policy to create an alliance with Sweden through a double wedding between Charles XII of Sweden and Princess Sophia Hedwig of Denmark, and Prince Charles of Denmark and Hedvig Sophia of Sweden (after the marriage of Hedvig Sophia of Sweden in 1698, she was replaced by Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden). Jens Juel was very active in this affair. However, none of the marriages was materialized. He died in 1700. Juel, a man of very few words and a sworn enemy of phrasemaking, was perhaps the shrewdest and most cynical diplomat of his day. His motto was: We should wish for what we can get. Throughout life he regarded the political situation of Denmark with absolute pessimism. She was, he often said, the cats-paw of the Great Powers. While Griffenfeld would have obviated this danger by an elastic political system, adaptable to all circumstances, Juel preferred seizing whatever he could get in favorable conjunctures. In domestic affairs Juel was at adherent of the mercantile system, and labored vigorously for the industrial development of Denmark and Norway. For an aristocrat of the old school he was liberally inclined, but only favored petty reforms, especially in agriculture, while he regarded emancipation of the serfs as quite impracticable. Juel made no secret of his preference for absolutism, and was one of the few patricians who accepted the title of baron. He saw some military service during the Scanian War, distinguishing himself at the siege of Vänersborg, and by his swift decision at the critical moment materially contributing to his brother Niels Juel's naval victory in the Battle of Køge Bay. To his great honor he remained faithful to Griffenfeldt after his fall, enabled his daughter to marry handsomely, and did his utmost, though in vain, to obtain the ex-chancellor's release from his dungeon. References Further reading Carl Frederik Bricka, Dansk biografisk leksikon, art. Juel (1887, &c.) Adolf Ditlev Jørgensen, P. Schumacher Griffenfeldt (1893–1894) 1631 births 1700 deaths 17th-century Danish people 17th-century Danish diplomats 17th-century Danish landowners Ambassadors of Denmark to Poland Ambassadors of Denmark to Sweden Danish nobility Juel family Noble Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog