Sophia of Hanover Facts & Worksheets

Marriage and Family

• Prior to her marriage, Sophia was known as Sophie, Princess Palatine of the Rhine, or Sophia of the Palatinate, as she was the daughter of Frederick V, Elector Palatine of the Rhine.
• On 30 September 1658, Sophia married her distant cousin, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, in Heidelberg. Ernest Augustus was the younger son of George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and thus not expected to inherit his father's duchy. However, through a series of deaths and inheritances, Ernest Augustus eventually became Elector of Hanover in 1692.
• The couple had a long and fruitful marriage, lasting for 40 years and producing seven children who survived to adulthood:
  • George I (1660–1727), who became King of Great Britain and Ireland
  • Frederick Augustus (1661-1690), killed in battle at the Siege of Philippsburg
  • Maximilian William (1666–1726), served in the Imperial Army
  • Sophia Charlotte (1668–1705), married Frederick I of Prussia
  • Charles Philip (1669-1690), colonel in the Imperial Army and killed in battle
  • Christian (1671–1803), drowned in the Danube
  • Ernest Augustus (1674–1728), became Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück

• Sophia was a devoted mother and took a keen interest in her children's upbringing. She maintained a close relationship with them throughout her life and played a significant role in their education and marriages.

Claim to the English Throne

• Sophia's claim to the English throne stemmed from her lineage and the political instability in England during the late 17th century.
• The 1689 Bill of Rights declared that James II’s flight from England following the Glorious Revolution meant an abdication of the throne. 
• Equally important was the establishment of the order of succession, proclaiming that Roman Catholics were barred from the throne of England for the welfare of the Protestant kingdom.
• The bill dictated that, after William III and Mary II, the throne would pass first to Mary II’s Protestant descendants, then to her sister, Princess Anne of Denmark, and her Protestant descendants, and thereafter to any Protestant descendants of William III by a later marriage should he outlive Mary II. The joint sovereigns, however, were unable to produce children.
• When Mary II died in 1694, William III became the sole ruler of the kingdom. The king did not seem likely to remarry. In 1696, there had been an unsuccessful attempt by a faction loyal to the deposed James II to assassinate the king. This meant that the Jacobites continued to be a threat to the plan of maintaining a Protestant accession.
• By this time, Princess Anne was William III’s heir apparent. Her only son to survive infancy, Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, was next to her in the order of succession. However, in 1700, the Duke of Gloucester died at the age of 11. This casts uncertainty on the future of the Protestant kingdom.
• At that time, William III, who remained childless, was dying. The only person remaining in the Bill of Rights' established line of succession was Princess Anne. 
• The complete exhaustion of the defined line of succession was feared to encourage a restoration of James II’s line. Parliament thus saw the need to guarantee that the succession of future sovereigns remained within the Protestant faith with the enactment of the Act of Settlement in 1701.
• The need for the Act of Settlement was obvious, as there was no confirmed heir to Princess Anne, and the numerous supporters of the exiled James II posed a threat. The act, which William III signed, established that the crown would pass to Electress Sophia of Hanover, a Protestant descendant of James I.
• Provisions of the Act of Settlement:
  • All future monarchs must join in communion with the Church of England, ensuring the exclusion of a Roman Catholic monarch.
  • If a future monarch is not a native of England, England will not wage war for the defence of territories not belonging to the crown of England without the consent of Parliament.
  • Judges are to hold office during good behaviour rather than at the sovereign’s pleasure. Only both Houses of Parliament are able to remove them.
  • Impeachments by the House of Commons are not subject to pardon under the Great Seal of England.
  • No person who has an office under the monarch or receives a pension from the crown is to be a Member of Parliament.
  • All government matters within the jurisdiction of the Privy Council are to be transacted there, and all council resolutions are to be signed by those who advised and consented to them. This clause was repealed early in Anne’s reign.
  • No foreigner, even if naturalised or made a denizen, can be a Privy Councillor or a member of either House of Parliament, hold any office, or have any grants from the crown. This clause was virtually repealed in 1870.
  • No monarch may leave the dominions of England, Scotland, or Ireland without the consent of Parliament. This clause was repealed in 1716, during the reign of George I.

• The act passed with little opposition, with only five peers voting against it in the House of Lords. While Sophia never ascended to the English throne herself, dying just a few weeks before Queen Anne in 1714, her son, George I, inherited the crown, marking the beginning of the Hanoverian dynasty's reign over Great Britain.

Court Life

• Sophia presided over the Hanoverian court as Electress Consort from 1692 to 1714. She developed a close friendship and admiration for Gottfried Leibniz during his time as librarian at the Hanoverian court. Their relationship spanned from 1676 until Sophia's passing in 1714, resulting in an exchange of letters that showed her intellect and curiosity. Sophia was well-versed in the writings of renowned philosophers like René Descartes and Baruch Spinoza.