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, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Adolphus Frederick II divided ...

, and by marriage Hereditary Princess of Denmark and Norway.

Life

Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Born in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect, Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch Low German: ''Swerin''; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Zwierzyn''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germ ...

, she was the only daughter of

Ludwig, Hereditary Prince 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 Mecklenburg ...

, 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-Rudolstadt ...

. Her only sibling was

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

, who was about two years older.

Life in Denmark

On 21 October 1774 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, she married

Hereditary Prince Frederick of Denmark and Norway Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Denmark (; 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 Braunschweig-Wolfe ...

, the son of King

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

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 * *Julia ...

, who was the

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

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 female lover of a married man ** Royal mistress * Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...

, 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 M ...

, 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 (armed forces), 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 ...

, 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 (; , a calque of Sans Souci (disambiguation), Sans Souci) is a royal residence of the Denmark, Danish List of Danish monarchs, monarch, located in Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality, on the east side of Lyngby Kongevej, in the northern s ...

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 monarchs of Hesse () during the history of Hesse on west-central Germany. These monarchs belonged to a dynasty collectively known as the House of Hesse and the House of Brabant,''Burke's Royal Families of the World Volume I E ...

; 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. He was titular Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel-(Rumpenheim) and for many years heir pr ...

; 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, an ...

; 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 Princesses from Denmark–Norway Duchesses of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Princesses in the Holy Roman Empire House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin House of Oldenburg in Denmark People from Schwerin Burials at Roskilde Cathedral Mothers of monarchs of Denmark–Norway Mothers of Saxon monarchs