by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2017
Sofia of Sweden, Grand Duchess of Baden – source: Wikipedia
Princess Sofia of Sweden was the wife of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden. She was born Princess Sofia Vilhelmina Katarina Maria Lovisa Charlotta Anna of Sweden on May 21, 1801, in Stockholm, Sweden. She was the daughter of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden and Friederike of Baden, and had four siblings:
- Crown Prince Gustaf, after 1809 known as Gustaf Gustafsson von Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Vasa (1799 – 1877), married Princess Louise Amelie of Baden, had one son who died in infancy and one daughter Princess Carola who married King Albert I of Saxony
- Prince Carl Gustaf (1802 – 1805), died in childhood
- Princess Amalia (1805 – 1853), unmarried
- Princess Cecilia (1807 – 1844), married Augustus, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, had three sons
Sofia’s father was deposed as King of Sweden in 1809, and the family went into exile in the Duchy of Baden, her mother’s homeland. Her parents soon separated and divorced, and Sofia and her siblings stayed with their mother at Meersburg Castle on Lake Constance in the Duchy of Baden, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. In 1814, their mother placed the children under the guardianship of her brother-in-law, Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia.
Leopold of Baden. source: Wikipedia
On July 25, 1819, in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, Sofia married Leopold of Baden, her grandfather’s half-brother. The marriage was arranged by her great-grandfather Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden to help strengthen Leopold’s right to the throne of Baden. Leopold had been born of Karl Friedrich’s second, and morganatic marriage, and had only recently been elevated to Prince and Margrave of Baden, and formally acknowledged as having succession rights. Sophie, having taken the German version of her name, and Leopold had eight children:
- Alexandrine (1820-1904) – married Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, no issue
- Ludwig (born and died 1822) – died in infancy
- Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Baden (1824-1858) – unmarried
- Friedrich I, Grand Duke of Baden (1826-1907) – married Luise of Prussia, had issue
- Wilhelm (1829-1897) – married Maria Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg, had issue
- Karl (1832-1906) – married Rosalie von Beust, had issue
- Marie (1834-1899) – married Ernst Leopold, 4th Prince of Leiningen, had issue
- Cecilie (1839 – 1891) – married Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich of Russia, had issue
Sophie and her children, c1834. source: Wikipedia
Sofia became Grand Duchess in March 1830, when her husband succeeded to the throne. Very conscious of her duty, she worked diligently, supporting her husband, and becoming involved in charitable organizations that helped those in need. She maintained a strong interest in science and art, but politics was her biggest interest. A prolific writer, she maintained extensive correspondence with relatives and friends throughout Europe, and never hesitated to share her thoughts and opinions about any political situation in her own country or elsewhere.
Sophie was widowed in 1852 and lived the rest of her life at Karlsruhe Palace. Despite being very angry because of how her father had been deposed, and her brother stripped of his Swedish titles, in 1863, Sophie met with the heir to the Swedish throne, the future King Oscar II and his wife Sofia of Nassau. The meeting served to begin healing the relationship between the two families.
The Dowager Grand Duchess Sophie died at Karlsruhe Palace in Grand Duchy of Baden, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, on July 6, 1865, and was buried in the Karlsruhe Stadtkirche. After World War II, her remains were moved to the Grand Ducal Chapel in the Pheasant Garden in Karlsruhe.
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