Sophia of Nassau (Sophia Wilhelmine Marianne Henriette; 9 July 1836 – 30 December 1913) was
Queen of Sweden
The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument ...
and
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
as the wife of King
Oscar II
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 ...
. She was Queen of Sweden for 35 years, longer than anyone before her, and the longest-serving queen until 2011, when she was surpassed by
Queen Silvia
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
. She is also the most recent woman to have been officially
Dowager Queen
A queen dowager or dowager queen (compare: princess dowager or dowager princess) is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor, the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is clear ...
of Sweden.
Early life
Sophia was the youngest daughter of
Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau
Wilhelm (Given names: ''Georg Wilhelm August Heinrich Belgicus''; 14 June 1792, Kirchheimbolanden – 20/30 August 1839, Bad Kissingen) was joint sovereign Duke of Nassau, along with his father's cousin Frederick Augustus, reigning from 1816 unt ...
, by his second wife
Princess Pauline Friederike Marie of Württemberg.
Her father died when she was three and was succeeded by her half-brother
Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Adolphe (Adolf Wilhelm August Karl Friedrich; 24 July 1817 – 17 November 1905) was Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 23 November 1890 to his death on 17 November 1905. The first grand duke from the House of Nassau-Weilburg, he succeeded King Willia ...
. Sophia was given what was considered a suitable education for princesses at the time by private tutors. She was trained in
fencing
Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...
, a sport normally reserved for males, to strengthen her back and correct her posture.
[Anne-Marie Riiber (1959). ''Drottning Sophia.'' (Queen Sophia) Uppsala: J. A. Lindblads Förlag. page 8. ISBN (Swedish)]
Sophia socialized with academics and artists, and the court of Nassau was considered more democratic than what was usual at most German courts. She learned the English language early on and felt sympathy for the British parliamentarian system. The language spoken in her childhood home was not German but English.
Sophia was given what has been referred to as an upbringing more similar to the middle-class Victorian life style, which she preferred rather than a royal one. Her brothers used to refer to her as Unsere demokratische Schwester (our democratic sister).
She was described as serious, intelligent and dutiful, and interested in language and history: she was also genuinely religious.
In 1848, she witnessed a rebellion in the
Duchy of Nassau
The Duchy of Nassau (German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the G ...
, which was suppressed by her mother and brothers. She spent the winter of 1853-54 with her mother at the court of her maternal aunt in St Petersburg in Russia. Her maternal aunt,
Princess Charlotte of Württemberg
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg, Confederation of the Rhine
, death_date =
, death_place = Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
, burial_place = Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire ...
, was married to
Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia
Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia (russian: Михаи́л Па́влович; ''Mikhail Pavlovich'') (8 February 1798 S 28 January– 9 September 1849 S 28 August was a Russian grand duke, the tenth child and fourth son of Paul I of ...
. The trip was not made to arrange a marriage with a Russian prince because her mother did not wish her to convert, which would have been necessary, but rather, to have her study the life in a grand court. During her stay in Russia, she was a student of the pianist
Anton Rubinstein
Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein ( rus, Антон Григорьевич Рубинштейн, r=Anton Grigor'evič Rubinštejn; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the Sa ...
. Sophia and her mother were forced to leave Russia at the outbreak of the Crimean war. After the death of her mother in 1856, Sophia lived with her half-sister,
Princess Marie Wilhemine of Wied.
In July 1856, at her sister Mary's summer residence Monrepos outside Nassau, she received a visit from Prince Oscar of Sweden,
Duke of Östergötland
Duchies in Sweden have been allotted since the 13th century to powerful Swedes, almost always to princes of Sweden (only in some of the dynasties) and wives of the latter. From the beginning these duchies were often centers of regional power, whe ...
. Oscar was the second living son of the reigning king. Following the death of his elder brother Gustaf in 1852, he had become the future heir to the Swedish throne because his brother, the reigning Crown Prince, was unable to have more children with his spouse. It was therefore politically necessary for Oscar to marry. In 1855-56, Oscar was sent to visit various royal courts in Europe in order to find a suitable marriage partner in both rank and to his own taste. He visited the British court but did not wish to marry
Princess Mary of Cambridge, and the Belgian and Prussian princesses who had been suggested did not wish to marry him. The marriage of Sophia and Oscar should not be regarded as an arranged marriage: Oscar had been given the freedom to choose a princess he liked from the many courts he visited, and Sophia, who had previously been proposed to, did not wish to be pressured into marriage. Sophia and Oscar, however, fell in love with each other.
After the visit, Oscar returned to Sweden to ask for his parents' consent to marry, which was granted. He then returned to Nassau, where the engagement was made in September and announced in October. During the engagement, Sophia was educated in the Swedish language and history, and corresponded with her future spouse: soon, the correspondence was conducted in Swedish. She also mastered Norwegian quickly.
Duchess and crown princess
![Prins Oscar och hans tillkommande](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Prins_Oscar_och_hans_tillkommande.jpg)
Sophia and Oscar were married on 6 June 1857 at the Castle in
Wiesbaden-Biebrich
Biebrich is a borough of the city of Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany. With over 38,000 inhabitants, it is the most-populated of Wiesbaden's boroughs. It is located south of the city center on the Rhine River, opposite the Mainz borough of Mombach. Biebr ...
. Sophia arrived in the city of Stockholm with Oscar on 19 June 1857, and was met by her Swedish
Mistress of the Robes
The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom.
Formerly responsible for the queen consort's/regnant's clothes and jewellery (as the name implies), the post had the responsibility for arranging the rota ...
, countess
Wilhelmina Bonde, and her maid of honor Augusta Jegerhjelm at the ship Travemünde. There they were greeted with salutes, singing and crowds. Sophia was received with great enthusiasm upon her arrival in Sweden. Since the current
Crown Princess Louise had become sterile after delivering her last child, and the elder brother of Oscar,
Crown Prince Charles, had no son and his daughter was not accepted as heir to the throne under the present constitution, Sophia was seen as the solution of the succession problem and future Queen. She was dressed in blue at her arrival, and was therefore nicknamed The Blue Duchess. At the palace, she was first presented for the royal court, and then introduced to the royal family in the salon of the queen. Upon meeting the king, who was by then described as almost deranged and placed under the regency of the crown prince, she rushed to him, curtsied and embraced him.
In 1858, Sophia gave birth to a son, which secured the Bernadotte dynasty and gave her much popularity. The birth took place at Drottningholm Palace according to old court protocol, with the entire court and members of the government present in the chamber outside of the bedroom as witnesses. Following the death of her father-in-law King Oscar I in 1859, her brother-in-law became King Charles XV and her husband the heir presumptive.
The couple were given
Arvfurstens palats
Arvfurstens palats (Palace of the Hereditary Prince) is a palace located at Gustav Adolfs Torg in central Stockholm.
Designed by Erik Palmstedt, the palace was originally the private residence of Princess Sophia Albertina. It was built 1783-1794 ...
in Stockholm as their residence. Sophia was described as calm and controlled, practical and sensible. She had a good relationship with her parents-in-law and her sister-in-law princess Eugenie. Her relationship to Charles XV and queen Louise was, however, tense. Sophia, herself strictly moral, disliked the French-influenced frivolity of her brother-in-law Charles XV's court.
By 1861, Sophia had given birth three times in three years, and after this her health was frail. The same year she made a trip to Nizza to cure her health, and she continued to make trips for health reasons. The next trip was made in 1863; this time to Germany. In 1864, she engaged in the building of their summer residence
Sofiero by
Öresund, which was named after her. In Sofiero they could remain in contact with the Danish royal family at
Fredensborg
Fredensborg () is a railway town located in Fredensborg Municipality, North Zealand, some 30 kilometres north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is most known for Fredensborg Palace, one of the official residences of the Danish Royal Family. As of 1 Janu ...
on the other side of Öresund. The gatherings at Sofiero would sometimes be given a political dimension as the center of family councils.
Sophia exercised strong discipline over her children. Her decision to breastfeed, at that time unusual for the upper class, attracted attention. She also aroused attention when she in 1869 placed her sons in a public school rather than letting them be educated at home as had been the tradition in the royal house. This was the Christian boys' school Beskowska Skolan of the theologian and vicar Gustaf Emanuel Beskow, whose sermons she often attended. Sophia had always had a very close interest in religion -- an interest she shared with her sister-in-law
Eugenie, in whose company she was introduced to various different Christian branches. From 1866, she was the chairperson of the charity organisation Allmänna skyddsföreningen (The Protection Society) for poor women in Stockholm.
Sophia was interested in politics and engaged herself in state affairs during her life, and was occasionally present as an observer during the parliamentary sessions. In 1866 her birth country, the Duchy of Nassau, was annexed by Prussia. After this, she kept an anti-Prussian view. In the summer of 1870, she was present in Ems where she met both the Tsar of Russia and the King of Prussia shortly before the declaration of the war, and kept herself informed about the political situation. She did not oppose the united Empire of Germany as such, but disliked how it had been created and the dominance of Prussia. She did, however, have a good personal relationship with Crown Prince
Frederick William of Prussia and his consort
Victoria, Princess Royal
Victoria, Princess Royal (Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa; 21 November 1840 – 5 August 1901) was German Empress and Queen of Prussia as the wife of German Emperor Frederick III. She was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingd ...
.
Queen of Sweden and Norway
![Portrett av arveprins Oscar (senere Oscar II) og prinsesse Sophie med familie (6961203929)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Portrett_av_arveprins_Oscar_%28senere_Oscar_II%29_og_prinsesse_Sophie_med_familie_%286961203929%29.jpg)
Upon the death of her brother-in-law on 18 September 1872, Sophia became queen consort of Sweden and Norway. At that time, there was a tense political situation and demands for a republic. Oscar was initially not popular, but there were hopes that he would let himself be guided by the advice of Sophia, who was considered politically insightful. Also in Norway, there were hopes that Sophia would use her influence on Oscar to introduce a more equal place in the union. Sophia was crowned with Oscar in Stockholm in Sweden 12 May and in Trondhjem (now
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
) in Norway 18 June 1873. In Norway, the couple made a tour around the country in connection to the coronation which has been described as a triumph.
In 1875, the king and queen made a tour in Europe. They first visited Denmark and after this Berlin and then Dresden. The visit to King Albert of Saxony and his Queen,
Carola of Vasa
Carola of Vasa-Holstein-Gottorp (''Caroline Friederike Franziska Stephanie Amalie Cäcilie''; 5 August 1833 – 15 December 1907), was by birth a titular Princess of Sweden and styled ''Princess of Vasa'' as member of the House of Holstein-Go ...
in Dresden was considered significant, as this meant a symbolic peace between the Bernadotte dynasty and the deposed Vasa dynasty, as Queen Carola was the grand daughter of the deposed king Gustav IV Adolf and let it be known that the past was forgotten. After Dresden, Sophia interrupted the tour for health reasons while Oscar continued to Weimar and Russia. Another important event was the uncovering of the statue of Charles XIV John in Kristiania (since 1926 Oslo) on 7 September 1875, which was celebrated with great festivities with invited foreign royalty and military parades and considered a memorable propaganda occasion. Another important event as Queen of Norway was the stay at
Moss in 1877 with the former Crown Prince Napoleon of France.
During the autumns, the royal couples normally stayed at Drottningholm Palace, where they received foreign royal dignitaries and hosted ceremonial parties. During the winters, they engaged in representation in both Stockholm and in Kristiania. When visiting Norway, they were met by the border by a separate Norwegian court, who served during their stay there. In Norway, her principal ladies-in-waiting were
Alette Due
Alethe "Alette" Wilhelmine Georgine Due, née ''Sibbern'' (28 February 1812, Værne Kloster – 7 May 1887, Oslo), was a Norwegian singer, composer and courtier. She was an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, and served as Ove ...
and
Elise Løvenskiold
Elise Løvenskiold (16 February 1844 – 15 January 1923) was a Norwegian court official. She served as the ''overhoffmesterinne'' for Queen Sophia of Norway.
Elise Løvenskiold was the daughter of the Norwegian landowner baron Harald Wedel-Ja ...
. Sophia was known to dress spectacular at formal occasions, with many jewels, much lace and ornaments and bright colors such as red and blue. Oscar II normally spent his summers with his friends at his yacht
''Drott'' at
Marstrand
Marstrand () is a seaside locality situated in Kungälv Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,320 inhabitants in 2010. The town got its name from its location on the island of Marstrand. Despite its small population, for histori ...
, while Sophia often spent her summers first at the Ulriksdal Palace, and in later years more often in Norway. From 1892 until 1904, she spent her Norwegian summers at
Skinnarbøl
''Skinnarbøl'' is a manor house and estate located east of the Norwegian city Kongsvinger.
History
Close to the Swedish border and Finnskogen, the estate lands have historically belonged to several families including the Swedish noble familie ...
manor outside Kongsvinger, where she is remembered for her simple life style and generosity toward the local population. She was popular in Norway, and described as the queen who had spent the most time in Norway among all the queens during the union Sweden-Norway.
Sophia herself described the years between 1873 and 1878 as years of crisis for her.
[Sofia W M H, urn:sbl:6102, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av Torgny Nevéus), hämtad 2013-11-07.](_blank)
/ref> During these years, Oscar had several affairs, notably with Magda von Dolcke and with Marie Friberg. Oscar's affair with Magda von Dolcke begun in 1874 and attracted great attention, and he benefited her career at the Royal Dramatic theatre and gave her an allowance. Though she did not demonstrate, Sophia is believed to have suffered from his adultery. It is related how Sophia traveled to Germany to look for comfort with her half sister Marie of Wied, whom, it is believed, advised her to accept the situation.[Ibid. page 136] At one occasion, the king had a courtier sent to the opera singer Ida Basilier-Magelssen with a request of a "private audience", and she replied: "Tell His Majesty that he may have a private audience with his good and beautiful Queen. I have others things to do than to have private conferences with old gentlemen!" Being told of this, Queen Sophia sent for Basilier-Magelssen and their meeting reportedly ended by mutual tears over their adulterous spouses. Her health requested her to take frequent trips abroad, and her marriage apparently underwent a crisis where her marital relations was discontinued. The marital crisis was observed and mentioned by her closest surroundings, and during a trip on the continent in 1876, Sophia sent Oscar what she referred to as a farewell letter.
The year of 1878 was a turning point for Queen Sophia. This year she became a follower of the teachings of the British preacher Lord Radstock, to whom she was introduced by her lady-in-waiting Märta Eketrä. After this, she spent a great deal of her every day life in prayer with her favorite ladies-in-waiting Eketrä, Ebba von Rosen and Ida Wedel-Jarlsberg.
Oscar II was skeptical toward this because of his position as the head of the Swedish church, but their relationship was in fact improved after her new religious conviction.
Queen Sophia was after 1878 much engaged in her religious interests, and her work for the so-called new evangelical movement was quite significant. This made her less interested in participating in representation and society life, and Carl Fleetwood remarked that the master of her court was in fact reverend Beskow. She eventually restricted participation in court and society life to when it was absolutely necessary. When she attended the Amaranter Ball in 1885, the occasion was rare enough to attract attention. Sophia preferred a private life, such as dinners and musical soirees in the company of family members and her ladies-in-waiting. Queen Sophia suffered from poor health: in 1875-1877, for example, she was almost constantly absent abroad for health reasons, and though it was better after 1877, she continued to visit particularly Amsterdam for the medical care of doctor Metzger. During a visit to Paris, she caused great attention when she dined at a public restaurant: this was unusual for a royal woman at this time, and it was also the only time she ever did that. In 1885, her son Carl fell sick in Istanbul, and she and Oscar II visited the Ottoman Empire, where they were received by the Sultan and Sophia was given permission to visit the Imperial Harem
The Imperial Harem ( ota, حرم همايون, ) of the Ottoman Empire was the Ottoman sultan's harem – composed of the wives, servants (both female slaves and eunuchs), female relatives and the sultan's concubines – occupying a secluded po ...
. They also visited Romania.
Queen Sophia performed a great effort in her work to improve medical care, and founded the first nursing school in Sweden. She studied the work of Florence Nightingale, and visited Great Britain with Oscar in 1881, where they were received by Queen Victoria. During her visit, she studied the modern medical institutions in London. Upon her return, she launched a project to educate professional nurses in Sweden. This work was only just started by the pioneering work of Emmy Rappe in 1867, but there was as yet no proper educational institution for nurses, and the medical world was sceptical. In 1882 she managed to arrange classes for nurses at the Sabbatsberg hospital; 1884 she opened the Sophiahemmet University College
Sophiahemmet University ( sv, Sophiahemmet Högskola) is a Swedish institution for higher education associated with Sophiahemmet. In addition to a degree in nursing
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care ...
for the students; and in 1889 it was developed to the Sophiahemmet
Sophiahemmet is a private hospital at Norra Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It is associated with the Sophiahemmet University College. Its connection with the royal family goes back to 1884 when nursing education sponsored by Queen Sophia was ...
, a combined hospital and school for nurses. The Sophiahemmet was seen as a role model for the education of nurses in Sweden, and it is also seen as the proper establishment of the nurse profession in Sweden. Sophia was very active in increasing respect for the nursing profession among doctors, who did not consider the work to be suitable for an educated female, and to make the profession respected, she wished for the profession to be seen as a religious calling and that it be undertaken by medically educated women, and she encouraged upper-class women to be nurses, all because she wanted nurses to be respected: the first head of her nursing school was the noble Alfhild Ehrenborg, who was a student of Florence Nightingale, and the Queen was actively involved in the institution until her death. In her nursing school, even students from the aristocracy were expected to scrub the floors. Two students of Sophiahemmet, Alma Brunskog and Olga Claréus was to have great significance for the medical care in Norway. Sophia chaired about fifty different charity organisations in Sweden and Norway. She received help seekers once a week, supported The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...
and founded many organisations herself.
Sophia was reportedly closest to her sons Oscar, whose religious interests she shared, and to Eugen. In 1886, she supported Eugen, who wanted to study art in Paris. She also supported Oscar in his wish to marry the noble lady-in-waiting Ebba Munck af Fulkila
Princess Ebba Bernadotte ('' née'' Ebba Henrietta Munck af Fulkila; 24 October 1858 – 16 October 1946), was a Swedish noble, lady-in-waiting and a titular princess, the spouse of Prince Oscar Bernadotte.
Life
She was the daughter of Finnish- ...
. Her son Eugen said of her that human worth and justice almost had a higher standing with her than her deep piety.[
] In 1887, she was forced to undergo an ovariotomy operation. The operation was considered potentially life-threatening. Before the operation, she made her will. She also took a vow of Oscar II, that should she survive the operation, the King would allow for Oscar to finally marry Ebba Munck. After the operation, Oscar made use of this and the wedding could finally take place. The surgery was considered a success, but afterwards she had difficulty walking and was occasionally forced to use a wheelchair. Despite this she continued riding.
In 1881, she attended the wedding of her son, Crown prince Gustav, to Victoria of Baden
Sophie Marie Victoria of Baden (german: Sophie Marie Viktoria; 7 August 1862 – 4 April 1930) was Queen of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until her death in 1930 as the wife of King Gustaf V. She was politically active in a conservative fashion du ...
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. ...
. Sophia had preferred her son to marry Beatrice of Great Britain, as she had great admiration for Queen Victoria, but was initially very enthusiastic about the choice of Victoria of Baden, as she was a descendant of the former Swedish Vasa dynasty. Her relationship with her daughter-in-law was, however, to become tense. Sophia and Victoria had opposing political views, and Sophia took offence when Gustav started to listen to Victoria rather than to her, while Victoria criticized Sophia's influence on the king: the German diplomat Eulenberg reported that Victoria had stated, that Queen Sophia pressured the King to give in to the opposition to avoid conflicts, that she was relentlessly willful and that Oscar was afraid of her. Sophia disliked Victoria's cousin Emperor William II of Germany with whom she had several conflicts.
Politically, Sophia has been described as liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
and almost democratic in her views. Her political influence upon Oscar II is regarded as significant. She is regarded to have acted as his political adviser and is known to have used her political influence on several occasions, at least after 1878. Sophia showed a great interest in Norway and the questions surrounding the union between Sweden and Norway. The King was expected to visit Norway regularly during a reign when the crisis of the union became more and more frequent, and the Queen normally accompanied him, sometimes also against his will. In Kristiania
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, she often invited the spouses of politicians to the Royal Palace and created an important net of contacts from both the right wing royalists and the left wing republicans. In 1882-84, there was a serious crisis in Norway and talk of revolution, which eventually led to the ban of the royal veto and the loss of royal power there, and she was actively involved in the crisis. Though opposed to the reform, she saw it necessary to give in. Yngvar Nielsen related a scene when he read the news for the Queen: the King entered to room, fell on his knees before her and said: "Yes, Sophia, now you are in!", upon which she kissed his hand before he rose and stated that he took it hard but that he would keep his word. During the 1884 crisis, her influence was evident as it was she who convinced Oscar to allow the left wing Johan Svendrup to form a Norwegian government: "Her influence over the King was great and well known. She was as firm as he was weak, as calm as he was unstable and nervous. Until March 1884 she supported him in his resistance, but in April 1884 she changed strategy and realized that resistance would only damage the monarchy. As early as that, she told the King to support Johan Sverdrup."
During the union crisis of 1895, when the Norwegian wished to have their own embassies, the royal family had a family council at the sick bed of the queen in the presence of the German Emperor William II. William recommended united German-Swedish military intervention, but Sophia firmly forbade anything of the sort, told the Emperor that he did not understand the situation and advocated friendly negotiations. During the crisis of 1898, the Norwegians began to use their own flag, Oscar II threatened to abdicate and Prime Minister Boström to resign. The queen calmed the situation and convinced them both to remain at their posts. Queen Sophia is credited with using her influence to prevent military intervention and war during the dissolution of the union Sweden-Norway in 1905.
Queen dowager
In 1907, Oscar II died and she became queen dowager. Though she no longer could exert any influence upon the affairs of state, she kept herself updated on politics. The dissolution of the union Sweden-Norway meant she no longer visited Norway, but she continued her trips to Great Britain and the continent: in 1909, for example, she visited Germany by car. She spent her last years engaging in philanthropy and in the Sophiahemmet, where she continued to be the acting chairperson. Her last official assignment was the exam celebration of the nurses at Sophiahemmet, one of whom was her granddaughter Maria Bernadotte, daughter of Prince Oscar and Ebba Munck: when the turn came to Maria, Sophia forgot her words and embraced her. She died a few days later.
Queen Sophia believed in the view of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
: that the private life of a royal person should be a good example for her subjects, and she was a respected figure in this aspect.
Children
Her children were:
* King Gustav V (1858–1950)
* Prince Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
, Duke of Gotland, later Count Oscar Bernadotte af Wisborg (1859–1953)
* Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland
Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden.
Väs ...
(1861–1951)
* Prince Eugén, Duke of Närke
Närke () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the southwe ...
(1865–1947)
Sofia was the half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Adolphe (Adolf Wilhelm August Karl Friedrich; 24 July 1817 – 17 November 1905) was Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 23 November 1890 to his death on 17 November 1905. The first grand duke from the House of Nassau-Weilburg, he succeeded King Willia ...
(and the last reigning Duke of Nassau
The Duchy of Nassau (German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the G ...
), who created the title Count of Wisborg
Count of Wisborg (french: Comte de Wisborg; ; german: Graf von Wisborg) is a title granted by the monarchs of Luxembourg to some men formerly titled as princes of Sweden and their descendants.
Since 1892, the title has been borne by the male-lin ...
in the Luxembourg nobility for Sofia's son Oscar, who lost his succession rights and titles by marrying without the King's consent.
Her great-grandsons are King Harald V of Norway
Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991.
Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the li ...
and the former King Albert II of Belgium
, house = Belgium
, father = Leopold III of Belgium
, mother = Astrid of Sweden
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Stuyvenberg Castle, Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
, death_date =
, death_place =
, signature = Albert II of Belgium Signat ...
; her great-great-grandchildren are Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...
, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973.
He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, D ...
, King Philippe of Belgium, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
Anne-Marie, ( el, Άννα-Μαρία ; born 30 August 1946) is a Greek and Danish royal who was the last Queen of Greece from 1964 to 1973 as the wife of King Constantine II. The Greek monarchy was abolished with the 1974 Greek Republic Ref ...
and Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
Honours, arms and monogram
Honours
* : Dame of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa
The Royal Order of Noble Ladies of Queen Maria Luisa is an Order created by King Charles IV of Spain by royal decree on April 21, 1792, at the request of his wife, Queen Maria Luisa, to reward noble women who distinguished themselves for their s ...
, ''24 March 1883''
* : Honorary Lady of Justice of St. John
Arms and monogram
Ancestry
Notes
References
*
*
Sofia W M H, urn:sbl:6102, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av Torgny Nevéus), hämtad 2013-11-07.
* Anne-Marie Riiber (1959). ''Drottning Sophia.'' (Queen Sophia) Uppsala: J. A. Lindblads Förlag. ISBN
Further reading
* Lindblom, Louise.
External links
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{{authority control
1836 births
1913 deaths
People from Wiesbaden
House of Nassau-Weilburg
Sophia 1872
Norwegian royal consorts
Princesses of Nassau-Weilburg
Burials at Riddarholmen Church
Ladies of Justice of the Order of St John
Queen mothers