Princess Sophia Hedwig of Denmark and Norway (28 August 1677 – 13 March 1735) was a Danish

princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...

, the daughter of

King Christian V Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree ...

and his queen-consort, Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel.

Biography

Sophia Hedwig became the object of marriage prospects early on and was betrothed three times. As a child, she became engaged to her cousin, John George IV, Elector of Saxony. This was in line with the traditional policy of dynastic marriage between Denmark and Saxony which had at that point become a tradition. In 1689, it was decided that the marriage was to take place two years later. When John George succeeded his father in 1691, he broke the engagement. In 1692, and later in 1694 to 1697, a marriage to the future

Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor , father = Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Vienna, Austria , death_date = , death_place = Vienna, Austria , burial_place = Imperial Crypt, Vienna , r ...

, was suggested. However, Sophia Hedwig refused to convert to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

despite considerable pressure to do so by her father. Between 1697 and 1699, Denmark sought an alliance with Sweden, which would be formalized by a double wedding of Sophia Hedwig to

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of ...

, and her younger brother Charles to Charles XII's sister Hedvig Sophia (after the marriage of Hedvig Sophia in 1698, she was replaced by another sister, Ulrika Eleonora). However, though somewhat receptive to the idea of a Danish match, Charles XII did in fact not wish to marry at all, and the Danish-Swedish alliance was very unpopular in Sweden. Sophia Hedwig remained officially unwed, although there were rumors that she secretly married a noble courtier, Carl Adolph von Plessen (1678-1758). In 1699, her father died and was succeeded by her brother, Frederick IV. As was the custom, Sophia Hedwig lived with her mother until her mother's death in 1714, and after this at the court of her brother the king. Among her ladies-in-waiting was

Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg (4 May 1679 – 27 June 1704), Countess of Antvorskov, was a Danish noble and lady-in-waiting of German origin. She was the royal mistress of King Frederick IV of Denmark and, later, his first morganatic wife by biga ...

, who in 1701 became Frederick's mistress, in 1703, his bigamous wife. When her mother died in 1714, she inherited the estates of

Gjorslev Gjorslev is a cruciform medieval castle located 17 km south-east of Køge, on the Stevns Peninsula, Stevns Municipality, some forty kilometres south of Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally owned by the Bishop of Roskilde, it is considered one o ...

and Erikstrup, which she gave to Frederick in exchange for the estates of

Dronninglund Dronninglund is a town with a population of 3,487 (1 January 2022)Dronninggård, and

Børglum Abbey Børglum Abbey was an important Premonstratensian abbey of medieval Denmark, located in Børglum parish, in the commune of Hjørring, approximately five kilometers east of Løkken in north central Jutland (Region Nordjylland) from the 12th centu ...

(''Børglumkloster''). She had a good relationship with Frederick until 1721, when she left the court with her younger brother, Prince Charles, in protest at Frederick's marriage with Countess Anne Sophie von Reventlow. The siblings settled with their own courts at

Vemmetofte Vemmetofte Convent ( da, Vemmetofte Adelige Jomfrukloster, Vemmetofte Kloster) is a former manor house in Faxe Municipality south of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was turned into a convent by Princess Sophia Hedwig of Denmark in 1735. Since 1975 it ...

, a manor which Charles had inherited from their mother. They had a court of 70 noble courtiers, headed by Carl Adolph von Plessen, who was the friend of her brother Charles and possibly her own secret spouse. They did not make peace with the King until several years later. Sophia Hedwig, as well as Charles and von Plessen, founded schools for the peasantry on her estates, in accordance with her pietistic belief that schools were necessary to give religious instructions. When her brother Charles died in 1729, she was his favored heir. She inherited his sizable estates: Vemmetofte, Højstrup, and Charlottenborg. However, she was also responsible for his debts, which she paid off with the income from the estates of

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 ...

, Dronninggård, and

Frederiksdal Narsarmijit, formerly Narsaq Kujalleq and Frederiksdal, is a settlement in southern Greenland. It is located in the Kujalleq municipality near Cape Thorvaldsen. Its population was 66 in 2020. There has been a slow but steady pattern of emigrat ...

, which she was granted by her nephew Christian when he succeeded her brother Frederick as king in 1730. She was a talented portrait painter and interested in music, handicrafts such as ornaments in

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

, and embroidery. She also collected psalm books and various writings. Many of her works are preserved in the Royal Danish Collection at

Rosenborg Castle Rosenborg Castle ( da, Rosenborg Slot) is a renaissance castle located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV's many architectural projects. It was built in the D ...

. In 1735, Vemmetofte Convent (''Vemmetofte Kloster'') for unmarried noblewomen was founded after instructions in her will. She died at the age of 57 at Charlottenborg.

Ancestry

References

Other sources

* G.Greer, ''The Obstacle Race'' (1979)

External links

Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon Kvinfo.dk

Sophie Hedevig
at the website of the Royal Danish Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Sophia Hedwig Of Denmark 1677 births 1735 deaths 18th-century Danish women landowners 18th-century Danish landowners House of Oldenburg in Denmark Danish princesses Norwegian princesses Burials at Roskilde Cathedral Daughters of kings