Christian VIII ruled Denmark from 1839 to 1848 as the country's last absolute monarch; in 1814 he was also briefly Norway's first constitutional king, and he took the initiative to introduce the constitutions of both Norway and Denmark. Christian VIII and Queen Caroline Amalie lived during a time that was characterized by political unrest but also by cultural richness, and their circle of acquaintances included Hans Christian Andersen, N.F.S. Grundtvig, Bertel Thorvaldsen, C.W. Eckersberg, Adam Oehlenschlager, and H.C. Orsted. This book is part of the Crown Series, a series of small books on the Danish monarchy and related subjects published in cooperation with the Royal Danish Collection.