Sophia Charlotte Augustus ( Sophie Charlotte Auguste) ; or , - , ) - Princess of Bavaria , Duchess of Bavaria, later Duchess of Alanson and Orleans.
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Content
Biography
Childhood
The younger sister of the Empress of Austria Elizabeth , the ninth child and the fifth daughter in the family of the Duke of Bavaria Maximilian and Duchess of Bavaria Ludoviki , Princess of Bavaria Sophia, spent most of her childhood in Castle Possenhofen near Munich. After all her sisters were married, in 1861 she remained the only daughter who lived with her parents. She was friends with Ludwig of Bavaria , who in 1864 was to receive the title of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. They were united by the love of Richard Wagner’s music and nature. Sophia had excellent vocal abilities, she played the piano well and often performed arias from Wagner’s operas for Ludwig.
Sophia Challengers
Sophia was the sister-in-law of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I , and there was no shortage of bridegrooms. Among them - the Duke Philip of Württemberg , Prince Luis of Portugal and, finally, Ludwig Victor of Austria , brother of the emperor of the Austrian Empire. But Sophia could not decide on this step, and she managed to persuade her father to delay with these plans.
King Ludwig II
The relationship between Ludwig and Sophia continued. But Sophia’s mother (grandfather’s sister Ludwig I) considered this relationship indecent, and eventually banned them. Then Ludwig decided to marry his father's cousin. January 22 was announced the engagement. During a reception at the palace theater, Ludwig invited Sofia to his royal box, and she took a seat next to him. However, very soon Ludwig began to doubt the correctness of the decision. He was afraid to tie himself to marriage and postponed the wedding date, which was first scheduled for August 22, 1867 , to October. Duke Max of Bavaria, the father of Sophia, wrote a letter to Ludwig in which he asked him to keep his promises to marry, because he believed that the repeated delay of the wedding compromises his daughter. Shortly thereafter, Ludwig wrote to Sophia a letter that reproached: "Your cruel father wants to separate us." And Ludwig terminated the engagement.
Edgar Ganfshtengl
Three days later, after her engagement, Ludwig Sofia met in the photo studio of Franz Ganfshtengl with his son Edgar , who helped his father run the business and later fully took over the management of his father's enterprise. Edgar was the exact opposite of the noble, reticent Ludwig, and perhaps that was what attracted Sophia to Edgar. Probably, both were familiar before, as Edgar's father was a welcome guest at the so-called meetings of the “knights of King Arthur's round table” held by Duke Max, where local scientists and artists gathered. For the bride, King Sophia, it was necessary to take a large number of photographs of her image, which Edgar constantly brought to Possenhofen. So the young people got close and fell in love with each other, but it was difficult for them to meet. The court ladies Nathalie von Sternbach and Tony (Anthony) Pfrettsshner helped them to arrange secret dates in the Pel Castle, in the palace in Munich and in Possenhofen itself.
Five love letters, written by Sofia Edgar in July-August 1867, have been preserved. Erna Ganfshtengl, Edgar's only daughter, published these letters. Sophia wrote: "The world should never know what is happening between us, no one should heartlessly judge us." And Edgar himself during his lifetime ordered to burn the letters of Sophia. However, this did not happen. Heinz Gebhardt , who in 1980 Erna Ganfstengl gave the letter, published them in his book "King Ludwig II and his burned bride."
Wedding
Meanwhile, the Duchess of Louis continued to search for the groom for Sophia, in order to forget as soon as possible the disgrace caused by the broken engagement. In May, Duke Ferdinand of Alençon , grandson of Louis-Philippe , King of the French, visited Possenhofen. Louis arranged a meeting between Ferdinand and Sophia in Saxony, where Ferdinand was at that time. Already on June 19, 1868, Ferdinand , fascinated by Sophia, asked for her hand. On June 29, 1868, Ferdinand arrived in Possenhofen to meet the bride's parents. On September 28, 1868 , a wedding took place in one of the Possenhofen castle halls, which was turned into a chapel in a hurry.
Genealogy
In the cinema
- Marianna Koch " Ludwig II: The Glitter and the Fall of the King " ( FRG , 1955 ).
- Sonya Petrovna " Ludwig " ( Germany - Italy - France , 1972 ).
- Valerie Koch “ Sophie is a passionate princess ” ( FRG , 2001 ).
- Paula Berry " Ludwig of Bavaria "( FRG , 2012 ).
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 German National Library , Berlin State Library , Bavarian State Library , etc. Record # 11881205X // General Regulatory Control (GND) - 2012—2016.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 BNF ID : open data platform - 2011.
- ↑ 1 2 The Peerage
Links
- Sofia Charlotte Augusta, Duchess of Bavaria in the German National Library .