Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (24 August 1758 – 29 November 1794) was born a Princess and Duchess of

Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting Hou ...

, and by marriage Hereditary Princess of Denmark and Norway.

Life

Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Born in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. It ...

, she was the only daughter of

Duke Louis of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (; 6 August 172512 September 1778) was heir to the Dukedom of Mecklenburg-Schwerin for twenty-two years from 1756 to his death in 1778. He was also the father of the first Grand Duke of Mecklenbur ...

, second son of Christian Louis II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and

Princess Charlotte Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Princess Charlotte Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Duchess in Saxony (24 September 1731 – 2 August 1810) was a German duchess. She was the daughter of Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Princess Anna Sophie of Schwarzburg-Rudolsta ...

. Her only sibling was

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

, who was about two years older.

Life in Denmark

On 21 October 1774 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

, she married

Hereditary Prince Frederick of Denmark and Norway Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark ( da, Frederik; 11 October 1753 – 7 December 1805) was heir presumptive to the thrones of Denmark and Norway. He was the only surviving son of King Frederick V by his second wife, Juliana Maria of Braunsc ...

, the son of King

Frederick V of Denmark Frederick V ( Danish and Norwegian: ''Frederik V''; 31 March 1723 – 14 January 1766) was King of Denmark–Norway and Duke of Schleswig-Holstein from 6 August 1746 until his death in 1766. He was the son of Christian VI of Denmark and Sophi ...

and his second wife

Juliane Marie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Juliane may refer to: * Emilie Juliane of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1637–1706), German countess and hymn writer * Juliane Aisner (1919–1980), World War II French Resistance Agent * Juliane Banse (born 1969), German soprano and lieder singer * Jul ...

, who was the

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

in Denmark between 1772 and 1784. She was sixteen years old when she was married. Sophia Frederica, known as ''Sofie Frederikke af Mecklenburg-Schwerin'' in Denmark, was described as jolly, charming and intelligent. She had a hard time in the beginning adapting to her new, stiffer environment, but became quite popular. During the first ten years of her marriage (1774-1784), she gave birth to three daughters, the eldest two were stillborn and the third lived only five months; it was only in 1786 when she had the first of her living children, the future King Christian VIII. It is said she was disappointed when she met her husband for the first time, but they came to be fond of each other, although they both supposedly took lovers; her husband had a

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...

, her companion

Caja Hviid Caja (meaning "box" in Spanish) can refer to: * ''Caja'' or ''caixa'', a Spanish savings bank similar to a credit union * Caja project, a former Google project for reducing security risks in HTML, CSS and JavaScript * Caja del Rio, a mesa in New ...

, while the father of Sophia Frederica's children was rumored to be her husband's

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

, Frederik von Blücher. It was said that the harmony of their marriage was based on mutual understanding. The harmonious friendship between the spouses created a fear that Sophia Frederica's influence over her husband would lead to her interfering in politics.Article in the Dansk biografisk Lexikon
/ref> She died in

Sorgenfri Palace Sorgenfri Palace ( da, Sorgenfri Slot; lit. "Sorrow free", a direct calque of Sans Souci) is a royal residence of the Danish monarch, located in Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality, on the east side of Lyngby Kongevej, in the northern suburbs of Copenh ...

Issue

Sophia Frederica and Prince Frederick had the following children: *Stillborn daughter (19 September 1781). *Stillborn daughter (17 February 1783). *Princess Juliana Marie (2 May 1784 - 28 October 1784), died in infancy. * Prince Christian Frederick (18 September 1786 - 20 January 1848), future King Christian Frederick of Norway and Christian VIII of Denmark. * Princess Juliane Sophie (18 February 1788 - 9 May 1850), married in 1812 to Prince William of

Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld This is a list of rulers of Hesse (german: Hessen) during the history of Hesse on west-central Germany. These rulers belonged to a dynasty collectively known as the House of Hesse and the House of Brabant,''Burke's Royal Families of the Wor ...

; they had no issue. * Princess Louise Charlotte (30 October 1789 - 28 March 1864), married in 1810 to

Prince William of Hesse-Cassel Prince William of Hesse-Kassel (24 December 1787 – 5 September 1867) was the first son of Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen. Marriage and children On 10 November 1810, William was married in Amalienborg P ...

; they had issue. * Hereditary Prince Ferdinand (22 November 1792 - 29 June 1863), married in 1829 to

Princess Caroline of Denmark Princess Caroline of Denmark (28 October 1793 – 31 March 1881), was the eldest surviving daughter of King Frederick VI of Denmark. She was unofficially known as "Kronprinsesse Caroline" (English: Crown Princess Caroline) prior to her marriage, a ...

; they had no issue.

Ancestry

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

*
Article in the Dansk biografisk Lexikon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Duchess 1758 births 1794 deaths 18th-century Danish nobility 18th-century German people 18th-century Norwegian nobility 18th-century Danish women Danish princesses Duchesses of Mecklenburg-Schwerin German princesses House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin House of Oldenburg in Denmark Norwegian princesses People from Schwerin Burials at Roskilde Cathedral