadvertently undermine their own cause. Their tragedy lies in the collision between idealism and realism — between the purity of love and the corruption of power.
Isolation and Freedom
All three main characters — Caroline, Struensee, and Christian — experience profound isolation. Each is trapped by societal roles: Caroline as the ornamental queen, Struensee as the foreign intellectual outsider, Christian as the mad king imprisoned by expectation.
Their brief alliance represents a fragile moment of freedom — emotional, intellectual, and political. But that freedom cannot survive in a world ruled by fear and tradition. The film’s emotional impact lies in showing how fleeting such moments of liberation can be.
Courage and Consequence
By the film’s end, both Caroline and Struensee pay the ultimate price for courage. Their willingness to defy convention, to live and love according to conscience, becomes their undoing.
Yet their legacy is one of progress. The film closes with the suggestion that ideas, once born, cannot be silenced — that even in defeat, truth moves forward. As Caroline writes to her children, “Your father and I tried to make the world a better place. Perhaps one day, it will be.”
Cinematography and Visual Style
Visually, A Royal Affair is stunning. Cinematographer Rasmus Videbæk captures both the oppressive grandeur of royal life and the natural beauty of Denmark’s countryside. The contrast between these settings mirrors the tension between confinement and freedom.
The court is filmed with cold, symmetrical precision — echoing the rigidity of hierarchy and decorum. In contrast, scenes of the lovers outdoors are filled with warmth and movement, symbolizing vitality and liberation.
The production design and costumes, while historically accurate, are never ostentatious. The muted palette of greys, blues, and candlelight tones reflects the emotional restraint of the time, while subtle bursts of color — a red dress, a golden sunrise — punctuate moments of passion and revelation.
The score by Cyrille Aufort and Gabriel Yared complements the film’s emotional intensity. The music swells with romantic tension and quiet sorrow, yet remains elegant and restrained — much like the film’s aesthetic itself.
Historical Context
The events of A Royal Affair are largely true. Johann Friedrich Struensee was indeed the royal physician and de facto ruler of Denmark from 1770 to 1772. During his brief tenure, he introduced over a thousand reforms inspired by Enlightenment principles — many of which endured long after his execution.
Caroline Mathilde, exiled to Celle in northern Germany, died at just 23, separated from her children. Her story has often been romanticized, but Arcel’s film presents it with nuance and authenticity — balancing personal emotion with historical insight.
The film thus serves not only as a love story but also as a political parable about the fragility of progress in the face of entrenched power.
Conclusion
A Royal Affair (2012) is a masterful blend of romance, politics, and history — a film that speaks as much to the present as to the past. It tells the story of three people who dared to challenge convention and paid dearly for it, yet whose vision helped shape a more enlightened world.
Alicia Vikander’s radiant performance captures both the vulnerability and courage of Caroline Mathilde, while Mads Mikkelsen embodies Struensee’s tragic heroism with quiet intensity. Mikkel Boe Følsgaard’s portrayal of King Christian VII adds a dimension of sympathy and humanity often absent in historical portrayals of monarchs.
Director Nikolaj Arcel achieves a rare balance between intimacy and grandeur, crafting a film that is as emotionally compelling as it is intellectually profound.
Ultimately, A Royal Affair is not only about forbidden love — it is about the power of ideas, the cost of change, and the enduring hope that truth and reason can triumph over ignorance and fear.
Their affair may have ended in death and exile, but their ideals lived on — echoing the very essence of the Enlightenment: that the pursuit of truth, however dangerous, is the noblest of all human passions.
