Princess Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg

Infobox Monarch
name =Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg
title =Princess of Albania


caption =
consortreign =7 March 1914 – 3 September 1914
spouse =Prince William
issue =Princess Marie Eleonore,
Hereditary Prince Carol Victor
royal house =House of Schönburg
father =Hereditary Prince Victor of Schönburg-Waldenburg
mother =Princess Lucia of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg
date of birth =birth date|1885|5|21
place of birth =Potsdam, Brandenburg, German Empire
date of death =Death date and age|1936|2|3|1885|5|21
place of death =Fontaneli, Moldavia, Romania

Princess Sophie Helene Cecilie of Schönburg-Waldenburg (21 May 1885 - 3 February 1936) was the wife of Prince William of Wied. With her husband's ascension to the Albanian throne she became the Princess of Albania ( _sq. Princeshë e Shqipërisë).

Family and marriage

Princess Sophie was born in Potsdam, Brandenburg the daughter of Hereditary Prince Victor of Schönburg-Waldenburg (1856-1888) and his wife Princess Lucia of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1859-1903).

Her maternal grandparents were Emil, Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1824 - 1878) and his first wife Pulcheria Cantacuzene (1820 - 1865). Emil was the son of August Ludwig of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1788 - 1874) and Franziska Allesina von Schweitzer (1802 - 1878).

August Ludwig was the eighth of ten sons born to Christian Heinrich, Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (1753 - 1800) and his wife Charlotte Friederike Franziska, Countess of Leiningen-Westerburg. Christian Heinrich was the penultimate ruler of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg as a state of the Holy Roman Empire. He reigned as a Count from 1773 to 1792 and as a Prince from 1792 to his death. Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was mediatised to the Grand Duchy of Hesse in 1806.

Both of Princess Sophie's parents died when she was young so she spent much of her youth at the Fantanele estate in Moldavia which was owned by her maternal relatives.cite book| last =Heaton-Armstrong| first =Duncan| title =The Six Month Kingdom: Albania 1914 | publisher =I.B.Tauris| year =2005| pages =xii, 14| isbn =1850437610 ] On 30 November 1906 at Waldenburg, Saxony Princess Sophie married Prince William of Wied, they had two children. [ [http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/albania.html Online Gotha] ]
*Princess Marie Eleonore (1909-1956)
*Hereditary Prince Carol Victor (1913-1973)

Princess of Albania

Princess Sophie was close to her husband's aunt Queen Elisabeth of Romania, whom she had known since moving to Romania after the death of her parents. Princess Sophie and Queen Elisabeth sang, painted, composed and played musical instruments together. [cite book| last =Edinburgh| first =Marie of| authorlink= Marie of Edinburgh|title =The story of my life | publisher =Ayer Publishing| year =1971| pages =541, 542| isbn =0405027613 ] Queen Elisabeth played an important role in getting Princess Sophie's husband William the Albanian throne by asking Take Ionescu to persuade the great powers to select William.cite book| last =Pearson| first =Owen| title =Albania in the Twentieth Century: a history| publisher =I.B.Tauris| year =2006| pages =50, 377| isbn =1845110137 ] Princess Sophie and Queen Elisabeth both worked to overcome William's reluctance to accept the throne. Eventually William agreed, and on February 21, 1914, Prince William and Princess Sophie hosted a delegation of Albanian notables at their castle in Neuwied, where William was formally offered the throne. The Albanian delegation then visited Waldenburg, Saxony, where they paid their respects to Princess Sophie's family.

Sophie and her husband arrived in Albania on March 7, 1914, in Durrës, the provisional capital. However, her Albanian adventure proved short-lived. On September 3, 1914, with the country in turmoil, Princess Sophie and Prince William left Albania, never to return. [cite book| last =Hall| first =Richard C.| title =The Balkan Wars, 1912-1913: Prelude to the First World War| publisher =Routledge| year =2000| pages =131| isbn =0415229464 ] However, she officially remained the Princess of Albania until January 31, 1925, when the country was declared a republic.

Princess Sophie died at Fontaneli in Moldavia, Romania.

References

External links

* [http://genealogy.euweb.cz/schonburg/schonburg6.html#SHC A listing of Princes of Schönburg-Waldenburg since 1800 and their descendants]