Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Luneburg-Celle

Sophia Dorothea was the only surviving daughter of George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and his morganatic wife Éléonore Desmier d'Olbreuse, a French Huguenot noblewoman. She was born in Celle Castle on 15 September 1666 and grew up in a carefree and loving environment. Her father transferred large assets to her over time to improve her chances as a candidate for marriage. She was legitimized in 1674 and her parents married properly in 1676. She had several suitors, including princes from Denmark, Sweden, Bavaria, and Württemberg, but none of them materialized. Her father eventually arranged a marriage between her and her first cousin George Louis, the eldest son and heir of Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover, and Sophia of Hanover. The union was a marriage of state, motivated by political and financial interests. Sophia Dorothea was not happy with the match and reportedly threw a miniature of George Louis against a wall when she was told about it. The wedding took place on 21 November 1682 in Celle. The marriage was unhappy from the start. George Louis was cold and indifferent to his wife, who was lively and charming. He neglected her and spent most of his time hunting or with his mistresses. Sophia Dorothea bore him two children: George Augustus, born in 1683, who would later become King George II of Great Britain; and Sophia Dorothea, born in 1687, who would later marry Frederick William I of Prussia and become the mother of Frederick the Great. Sophia Dorothea tried to be a dutiful wife and mother, but she was lonely and unhappy. She found solace in the friendship of Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, a handsome and charismatic Swedish nobleman who served in the Hanoverian army. Königsmarck had been a childhood friend of Sophia Dorothea and they rekindled their acquaintance when he returned to Hanover in 1688. They soon fell in love and began a secret affair that lasted for six years. The affair was discovered by George Louis's father, Ernest Augustus, who wanted to secure the succession of his son to the British throne through his wife Sophia, who was the heiress presumptive of King William III of England. He feared that a scandal would jeopardize the prospects of his family and decided to put an end to it. He hired spies to intercept the letters between Sophia Dorothea and Königsmarck and arranged for Königsmarck to be ambushed and killed by four courtiers on 1 July 1694. His body was never found and his fate remained a mystery for centuries until his skeleton was discovered in 2016 under the floorboards of Hanover's Leine Palace. Sophia Dorothea was arrested and accused of adultery and treason. She was interrogated and tortured but refused to confess or implicate Königsmarck. She was divorced by George Louis on 28 December 1694 and stripped of her titles and rights. She was banished to the Castle of Ahlden in Lüneburg, where she spent the rest of her life in isolation and misery. Sophia Dorothea never saw her children or her parents again. She was allowed to keep a small household of servants and a library of books. She spent her time reading, writing, praying, and embroidering. She also tried to escape several times but failed. She received occasional visits from her brother-in-law, Maximilian William of Hanover, who was sympathetic to her plight and tried to intercede on her behalf, but to no avail. She also corresponded with her daughter, Sophia Dorothea of Prussia, who was the only one of her children who showed any interest in her. Her son, George Augustus, ignored her and sided with his father. He became King George I of Great Britain in 1714 after the death of Queen Anne, but he never acknowledged his mother or tried to free her. Sophia Dorothea died in Ahlden on 13 November 1726 at the age of 60. She was buried in the Stadtkirche in Celle, where a monument was erected in her memory in 1826. She is remembered as a tragic figure who suffered unjustly for love.