Sophia Magdalena of Denmark
Queen consort of Sweden
Reign	February 12, 1771 - March 29, 1792
Coronation	1772
Born	July 3, 1743
	Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark
Died	August 21, 1813
	Ulriksdal Palace, Sweden
Consort to	Gustav III of Sweden
Issue	Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden Charles Gustaf
Royal House	House of Holstein-Gottorp House of Oldenburg
Father	Frederick V of Denmark
Mother	Louise of Great Britain

Sofia Magdalena of Denmark and Norway (Christiansborg Palace, Denmark, 3 July 1743 - Ulriksdal Palace, Sweden, 21 August 1813) was a Queen consort of Sweden. February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1771 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... March 29 is the 88th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (89th in leap years). ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1772 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 181 days remaining. ... // Events February 14 - Henry Pelham becomes British Prime Minister February 21 - - The premiere in London of George Frideric Handels oratorio, Samson. ... Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace at night Christiansborg Palace on Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen is the home of Denmarks three supreme powers: the royal power, the legislative power, and the judicial power. ... For other uses, see Copenhagen (disambiguation). ... August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1813 (MDCCCXIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... Ulriksdal Palace was one of the first Swedish buildings with mansard roofs Ulriksdal Palace (Swedish: ), is a royal palace situated on the banks of Edsviken Lake in the National City Park in Solna, 6 km north of Stockholm. ... Gustav III (13 January (O.S.) or (24 January (N.S.) 1746 – March 29, 1792) was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. ... Gustav IV Adolf (November 1, 1778 – February 7, 1837), was King of Sweden from 1792 until his abdication in 1809. ... The House of Holstein-Gottorp, a cadet branch of the Oldenburg dynasty, ruled Sweden from 1751 until 1818, and Norway from 1814 to 1818. ... Oldenburg (Low German: Ollnborg) is an Independent City in Lower Saxony, Germany. ... Frederick V, painting by Carl Gustaf Pilo Statue of Frederick V in the center of Amalienborg by Jacques François Joseph Saly Frederick V (March 31, 1723 – January 13, 1766) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1746, son of Christian VI of Denmark and Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. ... Louise of Hanover and of Great Britain (December 18, 1724 - December 19, 1751) was the youngest surviving daughter of George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach, and became Queen consort of Denmark and Norway. ... Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace at night Christiansborg Palace on Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen is the home of Denmarks three supreme powers: the royal power, the legislative power, and the judicial power. ... July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 181 days remaining. ... // Events February 14 - Henry Pelham becomes British Prime Minister February 21 - - The premiere in London of George Frideric Handels oratorio, Samson. ... Ulriksdal Palace was one of the first Swedish buildings with mansard roofs Ulriksdal Palace (Swedish: ), is a royal palace situated on the banks of Edsviken Lake in the National City Park in Solna, 6 km north of Stockholm. ... August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1813 (MDCCCXIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

She was eldest surviving child of King Frederick V of Denmark and Norway and Queen Louise. Her maternal grandparents were George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach. Frederick V, painting by Carl Gustaf Pilo Statue of Frederick V in the center of Amalienborg by Jacques François Joseph Saly Frederick V (March 31, 1723 – January 13, 1766) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1746, son of Christian VI of Denmark and Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. ... Louise of Hanover and of Great Britain (December 18, 1724 - December 19, 1751) was the youngest surviving daughter of George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach, and became Queen consort of Denmark and Norway. ... George II (George Augustus; 10 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) and Archtreasurer and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death. ... Caroline of Ansbach (later Queen Caroline; Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline; 1 March 1683 – 20 November 1737) was the Queen Consort of George II // Margravine Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach was born on 1 March 1683, at Ansbach in Germany, the daughter of Johann Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and his second wife...

Early life

At the age of five (1751), she was betrothed to the successor of the throne of Sweden, Gustav, and she was brought up to be the queen of Sweden. In 1766 she was married to Gustav by proxy at Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen. Events Adam Smith is appointed professor of logic at the University of Glasgow March 25 - For the last time, New Years Day is legally on March 25 in England and Wales. ... 1766 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... For other uses, see Copenhagen (disambiguation). ...

At the Swedish court, she was received with kindness from the king but she was hated by the queen, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, who was the dominating presence in the court, and completely ingored by her husband. She was beautiful, brought the largest dowry since 1680 and was carefully educated to be a perfect queen and received many priaces, but she never became very popular, and her strict upbringing made it difficult for her to adjust to the environment of the Swedish court. After King Adolf Frederick of Sweden died in 1771, Gustav III became King of Sweden. The following year Sophia Magdalena was crowned queen. Louisa Ulrika of Prussia (Swedish: Lovisa Ulrika; German: Luise Ulrike) (1720—1782) was Queen consort of Sweden between 1751 and 1771. ... Adolf Frederick King of Sweden Adolf Frederick (Adolf Fredrik) (May 14, 1710 – February 12, 1771), was King of Sweden from 1751 until his death. ... 1771 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Gustav III (13 January (O.S.) or (24 January (N.S.) 1746 – March 29, 1792) was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. ...

Queen Sofia Magdalena was a serious and shy person and she was never a member of the kings inner circle; she did her ceremonial duties, but disliked the vivid lifestyle of the court that her husband was a center of. She was mocked by the more social witt, her sister-in-law Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp when her social duties made it "Forced to meet people", and she preferred to stay at her private residence Ulriksdal Palace whenever she could. It is also said that she preferred the English fashion before the French because she found it less revealing. Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte (In Swedish Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotta) (March 22, 1759 – June 20, 1818), was the Queen-Consort of Charles XIII of Sweden and also a famed diarist, memoir-writer and wit. ... Ulriksdal Palace was one of the first Swedish buildings with mansard roofs Ulriksdal Palace (Swedish: ), is a royal palace situated on the banks of Edsviken Lake in the National City Park in Solna, 6 km north of Stockholm. ...

Marital difficulties

The marriage was a typical royal arranged marriage of political convenience, and Sophia is described by her husband as cold as ice. In fact, the marriage was not consummated until 1775, nine years after the wedding. This was a topic of gossip and ridicule among the European courts; the king was a homosexual or sexually undeveloped and did in fact need to be instructed in the ways of sexual intercourse. Year 1775 (MDCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ...

In 1778, Sofia gave birth to Gustav Adolf, successor to the throne, and in 1782 she gave birth to a second son, Charles Gustaf who only lived for one year. It has been suggested that her children were fathered by someone else. When the heir was born, the father was named, by the king's mother among others, as the count Adolph Frederick Munck of Fulkila, then chief of the royal stables. This rumor was widely believed by both the public and within the court, but the truth is even more interesting: it has been suggested by the letters of those involved, that the count actually acted as sexual instructor. The king was possibly a virgin, as was the queen, and the count was forced to physically show them how to consummate their marriage. The count himself writes in his memoirs that he "had to touch them both with my own hands". People imagined that the count helped the king by having intercourse with the queen to demonstrate, and that he had intecrcourse with the queen with his penis between the kings thies,(They where also caricatured this way.) But this is hardly likely, as the king was very innocent when it came to these things, and the queen was even more so. Neither of them has ever been described as having a large interest in sex. But the rumours became more persistent when the queen gave Munck a watch with her image, a pension and a diamond-ring, and the king gave him a promotion. The circle around duke Charles, who wanted the throne, encouraged the rumours. 1778 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Gustav IV Adolf (November 1, 1778 – February 7, 1837), was King of Sweden from 1792 until his abdication in 1809. ... 1782 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

The Queen dowager Louisa Ulrika of Prussia openly proclaimed that Sophia's child was a bastard; she accused Sofia Magdalena of being to cold for taking a lover, if she was not ordered to do so by the king. The queen dowager forced duke Charles to interrogate Munck, and the word spread to the king, who arranged for his mother to make a public apolology for her accusation. Sophia Magdalena was deeply shocked by the accusations; she swore she would never speak to the queen dowager again, and she kept this promise. The rumours somewhat disturbed the celebrations, as did the accident with the public banquet. The public was invited to a great feast to celebrate the birth of the heir, but too many people were let in, and the crowd panicked. Between sixty and one hundred people where trampled to death in the crowd. Louisa Ulrika of Prussia (Swedish: Lovisa Ulrika; German: Luise Ulrike) (1720—1782) was Queen consort of Sweden between 1751 and 1771. ...

Still, the years between 1775 and 1783 were probably the happiest in her life. Her relationship with the king was happier than ever before, and she was treated with respect after having done her duty to the dynasty. But after her younger son's death, the marriage reverted to its former state of separation.

Later life

Widowed in 1792, after her husband was murdered, Sofia lived a withdrawn life and spent much effort on charity. She was deeply horrified by the murder of her husband, but it was a great relief for her to be a widow and withdraw from public life. Her brother-in-law, Duke Karl, became regent, and she eschewed a political role. In 1797, she insisted on skipping the protocoll to make her new daughter-in-law, Frederica of Baden , to feel welkome, as she rememered how lonely she herself had felt when she ariwed as a bride. She later showed also Desiree Clary the same kindness, unlike many others, when she ariwed in 1810. She never had any political influence, and in 1809, she was forced to witness the abdication of her son, King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden, after Sweden lost Finland to Russia. He was sent into exile and replaced by his paternal uncle Charles XIII, but she remained in Sweden until her death in 1813. 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1797 (MDCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Frederica Dorothea Wilhelmina of Baden (March 1781 - 1826) was Queen consort of Sweden from 1797 to 1809. ... Queen Désirée of Sweden and Norway, Bernhardine Eugenie Désirée Clary (November 8, 1777 - December 17, 1860) was the wife of King Charles XIV of Sweden, where she was widely known as Queen Desideria. ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1809 (MDCCCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... Look up abdication in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Gustav IV Adolf (November 1, 1778 – February 7, 1837), was King of Sweden from 1792 until his abdication in 1809. ... Charles XIII (Swe: Karl XIII) (October 7, 1748 - February 5, 1818), was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway (where he was known as Carl II) from 1814 until his death. ...

Reference

• Herman Lindquist; "History of Sweden; the days of Gustav III".

• Herman Lindquist; "History of the queens of Sweden".