Sophia of Prussia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- See also Sophia of Prussia (1582-1610).
| Sophia of Prussia | |
| Queen of Greece | |
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| Reign | March 18, 1913 – June 11, 1917 December 19, 1920 – September 27, 1922 |
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| Full name | Sophia Dorothea Ulrike Alice) |
| Titles | HM Dowager Queen Sophie HM The Queen of Greece HRH The Crown-Princess of Greece HRH Princess Sophia of Prussia |
| Born | June 14, 1870 |
| Birthplace | .gif/22px-Flag_of_Prussia_(1803).gif){kind=small} Potsdam |
| Died | January 13, 1932 (aged 61) |
| Place of death | .svg/22px-Flag_of_Germany_(2-3).svg.png){kind=small} Frankfurt |
| Consort to | Constantine I of Greece |
| Issue | George II, Alexander I, Elena, Paul, Irene, Katherine |
| Royal House | House of Oldenburg House of Hohenzollern |
| Father | Frederick III, German Emperor |
| Mother | Victoria, Princess Royal |
Princess Sophie of Prussia (Sophie Dorothea Ulrike Alice; June 14, 1870 – January 13, 1932), was a Queen consort of Greece.
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[edit] Princess of Prussia
She was born in Potsdam, Prussia, in 1870 to then Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia and Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom, herself the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort. Sophie, known as "Sossy" during her childhood, (the name was thought to have been picked because it rhymed with "Mossy", the nickname of her younger sister Margarete) was Victoria and Frederick's seventh child and third daughter.
She was a sister to William II, German Emperor, Princesses Charlotte, Margrete and Viktoria of Prussia, as well as Prince Heinrich, Princes Waldemar and Sigismund; the latter died before she was born, and Waldemar when he was 11 and she was 8.
She is the paternal grandmother of her namesake, Queen Sofia of Spain and ex-King Constantine II of the Hellenes. Queen Sofia also has a granddaughter, Infanta Sofia of Spain, who was named in her honor; Infanta Sofia's parents are the queen's son, Prince Felipe and his wife, Princess Letizia.
[edit] Marriage and Children
On October 27, 1889, she married Crown Prince (later King) Constantine of Greece in Athens, Greece. They were third cousins through descent from Paul I of Russia, and second cousins once removed through Frederick William III of Prussia. This led to in-fighting within her family, particularly with Empress Augusta Viktoria, known within her family as Dona, wife of her brother William. In 1890, when Sophie announced her intention to leave her Lutheran faith for Greek Orthodoxy, Dona summoned her and told her that if she did so, not only would William find it unacceptable, being the Head of the Prussian Protestant church; she would be barred from Germany and her soul would end up in Hell. Sophie replied that it was none of her business whether or not she did. Dona became hysterical and her son, Prince Joachim, was born too early causing her to cling to him for the rest of his life as she believed he was delicate. Evidently, so did William as he wrote to his mother that if the baby died Sophie would have "murdered it." Sophie and Constantine had six children:
- George II, King of the Hellenes (1890–1947) who married Princess Elisabeth of Romania
- Alexander I, King of the Hellenes (1893–1920) who married Aspasia Manos
- Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark (1896–1982), who married Carol II, King of Romania
- Paul I, King of the Hellenes (1901–1964)
- Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark (1904–1974), who married Prince Aimone of Savoy, 4th Duke of Aosta
- Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (1913–2007), who married Richard Brandram
In 1916 as the Queen and King were residing in Tatoi, a mysterious fire broke out, destroying the main residence and much of the forest surrounding it. Queen Sophie grabbed her youngest child (Katherine) and ran a mile and a half with her in her arms. The fire lasted for forty-eight hours and was suspected as deliberate act of arson.
[edit] Exiles of Husband
She left Greece on June 11, 1917 with her husband (who abdicated because of his alleged pro-German sentiments) and they went into exile to Switzerland, but were recalled to the throne shortly after their second son Alexander's death from an infected monkey bite. Her husband was forced to abdicate a second time after defeat in a war with Turkey in 1922, and he died early the following year.
[edit] WWI Loyalties
During World War I Queen Sophie had been wrongly seen in Greece as very pro-German because her brother was Kaiser Wilhelm II. Like her mother, she was passionately pro-British.
[edit] Death and Burial
| Styles of Queen Sophie as consort |
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| Reference style | Her Majesty |
| Spoken style | Your Majesty |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
In her last years Queen Sophie was diagnosed with cancer and died in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1932. With the restoration of the monarchy in Greece, Queen Sophie's remains were re-buried in 1936 at the Royal Burial Ground at Tatoi alongside her husband King Constantine.
[edit] Titles from Birth
- Her Royal Highness Princess Sophia of Prussia (1870–1888)
- Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Greece (1888–1913)
- Her Majesty The Queen of Greece (1913–1923)
- Her Majesty Dowager Queen Sophie (1923–1932)
[edit] Ancestry
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Sophia of Prussia
Born: 14 June 1870 Died: 13 January 1932 |
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| Greek royalty | ||
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| Preceded by Olga Konstantinovna of Russia |
Queen Consort of Greece 18 March 1913 – 11 June 1917 |
Succeeded by Aspasia Manos (Royal Consort) |
| Preceded by Aspasia Manos (Royal Consort) |
Queen Consort of Greece 19 December 1920 – 27 September 1922 |
Succeeded by Elisabeth of Romania |
