Princess Sophie of the Netherlands

Princess Sophie of the Netherlands (Wilhelmine Marie Sophie Louise; 8 April 1824 – 23 March 1897) was the only daughter and last surviving child of King William II of the Netherlands and of his wife Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia. She was heir presumptive to her niece, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, for seven years, from the death of her brother until her own death.

For other people named Princess Sophie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, see Princess Sophie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (disambiguation).
Sophie of the Netherlands
Grand Duchess consort of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Tenure8 July 1853 – 23 March 1897
Born(1824-04-08)8 April 1824
Lange Voorhout Palace, The Hague, Netherlands
Died23 March 1897(1897-03-23) (aged 72)
Weimar, German Empire
SpouseCharles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
IssueCharles Augustus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Marie, Princess Heinrich VII Reuss
Princess Anna Sophia
Elisabeth, Duchess Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg
Full name
Wilhelmina Marie Sophie Louise
HouseOrange-Nassau
FatherWilliam II of the Netherlands
MotherAnna Pavlovna of Russia
ReligionCalvinist

Marriage and children

Princess Sophie married her first cousin, Charles Alexander, Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, at Kneuterdijk Palace in The Hague on 8 October 1842. Their mothers were sisters, and daughters of Tsar Paul I of Russia.

They had four children:

Catherine Radziwill, a contemporary of Sophie's, commented that,

"...[Sophie] was very different from her husband, and, though extremely ugly, was a most imposing Princess. She was clever, too, and upheld the reputation of the Weimar family. She was a Princess of the Netherlands by birth...and kept and maintained at her court the traditions in which she had been reared. Notwithstanding her want of beauty, moreover, she presented a splendid figure, being always magnificently dressed and covered with wonderful jewels, among which shone a parure of rubies and diamonds that were supposed to be the finest of their kind in Europe".[1]

Ancestry

References
  1. Radziwill, p. 118.

Sources
  • Radziwill, Catherine (1915). Memories of Forty Years. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Press.
Princess Sophie of the Netherlands
Cadet branch of the House of Nassau
Born: 8 April 1824 Died: 23 March 1897
German royalty
Preceded by
Maria Pavlovna of Russia		 Grand Duchess consort of Saxe-Weimar
8 July 1853 – 23 March 1897		 Vacant
Title next held by
Caroline Reuss of Greiz
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