Sophie of Austria

Sophie Friederike Dorothee Wilhelmine, Princess of Bavaria (27 January 1805 – 28 May 1872) was born to King Maximilian I of Bavaria and his second wife, Karoline of Baden. Ludwig III of Bavaria Ludwig III, HM Ludwig III Leopold Joseph Maria Aloys Alfred King of Bavaria, (7 January 1845 - 18 October 1921) was briefly Prince Regent of Bavaria and was the last King of Bavaria from 1913 to 1918. ... Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria or Crown Prince Rupert of Bavaria (German: Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern) (18 May 1869 – 2 August 1955) was the last Bavarian Crown Prince. ... Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria (May 3, 1905 - July 8, 1996). ... Princess Irmingard of Bavaria (born 1923), is the daughter of Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria and his second wife, Princess Antonia of Luxembourg. ... His Royal Highness the Duke of Bavaria Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern (born July 14, 1933), styled as His Royal Highness The Duke of Bavaria, is head of the Wittelsbach family, the former ruling family of the Kingdom of Bavaria. ... Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria, born 21 January 1937 is the heir presumptive to both the Bavarian Royal House and the Jacobite Succession. ... Her Royal Highness Hereditary Princess Sophie von und zu Liechtenstein (born October 28, 1967), née Her Royal Highness Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Duchess in Bavaria is the wife of HSH Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein. ... January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1805 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... May 28 is the 148th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (149th in leap years). ... 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... King Maximilian I of Bavaria. ...

On 4 November 1824, she married Franz Karl, Archduke of Austria. They had four sons and a daughter, Francis Joseph (later Emperor of Austria), Maximilian (later Emperor of Mexico), Karl Ludwig, Archduke of Austria, Marie Anna Caroline Pia and Ludwig Victor. November 4 is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 57 days remaining. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Archduke Franz Karl Joseph of Austria (7 December 1802 - 8 March 1878) was father of two emperors and the grandfather of Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, whose shooting was the occasion of the start of World War I. He was born in Vienna, the second son of Emperor Franz I... Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph (in English also Francis Joseph) (August 18, 1830 - November 21, 1916) of the Habsburg Dynasty was Emperor of Austria and King of Bohemia from 1848 until 1916 and King of Hungary from 1867 until 1916. ... Maximilian I, Emperor of Mexico, (July 6, 1832 - June 19, 1867) was a member of Austrias Imperial Habsburg family. ... Karl Ludwig, Archduke of Austria (30 July 1833 - 19 May 1896) was the father of Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose shooting occasioned the start of World War I. He was born at Schönbrunn in Vienna, the son of Franz Karl Josef of Austria (1802-1878) and his wife Sophie...

Her ambitions to place her oldest son on the Austrian throne was a constant theme in Austrian politics. At the time she was called "the only man at court". During the Revolution of 1848 she persuaded her somewhat feeble-minded husband to give up his rights to the throne in favour of Franz Joseph. After his accession to the throne, Sophie became the power behind the throne. Sophie is also remembered for her bad relationship with her daughter-in-law, Elisabeth of Bavaria alias "Sissi", which has been a theme in a long running musical about Elisabeth's life and in several media works that, at times, describe Sophie practically as an evil, ruthless villainess set out almost exclusively to ruin Elisabeth's life in any possible way. —Alexis de Tocqueville, Recollections The European Revolutions of 1848, in some countries known as the Spring of Nations, were the bloody consequences of a variety of changes that had been taking place in Europe in the first half of the 19th century. ... Elisabeth in a riding habit, from Vanity Fair, 1884. ...

Sophie kept a detailed diary most of her life which reveals much about Austrian court life. She withdrew from public life after the execution of her son, Maximilian, from which she never recovered. She died of a brain tumor in 1872.

After the death of Napoleon II, there were rumors of an affair between the two, although the rumours were never proven. However, it is certain that they were very good friends and that his death affected her very much. She is said to have turned into the cold, ambitious woman described in fiction after he died. Her second son, Maximilian I of Mexico is even rumoured to have been fathered by Napoleon. Napoleon Francis Joseph Charles Bonaparte (March 20, 1811 -July 22, 1832), Duke of Reichstadt, was the son of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his second wife, Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria. ... Photograph of Maximilian I, circa 1857-1867. ...

External links

• Historical Boys' Royal Costume: King Maximilian I Joseph: Second Family
• Genealogy.eu: Royal and Noble Family Trees