Princess Sophie of Bavaria

Princess Sophie of Bavaria Archduchess of Austria Portrait of Archduchess Sophie by Joseph Stieler (1832) Born 27 January 1805 Munich, Bavaria Died 28 May 1872 (aged 67) 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

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

Ancestors 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

•  Austria-Hungary : Dame of the Order of the Starry Cross^[1]

External links

• Media related to Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria at Wikimedia Commons
• Historical Boys' Royal Costume: King Maximilian I Joseph: Second Family
• Marek, Miroslav. "Genealogy.eu: Royal and Noble Family Trees". Genealogy.EU. External link in |publisher= (help)

1. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Kaiserthumes Österreich (1868), p 110, Sternkreuz-Orden