Sofia of Nassau

Infobox Swedish Royalty|majesty|consort
name =Sofia of Nassau
title =Queen consort of Sweden and Norway

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caption =Queen Sofia of Sweden, portrait by painter Anders Zorn (1909)
reign =May 12, 1873 - December 8, 1907
spouse =Oscar II
issue =Gustav V
Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotlandia
Prince Carl, Duke of Westrogothia
Prince Eugén, Duke of Nericia
royal house =House of Bernadotte
House of Nassau-Weilburg
titles = "HM" Queen Sofia
"HM" The Queen of Sweden
"HM" The Queen of Sweden & Norway
"HRH" The Crown Princess of Sweden & Norway
"HRH" The Duchess of Östergötland
"HRH" Princess Sofia of Nassau
father =Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau
mother =Pauline of Württemberg
date of birth =birth date|1836|7|9|mf=y
place of birth =
date of death =death date and age|1913|12|30|1836|7|9|mf=y
place of death =flagicon|Sweden Stockholm Palace
place of burial =Riddarholmen Church|

Sofia Wilhelmina Mariana Henrietta of Nassau (July 9, 1836 – December 30, 1913) was Queen consort of Sweden and Norway.

She was a daughter of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau and his second wife Princess Pauline Friederica Marie of Württemberg.

Her maternal grandfather was Prince Paul of Württemberg. The Prince was a son of Frederick I of Württemberg and his consort Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1764 - 1788). Augusta was a daughter of Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg and Princess Augusta Charlotte of Wales.

The senior Augusta was the first-born daughter of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. She was also an older sister of (among others) George III of the United Kingdom, Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of York and Albany, Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, Prince Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn and Caroline Matilda of Wales, Queen consort of Christian VII of Denmark.

Biography

The marriage was the first in the Royal House that was not completely arranged. Though the match was considered very suitable, the couple was allowed to make their own decision on the basis of their feelings, and generally, their marriage was considered happy. Sophia was received with enormous enthusiasm when she arrived in Sweden in 1857 because the then- Crown Prince and his consort were not expected to produce a male heir. Sophia was therefore de facto Crown Princess, though she did not receive the title officially until 1859.

The couple lived a quiet life in Arvfurstens palats. Sophia disliked the frivolity of her brother-in-law's court and the French-influenced culture and catholic and liberal tendencies she saw there. She was a respected and dignified woman, described as learned, calm and sensible but boring, a center of the Royal Family life and someone from whom to seek advice. She exercised stern discipline over both her sons and her husband and shocked people by letting her sons attend a public boys' school. Her family life represented the Victorian ideal but involved the usual double-standards; her husband was sometimes unfaithful, but much more discreet than his brother. During his affairs, Sophia herself protested discreetly by leaving town and staying at the country estate.

As a Queen, Sophia did have some political influence and inspired her husband's preference for Germany and conservative ideas, though she was never as stern in her conservatism as her daughter-in-law Victoria of Baden, whose militant aggressiveness she disliked; her own views have, in fact, also been described as liberal, and in that aspect, she felt a sympathy for England. She was deeply religious and very active in charity work, especially health care and medicine. In 1884, she established the first school for the education of nurses after a visit to London, where she was inspired by Florence Nightingale, and in 1887, she founded the hospital Sophiahemmet. She was always very interested in increasing respect for the nursing profession among doctors and had many conflicts with authorities over this.

Queen Sophia suffered from poor health and in 1887, she had to have an ovariotomy operation. The surgery was considered a success, but afterwards, she had problems walking and often had to use a wheelchair.

She was popular in Norway, where she spent all her summers between 1892 and 1904, and she is often credited with using her influence to prevent war between Sweden and Norway when the union broke in 1905. She was a respected symbolic figure who represented the traditional Victorian virtues, and she enjoyed a status similar to that of British Queen Victoria. When she died in 1913, her grandson remarked; "The old time died with Grandma."

Family

Sophia married King Oscar II of Sweden on June 6, 1857 at the castle in Wiesbaden-Biebrich.She became Queen consort of Sweden on May 12, 1873. Their children were:

* King Gustav V (1858-1950)
* Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotland, later Count Oscar Bernadotte af Wisborg (1859-1953)
* Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland (1861-1951)
* Prince Eugén, Duke of Närke (1865-1947)

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

Her great-grandson Harald V is the reigning King of Norway, her great-great-grandson Carl XVI Gustaf is the King of Sweden, her great-great-granddaughter is Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, her great-grandson Albert II is King of the Belgians and her great-great-grandson Henri is Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

References

* Herman Lindqvist (2006). Historien om alla Sveriges drottningar (in Swedish). Norstedts Förlag. ISBN 9113015249.