Sophia of Nassau

Early life

Sophia was the youngest daughter of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau, by his second wife Princess Pauline Friederike Marie of Württemberg.

Her father died when she was three and was succeeded by her half-brother, the later Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Sophia was given what was considered a suitable education for princesses at the time by private tutors. She was trained in fencing, a sport normally reserved for males, to strengthen her back and correct her posture.

Sophia socialized with academics and artists, and the court of Nassau was considered more democratic than what was usual at most German courts. She learned the English language early on and felt sympathy for the British parliamentarian system. The language spoken in her childhood home was not German but English. Sophia was given what has been referred to as an upbringing more similar to the middle-class Victorian life style, which she preferred rather than a royal one. Her brothers used to refer to her as Unsere demokratische Schwester (our democratic sister). She was described as serious, intelligent and dutiful, and interested in language and history: she was also genuinely religious.

In 1848, she witnessed a rebellion in the Duchy of Nassau, which was suppressed by her mother and brothers. She spent the winter of 1853–54 with her mother at the court of her maternal aunt in Saint Petersburg in Russia. Her maternal aunt, Princess Charlotte of Württemberg, was married to Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia. The trip was not made to arrange a marriage with a Russian prince because her mother did not wish her to convert, which would have been necessary, but rather, to have her study the life in a grand court. During her stay in Russia, she was a student of the pianist Anton Rubinstein. Sophia and her mother were forced to leave Russia at the outbreak of the Crimean war. After the death of her mother in 1856, Sophia lived with her half-sister, Princess Marie Wilhemine of Wied.

In July 1856, at her sister Marie's summer residence Monrepos castle outside Nassau, she received a visit from Prince Oscar of Sweden, Duke of Östergötland. Oscar was the second living son of the reigning king. Following the death of his elder brother Gustaf in 1852, he had become the future heir to the Swedish throne because his brother, the reigning Crown Prince, was unable to have more children with his spouse. It was therefore politically necessary for Oscar to marry. In 1855–56, Oscar was sent to visit various royal courts in Europe in order to find a suitable marriage partner in both rank and to his own taste. He visited the British court but did not wish to marry Princess Mary of Cambridge, and the Belgian and Prussian princesses who had been suggested did not wish to marry him. The marriage of Sophia and Oscar should not be regarded as an arranged marriage: Oscar had been given the freedom to choose a princess he liked from the many courts he visited, and Sophia, who had previously been proposed to, did not wish to be pressured into marriage. Sophia and Oscar, however, fell in love with each other.

After the visit, Oscar returned to Sweden to ask for his parents' consent to marry, which was granted. He then returned to Nassau, where the engagement was made in September and announced in October. During the engagement, Sophia was educated in the Swedish language and history, and corresponded with her future spouse: soon, the correspondence was conducted in Swedish. She also mastered Norwegian quickly.

Duchess and crown princess

Sophia and Oscar were married on 6 June 1857 at the Castle in Wiesbaden-Biebrich. Sophia arrived in the city of Stockholm with Oscar on 19 June 1857, and was met by her Swedish Mistress of the Robes, countess Wilhelmina Bonde, and her maid of honor Augusta Jegerhjelm at the ship Travemünde. There they were greeted with salutes, singing and crowds. Sophia was received with great enthusiasm upon her arrival in Sweden. Since the current Crown Princess Louise had become sterile after delivering her last child, and the elder brother of Oscar, Crown Prince Charles, had no son and his daughter was not accepted as heir to the throne under the present constitution, Sophia was seen as the solution of the succession problem and future Queen. She was dressed in blue at her arrival, and was therefore nicknamed The Blue Duchess, Den Blåa Hertiginnan, in Swedish. At the palace, she was first presented for the royal court, and then introduced to the royal family in the salon of the queen. Upon meeting the king, who was by then described as almost deranged and placed under the regency of the crown prince, she rushed to him, curtsied and embraced him.

In 1858, Sophia gave birth to a son, which secured the Bernadotte dynasty and gave her much popularity. The birth took place at Drottningholm Palace according to old court protocol, with the entire court and members of the government present in the chamber outside of the bedroom as witnesses. Following the death of her father-in-law King Oscar I in 1859, her brother-in-law became King Charles XV and her husband the heir presumptive.

The couple were given Arvfurstens palats in Stockholm as their residence. Sophia was described as calm and controlled, practical and sensible. She had a good relationship with her parents-in-law and her sister-in-law Princess Eugénie. Her relationship to Charles XV and Queen Louise was, however, tense. Sophia, herself strictly moral, disliked the French-influenced frivolity of her brother-in-law Charles XV's court.

By 1861, Sophia had given birth three times in three years, and after this her health was frail. The same year she made a trip to Nice to cure her health, and she continued to make trips for health reasons. The next trip was made in 1863; this time to Germany. In 1864, she engaged in the building of their summer residence Sofiero Palace by Öresund, which was named after her. In Sofiero they could remain in contact with the Danish royal family at Fredensborg on the other side of Öresund. The gatherings at Sofiero would sometimes be given a political dimension as the center of family councils.

Queen of Sweden and Norway

Upon the death of her brother-in-law on 18 September 1872, Sophia became queen consort of Sweden and Norway. At that time, there was a tense political situation and demands for a republic. Oscar was initially not popular, but there were hopes that he would let himself be guided by the advice of Sophia, who was considered politically insightful. Also in Norway, there were hopes that Sophia would use her influence on Oscar to introduce a more equal place in the union. Sophia was crowned with Oscar in Stockholm in Sweden 12 May and in Trondhjem (now Trondheim) in Norway 18 June 1873. In Norway, the couple made a tour around the country in connection to the coronation which has been described as a triumph.

In 1875, the king and queen made a tour in Europe. They first visited Denmark and after this Berlin and then Dresden. The visit to King Albert of Saxony and his Queen, Carola of Vasa in Dresden was considered significant, as this meant a symbolic peace between the Bernadotte dynasty and the deposed Vasa dynasty, as Queen Carola was the granddaughter of the deposed king Gustav IV Adolf and let it be known that the past was forgotten. After Dresden, Sophia interrupted the tour for health reasons while Oscar continued to Weimar and Russia. Another important event was the uncovering of the statue of Charles XIV John in Christiania (since 1926 Oslo) on 7 September 1875, which was celebrated with great festivities with invited foreign royalty and military parades and considered a memorable propaganda occasion. Another important event as Queen of Norway was the stay at Moss in 1877 with the former Prince Imperial Napoleon of France.

During the autumns, the royal couples normally stayed at Drottningholm Palace, where they received foreign royal dignitaries and hosted ceremonial parties. During the winters, they engaged in representation in both Stockholm and in Christiania. When visiting Norway, they were met by the border by a separate Norwegian court, who served during their stay there. In Norway, her principal ladies-in-waiting were Alette Due and Elise Løvenskiold. Sophia was known to dress spectacular at formal occasions, with many jewels, much lace and ornaments and bright colors such as red and blue. Oscar II normally spent his summers with his friends at his yacht Drott at Marstrand, while Sophia often spent her summers first at the Ulriksdal Palace, and in later years more often in Norway. From 1892 until 1904, she spent her Norwegian summers at Skinnarbøl manor outside Kongsvinger, where she is remembered for her simple life style and generosity toward the local population. She was popular in Norway, and described as the queen who had spent the most time in Norway among all the queens during the union Sweden-Norway.

Queen dowager

In 1907, Oscar II died and she became queen dowager. Though she no longer could exert any influence upon the affairs of state, she kept herself updated on politics. The dissolution of the union Sweden-Norway meant she no longer visited Norway, but she continued her trips to Great Britain and the continent: in 1909, for example, she visited Germany by car. She spent her last years engaging in philanthropy and in the Sophiahemmet, where she continued to be the acting chairperson. Her last official assignment was the exam celebration of the nurses at Sophiahemmet, one of whom was her granddaughter Maria Bernadotte, daughter of Prince Oscar and Ebba Munck: when the turn came to Maria, Sophia forgot her words and embraced her. She died a few days later, on 30 December 1913.

Queen Sophia believed in the view of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom: that the private life of a royal person should be a good example for her subjects, and she was a respected figure in this aspect.

Children

Sophia's children were:

King Gustav V (1858–1950; r. 1907–1950), ancestor of Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Frederik X of Denmark

Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotland, later Count Oscar Bernadotte af Wisborg (1859–1953)

Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland (1861–1951), ancestor of Harald V of Norway, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Philippe of Belgium

Prince Eugén, Duke of Närke (1865–1947)

Sophia was the half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (who was also the last reigning Duke of Nassau), who created the title Count of Wisborg in the Luxembourgish nobility for Sophia's son Oscar, who lost his succession rights and titles by marrying without the King's consent.

Honours, arms and monogram

Honours

Russian Empire: Dame of the Order of Saint Catherine 1st Class, 1857

Spain: Dame of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa, 24 March 1883

United Kingdom: Honorary Lady of Justice of St. John