Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark was by birth a Greek and Danish princess as well as Princess of Hesse-Kassel and Princess of Hanover through her successive marriages to Prince Christoph of Hesse and Prince George William of Hanover. The elder sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh of the United Kingdom, she was for a time linked to the Nazi regime.
The fourth of five children of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg, Sophie spent a happy childhood. Her early years, however, were affected by the First World War (1914–1918) and the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). For the young princess and her relatives, these conflicts had dramatic consequences and led to their exile in Switzerland (between 1917 and 1920), and then in France (from 1922 to 1936). During their exile, Sophie and her family depended on the generosity of their foreign relatives, in particular Marie Bonaparte (who offered them accommodation in Saint-Cloud) and Lady Edwina Mountbatten (who supported them financially).
At the end of the 1920s, Sophie fell in love with one of her distant cousins, Prince Christoph of Hesse. Around the same time, her mother was struck by a mental health crisis which led to her confinement in a Swiss psychiatric hospital between 1930 and 1933. Married in December 1930, Sophie moved to Berlin with her husband. She then gave birth to five children: Christina (1933–2011), Dorothea (1934–2002), Karl (1937–2022), Rainer and Clarissa of Hesse .
Close to the Nazi circles, in which her husband and several of her in-laws were involved from 1930, Sophie joined the National Socialist Women's League in 1938. Deceived by Adolf Hitler, whom she saw as a modest and charming man, the princess got close to Emmy Sonnemann, who became her friend and later married Luftwaffe Commander-in-Chief Hermann Göring in April 1935. Attached to Nazism, Sophie and her in-laws therefore served as unofficial intermediaries between the Nazi regime and the European dynasties to which they were related. Under these conditions, the social status of Christoph and Sophie continued to improve and they moved into a large house located in Dahlem, in 1936. The outbreak of the Second World War, however, forced the couple to separate. An SS officer since 1932, Christoph joined the Luftwaffe, which led him to various European theaters of operation. For her part, Sophie moved with her children to her mother-in-law at Friedrichshof Castle in Kronberg im Taunus.
The Führer's growing distrust of the German aristocracy (from 1942) and the betrayal of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (in 1943) led the Nazi regime to turn against the House of Hesse-Kassel. Princess Mafalda, daughter of the Italian monarch and sister-in-law of Sophie, was thus imprisoned in Buchenwald, where she was seriously wounded and died shortly after, while her husband, Philipp, Landgrave of Hesse, was confined in Flossenbürg until the victory of the Allies. At the same time, Christoph was found dead in mysterious circumstances, leaving Sophie almost alone with her four children and a fifth one under way as well as the children of Philipp and Mafalda. The tragic events made Sophie realize the true nature of Hitler's regime and turn against Nazism.
The defeat of Germany and its occupation by the Allies brought new difficulties in the life of Sophie, who found herself in a precarious financial situation due to the theft of her jewelry by American soldiers in 1946 and the sequestration of the property of her first husband until 1953. After living for several months in Wolfsgarten, she started a relationship with another one of her cousins, Prince George William of Hanover, whom she married in 1946. She had three more children by her second husband: Welf Ernst (1947–1981), Georg and Friederike of Hanover . The couple then moved to Salem, where George William worked as director of Schule Schloss Salem (1948–1959), before settling in Schliersee (from 1959).
Excluded from the 1947 wedding of her brother Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark to Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom (later Queen Elizabeth II) because of her past links to the Nazi regime, Sophie was reintegrated into the royal circles in the early 1950s and attended major events of the aristocracy afterwards. She nevertheless led a discreet and withdrawn life, spending her time through reading, listening to music and gardening. The last of the Duke of Edinburgh's sisters to die, she died in a retirement home in Schliersee in 2001, after losing one of her sons in 1981 and a grandson in 1994.
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Some of their strengths
Princess of Greece and Denmark Sophie has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Intuitive, Compassionate, Energetic, Artistic, Imaginative, Creative, and Caring.
Intuitive and Imaginative
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Princess of Greece and Denmark Sophie is someone who is a highly intuitive, creative and imaginative person who is very loyal, caring and compassionate to others. A person who is charismatic and resourceful.
Soulful and Intuitive
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Princess of Greece and Denmark Sophie well know them as someone who can be graceful, romantic, and reserved, like gentle rain.
Inventive and Clever
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Princess of Greece and Denmark Sophie as someone who is flexible, intelligent, and quick-witted.
A person who likes to be creative, and to be recognized for their artistic talents. Who possesses intelligence, mental discipline, and ambition, and who does well in relationships and partnerships.
Social and Intuitive
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Princess of Greece and Denmark Sophie is someone who values forming deep friendships and relationships, and who has strong intuition and reasoning skills .
They are also someone who is mysterious, intuitive, and diplomatic, and who has a keen intuition, charisma, and a focus on balance and partnership.
Traditional and Patient
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Princess of Greece and Denmark Sophie tends to be someone who is a patient person that is very emotional, has a very sharp memory, has an ability to understand people, and who tends to be traditional and frugal.
Some of Princess of Greece and Denmark Sophie's challenges
While Princess of Greece and Denmark Sophie has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, Princess of Greece and Denmark Sophie can be Emotional, Standoffish, Arrogant, Status-seeking, Unfocused, Indecisive, and Rebellious.
Emotional and Standoffish
One of Princess of Greece and Denmark Sophie's key challenges is that they are someone who can be emotional and standoffish.
Unfocused and Indecisive
Princess of Greece and Denmark Sophie is someone who can be scattered, restless, and insensitive, be distracted by fluctuating professional interests, be a workaholic, and who can be arrogant and have difficulty accepting advice.
Sensitive and Money-oriented
Finally, Princess of Greece and Denmark Sophie also can have mood swings, be overly sensititive, and be a bit rigid and materialistic.
