Sophia Charlotte (1668-1705), Queen of Prussia, in gold-embroidered bright green dress with lace underdress and pearl border, ermine-bordered deep red velvet cloak draped around her shoulders, her long dark hair curled and falling over her shoulders

Sophia Charlotte, sister of King George I of Britain, was the daughter of Ernest Augustus (1629-1698), the first Elector of Hanover and Sophia of the Palatinate (1630-1714), daughter of Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia. She married Electoral Prince Frederick, later King Frederick I of Prussia (1657-1713), in 1684. Their marriage established the dynasty of the House of Prussia with the birth of their son, Frederick William I (see lots 62 and 109) in 1688 and his son, Frederick the Great (see lot 63) in 1712. Charlottenburg Castle in Berlin was named to commemorate Sophia Charlotte after her death as she had so encouraged the original construction of the castle, then known as Lietzenburg Castle.
This miniature is inspired by a painting by Friedrich Wilhelm Weidemann at Charlottenburg Castle, illustrated in E. Berckenhagen, Die Malerei in Berlin [...], Berlin, 1964, fig. 235, and in the exhibition catalogue Sophie Charlotte und ihr Schloß, Berlin, Charlottenburg Castle, 1999-2000, p. 11, and also p. 263 for a smaller oval version.