Princess Sophie of Bavaria

Princess Sophie of Bavaria Archduchess of Austria Portrait of Archduchess Sophie by Joseph Stieler (1832) Born (1805-01-27)27 January 1805 Munich, Bavaria Died 28 May 1872(1872-05-28) (aged 67) Vienna, Austria-Hungary Burial Imperial Crypt Spouse Franz Karl, Archduke of Austria Issue Franz Joseph I of Austria Maximilian I of Mexico Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria Full name Sophie Friederike Dorothee Wilhelmine House Wittelsbach Father Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria Mother Caroline of Baden

Bavarian Royalty House of Wittelsbach Maximilian I Joseph Children Ludwig I Princess Augusta Princess Amalie Marie Princess Charlotte Prince Karl Theodor Prince Karl Friedrich Elisabeth Ludovika, Queen of Prussia Princess Amalie Auguste Archduchess Sophie of Austria Maria Anna, Queen of Saxony Princess Ludovika Princess Maximiliana Ludwig I Children Maximilian II Mathilde, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine Otto of Greece Princess Theodelinde Prince Regent Luitpold Adelgunde, Duchess of Modena Archduchess Hildegarde, Duchess of Teschen Princess Alexandra Prince Adalbert Grandchildren Ludwig III Prince Leopold Princess Therese Prince Arnulf Prince Ludwig Ferdinand Prince Alfons Princess Isabella, Duchess of Genoa Princess Elvira Princess Clara Great-Grandchildren Elisabeth Marie, Countess Otto of Seefried and Buttenheim Archduchess Auguste of Austria Prince Georg Prince Konrad Prince Heinrich Prince Ferdinand Prince Adalbert Princess Pilar Prince Joseph Clemens Princess Elizabeth Maria, Countess of Kageneck Great-Great-Grandchildren Princess Amalie Isabella, Mrs. Poletti Prince Eugen Infante Luis of Spain Infante José of Spain Maria, Princess Irakli Bagration of Mukhrani Infanta Marie of Spain Prince Konstantin Prince Alexander Great-Great-Great-Grandchildren Prince Leopold Prince Adalbert Princess Ysabel, Baroness of Stichsenstein Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandchildren Prince Manuel Princess Maria del Pilar Princess Maria Felipa, Mrs. Dienst Prince Konstantin Princess Bernadette Prince Hubertus Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandchildren Prince Leopold Princess Alva Maximilian II Children Ludwig II Otto Ludwig II Otto I Ludwig III Children Crown Prince Rupprecht Adelgunde, Princess of Hohenzollern Princess Maria, Duchess of Calabria Prince Karl Prince Franz Mathilde, Princess Ludwig of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Prince Wolfgang Princess Hildegarde Princess Notburga Princess Wiltrud, Duchess of Urach Princess Helmtrud Princess Dietlinde Gundelinde, Countess Johann Georg von Preysing-Lichtenegg-Moos Grandhildren Hereditary Prince Luitpold Princess Irmingard Maria Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria Prince Rudolf Prince Heinrich Princess Irmingard Princess Editha, Mrs. Schmer Princess Hildegard, Mrs. de Loayza Princess Gabrielle, Duchess of Cröy Princess Sophie, Duchess of Arenberg Prince Ludwig Maria Elisabeth, Princess Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza Aldegunde Maria, Baroness Zdenko von Hoenning-O'Carroll Adelgunde, Countess Konstantin of Waldburg-Zeil Dorothea, Dowager Grand Duchess of Tuscany Prince Rasso Great-Grandhildren Marie Gabrielle, Princess of Waldburg-Zeil Marie Charlotte, Princess of Quadt Franz, Duke of Bavaria Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria Prince Luitpold Princess Irmingard Maria Princess Philippa Maria-Theresia, Countess Tamas Kornis de Goncz-Ruszka Prince Franz-Josef Elisabeth, Countess Andreas von Kuefstein Prince Wolfgang Princess Benedikta, Baroness von Freyberg-Eisenberg Prince Christoph Gisela, Margravine of Meissen Great-Great-Grandchildren Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein Marie-Caroline, Duchess Philipp of Württemberg Princess Hélène Princess Elizabeth, Mrs. Terberger Princess Maria-Anna, Mrs. Runow Auguste, Princess Ferdinand of Lippe-Weissenfeld Alice, Princess Lukas of Auersperg Prince Ludwig Prince Heinrich Prince Karl Prince Tassilo Prince Richard Prince Philipp Prince Corbian Prince Stanislaus Prince Marcello Princess Odilia

Sophie, Princess of Bavaria (Sophie Friederike Dorothee Wilhelmine; 27 January 1805 – 28 May 1872) was born to King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his second wife Caroline 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 eldest son Franz Joseph reigned as Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow; her second son Maximilian reigned as Emperor of Mexico.

Life

Sophie (1866)

On 4 November 1824, she married Franz Karl, Archduke of Austria. Her paternal half-sister, Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, had married the groom's widowed father, Francis II, in 1816. Sophie and Franz Karl 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. Historically, Sophie is remembered for her extremely controlling 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.

Children

Portrayal on stage & screen

• In the Sissi films (1955–1957), Vilma Degischer played the part of Sophie as a chillingly strict mother-in-law of the young Empress. The stereotype of Sophie as an uptight and spiteful villain seems to have spread from these films.
• In the 1974 miniseries, Fall of Eagles, Sophie was portrayed by English actress Pamela Brown.
• Mayerling, a 1978 ballet by Kenneth MacMillan, features Sophie in a slightly more sympathetic light.
• Elisabeth, a 1992 musical by Michael Kunze about the life of Empress Elisabeth, where Sophie is portrayed as a malevolent intriguer, out to ruin her daughter-in-law's life by any possible means, though more recent productions have somewhat softened her character with additional scenes and a song that give more insight into Sophie's complex motivations and personality.
• In Sissi, l'impératrice rebelle, a 2004 French television film, Sophie was played by Stéphane Audran.
• In the 2009 European mini-series Sisi, Martina Gedeck portrayed Sophie in one of the more balanced interpretations of the character.

Ancestry

Honours

•  Austria-Hungary : Dame of the Order of the Starry Cross^[1]

External links

• Media related to Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria at Wikimedia Commons
• Historical Boys' Royal Costume: King Maximilian I Joseph: Second Family
• Marek, Miroslav. "Genealogy.eu: Royal and Noble Family Trees". Genealogy.EU.  External link in |publisher= (help)