Sophie of Württemberg

Birth of Sophie of Württemberg, Queen of Netherlands

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Sophie was born in Stuttgart to King William I of Württemberg and Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, the fourth eldest daughter of Tsar Paul I.

Shortly after Sophie's birth, her mother died, and she was cared for by her aunt, Catharina of Württemberg.

She had a close relationship with her father, and was given a broad education.

Through her progressive father, Sophie came in contact with liberal ideas from her early youth, and supported democracy rather than royal absolutism.

Sophie married her maternal first cousin, the future Prince of Orange, and later King William III, on 18th June 1839.

After the wedding, Sophie and William settled in the Paleis aan het Plein, in The Hague.

The marriage between Sophie and William was arranged, and never a happy one.

Their relationship was not improved by the birth of their children, whose upbringing was a constant cause for conflict between their them.

William was constantly unfaithful.

Sophie did not wish to live with him, and devoted herself on cultivating her own intellectual interests and the private study of various subjects

A divorce was contemplated early on, but was continually postponed because it was not seen as suitable for a king and queen.

In March 1849, king William II suddenly died.

William III and Sophie became king and queen of the Netherlands on 12th May 1849.

The relationship between Sophie and William did not improve, and they continued to be in a state of constant conflict.

Their son Maurice died in 1850, after both parents had hired a different physician since they could not agree on how his illness should be treated.

When Sophie was pregnant with their third son Alexander, William had their eldest son sent to boarding school, despite Sophie's opposition.

Intellectually, Queen Sophie was superior to her husband.

She, on the other hand, did not fit his sensual character.

While he loved contemporary painting, music and theatre, she had a specific interest in history and science.

She let it be publicly known that she found him inferior and unsuitable to be king, and that she would do better as a regent for her son.

Both Sophie and William mutually wished to have a divorce, but a divorce was seen as an impossible scandal, because of their position.

A formal separation without divorce was finalized in 1855, and it was decided that the couple was to remain formally married in public, but allowed to live separate lives in practice.

William was to be given full right to decide about the upbringing of their eldest son, while Sophie was given full custody of their youngest, Alexander.

Sophie was to fulfill her representational duties as queen in public, but allowed to live her private life as she wished.

As queen she attended the industrial exhibitions from the 1860s and engaged in the education of the mentally challenged.

She also supported the Society for the Protection of Animals by becoming its protector upon its foundation in 1867.

Sophie also supported the women's movement when it first formed in the Netherlands, and became the protector of the first women's organization in 1871.

Sophie was an unusual queen with her left leaning political opinions and scientific interests, and her non-dogmatic views on religion, her support for a progressive development and her disdain for etiquette gave her the soubriquet "la reine rouge" ('The Red Queen')

Sophie died on the 3rd June 1877, aged 58, at the Huis ten Bosch Palace, in the Hague.

She was buried in her wedding dress, because, in her own words... 'her life had ended on the day she married'.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie_of_W%C3%BCrttemberg

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https://ko-fi.com/thetudorintruders

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Portrait of Queen Sophie of Netherlands 1863.

Franz Xaver Winterhalter~ Royal Collection Of The Netherlands.