Queen
On 4 April 1721, soon after the death of Queen Louise, Frederick IV married Anne Sophie a second time. This time, the wedding was formal and conducted with grand ceremony. Nor was this marriage was not declared morganatic, although it was regarded as scandalous by the Danish nobility and foreign courts alike, marriages of rulers to subjects having come to be regarded as unequal.
The hasty remarriage of the king, conducted in the midst of the mourning period of the late queen, created some confusion among the public, as the official press had to issue news about the king's new marriage as well as the funeral and memorial services around the late queen in parallel.
The King had Anne Sophie crowned as queen at a hastily improvised ceremony at Frederiksberg Castle in May 1721, with Anna Sophie dressed in black with many jewels. It was noted, that her royal stepchildren did not kiss her hand, as ceremony dictated. Afterwards, she presided at the King's entry into the capital.
The personal relationship between the king and queen are described as very happy, and many love letters are preserved; the king called her a number of nicknames such as "Angel Heart", while she called him "Dearest King", and are noted to have been severely distressed during his illnesses. Anne Sophie gave birth to six children, three born before the official marriage (using the surname Reventlow) and three born after the official marriage (who were styled as Princes of Denmark), but none of them survived infancy; this was seen by members of the clergy and nobility as divine punishment for the bigamy.
Crown Prince Christian, who had been close to his mother, detested Anne Sophie and blamed her for his mother's suffering due to the king's neglect of her, although he did follow his father's demand that he treat Anne Sophie with at least outwardly respect for her position as queen and his stepmother. Anne Sophie showed good will to the crown prince and his spouse and never used her influence with the king against them for their hostility, and attempted to come to terms with them. Her brother-in-law, Prince Charles, and sister-in-law, Princess Sophia Hedwig, retired from the court in Copenhagen to their estate Vemmetofte in protest. Her stepdaughter Charlotte Amalie, however, quickly overcame her initial disapproval and came to like and support Anna Sophie. In 1725, the King made a will in which he ensured the rights of Anne Sophie after his death and made his son sign it.
Queen Anne Sophie's relatives, members of the Reventlow and Holstein families — popularly known as the Reventlowske Bande ('Reventlow Gang') — were placed in high positions. After her coronation, the king dismissed several of his previous officials and replaced them with relatives of Anne Sophie, notably her brother-in-law Ulrik Adolf Holstein, who was named Grand Chancellor, and a number of followers belonging to newly ennobled families from Germany. Her sister, the salonist Countess Christine Sophie Holstein, called "Madame Chancellor", exerted influence over affairs of state. Anne was blamed for the nepotism, but it is not known whether she actually exercised political influence, or if it was the King who wished to consolidate her role at court by appointing those loyal to her to powerful positions. In 1725, rumors pointing out the queen for handing out offices lead to an investigation by the king which resulted in several office holders, notable her brother-in-law, being exiled from court. Her personal guilt is uncertain, since Anne Sophie herself was not given any punishment and the documents of the investigation was destroyed. Her recommendation was important for anyone who sought the King's favour, and due to this, she was often used by petitioners and often successfully, something which gave her a certain amount of popularity.
Queen Anne Sophie are described as a lively beauty with good humor who enjoyed company, and court life was described as a reinvigorated and a jolly place during her years as queen. In her diary, which are preserved for the years 1721–23, she commented about her life in March 1723: "Gods will be done, if you will given me sunshine, I shall receive it with joy, but if it be crosses and misery, then let me suffer with patience. As you command, let med follow willingly." Like the king, she liked theatre and benefited the first public pioneer theatre in Denmark, the Lille Grønnegade Theatre, which was founded the year after she became queen. She did not have expensive habits herself, but are known to have been generous to others, both in public as well as in private. Due to the generosity of her donations to widows and the poor, she came to be called "The Protector of the Poor". In 1729, she created the charity foundation „Dronning Anna Sofies Stiftelse" ('Foundation of Queen Anne Sophie') to the benefit of the poor.
