The son of Juliana Maria, Hereditary Prince Frederick, was formally made regent for the mentally incapacitated monarch, but his rule was nominal. Formally, Juliana Maria had no official position, as the constitution did not specify the rules of a regency in the case of the incapacity of an adult king, and there were no laws as to how such a regency should be conducted. In the first period after the coup, she openly attended the assembly of the royal council, but was dissuaded from doing so as this was not in accordance with royal law. In reality, however, Juliana Maria was universally and openly recognized as de facto ruler of the regency, aided by Ove Høegh-Guldberg.