Biography of Sophia Charlotte Hanover Queen Consort Prussia 1668-1705

On 30th September 1658 [her father] Ernest Augustus Hanover Elector Brunswick-Lüneburg [aged 28] and [her mother] Electress Sophia Palatinate Simmern [aged 27] were married. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Frederick Palatinate Simmern V Elector Palatine Rhine and [her grandmother] Princess Elizabeth Stewart Queen Bohemia [aged 62]. He the son of George Hanover Duke Brunswick-Lüneburg and Anne Eleonore Hesse Darmstadt Duchess Brunswick-Lüneburg [aged 57].

On 30th October 1668 Sophia Charlotte Hanover Queen Consort Prussia was born to Ernest Augustus Hanover Elector Brunswick-Lüneburg [aged 38] and Electress Sophia Palatinate Simmern [aged 38]. She a great granddaughter of King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland.

Before 1680 [her future husband] Frederick I King Prussia [aged 22] and Elisabeth Henriëtte Hesse-Kassel [aged 18] were married. She the daughter of Wilhelm "The Just" VI Hesse-Kassel and Hedwig Sophia Hohenzollern [aged 56]. He the son of [her future father-in-law] Frederick William "Great Elector" Hohenzollern Elector Brandenburg [aged 59] and Luise Henriette Orange Nassau. They were first cousins.

On 21st November 1682 [her brother] George Louis of Hanover [aged 22] and [her sister-in-law] Sophia Dorothea of Celle [aged 16] were married. The marriage had been arranged by their respective fathers Ernest Augustus Hanover Elector Brunswick-Lüneburg [aged 53] and George Wilhelm Hanover Duke Brunswick-Lüneburg [aged 58], and his mother Electress Sophia Palatinate Simmern [aged 52]. She the illegitmate daughter of George Wilhelm Hanover Duke Brunswick-Lüneburg and Eleonore Esmier D'Olbreuse Duchess Brunswick-Lüneburg. He the son of Ernest Augustus Hanover Elector Brunswick-Lüneburg and Electress Sophia Palatinate Simmern. They were first cousins. He a great grandson of King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland.

Before 1685 Frederick I King Prussia [aged 27] and Sophia Charlotte Hanover Queen Consort Prussia [aged 16] were married. She the daughter of Ernest Augustus Hanover Elector Brunswick-Lüneburg [aged 55] and Electress Sophia Palatinate Simmern [aged 54]. He the son of Frederick William "Great Elector" Hohenzollern Elector Brandenburg [aged 64] and Luise Henriette Orange Nassau. They were second cousins. She a great granddaughter of King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland.

In 1685 [her son] Frederick August Hohenzollern was born to [her husband] Frederick I King Prussia [aged 27] and Sophia Charlotte Hanover Queen Consort Prussia [aged 16]. He a great x 2 grandson of King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.96%. He died aged one in 1686.

In 1686 [her son] Frederick August Hohenzollern [aged 1] died.

On 14th August 1688 [her son] Frederick William "Soldier King" I King Prussia was born to [her husband] Frederick I King Prussia [aged 31] and Sophia Charlotte Hanover Queen Consort Prussia [aged 19]. He a great x 2 grandson of King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.96%. He married 28th November 1706 his first cousin Sophia Dorothea Hanover Queen Consort Prussia and had issue.

On 19th December 1692 [her father] Ernest Augustus Hanover Elector Brunswick-Lüneburg [aged 63] was elected Elector Brunswick Lüneburg.

On 28th December 1694 the marriage of the future [her brother] King George I [aged 34] and [her sister-in-law] Sophia Dorothea of Celle [aged 28] was dissolved. Sophia Dorothea was named as the guilty party for "maliciously leaving her husband". She was forbidden to remarry or to see her children again; her name was removed from official documents, she was stripped of her title of Electoral Princess. She was imprisoned for life.

On 23rd January 1698 [her father] Ernest Augustus Hanover Elector Brunswick-Lüneburg [aged 68] died.

In 1700 Frederick I King Sweden [aged 23] and [her step-daughter] Louise Dorothea Hohenzollern [aged 19] were married. She the daughter of [her husband] Frederick I King Prussia [aged 42] and Elisabeth Henriëtte Hesse-Kassel. He the son of Charles I Landgrave Hesse-Kassel [aged 45] and Maria Amalia of Courland Landgravine Hesse-Kassel [aged 46]. They were first cousins.

On 18th January 1701 [her husband] Frederick I King Prussia [aged 43] was created I King Prussia. Sophia Charlotte Hanover Queen Consort Prussia [aged 32] by marriage Queen Consort Prussia.

On 1st February 1705 Sophia Charlotte Hanover Queen Consort Prussia [aged 36] died.

In 1708 [her former husband] Frederick I King Prussia [aged 50] and Sophia Louise Mecklenburg-Schwerin Queen Consort Prussia [aged 22] were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Prussia. The difference in their ages was 27 years. He the son of [her former father-in-law] Frederick William "Great Elector" Hohenzollern Elector Brandenburg and Luise Henriette Orange Nassau. They were fourth cousins.

On 25th February 1713 [her former husband] Frederick I King Prussia [aged 55] died. His son Frederick [aged 24] succeeded I King Prussia. Sophia Dorothea Hanover Queen Consort Prussia [aged 25] by marriage Queen Consort Prussia.

On 18th September 1714 [her brother] King George I [aged 54] arrived at Greenwich following his accession to the throne of the United Kingdom on the death of Queen Anne on 1st of August. There was apparently thick fog when the he made his way up the Thames accompanied by a flotilla of boats carrying his family and entourage including 18 cooks as well as his mistress, Ehrengard Melusine von der Schulenburg [aged 46], and his half-sister Sophia Charlotte von Kielmansegg. He landed at the water gates of the Sir Christopher Wren-designed Royal Hospital for Seamen, now known as the Old Royal Naval College, in Greenwich. When the waiting crowds cheered the disembarking king, it was a case of mistaken identity. In fact, they were cheering his son, [her nephew] George Augustus [aged 30] (and future King George II) and by the time the king actually disembarked, much of the crowd had already dissolved, leaving a much smaller gathering to welcome him.