Sophia Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin | |||||
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Queen consort of Prussia | |||||
Tenure | 28 November 1708 – 25 February 1713 | ||||
Born |
Grabow Castle, Grabow |
6 May 1685||||
Died | 29 July 1735 Schwerin Castle, Mecklenburg |
(aged 50)||||
Spouse | Frederick I | ||||
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House | Mecklenburg-Schwerin | ||||
Father | Frederick I of Mecklenburg-Grabow | ||||
Mother | Christine Wilhelmine of Hesse-Homburg |
Full name | |
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Sofie Luise |
Sophia Louisa of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Sofie Luise; 6 May 1685 – 29 July 1735) was Queen consort in Prussia by marriage to King Frederick I of Prussia. She was famed for her beauty.
Sophia Louise was the fourth child of Frederick, Duke of Mecklenburg-Grabow, and Christine Wilhelmine of Hesse-Homburg. She was an aunt of Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna of Russia, who was herself mother of Ivan VI.
Sophia Louise was reportedly of a vivid and extrovert personality and "allowed the utmost liberty as regarded her conduct" by her brother, which had caused some gossip.
Sophia Louise's marriage was arranged by the powerful Prussian Minister-President Johann Kasimir Kolbe von Wartenberg, who pressured King Frederick to marry for the sake of the succession after he had been widowed for a second time. In 1708, the firstborn son of the crown princess died in infancy, and the physicians expressed doubt that she would be able to conceive again. This was lifted as a reason for the king to marry again, which was successfully suggested to the king during his journey to Carlsbad by his sister half-sister the Duchess of Saxe-Zeitz, who had been induced to do so by chamberlain Wittgenstein, foreign minister Ilgen and minister Biberstein, who wished to balance the growing influence of the crown prince with a queen who owed her position to them.
He was suggested to marry the Princess of Hesse Homberg, Charlotte Dorothea of Brandenburg-Culmbach, or the Princess of Nassau-Dietz, sister of the Prince of Orange, who was initially favored, but dropped: after this, the king's half sister suggested Sophia Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, which could strengthen Frederick's claim to the Mecklenburg succession.
A meeting was arranged between Frederick I and Sophia Louise at Ilosenthal, where she was escorted by her mother. The king was pleased with her beauty, and after half an hours conversation, the meeting was discontinued, after which the proposal was formally made to the Duke of Mecklenburg and accepted.
On November 1708 she became the third and last spouse of Frederick I of Prussia. The wedding took place by proxy in Mecklenburg with minister Wittgenstein acting in place of the king. The next day she was escorted to the border in the company of her family, and greeted by Frederick I outside Berlin. On the 27th she made her state entry to the capital, followed the next day by the wedding. The wedding was described as magnificent, with the king dressed in gold brocade and the queen with a crown escorted by the crown prince and her brother-in-law and the princesses dressed in silver brocade with streets covered in crimson carpeting: however, shortly before, the king had been informed that his daughter-in-law was pregnant, and answered that had he been aware of this, he would not have married again, which put a damp on the celebrations.