187 / 222
160
docum ent, p u rp o rtin g to be a L etter w hich the
y ou ng a n d u n h a p p y Q ueen w rote to h e r b ro th er,
G eorge III. o f E ngland, ap p eared for, p ro b ab ly , the
first tim e , in a book pu blished a t Celle in 1851,
under the title o f "
Caroline M a th ilde, Königin
von Dänemark
,
nach ihrem Leben und Leiden,”
(The L ife and Sufferings o f C aroline M atilda,
Queen o f D e n m a rk ), by
H. Ch. Heimbürger
,
A rchidiacon us u nd Senior M inistern in Celle.” T h is
n a rra tiv e is founded on a p rio r publication, p rin ted
in 1 7 7 5 , entitled "
Die letzten S tunden Ihrer
M a je stä t, der hochseligen Königin Caroline
Mathilde von Dänemark
”
(T he last h o u rs o f
H e r M ajesty the late Queen C aroline M atilda o f
D enm ark) , and on the statem ents o f its author,
P a sto r
Lehzen
,
th e Q ueen’s sp iritual ad viser, ivlio
w as in atten dan ce upo n h er during h er fatal illness.
A rchdeacon H eim b ürger does no t state th a t he takes
th is L etter from P a sto r L eh zen ’s book (now becom e
v e ry sc a rc e ), b u t s a y s , " In h er last m om ents the
Q ueen entrusted to P a sto r L ehzen a L etter, w ritten
b y h e r own h and an d w ith the g re atest effort,
begging him to seal it, and to send it to her
b ro th er w hen she should cease to exist.”
T h e
follow ing is a literal tran slatio n o f the L etter as
given in G erm an in A rchdeacon H e im b ü rg e r’s
b o o k :