Princess Sophie Of Greece And Denmark

Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark was born on 26 June 1914 at Mon Repos Palace in Corfu, Greece. She was the fourth of five children of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. Her siblings included Margarita, Theodora, Cecilie, and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Sophie’s early childhood was marked by the political upheavals of Greece during World War I and the Greco-Turkish War, resulting in her family’s exile to Switzerland (1917–1920) and subsequently in France (1922–1936). During their exile, the family relied on support from relatives, including Marie Bonaparte and Lady Louis Mountbatten.

In October 1920, her family returned briefly to Greece following the death of King Alexander. Sophie and her family then moved to Corfu and later participated in social events, including attending royal weddings abroad. After Greece experienced political instability following the military defeat in 1922, Sophie’s family went into exile once more, this time settling in Saint-Cloud, France, in 1923. They lived there with financial support from relatives, including Princess Marie Bonaparte.

Sophie married Prince Christoph of Hesse-Kassel on 15 December 1930 in Kronberg im Taunus. The marriage resulted in five children: Christina, Dorothea, Karl, Rainer, and Princess Clarissa. The couple initially settled in Berlin, where Prince Christoph worked as a broker. During the 1930s, Sophie became involved with Nazi circles; she joined the National Socialist Women's League in 1938 and maintained connections with Nazi officials. Her husband and several of her in-laws joined the Nazi Party and SS, although Sophie herself did not join the Nazi Party but was affiliated with the Nazi-associated organization.

Throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, Sophie’s family’s ties to the Nazi regime grew closer, with visits to prominent Nazi figures and activities aligned with Nazi Germany’s interests. Her husband was involved in Nazi intelligence and war efforts. During World War II, Sophie and her children moved to Friedrichshof Castle in Kronberg in May 1940. The death of her husband, Prince Christoph, occurred under mysterious circumstances during a plane crash in Forlì, Italy, in October 1943. Following his death, Sophie became increasingly aware of the regime’s brutality, as her family members suffered imprisonment and death in Nazi camps.

The defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 led to the occupation of Friedrichshof and her subsequent displacement. Her family’s property was looted, and she faced financial difficulties due to confiscation and theft of belongings. In 1946, Sophie married Prince George William of Hanover, with whom she had three additional children: Welf Ernst, Georg, and Friederike. The marriage was conducted in Salem, Germany.

In 1947, her brother Prince Philip married Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom (later Queen Elizabeth II), but Sophie was not invited to the wedding due to her past associations. She gradually reintegrated into royal circles in the 1950s, attending events such as the coronation of Elizabeth II and other royal weddings. Her father, Prince Andrew, died in Monaco in December 1944; her mother, Princess Alice, died in 1969, and her sister Theodora in Salem.

Later in life, Sophie contributed to causes such as her mother’s recognition as Righteous Among the Nations and the reinterment of her mother’s remains in Jerusalem in 1988. She also experienced personal tragedies, including the death of her grandson Prince Christopher of Yugoslavia in 1994. Sophie resided in Schliersee, Bavaria, in her final years and died on 24 November 2001 at a nursing home there. She was buried at Wolfsgarten Castle, and her remains were later moved to the cemetery of St Martin’s Church in Schliersee.