Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Hanover (1687–1757)

Queen of Prussia. Name variations: Sophia Guelph; Sophia Dorothea Hanover; Sophia Dorothea of England. Born on March 16 (or 26), 1687 (some sources cite 1685), in Hanover, Germany; died on June 29, 1757, in Monbijou Palace, near Berlin, Germany; buried in Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany; daughter of George I (1660–1727), king of England (r. 1714–1727), and Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Celle (1666–1726); married Frederick William I (1688–1740), king of Prussia (r. 1713–1740); children: Frederick Louis (1707–1708); Wilhelmina (1709–1758, who married Frederick of Bayreuth); Frederick William (1710–1711); Frederick II the Great (1712–1786), king of Prussia (r. 1740–1786); Charlotte Albertine (1713–1714); Frederica Louise (1715–1784, who married Charles William, margrave of Ansbach); Philippine Charlotte (1716–1801); Louis Charles William (1717–1719); Sophia Dorothea Maria (1719–1765); Louisa Ulrica of Prussia (1720–1782, who married Adolphus Frederick, king of Sweden); Anna Amalia of Prussia (1723–1787); Augustus William Hohenzollern (1722–1758); Henry (1726–1802, who married Wilhelmina of Hesse-Cassel [1726–1808]); Ferdinand (1730–1813, who married Anne Elizabeth Louise , princess of Schwedt [1738–1820]).

Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Hanover was born in 1687 in Hanover, Germany, the daughter of George I, the future king of England, and Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick-Celle (1666–1726). She married Frederick William I (1688–1740), king of Prussia (r. 1713–1740), and their son Frederick Hohenzollern (Frederick II the Great) was born on January 24, 1712, in Berlin. Frederick William I governed the boy's upbringing by appointing tutors and commanding them to teach only the basic skills such as reading, writing, and counting. Believing that these skills would enable Frederick to rule efficiently someday, his father strictly instructed the tutors not to teach music, the arts, literature, or philosophy. Secretly, however, Sophia Dorothea and the tutors taught these subjects to the crown prince who thus became acquainted with Enlightenment literature and philosophy; he even became an accomplished flutist. When Frederick William discovered the transgression, he dismissed the tutors and, beginning about 1728, took personal charge of his son's education.