Princess Sophie of Bavaria

Princess Sophie of Bavaria Archduchess of Austria Portrait of Archduchess Sophie by Joseph Stieler (1832) Spouse Franz Karl, Archduke of Austria Issue Franz Joseph I of Austria Maximilian I of Mexico Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria Maria Anna Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria Father Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria Mother Caroline of Baden Born (1805-01-27)27 January 1805 Munich, Bavaria Died 28 May 1872(1872-05-28) (aged 67) Vienna, Austria-Hungary Burial Imperial Crypt

Bavarian Royalty House of Wittelsbach Maximilian I Joseph Children    Ludwig I    Princess Augusta    Princess Amalie Marie    Princess Charlotte    Prince Karl Theodor    Prince Karl Friedrich    Elisabeth Ludovika, Queen of Prussia    Princess Amalie Auguste    Archduchess Sophie of Austria    Maria Anna, Queen of Saxony    Princess Ludovika    Princess Maximiliana Ludwig I Children    Maximilian II    Mathilde, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine    Otto, King of Greece    Princess Theodelinde    Prince Regent Luitpold    Adelgunde, Duchess of Modena    Archduchess Hildegarde of Austria    Princess Alexandra    Prince Adalbert Grandchildren    Ludwig II    Ludwig III    Prince Leopold    Princess Therese    Prince Arnulf    Prince Alfons Great Grandchildren    Princess Elisabeth Marie    Archduchess Auguste of Austria    Prince Georg    Prince Konrad    Prince Heinrich Maximilian II Children    Ludwig II    Otto I Ludwig II Otto I Ludwig III Children    Crown Prince Rupprecht    Princess Adelgunde    Maria, Duchess of Calabria    Prince Karl    Prince Franz    Princess Mathilde of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha    Prince Wolfgang    Princess Hildegarde    Princess Notburga    Wiltrud, Duchess of Urach    Princess Helmtrud    Princess Dietlinde    Princess Gundelinde Children of Crown Prince Rupprecht    Prince Luitpold    Princess Irmingard    Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria    Prince Rudolf    Prince Heinrich    Princess Irmingard    Princess Editha    Princess Hilda    Gabrielle, Duchess of Cröy    Sophie, Duchess of Arenberg Children of Duke Albrecht    Princess Marie Gabrielle    Princess Marie Charlotte    Franz, Duke of Bavaria    Prince Max Children of Prince Max    Princess Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein    Princess Marie-Caroline    Princess Hélène    Princess Elizabeth    Princess Maria Anna

Sophie Friederike Dorothee Wilhelmine, Princess of Bavaria (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. They 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. Within modern pop culture, Sophie is best remembered for her extremely bad 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 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 1899, 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, The 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

Sophie's ancestors in four generations

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

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.