Sophie (born Princess 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 is an archontological list of Albanian monarchs, containing monarchs of the medieval Albanian principalities, Albanian kingdoms and to heads of state of modern Albania. Starting from the first established monarch Progon of Kruja from th ...

, 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

''Sophie Helene Cecilie'' was born in

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

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

, into an ancient

House of Schönburg A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...

, 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, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

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 (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

, 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 ...

Princess Sophie married Prince Wilhelm of Wied, son of

William, Prince of Wied William V, Prince of Wied (; 22 August 184522 October 1907) was a German army officer and politician, elder son of Hermann, Prince of Wied. He was the father of William, Prince of Albania and brother of Queen Elisabeth of Romania. By birth he ...

(1845-1907) and

Princess Marie of the Netherlands Princess Marie of the Netherlands (; 5 June 184122 June 1910) was the fourth child and younger daughter of Prince Frederick of the Netherlands and wife of William, 5th Prince of Wied. She was the mother of William, Prince of Albania. She was the ...

(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 and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...

, being his second cousin. They had two children: * Princess Marie Eleonore of Albania (1909–1956) ⚭ Prince Alfred of Schönburg-Waldenburg (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 zu 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 title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

Elena Callimachi, 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 monarchs 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 ...

and

Prince of Wallachia This is a list of princes 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 unification of Moldavia and Wallachia, led to the creation of ...

), and his wife, Princess Ruxandra Muruzi. She was also descended from Princess Ruxandra

Ghica The House of Ghica r Ghika(; }; , ''Gikas'') was an Albanian noble family whose members held significant positions in Wallachia, Moldavia and later in the Kingdom of Romania, between the early 17th century and late 19th century. The Ghica famil ...

, daughter of

Grigore I Ghica Grigore I Ghica (1628 – 1675), a member of the Ghica family, was the 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 ...

(1628-1675),

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

Princely family had Albanian roots.

Princess of Albania

Princess Sophie was close to her husband's aunt

Queen Elisabeth of Romania Elisabeth of Wied (Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise; 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 marri ...

, 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 on 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 Centrism, centrist politician, journalist, lawyer and diplomat, who also enjoyed reputation as a short story author. Sta ...

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 and Italo-Albanians notables at their castle in

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

, where William was formally offered the throne. The Albanian and Italo-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 List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

, the provisional capital. Sophie and Wilhelm were not successful in Albania: they were strangers to the culture and sought to introduce habits which were normal for royalty in Europe but unknown in poor Albania. Sophie showed no interest in politics. Her representational duties and disinterest in state affairs were considered ideal for a royal consort 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 is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Burial Mystery

On 11 July 2019, the Vatican opened two tombs on a tip that the missing teen, Emanuela Orlandi, had been buried there. One tomb was Princess Sophie's and the other was that of

Duchess Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Duchess Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (4 December 1784 – 13 July 1840), was the first wife of Christian VIII from 1806 until 1810, before he became King of Norway and later King of Denmark. She was a daughter of Frederick Francis ...

. Both tombs were found empty and the remains of the princess, the duchess, and the missing teens continues to elude authorities.

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 Wilhelm, Prince of Albania (Wilhelm Friedrich Heinrich; , 26 March 1876 – 18 April 1945) was sovereign of the Principality of Albania from 7 March to 3 September 1914. His reign officially came to an end on 31 January 1925, when the country w ...

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 Ott ...

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 Conference of 1913, London Peace Confe ...

: 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 Princesses in the German Empire House of Wied-Neuwied Schönburg family Albanian royal consorts