Editing Sophia of Nassau (section)

== Duchess and crown princess ==
[[File:Prins Oscar och hans tillkommande.jpg|thumb|Prince Oscar and Princess Sophia at the time of their marriage in 1857]]
[[File:Portrett av arveprins Oscar (senere Oscar II) og prinsesse Sophie med familie (6961203929).jpg|thumb|right|A photograph of Crown Princess Sofia of Sweden with her husband, Crown Prince [[Oscar II of Sweden|Oscar]] and their sons ([[Gustaf V of Sweden|Gustaf]], [[Prince Oscar Bernadotte|Oscar Bernadotte]], [[Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland|Carl]] and [[Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke|Eugén]]), 1865.]]
Sophia and Oscar were married on 6 June 1857 at the Castle in [[Wiesbaden-Biebrich]]. Sophia arrived in the city of Stockholm with Oscar on 19 June 1857, and was met by her Swedish [[Mistress of the Robes]], countess [[Wilhelmina Bonde]], and her maid of honor Augusta Jegerhjelm at the ship Travemünde. There they were greeted with salutes, singing and crowds. Sophia was received with great enthusiasm upon her arrival in Sweden. Since the current [[Louise of the Netherlands|Crown Princess Louise]] had  become sterile after delivering her last child, and the elder brother of Oscar, [[Charles XV of Sweden|Crown Prince Charles]], had no son and his daughter was not accepted as heir to the throne under the present constitution, Sophia was seen as the solution of the succession problem and future Queen. She was dressed in blue at her arrival, and was therefore nicknamed The Blue Duchess.<ref>Ibid. page 32</ref> At the palace, she was first presented for the royal court, and then introduced to the royal family in the salon of the queen. Upon meeting the king, who was by then described as almost deranged and placed under the regency of the crown prince, she rushed to him, curtsied and embraced him.

In 1858, Sophia gave birth to a son, which secured the Bernadotte dynasty and gave her much popularity. The birth took place at Drottningholm Palace according to old court protocol, with the entire court and members of the government present in the chamber outside of the bedroom as witnesses.<ref>Ibid. page 47</ref> Following the death of her father-in-law King Oscar I in 1859, her brother-in-law became King Charles XV and her husband the heir presumptive.<ref>Ibid. page 53</ref>

The couple were given [[Arvfurstens palats]] in Stockholm as their residence. Sophia was described as calm and controlled, practical and sensible. She had a good relationship with her parents-in-law and her sister-in-law [[Princess Eugénie of Sweden|Princess Eugénie]]. Her relationship to [[Charles XV]] and [[Louise of the Netherlands|Queen Louise]] was, however, tense. Sophia, herself strictly moral, disliked the French-influenced frivolity of her brother-in-law Charles XV's court.<ref>Ibid. page 41</ref>

By 1861, Sophia had given birth three times in three years, and after this her health was frail. The same year she made a trip to [[Nizza]] to cure her health, and she continued to make trips for health reasons. The next trip was made in 1863; this time to Germany. In 1864, she engaged in the building of their summer residence [[Sofiero Palace]] by [[Öresund]], which was named after her. In Sofiero they could remain in contact with the Danish royal family at [[Fredensborg]] on the other side of Öresund. The gatherings at Sofiero would sometimes be given a political dimension as the center of family councils.

Sophia exercised strong discipline over her children. Her decision to breastfeed, at that time unusual for the upper class, attracted attention. She also aroused attention when she in 1869 placed her sons in a public school rather than letting them be educated at home as had been the tradition in the royal house.<ref>Ibid. page 70</ref> This was the Christian boys' school Beskowska Skolan of the theologian and vicar Gustaf Emanuel Beskow, whose sermons she often attended. Sophia had always had a very close interest in religion—an interest she shared with her sister-in-law [[Princess Eugénie of Sweden|Eugenie]], in whose company she was introduced to various different Christian branches. From 1866, she was the chairperson of the charity organisation Allmänna skyddsföreningen (The Protection Society) for poor women in Stockholm.

Sophia was interested in politics and engaged herself in state affairs during her life, and was occasionally present as an observer during the parliamentary sessions. In 1866 her birth country, the [[Duchy of Nassau]], was annexed by [[Prussia]]. After this, she kept an anti-Prussian view. In the summer of 1870, she was present in Ems where she met both the [[Alexander II of Russia|Emperor of Russia]] and the [[Wilhelm I|King of Prussia]] shortly before the declaration of the war, and kept herself informed about the political situation. She did not oppose the united Empire of Germany as such, but disliked how it had been created and the dominance of Prussia. She did, however, have a good personal relationship with Crown Prince [[Frederick III, German Emperor|Frederick William of Prussia]] and his consort [[Victoria, Princess Royal]].