Sophia of Nassau

Sophia was the youngest daughter of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau, by his second wife Princess Pauline Friederike Marie of Württemberg. Her father died when she was three and was succeeded by her half-brother, the later Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Sophia was given what was considered a suitable education for princesses at the time by private tutors. She was trained in fencing, a sport normally reserved for males, to strengthen her back and correct her posture. Sophia socialized with academics and artists, and the court of Nassau was considered more democratic than what was usual at most German courts. She learned the English language early on and felt sympathy for the British parliamentarian system. The language spoken in her childhood home was not German but English. Sophia and Oscar, however, fell in love with each other. After the visit, Oscar returned to Sweden to ask for his parents' consent to marry, which was granted. He then returned to Nassau, where the engagement was made in September and announced in October. During the engagement, Sophia was educated in the Swedish language and history, and corresponded with her future spouse: soon, the correspondence was conducted in Swedish. She also mastered Norwegian quickly. == Duchess and crown princess ==

and their sons (Gustaf, Oscar Bernadotte, Carl and Eugén), 1865. Sophia and Oscar were married on 6 June 1857 at the Castle in Wiesbaden-Biebrich. Sophia arrived in the city of Stockholm with Oscar on 19 June 1857, and was met by her Swedish Mistress of the Robes, countess Wilhelmina Bonde, and her maid of honor Augusta Jegerhjelm at the ship Travemünde. There they were greeted with salutes, singing and crowds. Sophia was received with great enthusiasm upon her arrival in Sweden. Since the current Crown Princess Louise had become sterile after delivering her last child, and the elder brother of Oscar, Crown Prince Charles, had no son and his daughter was not accepted as heir to the throne under the present constitution, Sophia was seen as the solution of the succession problem and future Queen. She was dressed in blue at her arrival, and was therefore nicknamed The Blue Duchess, Den Blåa Hertiginnan, in Swedish. At the palace, she was first presented for the royal court, and then introduced to the royal family in the salon of the queen. Upon meeting the king, who was by then described as almost deranged and placed under the regency of the crown prince, she rushed to him, curtsied and embraced him. In 1858, Sophia gave birth to a son, which secured the Bernadotte dynasty and gave her much popularity. The birth took place at Drottningholm Palace according to old court protocol, with the entire court and members of the government present in the chamber outside of the bedroom as witnesses. Following the death of her father-in-law King Oscar I in 1859, her brother-in-law became King Charles XV and her husband the heir presumptive. The couple were given Arvfurstens palats in Stockholm as their residence. Sophia was described as calm and controlled, practical and sensible. She had a good relationship with her parents-in-law and her sister-in-law Princess Eugénie. Her relationship to Charles XV and Queen Louise was, however, tense. Sophia, herself strictly moral, disliked the French-influenced frivolity of her brother-in-law Charles XV's court. By 1861, Sophia had given birth three times in three years, and after this her health was frail. The same year she made a trip to Nice to cure her health, and she continued to make trips for health reasons. The next trip was made in 1863; this time to Germany. In 1864, she engaged in the building of their summer residence Sofiero Palace by Öresund, which was named after her. In Sofiero they could remain in contact with the Danish royal family at Fredensborg on the other side of Öresund. The gatherings at Sofiero would sometimes be given a political dimension as the center of family councils. Sophia exercised strong discipline over her children. Her decision to breastfeed, at that time unusual for the upper class, attracted attention. She also aroused attention when she in 1869 placed her sons in a public school rather than letting them be educated at home as had been the tradition in the royal house. This was the Christian boys' school Beskowska Skolan of the theologian and vicar Gustaf Emanuel Beskow, whose sermons she often attended. Sophia had always had a very close interest in religion—an interest she shared with her sister-in-law Eugenie, in whose company she was introduced to various different Christian branches. From 1866, she was the chairperson of the charity organisation Allmänna skyddsföreningen (The Protection Society) for poor women in Stockholm. Sophia was interested in politics and engaged herself in state affairs during her life, and was occasionally present as an observer during the parliamentary sessions. In 1866 her birth country, the Duchy of Nassau, was annexed by Prussia. After this, she kept an anti-Prussian view. In the summer of 1870, she was present in Ems where she met both the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia shortly before the declaration of the war, and kept herself informed about the political situation. She did not oppose the united Empire of Germany as such, but disliked how it had been created and the dominance of Prussia. She did, however, have a good personal relationship with Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia and his consort Victoria, Princess Royal. == Queen of Sweden and Norway==

Upon the death of her brother-in-law on 18 September 1872, Sophia became queen consort of Sweden and Norway. At that time, there was a tense political situation and demands for a republic. Oscar was initially not popular, but there were hopes that he would let himself be guided by the advice of Sophia, who was considered politically insightful. Also in Norway, there were hopes that Sophia would use her influence on Oscar to introduce a more equal place in the union. Sophia was crowned with Oscar in Stockholm in Sweden 12 May and in Trondhjem (now Trondheim) in Norway 18 June 1873. In Norway, the couple made a tour around the country in connection to the coronation which has been described as a triumph. In 1875, the king and queen made a tour in Europe. They first visited Denmark and after this Berlin and then Dresden. The visit to King Albert of Saxony and his Queen, Carola of Vasa in Dresden was considered significant, as this meant a symbolic peace between the Bernadotte dynasty and the deposed Vasa dynasty, as Queen Carola was the granddaughter of the deposed king Gustav IV Adolf and let it be known that the past was forgotten. After Dresden, Sophia interrupted the tour for health reasons while Oscar continued to Weimar and Russia. Another important event was the uncovering of the statue of Charles XIV John in Christiania (since 1926 Oslo) on 7 September 1875, which was celebrated with great festivities with invited foreign royalty and military parades and considered a memorable propaganda occasion. Another important event as Queen of Norway was the stay at Moss in 1877 with the former Prince Imperial Napoleon of France. During the autumns, the royal couples normally stayed at Drottningholm Palace, where they received foreign royal dignitaries and hosted ceremonial parties. During the winters, they engaged in representation in both Stockholm and in Christiania. When visiting Norway, they were met by the border by a separate Norwegian court, who served during their stay there. In Norway, her principal ladies-in-waiting were Alette Due and Elise Løvenskiold. Sophia was known to dress spectacular at formal occasions, with many jewels, much lace and ornaments and bright colors such as red and blue. Oscar II normally spent his summers with his friends at his yacht Drott at Marstrand, while Sophia often spent her summers first at the Ulriksdal Palace, and in later years more often in Norway. From 1892 until 1904, she spent her Norwegian summers at Skinnarbøl manor outside Kongsvinger, where she is remembered for her simple life style and generosity toward the local population. She was popular in Norway, and described as the queen who had spent the most time in Norway among all the queens during the union Sweden-Norway. Sophia herself described the years between 1873 and 1878 as years of crisis for her. During these years, Oscar had several affairs, notably with Magda von Dolcke and with Marie Friberg. Oscar's affair with Magda von Dolcke begun in 1874 and attracted great attention, and he benefited her career at the Royal Dramatic theatre and gave her an allowance. Though she did not demonstrate, Sophia is believed to have suffered from his adultery. It is related how Sophia traveled to Germany to look for comfort with her half sister Marie of Wied, who, it is believed, advised her to accept the situation. At one occasion, the king had a courtier sent to the opera singer Ida Basilier-Magelssen with a request of a "private audience", and she replied: "Tell His Majesty that he may have a private audience with his good and beautiful Queen. I have others things to do than to have private conferences with old gentlemen!" Sophia preferred a private life, such as dinners and musical soirees in the company of family members and her ladies-in-waiting. Queen Sophia suffered from poor health: in 1875-1877, for example, she was almost constantly absent abroad for health reasons, and though it was better after 1877, she continued to visit particularly Amsterdam for the medical care of Doctor Metzger. During a visit to Paris, she caused great attention when she dined at a public restaurant: this was unusual for a royal woman at this time, and it was also the only time she ever did that. They also visited Romania. , ca 1900. Queen Sophia performed a great effort in her work to improve medical care, and founded the first nursing school in Sweden. She studied the work of Florence Nightingale, and visited Great Britain with Oscar in 1881, where they were received by Queen Victoria. During her visit, she studied the modern medical institutions in London. Upon her return, she launched a project to educate professional nurses in Sweden. This work was only just started by the pioneering work of Emmy Rappe in 1867, but there was as yet no proper educational institution for nurses, and the medical world was sceptical. In 1882 she managed to arrange classes for nurses at the Sabbatsberg Hospital; 1884 she opened the Sophiahemmet University College for the students; and in 1889 it was developed to the Sophiahemmet, a combined hospital and school for nurses. The Sophiahemmet was seen as a role model for the education of nurses in Sweden, and it is also seen as the proper establishment of the nurse profession in Sweden. Sophia was very active in increasing respect for the nursing profession among doctors, who did not consider the work to be suitable for an educated female, and to make the profession respected, she wished for the profession to be seen as a religious calling and that it be undertaken by medically educated women, and she encouraged upper-class women to be nurses, all because she wanted nurses to be respected: the first head of her nursing school was the noble Alfhild Ehrenborg, who was a student of Florence Nightingale, and the Queen was actively involved in the institution until her death. In her nursing school, even students from the aristocracy were expected to scrub the floors. Two students of Sophiahemmet, Alma Brunskog and Olga Claréus was to have great significance for the medical care in Norway. Sophia chaired about fifty different charity organisations in Sweden and Norway. She received help seekers once a week, supported The Salvation Army and founded many organisations herself. Sophia was reportedly closest to her sons Oscar, whose religious interests she shared, and Eugen. In 1886, she supported Eugen, who wanted to study art in Paris. She also supported Oscar in his wish to marry the noble lady-in-waiting Ebba Munck af Fulkila. Her son Eugen said of her that human worth and justice almost had a higher standing with her than her deep piety. In 1887, she was forced to undergo an ovariotomy operation. The operation was considered potentially life-threatening. Before the operation, she made her will. She also took a vow of Oscar II, that should she survive the operation, the King would allow for Oscar to finally marry Ebba Munck. After the operation, Oscar made use of this and the wedding could finally take place. The surgery was considered a success, but afterwards she had difficulty walking and was occasionally forced to use a wheelchair. Despite this she continued riding. In 1881, she attended the wedding of her son, Crown Prince Gustav, to Victoria of Baden in Karlsruhe. Sophia had preferred her son to marry Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, as she had great admiration for Queen Victoria, but was initially very enthusiastic about the choice of Victoria of Baden, as she was a descendant of the former Swedish Vasa dynasty. Her relationship with her daughter-in-law was, however, to become tense. During the 1884 crisis, her influence was evident as it was she who convinced Oscar to allow the left wing Johan Sverdrup to form a Norwegian government: "Her influence over the King was great and well known. She was as firm as he was weak, as calm as he was unstable and nervous. Until March 1884 she supported him in his resistance, but in April 1884 she changed strategy and realized that resistance would only damage the monarchy. As early as that, she told the King to support Johan Sverdrup." During the crisis of 1898, the Norwegians began to use their own flag, Oscar II threatened to abdicate and Prime Minister Boström to resign. The queen calmed the situation and convinced them both to remain at their posts. Queen Sophia is credited with using her influence to prevent military intervention and war during the dissolution of the union Sweden-Norway in 1905. ==Queen dowager==

(1909) In 1907, Oscar II died and she became queen dowager. Though she no longer could exert any influence upon the affairs of state, she kept herself updated on politics. The dissolution of the union Sweden-Norway meant she no longer visited Norway, but she continued her trips to Great Britain and the continent: in 1909, for example, she visited Germany by car. She spent her last years engaging in philanthropy and in the Sophiahemmet, where she continued to be the acting chairperson. Her last official assignment was the exam celebration of the nurses at Sophiahemmet, one of whom was her granddaughter Maria Bernadotte, daughter of Prince Oscar and Ebba Munck: when the turn came to Maria, Sophia forgot her words and embraced her. She died a few days later. Queen Sophia believed in the view of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom: that the private life of a royal person should be a good example for her subjects, and she was a respected figure in this aspect. == Children ==

Sophia's children were: • King Gustav V (1858–1950; ), ancestor of Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Frederik X of Denmark • Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotland, later Count Oscar Bernadotte af Wisborg (1859–1953) • Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland (1861–1951), ancestor of Harald V of Norway, Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Philippe of Belgium • Prince Eugén, Duke of Närke (1865–1947) Sophia was the half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (who was also the last reigning Duke of Nassau), who created the title Count of Wisborg in the Luxembourgish nobility for Sophia's son Oscar, who lost his succession rights and titles by marrying without the King's consent. == Honours, arms and monogram ==

Honours • : Dame of the Order of Saint Catherine 1st Class, 1857 • : Dame of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa, 24 March 1883 • : Honorary Lady of Justice of St. John Arms and monogram == Ancestry ==