Margrethe von der Lühe
Margrethe von der Lühe (1741-1826) was a Danish courtier; Mistress of the Robes to the Danish queen, Caroline Matilda of Great Britain from 1768 to 1774, and the queen dowager, Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, from 1774 to 1784.
Margrethe von der Lühe was the daughter of count Christian Christopher Holck and Ermegaard Sophie von Winterfeldt and the sister of Conrad Holck, the favorite of king Christian VII of Denmark. She married baron Volrad August von der Lühe (1705-1778) in 1767.
Margrethe von der Lühe served as lady-in-waiting to princess Louise of Denmark in 1766-68. In 1768, she became Mistress of the Robes to queen Caroline Mathilde, after her predecessor, Charlotte Elisabeth Henriette Holstein, had been unable to serve because of Caroline Matilda's disapproval that her original mistress of the robes Louise von Plessen had been replaced with out her consent. Despite her relation to Holck, she was liked by Caroline Matilda: they had often taken walks together on the country side previously, and Caroline Matilda reportedly liked her humor. She remained in her post after the divorce of the queen, but was in 1774 given the same post with the queen dowager Juliana Maria, the de facto regent at the time. As such, she was likely responsible for hiring Niels Ditlev Riegels in 1781. Riegels participated in the 1784 coup that deposed Juliana Maria from power, and he dedicated a publication to Margrethe von der Lühe. The same year, Margrethe von der Lühe remarried Christian Frederik Numsen (1741-1811) and left court.
References
- Historisk Tidsskrift, 4. række, 2. bind, s. 695.
- Morten Petersen – Oplysningens gale hund, s. 37, Aschehoug, København, 2003
- At Octavia er større end Cleopatra og Stændernes ligevægt vigtig. Viist af græske og romerske skribenters samlede domme og fortællinger i tvende afhandlinger, 1788
- Dansk Biografisk Lexikon, bind X, s. 503
