Sophia Charlotte of Hanover (30 October 1668 – 1 February 1705) was the first
Queen consort in
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
as wife of King
Frederick I Frederick I may refer to:
* Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht.
* Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978)
* Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105)
* Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...
. She was the only daughter of Elector
Ernest Augustus of Hanover and his wife
Sophia of the Palatinate
Sophia of Hanover (born Princess Sophia of the Palatinate; 14 October 1630 – 8 June 1714) was the Electress of Hanover by marriage to Elector Ernest Augustus and later the heiress presumptive to the thrones of England and Scotland (later Gre ...
. Her eldest brother,
George Louis, succeeded to the
British throne
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Baili ...
in 1714 as King George I.
Early life
Sophia Charlotte was born in
Iburg Castle
The so-called Iburg Castle (german: Schloss Iburg), is a castle and former Benedictine abbey in Bad Iburg, Germany.Rudolf vom Bruch: Die Rittersitze des Fürstentums Osnabrück. H.Th. Wenner Verlag,
From ca. 1100 till 1673 it was the seat of the ...
in the
Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück
The Prince-Bishopric of OsnabrückAlso known as the Prince-Bishopric of Osnaburg) (german: link=no, Hochstift Osnabrück; Fürstbistum Osnabrück, Bistum Osnabrück) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1225 until 1803. ...
, where her father held the title of a Protestant
prince-bishop. In 1672 her family moved to the new episcopal residence in
Osnabrück
Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...
and finally in 1679 to
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
, when Ernest Augustus succeeded his brother Duke
John Frederick of Brunswick-Lüneburg
John Frederick (german: Johann Friedrich; 25 April 1625 in Herzberg am Harz – 18 December 1679 in Augsburg) was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He ruled over the Principality of Calenberg, a subdivision of the duchy, from 1665 until his death.
T ...
in the
Principality of Calenberg
The Principality of Calenberg was a dynastic division of the Welf duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg established in 1432. Calenberg was ruled by the House of Hanover from 1635 onwards; the princes received the ninth electoral dignity of the Holy Roman ...
.
![Sophie Charlotte von Hannover](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Sophie_Charlotte_von_Hannover.jpg)
During her childhood, Sophia Charlotte visited the
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...
with her mother in hopes of marrying
Louis, Grand Dauphin
Louis, Dauphin of France (1 November 1661 – 14 April 1711), commonly known as Grand Dauphin, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Louis XIV and his spouse, Maria Theresa of Spain. He became known as the Grand Dauphin after the birth of h ...
, heir to the French throne. He later married
Duchess Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria
Maria Anna Christine Victoria of Bavaria (french: Marie Anne Victoire; 28 November 1660 – 20 April 1690) was Dauphine of France by marriage to Louis, Grand Dauphin, son and heir of Louis XIV. She was known as ''la Grande Dauphine''. The Da ...
instead, but Sophia Charlotte was also proposed as a possible bride for Louis's father, King
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
, after his wife died in 1683. Nothing came of this plan either. A marriage was therefore arranged to Frederick of
Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...
, son of
Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg
Frederick William (german: Friedrich Wilhelm; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is ...
, and heir of both the
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe.
Brandenburg developed out o ...
and the
Duchy of Prussia
The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the Prussia (region), region of P ...
.
Electress and queen
By marrying Frederick on 8 October 1684, she became
Electress
An Electress (, ) was the consort of a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, one of the Empire's greatest princes.
The Golden Bull of 1356 established by Emperor Charles IV settled the number of Electors at seven. However, three of these were ...
of Brandenburg in 1688, and after the elevation of
Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia (german: Brandenburg-Preußen; ) is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenz ...
to a kingdom in 1701, she became the first
Queen in Prussia. Her only child to reach maturity became King
Frederick William I of Prussia
Frederick William I (german: Friedrich Wilhelm I.; 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740), known as the "Soldier King" (german: Soldatenkönig), was King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as Prince of Neuch ...
. Her husband was so much in love with her that while he had an official mistress,
Catharina Rickert, at his palacein imitation of Louis XIVhe never made use of her services; however, his love for Sophia Charlotte was not reciprocated.
![Charlottenburg Hohenzollern 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Charlottenburg_Hohenzollern_2.jpg)
Initially, Sophia Charlotte interfered in political affairs, pushing the downfall of the Prussian prime minister
Eberhard von Danckelman in 1697, but soon retired to private life. In 1695, she had received the estates of
Lietzow
Lietzow is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe af ...
manor west of
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
from her husband in exchange for further away
Caputh. Here she had a
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
summer residence erected by the architects
Johann Arnold Nering
Johann Arnold Nering (or Nehring; 13 January 1659 – 21 October 1695) was a German Baroque architect in the service of Brandenburg-Prussia.
A native of Wesel, Cleves, Nering was educated largely in Holland. From 1677 to 1679 he also travelled ...
and
Martin Grünberg
Martin Grünberg (born 1655, Insterburg, then in East Prussia, now in Russia – between 16 and 23 October 1706 or 1707Precise date of death unknown) was a German architect and master builder.
Life
He was active in Berlin from 1687 onwards, a ...
, in order to live independently from her husband and have her own court. Frederick was only allowed there by invitation, as on 11 July 1699, when she hosted a birthday party for him. From 1700, she regularly lived there in the summer months. Then called Lietzenburg, it was renamed
Charlottenburg Palace
Schloss Charlottenburg (Charlottenburg Palace) is a Baroque palace in Berlin, located in Charlottenburg, a district of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough.
The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during th ...
after her death.
Sophia Charlotte is mainly remembered for her friendship and correspondence with her mother's good friend and tutor
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathema ...
, whose avowed disciple she became. In addition to German, she spoke French, Italian and English fluently. Following the example set by her mother, she surrounded herself with philosophers and theologians like
Isaac de Beausobre
Isaac de Beausobre (8 March 1659 – 5 June 1738) was a French Protestant churchman, now best known for his two-volume history of Manichaeism, ''Histoire Critique de Manichée et du Manichéisme'' . Life
Beausobre was born at Niort, Deux-Sèvres. ...
,
Daniel Ernst Jablonski
Daniel Ernst Jablonski (20 November 1660, Nassenhuben (Mokry Dwór), Royal Prussia, Crown of Poland25 May 1741, Berlin) was
a German theologian and reformer of Czech origin, known for his efforts to bring about a union between Lutheran and Ca ...
and
John Toland
John Toland (30 November 167011 March 1722) was an Irish rationalist philosopher and freethinker, and occasional satirist, who wrote numerous books and pamphlets on political philosophy and philosophy of religion, which are early expressions o ...
and inspired the foundation of the
Prussian Academy of Sciences
The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences (german: Königlich-Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften) was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin ...
. She was interested in music, sang and played the
harpsichord
A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...
, had an Italian opera theater constructed, and employed the musicians
Attilio Ariosti
Attilio Malachia Ariosti (or Frate Ottavio) (5 November 1666 – 1729) was a Servite Friar and Italian composer in the Baroque style, born in Bologna. He produced more than 30 operas and oratorios, numerous cantatas and instrumental works.
Life
...
and
Giovanni Bononcini
Giovanni Bononcini (or Buononcini) (18 July 1670 – 9 July 1747) (sometimes cited also as Giovanni Battista Bononcini) was an Italian Baroque composer, cellist, singer and teacher, one of a family of string players and composers.
Biography
E ...
. The composer
Arcangelo Corelli
Arcangelo Corelli (, also , , ; 17 February 1653 – 8 January 1713) was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era. His music was key in the development of the modern genres of sonata and concerto, in establishing the preeminence of ...
dedicated his Op. 5
sonata
Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...
s for solo
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
(Rome, 1700) to her. By some reports she disliked her husband's elaborate ceremonies so much that during their
coronation
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...
she took pinches of
snuff
Snuff may refer to:
Tobacco
* Snuff (tobacco), fine-ground tobacco, sniffed into the nose
** Moist snuff or dipping tobacco
** Creamy snuff, an Indian tobacco paste
Media and entertainment
* Snuff film, a type of film that shows a murder
Literat ...
to provide herself with "some pleasant distraction".
![Kolm Wachsporträt Sophie Charlotte](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Kolm_Wachsportr%C3%A4t_Sophie_Charlotte.jpg)
Sophia Charlotte was such a formidable personage that when Tsar
Peter the Great
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
first met her and her mother on his
Grand Embassy
The Grand Embassy (russian: Вели́кое посо́льство, translit=Velíkoye posól'stvo) was a Russian diplomatic mission to Western Europe from 9 March 1697 to 25 August 1698 led by Peter the Great.
Description
In 1697 and 1698, Pe ...
in 1697, he was so overwhelmed and intimidated that he could not speak. Both women put him at ease, and he reciprocated with his natural humour and trunks full of brocade and furs.
While on a visit to her mother in Hanover, Sophia Charlotte died of
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
on 21 January 1705, when she was 36 years of age.
Legacy
Charlottenburg, today a district of Berlin, the Charlottensee lake in Bad Iburg, as well as the Sophie-Charlotte-Gymnasium in Berlin are named after her.
Issue
# Frederick August of Brandenburg (6 October 1685 – 31 January 1686) died in infancy.
#
Frederick William I of Prussia
Frederick William I (german: Friedrich Wilhelm I.; 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740), known as the "Soldier King" (german: Soldatenkönig), was King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as Prince of Neuch ...
(14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740) married
Sophia Dorothea of Hanover
Sophia Dorothea of Hanover ( – 28 June 1757) was Queen in Prussia and Electress of Brandenburg during the reign of her husband, King Frederick William I, from 25 February 1713 to 31 May 1740. She was the daughter of King George I o ...
and had issue.
Ancestors
References
Further reading
* MacDonald Ross, George, 1990, "Leibniz’s Exposition of His System to Queen Sophie Charlotte and Other Ladies.” In ''Leibniz in Berlin'', ed. H. Poser and A. Heinekamp, Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1990, 61–69.
* MacDonald Ross, George, 1999, "Leibniz und Sophie-Charlotte" in Herz, S., Vogtherr, C.M., Windt, F., eds., ''Sophie Charlotte und ihr Schloß''. München: Prestel: 95–105.
* Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten in Berlin-Brandenburg (Hrsg.in): Sophie Charlotte und ihr Schloss, München, London, New York 1999,
* Clemens Götze: Das "musische Preußen" Sophie Charlottes. Kunst und Politik am Hof der ersten Königin in Preußen. Grin 2008.
* Karin Feuerstein-Prasser: Die preußischen Königinnen. Piper 2005.
*
Renate Feyl
Renate Feyl (born 30 July 1944) is a Prague-born writer living in Germany.
Born in Prague (at that time Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia), she grew up in Jena and went on to study philosophy at Humboldt University. Since 1970, Feyl has lived in ...
: "Aussicht auf bleibende Helle. Die Königin und der Philosoph." Kipenheuer & Witsch 2006.
* Otto Krauske: Sophie Charlotte. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie. Band 34, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1892, S. 676–684.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sophia Charlotte of Hanover
1668 births
1705 deaths
People from Osnabrück (district)
Deaths from pneumonia in Germany
Consorts of Brandenburg
Prussian royal consorts
House of Hanover
House of Hohenzollern
Burials at Berlin Cathedral
Electresses of Brandenburg
Duchesses of Prussia
Electoral Princesses of Brandenburg
Duchesses of Brunswick-Lüneburg