On the 3rd June 1877, Sophie the Queen of the Netherlands was taking her final breaths.
She was a woman who had been separated from her husband King William III for a number
of decades, however she was also a Queen who was very ill.
She had for her final years experienced a significant amount of health problems and
issues, many you them very seriously however the story of Sophie of Wurtemmberg is one
which is incredibly tragic, as is her final moments.
But what is the story of the horrific death of Sophie the Queen Of The Netherlands?
Sophie was born in Stuttgart, and her parents were King William I of Wurttemberg and Grand
Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia.
She was descended from Kings and Emperors’ and shortly after she was born her mother
died.
Sophie was then looked after by her aunt, and she was a niece of Tsar Alexander I and
Nicholas I of Russia.
But throughout her life she had a strong bond with her father, but she did not get along
with her stepmother.
She was given a good education, and it was believed that one day her father would arrange
a marriage for her that would unite his lands with a powerful European dynasty.
She was tutored by the best teachers in a variety of subjects including History and
Georgraphy, and she was also taken to different countries and lands on educational trips.
It was clear she was a woman who would go far in European society in the 19th century.
She was also related to the Bonaparte family (Boner part) through her mother’s sister,
and she was also acquanited with Napoleon III and Mathilde Bonaparte and she would write
to them a lot throughout her life.
But her father despite wanting the best for Sophie would marry her off to her maternal
first cousin, the future Prince of Orange and future King William III.
Her father was a liberal progressive in many ways, but he was also a man who favoured dynastic
marriages and he wanted his daughters to marry princes and monarchs.
There were a number of suitors before her marriage including King Otto of Greece and
Duke William of Brunswick.
The engagement with Otto of Greece came to nothing as Sophie’s father did not trust
the newly established Greek monarchy, but Sophie herself had always preferred to marry
William of Brunswick, and she said that she was given almost as a sacrificial lamb to
the future King William III of the Netherlands in marriage.
Following her marriage, Sophie and William settled in The Hague, and Sophie had a good
relationship with the King her father in law William II.
However King William’s mother did not like her, and they were nevrr on good terms at
all, and she treated Sophia with distain and did not hide her unhappiness from the couple.
But the marriage was as mentioned not happy at all, and the relationship did not improve
despite the birth of children.
The debate about the upbringing of the children would place more strain on Sophie and William’s
marriage, and Sophie did not want to live with her husband, and she said she would prefer
to spend time on her own engaging in her own interests.
The pair did consider divorcing early on, however it was then postponed as it was believed
that this would not have been suitable for a King and Queen.
However in March 1849, King William II died suddenly, and with this William III and Sophie
became King and Queen of the Netherlands and they lived inside of the royal palaces.
But their changing roles did not improve their relationship, and they were constantly arguing.
Their son Maurice died in 1850, and both parents hired a different physician and they disagreed
as to how he should be treated.
But Sophie was pregnant with a third son around 1850, and her husband then sent their eldest
son to boarding school against her wishes.
Sophie was much more intelligent than her husband, but their interests did not fit.
The King also had many different relations with mistresses, and Sophie would criticise
her husband in public saying he was an unfit King, and she said she would be better as
a regent for their son.
The talks of divorce did continue, and Sophie and William wanted a divorce but they were
not allowed to do so.
The mediation of Prince Frederick of the Netherlands brought a mutual separation without divorce,
and it was said the couple would remain married in public, but would live separate lives.
Sophie was given full custody of their youngest child, and she was to perform duties as a
Queen but in private she could do what she wanted.
The couple lived separately and Sophie also spent time with her own family, and she would
write to many people around Europe and she would go and visit intellectuals.
She also visited her father who was her confidant, and she also travelled to France to visit
Napoleon II.
She also wrote with Queen Victoria and the pair seemed on very good terms, and she was
a woman who advocated animal conservation and the construction of public parks, however
she was an unusual queen.
She preferred science over religion, and she became known as ‘The Red Queen.’
However, Sophie despite all this was a woman who was lost.
She referred to her wedding day as the day she died, but then towards the end of her
life she experienced a significant amount of ill health.
In early 1876, Sophie’s health went down hill very quickly.
On the 7th January she arrived in Paris and she was already not very well and she had
to be carried to her apartments.
She did continue to travel to Cannes, where she wanted to recover but her doctors were
claiming that she suffered from malaria, tiredness tightness in her chest and coughing attacks.
These reports were even published in newspapers, and William her husband the King believed
that the reporting on her health was rubbish and nonsense, and that she was just attention
seeking.
When she felt a little better, she wrote, ‘“The King cannot forgive me that I didn’t
die, as he had expected.
He never comes to me, never asks how I am.
When I was so very ill last time, he sang and had someone loudly play the piano under
my bedroom.”
Even in the final days of her life she was still arguing with her husband, and she would
not recover from her next illness.
During the Spring of 1877 it was clear that Sophie was very ill.
A newspaper said, ‘From The Hague we received this morning at 11 the sad message that Her
Majesty The Queen is dying.’
Her husband did go to visit her, but on the 3rd June 1877 Sophie died just before noon.
On her deathbed she wore her wedding dress as she said that her wedding day was the day
she had died.
But an autopsy was carried out on her body and it showed that her liver, lungs, bowels
and gallbladder had become infected, and many believed it was actually a miracle that she
lived as long as she did.
On the 20th June Sophie was buried in a crypt, and her husband stayed in the church when
her sons went to see her remains be interred.
He could not even stand her in death, and following her death the palace where she died
was left empty.
But Sophie the Queen of the Netherlands lived a very tragic life, and it’s clear that
her last few decades were marked by misery caused by her marriage.
Despite her father giving her a brilliant education, he let her down by marrying her
to a man who would bring her nothing but misery for the rest of her life.
She was the Queen of the Netherlands, but she was living apart and living a separate
life to the King whom she hated.
She was not allowed a divorce and to find someone else who would give her greater happiness
due to her role as the Queen, but she lived a very tragic life.
Towards the end of her life she was a very ill lady, but she was considered a talented
scholar and educated woman who went very far in society.
But today Sophie of the Netherlands is considered a victim of her marriage.
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