Editing Christian VII (section)

==Early life ==
===Birth and family===
[[File:Thefirstchristiansborg copenhagen.jpg|thumb|left|Christian's birthplace, [[Christiansborg Palace]] in [[Copenhagen]], {{circa|1750}}]]
[[File:Christoph Willibald Gluck - La contesa dei numi - titlepage of the libretto - Kopenhagen 1749.png|left|thumb|287x287px|Title page of the [[libretto]] for ''[[La Contesa dei Numi]]'', Copenhagen, 1749]]
Christian was born in the early hours of the morning on 29 January 1749 at [[Christiansborg Palace (1st)|Christiansborg Palace]], the royal residence in [[Copenhagen]].<ref name="kirkeboeger">{{ cite web | url=http://www.historie-online.dk/special/daab/kirkeboeger.htm | access-date=18 February 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924030558/http://www.historie-online.dk/special/daab/kirkeboeger.htm | archive-date=24 September 2015 | title=Kongelige i kirkebøgerne | trans-title=Royals in the church records | publisher=Dansk Historisk Fællesråd | website=historie-online.dk | language=da }}</ref> He was the fourth child and second son of the reigning monarch of [[Denmark–Norway]], [[Frederick V of Denmark|King Frederick V]], and his first wife [[Louise of Great Britain]]. The newborn prince was baptized later the same day in the afternoon by the royal [[confessor]] Johannes Bartholomæus Bluhme, and was named after his late grandfather, [[Christian VI of Denmark|King Christian VI]].<ref name="kongeligedaab">{{cite book|first1=Lone|last1=Hindø|first2=Else|last2=Boelskifte|chapter=Gaderne gav genlyd af Frydeskrig|trans-chapter=The streets echoed with shouts of joy|title=Kongelig Dåb. Fjorten generationer ved Rosenborg-døbefonten|trans-title=Royal Baptisms. Fourteen generations at the Rosenborg baptismal font|publisher=Forlaget Hovedland|year=2007|isbn=978-87-7070-014-6|language=da|pages=41–47}}</ref> His [[godparent]]s were King Frederick V (his father), [[Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach|Queen Dowager Sophie Magdalene]] (his paternal grandmother), [[Princess Louise of Denmark (1726-1756)|Princess Louise]] (his aunt) and [[Princess Charlotte Amalie of Denmark|Princess Charlotte Amalie]] (his grand-aunt).<ref name="kongeligedaab"/>

A former heir to the throne, also named Christian, had died in infancy in 1747, and the newborn was thus [[crown prince]] from birth; therefore, hopes were high for the future of the new heir apparent. [[Christoph Willibald Gluck]], then conductor of the royal opera troupe, composed the opera ''[[La Contesa dei Numi]]'' (The contention of the gods), in which the [[Twelve Olympians|Olympian gods]] gather at the banks of the [[Great Belt]] and discuss who in particular should protect the new prince.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.kb.dk/da/nb/tema/webudstillinger/Musikalsk_byvandring/Charlottenborg.html| title=Charlottenborg – et stop på din musikalske byvandring gennem København| publisher=The [[Royal Danish Library]]| language=da| access-date=2013-02-16| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110915113716/http://www.kb.dk/da/nb/tema/webudstillinger/Musikalsk_byvandring/Charlottenborg.html| archive-date=15 September 2011}}</ref>

At birth, Christian had two elder sisters, [[Sophia Magdalena of Denmark|Princess Sophia Magdalena]] and [[Princess Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark|Princess Wilhelmina Caroline]], and the family was joined by another daughter, [[Princess Louise of Denmark (1750–1831)|Princess Louise]] in 1750. In 1751, almost three years after Christian's birth, his mother Queen Louise died during her sixth pregnancy, aged just 27 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gravsted.dk/person.php?navn=dronninglouise5fr|title=Louise af Storbritannien|website=gravsted.dk|access-date=21 January 2022|language=da}}</ref> The following year, his father married Duchess [[Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]], who gave birth to Christian's half-brother, [[Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark|Prince Frederick]] in 1753.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Holm|first=Edvard|title=Juliane Marie|url=https://runeberg.org/dbl/8/0614.html|year=1894 |journal=[[Dansk Biografisk Leksikon|Dansk biografisk Lexikon, tillige omfattende Norge for tidsrummet 1537-1814]] |volume=8 |edition=1st |location=Copenhagen |publisher=Gyldendals Forlag |pages=612 |language=da }}</ref>

===Childhood and education===
[[File:Christian7as crownprince.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Christian as a boy]]
After the early death of his mother, the prince was largely denied parental affection. His stepmother Queen Juliane Marie showed no interest in him, preferring her biological son Hereditary Prince Frederick. Prone to [[libertinism|debauchery]] and increasingly affected by [[alcoholism]], Christian's father became increasingly indifferent to the shy, sensitive child, who was also prone to epileptic seizures. Nonetheless, early historians state that Christian had a winning personality and considerable talent, but that he was poorly educated and systematically terrorized, and even flogged, by a brutal tutor, Count [[Christian Ditlev Reventlow (1710–1775)|Christian Ditlev Frederik Reventlow]]. He seems to have been intelligent and had periods of clarity, but had severe emotional problems, possibly [[schizophrenia]], as argued by Doctor Viggo Christiansen in ''Christian VII's mental illness'' (1906).{{sfn|Christiansen|1906}} He masturbated frequently, which worried his court physicians and tutor, who thought the practice reduced the prince's fertility and affected his capacity for learning.<ref name=":0" />