Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein
Encyclopedia
Sophie, Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein ' onMouseout='HidePop("97044")' href="/topics/NEE">née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Duchess Sophie in Bavaria, Princess of Bavaria; born 28 October 1967 in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
), is the wife of Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
Alois Philipp Maria, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg is the eldest son of Hans Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein and Countess Marie Aglaë Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau. Alois has been Regent of Liechtenstein since 15 August 2004...
, Regent of Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
and heir apparent to the Liechtensteiner throne.
Early life and education
Hereditary Princess Sophie was born in MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
on 28 October 1967 as the eldest of the five daughters of Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria
Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria
Max-Emanuel Ludwig Maria Herzog in Bayern, sometimes styled Prince Max of Bavaria, Duke in Bavaria, born 21 January 1937 as son of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, is the heir presumptive to both the headship of the former Bavarian Royal House and the Jacobite Succession...
, and Swedish Countess Elisabeth Douglas
Princess Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria
align="right"|Princess Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria is the wife of Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria, heir presumptive to both the former Bavarian Royal House and the Jacobite Succession.-Family background:...
. Through her father, she is a direct descendant of the last King of Bavaria. Ludwig III (1845-1921) was her great-great-grandfather.
Sophie spent her childhood together with her parents and sisters in Wildbad Kreuth. From 1978 to 1980, Sophie attended the Girls' Home Primary School of the English Lady in Heiligenstadt
Heiligenstadt
Heiligenstadt may refer to several places:*Heilbad Heiligenstadt, Thuringia, Germany*Heiligenstadt i.OFr. , Bamberg , Bavaria, Germany*Heiligenstadt, Vienna, Austria*Heiligenstadt, part of Neuhaus in Kärnten, Carinthia, Austria...
. She then moved to the Girls' Secondary Boarding School Hohenburg in Lenggries
Lenggries
Lenggries is a municipality in Bavaria, Germany. Lenggries is the center of the Isarwinkel, the region along the Isar between Bad Tölz and Wallgau...
. Sophie then studied the English language and literature at the Catholic University in Eichstätt
Eichstätt
Eichstätt is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the District of Eichstätt. It is located along the Altmühl River, at , and had a population of 13,078 in 2002. It is home to the Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, the lone Catholic university in Germany. The...
.
Marriage and children
Sophie married Hereditary Prince Alois of LiechtensteinAlois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
Alois Philipp Maria, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg is the eldest son of Hans Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein and Countess Marie Aglaë Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau. Alois has been Regent of Liechtenstein since 15 August 2004...
on 3 July 1993 at St.Florin's in Vaduz
Vaduz
Vaduz is the capital of the principality of Liechtenstein and the seat of the national parliament. The town, located along the Rhine, has about 5,100 inhabitants , most of whom are Roman Catholic. Its cathedral is the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishop....
, Liechtenstein. They have four children:
- Prince Joseph Wenzel Maximilian Maria of LiechtensteinPrince Joseph Wenzel of LiechtensteinPrince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg , styled His Serene Highness , is the eldest child of Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, the Regent and Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein, and his wife Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Duchess in Bavaria...
(born 24 May 1995 in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) - Princess Marie-Caroline Elisabeth Immaculata of Liechtenstein (born 17 October 1996 in GrabsGrabsGrabs is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Werdenberg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-History:Grabs is first mentioned in 841 as Quaravedes. In 979 it was mentioned as Quadravedes, then in 1235 as Grabdis and in 1253 as Graps.-Geography:Grabs has an area, , of...
, Canton of St. GallenCanton of St. GallenThe Canton of St. Gallen is a canton of Switzerland. St. Gallen is located in the north east of Switzerland. It covers an area of 2,026 km², and has a population of . , the population included 97,461 foreigners, or about 20.9% of the total population. The capital is St. Gallen. Spelling...
) - Prince Georg Antonius Constantin Maria of Liechtenstein (born 20 April 1999 in Grabs)
- Prince Nikolaus Sebastian Alexander Maria of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg (born 6 December 2000, in Grabs)
The Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
claim to the thrones of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
will likely pass to Sophie, following the demise of the current holder, her childless uncle Franz, Duke of Bavaria
Franz, Duke of Bavaria
Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern , styled as His Royal Highness The Duke of Bavaria, is head of the Wittelsbach family, the former ruling family of the Kingdom of Bavaria...
, and of her own sonless father. semi-Salic law
Salic law
Salic law was a body of traditional law codified for governing the Salian Franks in the early Middle Ages during the reign of King Clovis I in the 6th century...
prevents a female from becoming head of the House of Wittelsbach, so long as any male member of the dynasty, howsoever distantly related to the current paterfamilias
Pater familias
The pater familias, also written as paterfamilias was the head of a Roman family. The term is Latin for "father of the family" or the "owner of the family estate". The form is irregular and archaic in Latin, preserving the old genitive ending in -as...
, survives.
Titles and styles
- 28 October 1967 - 1973: Her Royal Highness Princess Sophie of Bavaria
- 1973 - 3 July 1993: Her Royal Highness Duchess Sophie in Bavaria, Princess of Bavaria
- 3 July 1993 – present: Her Royal Highness The Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein, Countess of Rietberg
From her birth Sophie was styled HRH Princess Sophie of Bavaria. In 1973, her father inherited the family name and style Duke in Bavaria
Duke in Bavaria
Duke in Bavaria was a title used among others since 1506, when primogeniture was established, by all members of the House of Wittelsbach, with the exception of the Duke of Bavaria which began to be a unique position...
from his great-uncle who had adopted him as heir in 1965; Sophie was then styled HRH Duchess Sophie in Bavaria, Princess of Bavaria. On her marriage in 1993 she became HRH The Hereditary Princess of Liechtenstein (thereby continuing her higher style by birth of "Royal Highness"). Since Germany does not recognize the existence of German Royal titles except as parts of surnames, this is her first legally acknowledged royal title. She is also a Countess of Rietberg.
Ancestry
External link
- H.R.H. Hereditary Princess Sophie - official website of the Princely House of Liechtenstein