Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein

Sophie
Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein

The Hereditary Princess on 22 January 2013
Spouse Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
Issue Prince Joseph Wenzel
Princess Marie-Caroline
Prince Georg
Prince Nikolaus
Full name
Sophie Elisabeth Marie Gabrielle
House House of Wittelsbach
Father Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria
Mother Countess Elisabeth Douglas
Born 28 October 1967
Munich, Germany
Religion Roman Catholicism
Liechtensteiner Princely Family

HSH The Prince
HSH The Princess

Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein (born 28 October 1967 in Munich), is the wife of Alois, Hereditary Prince and Regent of Liechtenstein. Born a Princess of Bavaria, she belongs to the House of Wittelsbach.

Early life and education

Princess Sophie is the eldest of the five daughters of Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria, and Princess Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria (née Countess Douglas), as well as a patrilineal great-great-granddaughter of the last King of Bavaria, Ludwig III.[1] She was born in Munich on 28 October 1967 and baptised as Sophie Elizabeth Marie Gabrielle[1] in the chapel of her family's Kreuth home on 18 November. Her godparents were her maternal aunt, the Duchess of Marlborough, and Archduchess Gabriela of Austria.[2]

Sophie spent her childhood together with her parents and sisters in Wildbad Kreuth. From 1978 to 1980, Sophie attended the Girls' Home Primary School of the English Lady in Heiligenstadt. She then moved to the Girls' Secondary Boarding School Hohenburg in Lenggries. Sophie then studied history and English language and literature at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt.[1][2]

Marriage and children

Sophie married Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein on 3 July 1993 at St. Florin's in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. The couple lived in London from September 1993 until May 1996, and have since then resided in Liechtenstein.[2] They have four children:

Illness

At the beginning of 2003, it was made public that Sophie was diagnosed with benign brain tumor, from which she has recovered.[3]

Patronages

At the beginning of 2006, Hereditary Princess founded the Sophie von Liechtenstein Stiftung für Frau und Kind (Sophie of Liechtenstein Foundation for Woman and Child). The goal of the Foundation is to give women, who unintentionally became pregnant, a more positive life perspective for themselves and their child.[4]

Titles, styles, and honours

Failing the birth of a male heir, the Jacobite claim to the thrones of England, Scotland, Ireland and France will pass to Sophie, following the demise of the current holder, her childless uncle Franz, Duke of Bavaria, and of her own father, who has no sons.[2]

From her birth in 1967, Sophie was styled HRH Princess Sophie of Bavaria. In 1973, her father inherited the family name and style Duke in Bavaria from his great-uncle, who had adopted him as heir in 1965; Sophie was then styled as HRH Duchess Sophie in Bavaria, Princess of Bavaria. On her marriage in 1993 she became HRH The Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein, Countess of Rietberg, the Principality of Liechtenstein recognising and retaining her use of the style Royal Highness.[1]

Honours

Ancestry

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "The Princely House of Liechtenstein". Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein". The Jacobite Heritage. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  3. ↑ Nettroyal.nl
  4. ↑ Fuerstenhaus.li
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Jacobite Heritage
  6. ↑ Coronation of Willem Alexander of the Netherlands

External links