| Princess Sophia Hedwig | |
|---|---|
| Princess Sophie Hedvig painted by Benoît Le Coffre | |
| House | House of Oldenburg |
| Father | Christian V of Denmark |
| Mother | Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel |
| Born | 28 August 1677 Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Died | 13 March 1735 (aged 57) Charlottenborg, Copenhagen |
| Burial | Roskilde Cathedral |
| Religion | Lutheran |
Princess Sophia Hedwig of Denmark (28 August 1677 – 13 March 1735) was a Danish princess, the daughter of King Christian V and his queen-consort, Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel).
She was betrothed three times - first to John George IV, Elector of Saxony, in 1691, then Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1694, and finally to her first cousin Charles XII, King of Sweden, in 1697. However, none of the marriages transpired. The first groom broke the engagement, the second demanded she convert to Catholicism and the third did not wish to marry. Sophia Hedwig remained officially unwed, although they were rumours that she entered a secret marriage with her employee Carl Adolph von Plessen. Among her ladies-in-waiting was Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg. She had a good relationship with her reigning brother until 1721, when she left the court with her younger brother in protest at the king's marriage with Anne Sophie Reventlow.
She devoted herself to philanthropic and social concerns and managed her estates where she founded religious schools and founded the Vemmetofte Protestant convent for unmarried women. She was also a talented portrait painter and interested in music and embroidery. Many of her works are preserved in the Danish Royal Collection at Rosenborg Castle. She died at the age of 57.