Sophia Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, Queen of Denmark and Norway

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Sophia Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, Queen of Denmark and Norway; Credit – Wikipedia

Margravine Sophia Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach was the wife of Christian VI, King of Denmark and Norway. She was born at Schloss Schönberg in Lauf an der Pegnitz near the Imperial City of Nuremberg, now in the German state of Bavaria, on November 28, 1700. Sophia Magdalene was the ninth of the fourteen children and the fourth of the seven daughters of Margrave Christian Heinrich of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein.

Sophia Magdalene had thirteen siblings but seven did not survive childhood. Several of her siblings lived in Denmark and/or were appointed to Danish positions once Sophia Magdalena’s husband became King of Denmark and Norway.

Sophia Magdalene’s father Christian Heinrich of Brandenburg-Kulmbach was the father of two reigning Margraves of Brandenburg-Bayreuth and a Queen Consort of Denmark and Norway but never ruled as a sovereign himself. His title of Margrave was a nominal title. Because Christian Heinrich had few resources and was in debt, in 1694 he accepted the invitation of his relative, Georg Friedrich II, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, to move in with his family at Schloss Schönberg where Sophia Magdelena was born in 1700.

In 1703, Christian Heinrich signed the Contract of Schönberg. Under the terms of this contract, he renounced his succession rights in Anhalt and Bayreuth in favor of Prussia. Friedrich I, King in Prussia then granted Christian Heinrich the use of Schloss Weferlingen (link in German) now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Four-year-old Sophia Magdalene moved to Schloss Weferlingen with her family. When she was eight years old, Sophia Magdalene’s father died at the age of 47, three months before the birth of his last child.

Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Queen of Poland, Electress of Saxony, who raised Sophia Magdalene; Credit – Wikipedia

After her father’s death, Sophia Magdalene was raised at Pretzsch Castle in Pretzsch, Electorate of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, by Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, the wife of Augustus II, King of Poland, Elector of Saxony and Sophie Magdalene’s distant relative.  Christiane Eberhardine’s husband converted to Catholicism to become King of Poland, however, she remained a staunch Lutheran throughout her life. Besides Sophia Magdalene, Christiane Eberhardine took in several other relatives including Sophia Magdalene’s sister Sophie Caroline and Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel who married Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich of Russia. the son and heir of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia.

The future King Christian VI, husband of Sophia Magdalene; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1721, Crown Prince Christian of Denmark and Norway, the son and heir of Frederik IV, King of Denmark and Norway, was traveling throughout Europe seeking a princess to become his wife. At the court of Augustus II, King of Poland, Elector of Saxony, he fell in love with Sophia Magdalene who was serving as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Christiane Eberhardine. Although Sophia Magdalene came from an insignificant, poor family, King Frederik IV of Denmark granted permission for the couple to marry. Christian and Sophie Magdalene were married on August 7, 1721, at Pretzsch Castle in the Electorate of Saxony, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

Christian and Sophia Magdalene had one son and two daughters:

Family of Christian VI, 1744, (left to right) Crown Prince Frederik (future Frederik V) King Christian VI; Queen Sophia Magdalene, and Crown Princess Louise (Frederik’s wife); Credit – Wikipedia

Sophia Magdalene’s husband succeeded his father upon his death on October 12, 1730, as Christian VI, King of Denmark and Norway. The coronation of the new King and Queen of Denmark and Norway was held on June 6, 1731, at the Fredensborg Palace Chapel in Fredensborg, Denmark. A new crown was made for Sophia Magdalene because she refused to wear the crown that the despised Queen Anna Sophie, her husband’s stepmother and longtime mistress of King Frederik IV, had worn. The majority of the Danish crown jewels come from Sophia Magdalene’s collection. Sophie Magdalen’s crown and other crown jewels can be seen today at  Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Left: The crown made for Queen Sophia Magdalene; Right: The Crown made for King Christian V, on display at Rosenborg Palace; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

Sophia Magdalene never forgot that she came from a poor family and that more fortunate people helped her family. She was responsible for bringing several family members to Denmark. Sophie Magdalen’s mother, Sophie Christiane of Wolfstein, came to Denmark during her daughter’s first pregnancy in 1723 and remained in Denmark, living at Sorgenfri Palace in Kongens Lyngby, Denmark. When she died in 1737, she was buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark, the burial site of the Danish royal family. Two of the Queen’s brothers became Danish admirals. Her widowed sister Sophie Caroline was brought to the Danish court in 1735. In 1737, Sophia Magdalene founded the Vallø Stift (Noble Vallø Foundation for Unmarried Daughters).  The foundation was headed by an abbess from a princely house and Sophia Magdalene appointed her sister Sophie Caroline as the first abbess.

Hirschholm Palace designed by Lauritz de Thurah for King Christian VI & Queen Sophia Magdalene; Credit – Wikipedia

Christian VI, King of Denmark and Norway died at the age of 46 on August 6, 1746, the day before his 25th wedding anniversary, at Hirschholm Palace located in present-day Hørsholm municipality just north of Copenhagen, Denmark. He was buried in Frederik V’s Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark.

Sophia Magdalene survived her husband by twenty-four years. She lived for the entire reign of her son King Frederik V and was alive for the first four years of the reign of her grandson King Christian VII. Her summers were spent at Hirschholm Palace and the winters at Christiansborg Palace. Queen Sophia Magdalene, aged 69, died at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark on May 27, 1770. At her request, she was buried in a simple ceremony in Frederik V’s Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark.

Tomb of Queen Sophia Magdalene; Credit – Wikipedia

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Works Cited

  • Da.wikipedia.org. 2020. Sophie Magdalene Af Danmark. [online] Available at: <https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Magdalene_af_Danmark> [Accessed 1 May 2020].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2020. Sophie Magdalene Von Dänemark. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Magdalene_von_D%C3%A4nemark> [Accessed 1 May 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Sophie Magdalene Of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_Magdalene_of_Brandenburg-Kulmbach> [Accessed 1 May 2020].
  • Sv.wikipedia.org. 2020. Sofia Magdalena Av Danmark. [online] Available at: <https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia_Magdalena_av_Danmark> [Accessed 1 May 2020].