Georg Brandes and the Crown Prince – the later King Frederik VIII

Abstract

The article focuses on the fall of 1883 and the spring of 1884 in Brandes’ life with documentation from his unpublished diary from 1882-84 (located at the Royal Library in Copenhagen). The period was unusually stressful both with regards to Brandes’ career and his disturbed private life and with regards to the so-called constitutional struggle, namely the struggle of the Venstre Party (Liberal Party) to introduce parliamentarism into Danish politics, a struggle to which Brandes was strongly committed. All of this is reflected in his diary. From Brandes’ first public appearance in 1871 with his university lectures on Hovedstrømninger i det nittende Aarhundredes Litteratur (Main Currents in the Literature of the 19th Century) he had fought for the greatest freedom possible in all areas and led the ensuing rebellion against authorities within politics, church and public life, which among others resulted in a rebellion against Christianity and the institution of marriage. With this background one would think that Brandes – despite being internationally recognized – would not have been popular with the Danish royal family. This was, however, not the case with regards to the crown prince, the later king Frederik VIII, who in a discreet way and in contrast to his father, the staunchly conservative King Christian IX, showed an interest in the literary and political viewpoints of left-wing politics. Thus, in April 1884 the crown prince invited Brandes to attend an audience, which was repeated several times during the next two years. Most scholars have overlooked Brandes mentioning this and several, Troels Fink, Peter Oliver Larsen and Søren Blak Hjortshøj, wrongly – based on a short note in The Danish National Archives – perceive the crown prince as having been hostile towards Brandes, as they have not been familiar with the extensive description in the diary from April 30, 1884, in which the audience of that day is being mentioned in detail. According to the description, everything went extremely well – and in a flattering way – for Brandes. The crown prince shows both and interest in and familiarity with Brandes’ working conditions and the political situation in Germany, where the latter had lived and enhanced his career from 1877-83. The crown prince is delighted that Brandes now (i.e. in 1883) has returned to Denmark, summoned by a number of admirers and he concludes the audience with the following words: ”It is my wish that my palace shall become a rallying-ground for all the most distinguished persons in the country regardless of differing viewpoints. I know to what extent you belong to the best, therefore I hope to see you frequently and I am happy to have had the pleasure to make your acquaintance thanking you for your visit and hoping that you soon will repeat it.”