Sophia of Nassau

Sophia of Nassau (Sophia Wilhelmine Marianne Henriette, Swedish: Sofia; 9 July 1836 - 30 December 1913) was Queen consort of Sweden and Norway. Sophia was Queen of Sweden for 35 years, longer than any other Swedish queen before her. She was the longest serving queen until 2011 when she was surpassed by Queen Silvia. She is also the latest Queen of Sweden to have held the official title of Dowager Queen of Sweden.

Early life

Sophia was the youngest daughter of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau, by his second wife Princess Pauline Friederica Marie of Württemberg.

Her father died when she was three, and was succeeded by her half-brother Adolf. Sophia was given what was considered a suitable education for princesses at the time by private tutors. She was trained in fencing, normally reserved for males, to strengthen her back and correct her posture. Sophia socialized with academics and artists, and the court of Nassau was considered more democratic than what was usual at most German courts. She early learned the English language, and felt sympathy for the British parliamentarian system. The language spoken in her childhood home was not German but English. Sophia was given what has been referred to as an upbringing more similar to the middle class Victorian life style, which she preferred rather than a royal one. Her brothers used to refer to her as Unsere demokratische Schwester (our democratic sister). She was described as serious, intelligent and dutiful, and interested in language and history: she was also genuinely religious.