Sophie Friederike Dorothee Wilhelmine, Princess of Bavaria (27 January 1805 – 28 May 1872) was born to King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his second wife Karoline of Baden. She was the identical twin sister of Princess Maria Anna of Bavaria, Queen of Saxony as wife of Frederick Augustus II of Saxony. Her son Maximilian reigned as Emperor of Mexico.
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On 4 November 1824, she married Franz Karl, Archduke of Austria. They had six children.
Her ambition to place her oldest son on the Austrian throne was a constant theme in Austrian politics. At the time she was called "the only man at court". During the Revolution of 1848, she persuaded her somewhat feeble-minded husband to give up his rights to the throne in favour of Franz Joseph, her son. After Franz Joseph's accession, Sophie became the power behind the throne. Within modern pop culture, Sophie is best remembered for her extremely bad relationship with Franz Joseph's famed wife Sisi, who was also her niece.
Sophie kept a detailed diary most of her life which reveals much about Austrian court life. She was deeply affected in 1867 by the execution in Mexico of her second son Maximilian. She never recovered from that shock, and withdrew from public life. She died of a brain tumor in 1872.
She was also noted for her close relationship with Napoleon II, who lived at the Austrian Court as the Duke of Reichstadt. There were rumors of a sexual affair between them. There was even suspicion that Maximilian, born two weeks before Reichstadt's death in 1832, was actually his child. These claims were never verified, but it is certain that they were very good friends and that his death affected her very much. She is said to have turned into the cold, ambitious woman described in fiction after he died.
Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
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Franz Joseph | 18 August 1830 | 21 November 1916 | succeeded as Emperor of Austria married his first cousin Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria, and had issue |
Maximilian | 6 July 1832 | 19 June 1867 | proclaimed Emperor of Mexico executed by a firing squad married Charlotte, Princess of Belgium, no issue |
Karl Ludwig | 30 July 1833 | 19 May 1896 | married 1) his first cousin Margaretha, Princess of and Duchess in Saxony, (1840–1858) from 1856 to 1858, no issue, married 2) to Maria Annunziata, Princess of the Two-Sicilies (1843–1871) from 1862 to 1871, had issue (three sons and one daughter) and married 3) to Maria Theresia, Infanta of Portugal, (1855–1944), from 1873 to 1899, had issue (two daughters). He was the father of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination in 1914 sparked World War I. |
Maria Anna | 27 October 1835 | 5 February 1840 | died in childhood |
Stillborn son | 24 October 1840 | 24 October 1840 | |
Ludwig Viktor | 15 May 1842 | 18 January 1919 | died unmarried |
Sophie's ancestors in four generations
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16. Christian II of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld | |||||||||||||||
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8. Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken |
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17. Countess Katharina Agathe of Rappoltstein | |||||||||||||||
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4. Count Palatine Frederick Michael of Zweibrücken |
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18. Louis Crato, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken | |||||||||||||||
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9. Countess Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken |
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19. Countess Philippine Henriette of Hohenlohe-Langenburg | |||||||||||||||
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2. Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria |
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20. Theodore, Count Palatine of Sulzbach | |||||||||||||||
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10. Joseph Karl Emanuel August, Count Palatine of Sulzbach |
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21. Marie Eleonore of Hessen-Rheinfels | |||||||||||||||
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5. Countess Palatine Maria Franziska of Sulzbach |
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22. Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine | |||||||||||||||
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11. Countess Palatine Elizabeth Augusta Sophie of Neuburg |
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23. Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł | |||||||||||||||
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1. Princess Sophie of Bavaria |
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24. Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Baden-Durlach | |||||||||||||||
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12. Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden |
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25. Princess Amalia of Nassau-Dietz | |||||||||||||||
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6. Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden |
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26. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt | |||||||||||||||
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13. Landgravine Caroline Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt |
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27. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg and Müntzenberg | |||||||||||||||
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3. Caroline of Baden |
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28. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (= 26) | |||||||||||||||
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14. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt |
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29. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg and Müntzenberg (= 27) | |||||||||||||||
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7. Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt |
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30. Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (= 8) | |||||||||||||||
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15. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken |
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31. Countess Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken (= 9) | |||||||||||||||
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