Queen Sophie - Character Study

Sophie was born 17 June 1818. As a child Sophie was a spiritfull and restless child. She was a lot like her mother who died a few months after Sophie’s birth; social and full of life.

Daughter of King Wilhelm I of Wurttemberg and Queen Catharina Pawlona. She had some older half-brothers and one full older sister, Marie. Having been born a princess, she was kept to a strict scheme every day. Her days existed out of studying or visiting. Sophie loved studying, so that was no problem. It were the moments of visit the young princess had trouble with. She was supposed to behave like a little lady instead of running around and playing.

Sophie learnt about politics at an early age, because her father taught her about politics. He stimulated her to think about it and even involved her and her sister in a minor way. Sophie enjoyed that immensely and later in her life, when she was married to King Willem III of the Netherlands, she was disappointed not to be involved in the politics. What she did do as the Queen of the Netherlands is teaching her own children about politics.

At an early age it became clear Sophie sometimes had trouble keeping good relationships with those that were quite different to her. Her step mother Pauline complained about her step daughter a lot and was happy when Sophie was marrief off and disappeared to the Netherlands. Sophie complained about her step mother as well, and other people that crossed her path. She was judgemental at an early age too describing the characters and flaws of her teachers, governessess, family and friends. She would keep doing so throughout her whole life in letters to others.

Sophie wrote loads of letters to her many friends mainly located outside the Netherlands. Usually they were influencial, like Napoleon III and his wife, famous, talented and mentally developed. Sophie had many friends in politics, arts and sciences.
Sophie tended to present situations more dramatic than they really were. She complained a lot to her friends in her letters. Most of the time those complaints were about her husband and his family and about how narrow minded and underdeveloped she found average Dutch people.
She also discussed situations; political and personal. Sophie loved writing her friends and she was very loyal to her many correspondents and dilligent in writing letters.

Sophie had a great influence on her two sons, Willem and Alexander. When it came to chosing parents, both boys would chose her side. Sophie also tried to influence their education. When Wiwill was growing up she tried to make him a young wise boy. She wanted to make the best King out of him. Alexander was more mentally developed than Wiwill, but his health was weak. Sophie put a lot of effort and money in making Alexander more comfortable and healthy. However the two boys were very dedicated to their mother, I don’t think they really turned out the way she had hoped. Wiwill was not as disciplined and Alexander not as pretty and strong. Her favourite child, Maurits, had died at an early age.

Eventhough I feel Sophie was too judgemental and too overwhelming to her boys, I hurt thinking of how both Willem and Alexander broke down everything Sophie had tried to build up for them. Be it in education and development or health. It is clear from Sophie’s many letters she worried about both her boys, both still unmarried when she died (Not that they ever married). It turned out she had good reasons to worry.

The question remains how much Sophie was cause of the tragic lifes of her sons. For instance, along with the King she refused to permit Willem to marry the love of his life causing him to retreat to Paris and live an unhealthy life.
On Alexander she had a tight grip as well. When she was placed in the family grave, Alexander threw himself on her coffin crying and covering the coffin with kisses.
Alexander had also inherited her habit of painting his situation so dark, people would feel pity for him. Good examples are the two brochures he wrote explaining how deep the losses of his mother and brother had hit him. Even after a few years, when it seemed even Alexander didn’t really believe his own explanations anymore, the losses remained the reasons for Alexander’s retreat from public life.

Whatever the case, unlike the King, Queen Sophie had both her boys with her when she died. When she died she left the Dutch Royal house in shambles with her two sons having a very bad relationship with their father. The Dutch Royals were about to go extinct.

Sophie died 3 June 1877.