Sophia Dorothea of Hanover - Queen in Prussia

Queen in Prussia

Her husband ascended the throne in 1713 and Sophia Dorothea became queen. She was nicknamed "Olympia" for her regal bearing. The queen and her children were terrorized and beaten by Frederick William, who may have suffered from the hereditary disease porphyria.

Frederick William disliked Sophia Dorothea's early ambition to have Frederick marry Princess Amalia of Great Britain and Wilhelmine marry Frederick of Wales. He also accused her of having damaged his relationship to their children, and therefore banned them from seeing her without his presence. This order the children did not respect, but met her in secret, which on at least one occasion caused Frederick and Wilhelmine to have to hide in the furniture in her rooms when Frederick William came to her room unexpectedly when they where there. She had a good relationship with her son, Frederick, later known as "Frederick the Great", who was very attached to her and deeply mourned her death. She spent many days talking to him in the library and was informed of his plans to escape from his father's custody in 1728. After he withdrew from the Prussian court, she corresponded with him from the fortress of Küstrin.

Sophia Dorothea was interested in art, science, literature and fashion. She was not described as a beauty, and she was scarred from smallpox. Nonetheless, she kept an attractive figure in spite of her many pregnancies. She was regarded as proud and ambitious, but her spouse refused to allow her any influence, as it was his belief that women should be kept only for breeding as they would otherwise dominate their husbands. It was the opinion of her daughter Wilhelmine that her father treated her mother unjustly. Frederick William disliked the interests of Sophia Dorothea, which he regarded to be frivolous, such as her interest in theater and gambling, and he also disliked what he regarded to be a life she lived independently from his authority. Her interest in gambling was particularly disliked by him, and it is reported that she and her partners had coffee beans ready on the table during gambling, so that if the king was to appear, they could pretend to be playing about them rather than money. His manner toward her was described as rough, and he is noted to have used uncivil language toward her. His usual bad manners toward her was so noted that the opposite was seen as a surprise: in 1726, Sophia Dorothea inherited a sum of three million from her mother, and Frederick William was noted to suddenly treat her very well. This was regarded to be very uncommon, and the Imperial ambassador reported that his changed behavior was merely because he wanted her money. When she never received them, because her brother refused to release the sum, Frederick William resumed his usual manner toward her.