Countess Louise von Plessen (née von Berckentin) (April 26, 1725 - September 14, 1799) was a Danish lady-in-waiting

Lady-in-waiting

A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...

 and writer.

Life

She was the daughter of Count Christian August von Berckentin (1694–1758), the Danish ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

 to Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, and his wife Susanna Margrethe (née) von Boineburg zu Honstein (1697–1732). She spent her childhood in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 and with a maternal aunt at Vallø

Vallø

Vallø was a municipality in the former Roskilde County on the east coast of the island of Zealand in east Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 84 km², and had a total population of 10,337...

 Protestant convent

Convent

A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...

. In 1740-44, she was lady-in-waiting to Queen consort

Queen consort

A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...

 Sophia Magdalen of Denmark and Norway

Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach

Sophia Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach was queen-consort of Denmark and Norway as the wife of King Christian VI of Denmark and Norway.-Background:...

. She married Christian Sigfred Scheel von Plessen (1716–1755) in 1744. In 1761, she made a unsuccessful attempt to start a school for girls. In 1766, she was appointed head lady-in-waiting of the court of the new queen, Caroline Matilda of Denmark and Norway. She became the queen's confidant and is blamed for having isolated her from her husband because she disliked the king's friends, and she, with Ditlev Reventlow, became opposed to the king's circle which ultimately led to her exile in 1768; first to her estate, but then, as there was a fear of her influence, to Celle

Celle

Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser and has a population of about 71,000...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. The Queen consort Caroline Matilda, decorated her in 1771 with the queen's own Order of Mathilde (Mathildeordenen).

She wrote the memoirs of her time at the Danish court: Mémoire de la cour de Danemark.

Web

Footnotes