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Princess Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark

Copenhagen, 10 Jul 1747 – Kassel, 14 Jan 1820

9 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 10 Jul 1747

    Born in Copenhagen

  2. 1768–1777

    4 children are born

  3. 14 Jan 1820

    Dies in Kassel, aged 72

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

Children · 4

During her lifetime

She lived through 9 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Copenhagen.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1740s · Princess is born in Copenhagen

In the news1740–1752

1740s cattle plague destroys livestock numbers

Beginning in the mid-1740s, a devastating cattle plague killed between 300,000 and 400,000 animals by the time it subsided in 1752.

At the table

Clarifying coffee with fish skin

Coffee was boiled in copper kettles and sometimes clarified with a piece of dried flounder skin, as coffee filters did not exist.

What people wore

Men's hat styles changed

Men switched from tall conical hats to low, broad-brimmed black felt hats during the 1700s.

Getting around

Mail coach travel from Copenhagen to Roskilde

In the mid-18th century, a horse-drawn mail coach could travel from Copenhagen to Roskilde in 4 to 5 hours, covering the distance in one go, provided the roads were not muddy or prone to accidents.

What it cost

Grain prices in Berlin

In 1740, a bushel of rye in Berlin cost 1 thaler and 21 groschen due to a bad harvest, though prices typically stabilized between 19 and 20 groschen until the Seven Years' War. At the time, one thaler was equal to 24 groschen.

Music

Minuet Popularity Among Ordinary People

In the 1740s, peasants danced the minuet at fine occasions, and authorities even caught guests dancing it at a suburban Copenhagen inn in 1736.

Daily life

Naval school pay in rye

At the Nyboder naval housing, school was integrated into naval service, and part of the boys' pay was 4.5 kg of rye per month. Boys entered school at 6 years old and remained until confirmation, focusing on training for future work as sailors or specialists.