Countess Palatine Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg

Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg
Dorothea by an unknown artist
Duchess of Parma
Tenure	7 December 1696 – 26 May 1727
Spouse	Odoardo, Hereditary Prince of Parma Francesco, Duke of Parma
Full name
Dorothea Sophie
Father	Philip William, Elector Palatine
Mother	Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt
Born	(1670-07-05)5 July 1670 Neuburg Palace, Neuburg
Died	15 September 1748(1748-09-15) (aged 78) Parma, Duchy of Parma
Burial	Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata

Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg (Dorothea Sophie; 5 July 1670 – 15 September 1748) was princess of Neuburg by birth and later Duchess of Parma from 1695 to 1727. She was the sixth daughter of the Elector of the Palatinate, Philip William of Neuburg, and Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. Three of her sisters were Queen of Spain, Queen of Portugal and Empress of the Holy Roman Empire.

Biography

Born at the Neuburg Palace, she was the fourteenth of her parents seventeen children and their sixth daughter. Her older sisters included a Holy Roman Empress (wife of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor), a Queen of Portugal (wife of Peter II of Portugal), a Queen of Spain (wife of Charles II of Spain) and a Crown Princess of Poland (daughter in law of John III Sobieski). Her brothers included Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine and Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine, both her father's successors and Francis Louis of Neuburg, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order.

Dorothea Sophie was blonde, with blue eyes and tall. She was also known for being arrogant, ambitious, authoritarian and without sense of humour.

On 17 September 1690, she married Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma, heir to the throne of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza. The festivities for their wedding were the most splendid that had ever taken place in Parma. In their three years of marriage, they had two children, a son who died in infancy and a daughter Elisabeth, future Queen of Spain.

Odoardo died on 6 September 1693, only a month after the death of their son. On 7 December 1696, Dorothea Sophie married Odoardo's half-brother, Francesco Farnese, who had become Duke of Parma when his father died in 1694.

This marriage was decided by Francesco himself, because he didn't want to give up Dorothea Sophie's dowry should she marry someone else. Nevertheless, this marriage remained childless.

Francesco died in 1727 and, when his only remaining brother Antonio also died childless in 1731, the Duchy of Parma went to Dorothea Sophie's eldest grandchild, the 16-year-old son of Elisabeth Farnese, Charles III of Spain. Dorothea Sophie became regent until 1735, when the Duchy was ceded to Austria after the War of the Polish Succession. She died in Parma in 1748 and was buried at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata.

Issue

1. Alessandro Ignazio Farnese (6 December 1691 - 5 August 1693) died in infancy.
2. Elisabeth Farnese (25 October 1692 - 11 July 1766) married Philip V of Spain and had issue.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 5 July 1670 – 17 September 1690: Her Serene Highness Princess Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg
• 17 September 1690 – 6 September 1693: Her Highness the Hereditary Princess of Parma
• 6 September 1693 – 7 December 1696: Her Highness the Dowager Hereditary Princess of Parma
• 7 December 1696 – 26 May 1727: Her Highness the Duchess of Parma
• 26 May 1727 – 15 September 1748: Her Highness the Dowager Duchess of Parma

External links

Media related to Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg at Wikimedia Commons