Marriage
Sophia's marriage to Prince Oscar of Sweden, Duke of Östergötland, second son of the reigning king, was considered to be the first in the Royal House that was not completely arranged. Though the match was considered very suitable, the couple was allowed to make their own decision on the basis of their feelings, and generally, their marriage was considered happy. She married Prince Oscar (later King Oscar II of Sweden) on 6 June 1857 at the Castle in Wiesbaden-Biebrich. Sophia was received with enormous enthusiasm when she arrived in Sweden in 1857 because the then-Crown Prince Charles XV of Sweden and his wife were not expected to produce a male heir.
Following the death of her father-in-law in 1859, Oscar was first in line to the Swedish throne after his brother the King.
The couple lived a quiet life in Arvfurstens palats. Sophia was said to dislike the frivolity of her brother-in-law's court and the French-influenced culture and Catholic tendencies she reportedly saw there. She was described as learned, calm and sensible but boring and regarded as a respected and dignified a center of the Royal Family life and someone from whom to seek advice. She exercised stern discipline over both her sons and her husband and shocked people by letting her sons attend a public boys' school. Her family life represented the Victorian ideal but involved the usual double-standards. Oscar was sometimes unfaithful, but much more discreet than his brother Charles.
Upon the death of her brother-in-law on 12 May 1873, Sophia became Queen consort of Sweden.
Read more about this topic: Sophia Of Nassau
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