Princess Sophie of Sweden (Sofia Vilhelmina Katarina Maria Lovisa Charlotta Anna; 21 May 1801 – 6 July 1865) was, by marriage, Grand Duchess of
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
as the wife of sovereign Grand Duke of Baden, Leopold.
Biography
Early life
Sophie was born in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, Sweden, on 21 May 1801. She was the daughter of King
Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden
Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was King of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland.
The occupation of Finland in 1808–09 ...
and his wife,
Frederica of Baden. After her birth, she was raised under the supervision of the royal governesses
Hedvig Ulrika De la Gardie and
Charlotte Stierneld
Christina Charlotta "Charlotte" Stierneld née ''Gyldenstolpe'' (1766-1825) was a Swedish courtier; governess for the royal children in 1802-1809, and ''överhovmästarinna'' (Mistress of the Robes) to the queen of Sweden, Hedvig Elisabeth Charlott ...
in succession.
Sophie was eight years old when her father was deposed by the
Coup of 1809 and she left Sweden with her family. Between the time of the coup which deposed her father, and leaving Sweden, she and her mother were under house arrest. During this period, she was described in the famous diary of
Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp as a stubborn girl who was much more haughty and possessed less self-control than her brother
Gustav. An anecdote describes the contrast between the siblings. When Fredrika and her children were given permission to join the deposed king, famous Swedish nobleman
Axel von Fersen came to discuss the arrangements. When he was about to leave, Sophie's older brother ran to the door to open it for Fersen. The former queen Fredrika is quoted as saying, "Sophie would never in the world have done that, she thinks of herself too highly for that."
Marriage
In 1815, she was engaged, and on 25 July 1819 in
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
, Sophie married her half-grand-uncle
Prince Leopold of Baden, the son of a
morganatic marriage. The marriage with Leopold had been specifically arranged by her uncle,
Grand Duke Karl I of Baden, to improve the chances that Leopold would one day succeed him as grand duke because of Sophie's royal lineage; Leopold, though his right to the throne was recognized, was originally the issue of a morganatic marriage. During the reign of
Louis I, Grand Duke of Baden, they lived a modest life away from court, as Louis did not want the heir to the throne at court. In 1830, her husband ascended to the grand ducal throne as
Leopold I, and Sophie became Grand Duchess of Baden.
Grand Duchess of Baden
Sophie is described as wise and dutiful but strict.
[Heribert Jansson (in Swedish). Drottning Victoria (Queen Victoria). Hökerbergs Bokförlag. (1963) ISBN.] She kept late hours and arose late in the mornings, after which she spent hours writing letters to various relatives around Europe in her négligée. She was interested in science, art and politics, and kept herself well informed on all political events of the day through her correspondence.
Her ties to the Viennese court were particularly tight, and it was to Vienna her sons were sent to complete their education. Sophie retained a certain bitterness over the deposition of her father, and took it very badly when her brother was deprived of his status as a Swedish prince.
During the tumult caused by the appearance of
Kaspar Hauser, Sophie was rumoured to have ordered Hauser's assassination in 1833. This damaged her relationship to her husband, and Sophie was said to have had an affair. During the revolution of 1848, she was forced to flee from Karlsruhe with her family to
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
. They returned in 1849, after the revolt had been subdued by Prussian forces.
She became a widow in 1852. Sophie convinced her son Frederick to enter an arranged dynastic marriage rather than a marriage to his love, Baroness Stephanie von Gensau.
In 1852, the Swedish royal house wished to make peace with the deposed Swedish royal house, and
Oscar I of Sweden
Oscar I (born Joseph François Oscar Bernadotte; 4 July 1799 – 8 July 1859) was King of Sweden and Norway from 8 March 1844 until his death. He was the second monarch of the House of Bernadotte.
The only child of King Charles XIV John, Oscar i ...
and
Josephine of Leuchtenberg
Joséphine of Leuchtenberg (Joséphine Maximilienne Eugénie Napoléone de Beauharnais; 14 March 1807 – 7 June 1876) was Queen of Sweden and Norway from 8 March 1844 to 8 July 1859 as the wife of King Oscar I. She was also Princess of Bologna f ...
tried to arrange a meeting, but without success.
In 1863, however, Sophie met the Swedish heir presumptive Prince
Oscar II of Sweden
Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905.
Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...
and his consort
Sophie of Nassau
Sophia of Nassau (Sophia Wilhelmine Marianne Henriette; 9 July 1836 – 30 December 1913) was Queen of Sweden and Norway as the wife of King Oscar II. She was Queen of Sweden for 35 years, longer than anyone before her, and the longest-servin ...
. The meeting was a success: Sophie asked him about how the Stockholm of her childhood had changed, and when they left, she presented the couple with a gift to their son prince
Gustaf, a medallion with the inscription "G" and the crown of the Swedish Crown Prince, because he had the same name as her brother.
In 1864, Sophie was interviewed by an unnamed Swedish writer, an interview which was published in her biography about famous Swedish women by
Wilhelmina Stålberg
Carolina Wilhelmina Stålberg (26 November 1803, Stockholm – 23 July 1872, Mariefred
Mariefred is a locality situated in Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 3,726 inhabitants in 2010.
The name is derived from that of ...
(who was likely the unnamed writer in question):
Her palace was placed in a little park and had the appearance of a beautiful private residence rather than a royal palace. Beautiful trees, well tendered lawns and alleys surrounded the building. No grandeur in regard of staff or other things was visible anywhere. In the room, in which I first entered, there were an abundance of flowers and paintings. Everything there seemed to represent the home of a soul living in the solitude of her memories. I was also told that the Grand Duchess seldom appeared. She soon entered with light, bearely audible steps, a gracious figure who arrived with open arms to embrace and kiss me. ..She soon turned the conversation to Sweden and her memories of it. She particularly remembered Haga Palace and Stockholm Royal Palace, the latter so well that, if she should ever see it again, she would have the ability to find her way in any part of the palace. I asked, if she should not make a visit to her childhood home. There had been rumours in Sweden that she had the wish to do so, and that she had written about it to King Oscar, who had assured her of a kind welcome. The Grand Duchess disregarded the rumour as "completely unfounded". She had never had a serious plan to visit Sweden, despite the fact that she often longed for it. Especially during spring she always felt a strange melancholic longing for her childhood home. But to travel there was now too late for her. This she uttered with a tearful glimmer in her big blue eyes. In any case, a true smile seemed uncharacteristic for this not-really-beautiful but very interesting face. As for the latest Swedish literature, she did read it, but all in translation, "Because", she said, "I can no longer remember the Swedish language well enough to speak or read it in person. I can however understand it spoken, and my prayers are in Swedish!"[Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor. tg. av P.G. Berg och Wilhelmina Stålberg Stockholm, 1864-1866.]
Family
On 25 July 1819 in
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
, Sophie married her half-grand-uncle
Leopold I of Baden. They became the paternal grandparents of the Swedish Queen consort
Victoria of Baden.
Sophia and
Leopold I had the following children:
*
Alexandrine (1820–1904), married Duke
Ernest II of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1818–93), due to their childless marriage, Ernest's younger brother
Albert
Albert may refer to:
Companies
* Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic
* Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands
* Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia
* Albert Productions, a record label
* Albert ...
's British issue succeeded in that duchy.
*Ludwig (1822–1822)
*
Louis II (1824–58), reigned as Grand Duke 1852–58, deemed mentally unfit to rule.
*
Frederick I (1826–1907), Grand Duke 1858-1907, Regent 1852–58, father of
Queen Victoria of Sweden.
*
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
(1829–97), Prussian General, married Marie of
Leuchtenberg
Leuchtenberg is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Neustadt an der Waldnaab (district), district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria, Germany, essentially a suburb of nearby Weiden in der Oberpfalz, and a larger historical region ...
, became ancestor of the younger line of princes of Baden and father of
Prince Max of Baden
Maximilian, Margrave of Baden (''Maximilian Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm''; 10 July 1867 – 6 November 1929),Almanach de Gotha. ''Haus Baden (Maison de Bade)''. Justus Perthes, Gotha, 1944, p. 18, (French). also known as Max von Baden, was a Ger ...
, German Chancellor, and later the heir of Grand Duchy.
*Charles (1832–1906), married Rosalie von Beust (morganatic)
*
Marie (1834–99), married
Prince Ernest of Leiningen (1830–1904)
*
Cecilie (1839–91), known as Olga Feodorovna, married
Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia
Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia (25 October 1832 – 18 December 1909) was the fourth son and seventh child of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia. He was the first owner of the New Michael Palace on the Palace Quay in ...
(1832–1902), Governor General in Tbilisi.
She died at
Karlsruhe Palace on 6 July 1865.
Ancestry
Notes
References
* ''This article is partially based on its equivalent on German wikipedia''
* Heribert Jansson (in Swedish). Drottning Victoria (Queen Victoria). Hökerbergs Bokförlag. (1963) ISBN.
*
search for all versions on WorldCat
*Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor.
tg. av P.G. Berg och Wilhelmina Stålberg Stockholm, 1864-1866.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sophie Of Sweden, Princess
1801 births
1865 deaths
19th-century Swedish people
19th-century Swedish women
Sophia 1801
House of Holstein-Gottorp
Grand Duchesses of Baden
People from Stockholm
Disinherited European royalty
Daughters of kings
Kaspar Hauser
Royal reburials