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Lot Essay
Princess Sophie was born in Stockholm in 1801, daughter of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden and his wife Frederica of Baden. When Sophie was eight years old her father was deposed and she and her family left Sweden. She married, in 1815, her half-grand-uncle Prince Leopold of Baden. The marriage had been specifically arranged by her uncle, Grand Duke Karl I of Baden, to improve the chances that Leopold would one day succeed him as Grand Duke because of Sophie's royal lineage. Between their marriage and Price Leopold's accession as 4th Grand Duke of Baden in 1830 the couple lived a modest life away from court.
Sophie has been described as wise and dutiful but strict, spending hours writing letters to relatives and enjoying an interest in science, art and politics. She and Grand Duke Leopold had eight children, two of whom succeeded Leopold as Grand Duke of Baden and another who went on to become Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna of Russia following her marriage to Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaievich of Russia, the youngest son of Tsar Nicholas I.
Sophie has been described as wise and dutiful but strict, spending hours writing letters to relatives and enjoying an interest in science, art and politics. She and Grand Duke Leopold had eight children, two of whom succeeded Leopold as Grand Duke of Baden and another who went on to become Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna of Russia following her marriage to Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaievich of Russia, the youngest son of Tsar Nicholas I.