Princess of Prussia
On 14 June 1870, Sophia was born in the New Palace in Potsdam, Prussia, to then Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia (later German Emperor) and Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom, herself the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort. She was christened the following month, though all the men present were in uniform, as Prussia had declared war on France. Sophia's mother described the event to Queen Victoria: "The Christening went off well, but was sad and serious; anxious faces and tearful eyes, and a gloom and foreshadowing of all the misery in store spread a cloud over the ceremony, which should have been one of gladness and thanksgiving".
Sophie was known as "Sossy" during her childhood (the name was thought to have been picked because it rhymed with "Mossy", the nickname of her younger sister Princess Margaret). Sophia was also a sister of William II, German Emperor, Princesses Charlotte and Victoria of Prussia, as well as Princes Henry, Waldemar and Sigismund of Prussia.
The children of the Crown Prince became grouped into two by age: Wilhelm, Charlotte, and Henry were favoured by their paternal grandparents, while Sophia, Margaret, and Victoria were largely ignored by them. Sophia's two other brothers, Sigismund and Waldemar, died at a young age (Sigismund died before she was born, and Waldemar when he was 11 and she was 8); this drew Vicky and her three daughters closer together, calling them "my three sweet girls" and "my trio". The Crown Princess, believing in the superiority of all things English, had her children's nurseries modelled on her childhood. Sophia was raised with a great love for England and all things associated with it as a result, and had frequent trips to visit her grandmother Queen Victoria, whom she loved. Sophia often stayed in England for long periods, and as she was generally avoided by her paternal grandparents, Sophia's formative years were mainly shaped by her parents and the Queen.
In her childhood, Sophia largely stayed with her parents at two main residences: Kronprinzenpalais in Berlin, and Neues Palais in Potsdam.
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