Princess Sophie of Bavaria

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Princess Sophie of Bavaria
Archduchess of Austria
Stieler Archduchess 1832.jpg
Portrait of Archduchess Sophie by Joseph Stieler (1832)
Born (1805-01-27)27 January 1805
Munich, Bavaria
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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
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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

Name Birth Death Notes
Franz Joseph 18 August 1830 21 November 1916 succeeded as Emperor of Austria
married his first cousin Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria, and had issue
Maximilian 6 July 1832 19 June 1867 proclaimed Emperor of Mexico
executed by a firing squad
married Charlotte, Princess of Belgium, and had no issue
Karl Ludwig 30 July 1833 19 May 1896 married 1) his first cousin Margaretha, Princess of and Duchess in Saxony, (1840–1858) from 1856 to 1858, no issue, married 2) to Maria Annunziata, Princess of the Two-Sicilies (1843–1871) from 1862 to 1871, had issue (three sons and one daughter) and married 3) to Maria Theresia, Infanta of Portugal, (1855–1944), from 1873 to 1896, had issue (two daughters). He was the father of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination in 1914 sparked World War I.
Maria Anna 27 October 1835 5 February 1840 died in childhood
Stillborn son 24 October 1840 24 October 1840
Ludwig Viktor 15 May 1842 18 January 1919 died unmarried

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

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Family of Princess Sophie of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
16. Christian II of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8. Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
17. Countess Katharina Agathe of Rappoltstein
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. Count Palatine Frederick Michael of Zweibrücken
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
18. Louis Crato, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9. Countess Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
19. Countess Philippine Henriette of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20. Theodore, Count Palatine of Sulzbach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10. Joseph Karl Emanuel August, Count Palatine of Sulzbach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
21. Marie Eleonore of Hessen-Rheinfels
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. Countess Palatine Maria Franziska of Sulzbach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
22. Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11. Countess Palatine Elizabeth Augusta Sophie of Neuburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
23. Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. Princess Sophie of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
24. Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Baden-Durlach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
12. Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
25. Princess Amalia of Nassau-Dietz
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6. Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
26. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
13. Landgravine Caroline Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
27. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg and Müntzenberg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Caroline of Baden
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
28. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (= 26)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
14. Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
29. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg and Müntzenberg (= 27)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7. Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
30. Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (= 8)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
15. Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
31. Countess Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken (= 9)
 
 
 
 
 
 

Honours

External links