Ministering To King Christian VII
During these almost ten years in Altona he came into contact with a circle of aristocrats that had been rejected from the court in Copenhagen. Among these friends were Enevold Brandt and Count Schack Carl Rantzau, leader of a circle of followers of the Enlightenment, who treated Struensee as his protégé. They managed to maneuver Struensee into a position as King Christian VII's travelling physician, also with the hope that he could give them access to the royal court again.
June–July 1767 the king had spent the summer in Schleswig-Holstein, along with his court and chancellery. Struensee was a skilled doctor, and having somewhat restored the king's health while visiting the area, gained the king's affection. He was retained as travelling physician ("Livmedikus hos Kong Christian VII") on 5 April 1768, and accompanied the entourage on the King’s foreign tour to Paris and London via Hannover from 6 May 1768 to 12 January 1769. He was given the title of State Councilor ("etatsråd") on 12 May 1768, barely a week after leaving Altona. In that year he also became a Doctor in Medicine from the University of Oxford ("Dr. med. i Oxford").
During the nine month trip he developed a close relationship with the king. The king’s ministers Bernstorff and Finance Minister H.C. Schimmelmann saw Struensee as having a positive influence on the king, and stood behind his being named the king's personal physician January 1769 after their return to Copenhagen.
Read more about this topic: Johann Friedrich Struensee
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