Sophie Helene Cecilie of Schönburg-Waldenburg (21 May 1885 – 3 February 1936) was Princess of Albania from 7 March to 3 September 1914 as the wife of Prince Wilhelm. In 1906 she married Wilhelm, second son of the Prince of Wied. When her husband became

prince of Albania This article includes a list of Albanian monarchs. Albania was first established by the Progon family in 1190, with Progon, Lord of Kruja as the nation's first monarch. Princes of Arbanon (1190–1256) House of Progon * Progon (1190–1198) *Gji ...

, Sophie became

princess consort Princess consort is an official title or an informal designation that is normally accorded to the wife of a sovereign prince. The title may be used for the wife of a king if the more usual designation of queen consort is not used. More informal ...

. However, in Albania she was referred to as ''Mbretëreshë'', or Queen.

Early life

Princess Sophie was born in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

Prusia 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 e ...

, as daughter of

Hereditary Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wife ...

Otto Karl Viktor I von Schönburg-Waldenburg (1856-1888) and his wife, Princess Lucie zu

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of North ...

(1859-1903). Both of Princess Sophie's parents died when she was young, so she spent much of her youth at the Castle Hemius in Fântânele estate in

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

, which was owned by her maternal relatives.

Marriage and issue

On 30 November 1906 at

Waldenburg, Saxony Waldenburg is a town in the district Zwickau in Saxony, Germany. The castle was owned by the House of Schönburg from 1378 until 1945. The pottery town of Waldenburg lies in the valley of the Zwickauer Mulde. The environment is characterized by fo ...

Princess Sophie married Prince Wilhelm of Wied, son of

William, Prince of Wied , house =Wied-Neuwied , father =Hermann, Prince of Wied , mother = Princess Marie of Nassau , birth_date = , birth_place =Neuwied, Duchy of Nassau , death_date = , death_place =Neuwied, Kingdom of Prussia William V, Pri ...

(1845-1907) and

Princess Marie of the Netherlands , house = Orange-Nassau , father =Prince Frederick of the Netherlands , mother =Princess Louise of Prussia , birth_date = , birth_place =Wassenaar, Netherlands , death_date = , death_place =Neuwied, Kingdom of Prussia Pr ...

(1841-1910). Sophie's husband, Prince Wilhelm was related to

Wilhelm II, German Emperor Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

, being his second cousin. They had two children: *

Princess Marie Eleonore of Albania Princess Marie Eleonore of Albania, Princess of Wied (Marie Eleonore Elisabeth Cecilie Mathilde Lucie Prinzessin von Wied; 19 February 190929 September 1956) was the only daughter of William, Prince of Albania and his wife Princess Sophie of Schö ...

(1909–1956) ⚭ Prince Alfred of

Schönburg-Waldenburg Waldenburg is a town in the district Zwickau in Saxony, Germany. The castle was owned by the House of Schönburg from 1378 until 1945. The pottery town of Waldenburg lies in the valley of the Zwickauer Mulde. The environment is characterized by fo ...

(1905-1941), son of Prince Heinrich of Schönburg-Waldenburg and Princess Olga of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg ⚭ Ion Octavian Bunea (1899-1977) *

Carol Victor, Hereditary Prince of Albania Carol Victor, Hereditary Prince of Albania (Karl Viktor Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Günther von Wied, 19 May 19138 December 1973), was the only son of William, Prince of Albania, and briefly heir to the Principality of Albania. He held the title of ' ...

(1913–1973) ⚭ Eileen de Coppet (1922-1985)

Albanian ancestry

She had some remote

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

ancestry, being a descendant of

Princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

Elena Elena may refer to: People * Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician * Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet Geography * Elena (town), a town in Veliko ...

Callimachi The House of Callimachi, Calimachi, or Kallimachi ( el, Καλλιμάχη, russian: Каллимаки, tr, Kalimakizade; originally ''Calmașul'' or ''Călmașu''), was a Phanariote family of mixed Moldavian (Romanian) and Greek origins. Origina ...

, daughter of Prince

Scarlat Ghica Scarlat Grigorie Ghica (1715 – 2 December 1766) was a Prince of Moldavia (2 March 1757 – 7 August 1758), and twice Prince of Wallachia (August 1758 – 5 June 1761; 18 August 1765 – 2 December 1766). He was a member of the Ghica family. He ...

(1715-1766) (

Prince of Moldavia This is a list of rulers of Moldavia, from the first mention of the medieval polity east of the Carpathians and until its disestablishment in 1862, when it united with Wallachia, the other Danubian Principality, to form the modern-day state of Ro ...

and

Prince of Wallachia This is a list of rulers of Wallachia, from the first mention of a medieval polity situated between the Southern Carpathians and the Danube until the union with Moldavia in 1859, which led to the creation of Romania. Notes Dynastic rule is hard t ...

), and his wife, Princess Ruxandra Muruzi. She has also descended from Princess Ruxandra Ghica, daughter of

Grigore I Ghica Grigore I Ghica (1628 – 1675), a member of the Ghica family, was Prince of Wallachia between September 1660 and December 1664 and again between March 1672 and November 1673. His father was George Ghica, ruler of Moldavia (1658–59) and ruler ...

(1628-1675),

and his wife, Princess Maria Strurdza. Although officially Romanian, the

Ghica The Ghica family ( ro, Ghica; sq, Gjika; el, Γκίκας, ''Gikas'') was a noble family active in Wallachia, Moldavia and in the Kingdom of Romania, between the 17th and 19th centuries. The Ghica family produced many voivodes of Wallachia and M ...

Princely family has Albanian roots.

Princess of Albania

Princess Sophie was close to her husband's aunt

Queen Elisabeth of Romania Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise of Wied (29 December 18432 March 1916) was the first queen of Romania as the wife of King Carol I from 15 March 1881 to 27 September 1914. She had been the princess consort of Romania since her marriage to then-Pr ...

, whom she had known since moving to Romania after the death of her parents. Princess Sophie and Queen Elisabeth sang, painted, composed and played musical instruments together. Queen Elisabeth played an important role in getting Princess Sophie's husband William the Albanian throne by asking

Take Ionescu Take or Tache Ionescu (; born Dumitru Ghiță Ioan and also known as Demetriu G. Ionnescu; – 21 June 1922) was a Romanian centrist politician, journalist, lawyer and diplomat, who also enjoyed reputation as a short story author. Starting his ...

to persuade the great powers to select William. Princess Sophie and Queen Elisabeth both worked to overcome William's reluctance to accept the throne. Eventually William agreed, and on 21 February 1914, Prince William and Princess Sophie hosted a delegation of Albanian notables at their castle in

Neuwied Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...

, where William was formally offered the throne. The Albanian delegation then visited

, where they paid their respects to Princess Sophie's family. Sophie and her husband arrived in Albania on 7 March 1914, in

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

, the provisional capital. Sophie and Wilhelm were not make a success in Albania: they were strangers to the culture and sought to introduce habits which were normal for royalty in Western Europe but unknown in Albania. Sophie showed no interest in politics. Her representational duties and disinterest in state affairs were considered ideal for a royal consort in Western Europe and modelled after her mentor queen Elizabeth of Romania.

Edith Durham Edith Durham, (8 December 1863 – 15 November 1944) was a British artist, anthropologist and writer who is best known for her anthropological accounts of life in Albania in the early 20th century. Her advocacy on behalf of the Albanian cause a ...

, who met them in Durrës, described them thus: :"They are very royal – both of them ..keep a court and keep people standing in their presence. It is all ludicrous ..her ophie'sonly idea is to play lady bountiful, distribute flowers, put medals on the wounded and make tiny blouses of native embroidery." Her Albanian adventure proved short-lived. On 3 September 1914, with the country in turmoil, Princess Sophie and Prince William left Albania, never to return. However, she officially remained the Princess of Albania until 31 January 1925, when the country was declared a republic. On 3 February 1936, Princess Sophie died at Fântânele,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Ancestry

References

External links

* File:Prince and Princess of Albania 5051566232 1c17f6c1bc o.jpg, 1913 File:Prince of Wied (King of Albania) & family LCCN2014695081.tif, 1913 File:Dmme12.jpg, Prince

Wilhelm of Wied Prince Wilhelm of Wied (German: ''Wilhelm Friedrich Heinrich Prinz zu Wied'', 26 March 1876 – 18 April 1945), reigned briefly as sovereign of the Principality of Albania as Vilhelm I from 7 March to 3 September 1914, when he left for exile. Hi ...

Isa Boletini Isa Boletini (; 15 January 186423 or 24 January 1916) was an Albanian revolutionary commander and politician and rilindas from Kosovo. As a young man, he joined the Albanian nationalist League of Prizren and participated in a battle against Ottom ...

and officers of the

International Gendarmerie The International Gendarmerie was the first law enforcement agency of the Principality of Albania. It was established by the decision of the ambassadors of the six Great Powers that participated in the London Peace Conference. This decision was ...

: Duncan Heaton-Armstrong and Colonel Thomson near Durrës in June 1914 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sophie of Schoenburg-Waldenburg, Princess 1885 births 1936 deaths People from Potsdam People from the Province of Brandenburg Princesses consort of Albania Albanian royalty German princesses House of Wied-Neuwied House of Schönburg-Waldenburg