Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein
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Hereditary Princess Sophie Elisabeth Marie Gabrielle of Liechenstein (German: Erbprinzessin Sophie von und zu Liechtenstein) (born 28 October 1967 in Munich), is the daughter of Prince Max-Emanuel, Duke in Bavaria, and Swedish Countess Elisabeth Douglas.
She was styled HRH Princess Sophie of Bavaria; in 1973, her father inherited the family name and style Duke in Bavaria from a distant cousin who had adopted him as heir in 1965. Sophie was then styled HRH Duchess Sophie in Bavaria, Princess of Bavaria; on her marriage in 1993 she became HRH The Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein. Since Germany does not acknowledge the existence of royal styles, this is her first legal royal title.
Education
From 1978 to 1980, Princess Sophie attended the Girls' Home Primary School of the English Lady in Heiligenstadt. She then moved to the Girls' Secondary Boarding School Hohenburg in Lenggries. Duchess Sophie then studied the English language and literature at the Catholic University in Eichstätt.
Marriage and children
Duchess Sophie married Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein on 3 July 1993. They have four children:
- Prince Joseph Wenzel Maximilian Maria of Liechtenstein (born 24 May 1995 in London)
- Princess Marie-Caroline Elisabeth Immaculata of Liechtenstein (born 17 October 1996 in Grabs, Canton of St. Gallen)
- Prince Georg Antonius Constantin Maria of Liechtenstein (born 20 April 1999 in Grabs)
- Prince Nikolaus Sebastian Alexander Maria of Liechtenstein (born 6 December 2000, in Grabs)
The Jacobite claim to the thrones of England and Scotland will likely pass to the Hereditary Princess, following the current holder, her childless uncle Franz, Duke of Bavaria, and her father. Salic Law prevents a female from becoming head of the House of Wittelsbach.
Ancestry
Her ancestry is half-Swedish, half-Austro-Bavarian [1]. That is a rare combination, because generally, the barrier between Protestant and Catholic creeds has been almost unsurmountable in marriage policies of Catholic European dynasties.
Titles and Styles
- HRH Princess Sophie of Bavaria 1967-1973
- HRH Duchess Sophie in Bavaria, Princess of Bavaria 1973-1993
- HRH The Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein, Duchess in Bavaria, Princess of Bavaria, Countess of Rietberg 1993-present
See also
| Styles of Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein | |
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| Reference style | Her Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
