Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Hereditary Princess of Denmark and Norway

Portrait by Georg David Matthieu, c. 1774.
Spouse Hereditary Prince Frederick of Denmark and Norway
Issue Christian VIII of Denmark
Juliane Sophie, Landgravine of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld
Louise Charlotte, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel
Ferdinand, Hereditary Prince of Denmark
House House of Mecklenburg
Father Duke Louis of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Mother Princess Charlotte Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Born 24 August 1758
Schwerin
Died 29 November 1794 (aged 36)
Sorgenfri Palace near Copenhagen

Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (24 August 1758 – 29 November 1794) was a Princess and Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and by marriage Hereditary Princess of Denmark and Norway.

Family, early life

Duchess Sophia Frederica and her brother Duke Frederick, by Georg David Matthieu, 1764.
Duchess Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg, by Georg David Matthieu, 1765.

Born in Schwerin, she was the only daughter of Duke Louis of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, second son of Christian Louis II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Princess Charlotte Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Her only sibling was Frederick, who was about two years older.

Marriage

On 21 October 1774 in Copenhagen, she married Hereditary Prince Frederick of Denmark and Norway, the son of King Frederick V of Denmark and his second wife Juliane Marie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, who was the regent in Denmark between 1772 and 1784. She was sixteen years old when she was married.

Sophia Frederica, known as Sofie Frederikke af Mecklenburg-Schwerin in Denmark, was described as jolly, charming and intelligent. She had a hard time in the beginning adapting to her new, stiffer environment, but became quite popular. During the first ten years of her marriage (1774-1784), she gave birth only three daughters, the eldest two were stillborn and the third lived only five months;[1][2][3] it was only in 1786 when she had the first of her living children, the future King Christian VIII.

It is said she was disappointed when she met her husband for the first time, but they came to be fond of each other, although they both supposedly took lovers; her husband had a mistress, her companion Caja Hviid, while the father of Sophia Frederica's children was rumored to be her husband's adjutant, Frederik von Blücher.[4] It was said that the harmony of their marriage was based on mutual understanding. The harmonious friendship between the spouses created a fear that Sophia Frederica's influence over her husband would lead to her interfering in politics.

She died in Sorgenfri Palace.

Children

Sophia Frederica, Hereditary Princess of Denmark and Norway, with her daughter Juliane, by Jens Juel, 1790.

Sophia Frederica and Prince Frederick had the following children:

Ancestry

Notes

  1. ↑ Sophie Friederike Herzogin von Mecklenburg-Schwerin: in Cyberancestors.com [retrieved 10 June 2014].
  2. ↑ Sophie Friederike Herzogin von Mecklenburg-Schwerin in: the Peerage.com [retrieved 10 June 2014].
  3. ↑ Sophia Friderica Herzogin v.Mecklenburg-Schwerin in: genealogy Database by Herbert Stoyan [retrieved 10 October 2014].
  4. ↑ Rie Krarup: Female List and royal cargo. Gentle doves and conflict ladies in the history of Denmark.

References

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