Crown Princess Marie was described as shy and reserved, particularly as she did not master the Danish language, and her shyness was interpreted as haughtiness, while her sister-in-law Louise Augusta continued to be the center of the royal court and the most popular female member of the royal family. This was illustrated by an incident at the Royal Danish Theatre in 1792, when Republican sentiments grew in Copenhagen during the victories of the revolutionary French army under Dumouriez, the crown princess, who entered her box with a deeper nod as greeting to the public than usual, was met by the comment "Look at that, if Dumoriez has not taught the princess to be civil!", while her sister-in-law was greeted by the public with the shouts "Welcome, Darling Augusta!" Within the circles of the royal court and nobility, Marie was viewed as a threat to the popular Louise Augusta, and was compared unfavorably with her. She was criticized at court for being too proud, of driving a wedge between the crown prince at the Augustenburg party, and of not being accommodating enough toward her sister-in-law. Marie, however, is known to have been eager to come to terms with her sister-in-law, and at least on one known occasion to have asked her to forgive her if she had caused her any offence. Her father introduced her and the crown prince to circles invested in German religious mysticism, and the princely couple, Prince Charles, Andreas Peter Bernstorff and Augusta Bernstorff, are known to have invited Lavater to Denmark in 1793. Lavater did visit them in the summer of 1793, and has described Marie as a lovable young child.