Already at the Copenhagen Castle, one of the wings was fitted out as a theatre. However, the first Christiansborg Palace was constructed without a theatre. During the early reign of King Christian VII it became customary to have theatre performances in the Banqueting Hall, and in 1766 it was decided to construct a proper court theatre. A harness storeroom was adapted to an auditorium. The theatre was designed by the French architect Nicolas-Henri Jardin and inaugurated by King Christian VII and Queen Caroline Matilda in January 1767. Little remains of this original theatre as it was reconstructed in 1842 following the designs of architect Jørgen Hansen Koch. In time the Court Theatre came to function as an annex to the Royal Danish Theatre. In 1881 the theatre was closed as performance venue following the tragic fire of the Ringtheater in Vienna which underlined the dangers involved in the continued use of old theatres.