Princess Sophie of Sweden

Grand Duchess of Baden from 1830 to 1852
the current princess

Sophie of Sweden (Sofia Vilhelmina Katarina Maria Lovisa Charlotta Anna; 21 May 1801 – 6 July 1865) was, by marriage, Grand Duchess of Baden as the wife of sovereign Grand Duke of Baden, Leopold.

Sophie was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on 21 May 1801. She was the daughter of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden and his wife, Frederica of Baden. After her birth, she was raised under the supervision of the royal governesses Hedvig Ulrika De la Gardie and Charlotte Stierneld in succession. Sophie was eight years old when her father was deposed by the Coup of 1809 and she left Sweden with her family. Between the time of the coup which deposed her father, and leaving Sweden, she and her mother were under house arrest. During this period, she was described in the famous diary of Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein Gottorp as a stubborn girl who was much more haughty and possessed less self control than her brother Gustav. An anecdote describes the contrast between the siblings. When Fredrika and her children were given permission to join the deposed king, famous Swedish nobleman Axel von Fersen came to discuss the arrangements. When he was about to leave, Sophie's older brother ran to the door to open it for Fersen. The former queen Fredrika is quoted as saying, "Sophie would never in the world have done that, she thinks of herself too highly for that."

In 1815, she was engaged, and on 25 July 1819 in Karlsruhe, Sophie married her half grand uncle Prince Leopold of Baden, the son of a morganatic marriage. The marriage with Leopold had been specifically arranged by her uncle, Grand Duke Karl I of Baden, to improve the chances that Leopold would one day succeed him as grand duke because of Sophie's royal lineage; Leopold, though his right to the throne was recognized, was originally the issue of a morganatic marriage. During the reign of Louis I, Grand Duke of Baden, they lived a modest life away from court, as Louis did not want the heir to the throne at court. In 1830, her husband ascended to the grand ducal throne as Leopold I, and Sophie became Grand Duchess of Baden.