Anne Sophie Reventlow
| Anne Sophie Reventlow | |
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Anne-Sophie, as queen, with the monogram of Frederick IV embroidered on her dress c. 1721.
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| Queen consort of Denmark and Norway | |
| Tenure | 4 April 1721 – 12 October 1730 |
| Born | 16 April 1693 Clausholm Castle |
| Died | January 7, 1743 (aged 49) |
| Burial | Roskilde Cathedral |
| Spouse | Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway |
| Issue | Fredericka Sophie Reventlow Fredericka Conradine Reventlow Stillborn child Princess Christiana Amalia Prince Frederik Christian Prince Charles |
| House | Reventlow |
| Father | Conrad, Count Reventlow |
| Mother | Sophie Amalie Hahn |
| Religion | Lutheranism |
Anne Sophie Reventlow (Danish: Anna Sophie; 16 April 1693 – 7 January 1743) was Queen of Denmark and Norway from 1721 to 1730 as the second wife of Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway.
She was born a komtesse (countess) as the daughter of Conrad, Count Reventlow of Clausholm, who served Frederick IV as Grand Chancellor from 1699 until his death in 1708. About Anna Sophie's childhood nothing is known apart from the fact that her upbringing was educationally inadequate: Answered letters show that she made clumsy use of Danish, French and German. She was described as beautiful and lively, with "black, fiery eyes."
In 1711 the King encountered Anne Sophie at a masquerade ball in Koldinghus, where the royal family resided that season. He wanted her to become his mistress, which her mother refused to allow. The king abducted her on 26 June 1712 from her parent's estate, Clausholm, with the apparent support of her half-sister Christine Sophie and her husband Count Ulrik Adolph Holstein of Holsteinborg (1664-1737). That same year the King took her to Skanderborg castle, where they were married morganatically in a wedding ceremony conducted by Thomas Clausen.
The king installed Reventlow in a house on Bag Børsen (present day Slotsholmsgade 8), close to Christiansborg Palace, in Copenhagen. The King's consort was still alive. However, he had committed bigamy once before, with Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg. The church authorities had not forbidden the king to engage in polygamy, as there were doctrines based on the biblical polygamy of Hebrew patriarchs. She was made Duchess of Schleswig. In 1713, she was given Vallø as a fief. Her mother, however, demonstrated her dislike by not appearing at court until 1718.
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