Sophia Dorothea of Celle
Sophia Dorothea (September 15, 1666 - November 23, 1726), only child of George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and the Huguenot Eleanore d'Olbreuze (1639-1722), was the estranged wife of George Louis, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (later King George I of Great Britain), .
Marriage
George William had undertaken to remain unmarried, but his desire to improve the status of his mistress (whom in spite of his promise he married in 1676) and of his daughter greatly alarmed his relatives, as these proceedings threatened to hinder the contemplated union of the Lüneburg territories. However, in 1682, the difficulty caused by George William's having a family and heirs of his own was bridged over by the marriage of his only child, Sophia Dorothea, with her paternal first cousin, George Louis, son of George William's younger brother Duke Ernest Augustus, who was appointed as elector in 1692.
The marriage of George and Sophia was an exceedingly unhappy one. The immediate family of George Louis, especially his mother, Electress Sophia, hated and despised Sophia, whose mother had not only been a commoner but also the mistress of her father. These feelings of contempt were soon shared by George himself. It was under these circumstances that Sophia Dorothea made the acquaintance of Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, with whom her name is inseparably associated. Königsmark assisted her in one or two futile attempts to escape from Hanover, and rightly or wrongly was regarded as her lover.
In 1694 the Count disappeared (having been killed, it was rumoured, at the behest of George); the princess was divorced by her husband and nevertheless imprisoned at Ahlden. She remained in captivity until her death more than 30 years later on November 23, 1726. Sophia Dorothea is sometimes referred to as the "princess of Ahlden." Her two children were the British king, George II, and Sophia Dorothea, wife of Frederick William I of Prussia, and mother of Frederick the Great.
Sophia's infidelity to her husband is not absolutely proven, as it is probable that the letters which purport to have passed between Königsmark and herself are forgeries.
Titles, Styles, Honours & Arms
Titles
- 1666-1682: Duchess Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Celle
- 1682-1692: Her Serene Highness The Hereditary Princess of Brunswick-Lüneburg
- 1692-1694: Her Serene Highness The Electress of Hanover
- 1694-1727: Sophia Dorothea of Celle
Issue
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM King George II | 10 November 1683 | 25 October 1760 | married August 22, 1705, the Princess Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach; had issue |
| HSH Princess Sophia Dorothea of Hanover | 26 March 1687 | 28 June 1757 | married November 28, 1706, Frederick William, Margrave of Brandenburg, later Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia; had issue |
Authorities
- Briefwechsel des Grafen Konigsmark and der Prinzessin Sophie Dorothea von Celle, edited by WF Palmblad (Leipzig, 1847)
- AFH Schaumann, Sophie Dorothea Prinzessin von Ahlden, and Kurfurstin Sophie von Hannover (Hanover, 1878)
- CL von Pöllnitz, Histoire secrette de la duchesse d'Hanovre (London, 1732)
- WH Wilkins, The Love of an Uncrowned Queen (London, 1900)
- A Kocher, "Die Prinzessin von Ahlden," in the Historische Zeitschrift (Munich, 1882)
- Vicomte H de Beaucaire, Une Misalliance dans la maison de Brunswick (Paris, 1884)
- AD Greenwood, Lives of the Hanoverian Queens of England (1909), vol. i.
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
