Princess Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld


Princess Sophie Friederike Karoline Luise of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was a princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and the sister of Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and King Leopold I of Belgium, and aunt of Queen Victoria. By marriage, she was a Countess of Mensdorff-Pouilly.
She was born in Coburg, the eldest child of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf.

Early life

Sophie had a particularly close relationship with her sister Antoinette and both often attended the Schloss Fantaisie, a sanctuary of French emigrants. It was there where she met her future husband, Emmanuel von Mensdorff-Pouilly. They married on 23 February 1804 in Coburg. Her husband was elevated to count in 1818.
In 1806, her husband was in Saalfeld, a secondary residence of the Coburg court. Therefore, it was possible for him to have participated in the Battle of Saalfeld, he retrieved the remains of Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia from the battlefield and protected the residence of Sophie's father and family against the arrogance of the victorious French troops.
From 1824 to 1834 Sophie lived in Mainz, where her husband was a commander of the federal fortress; here she was generally referred to as "Princess". She was active as a writer and in 1830 published her romantic collection of fairy tales, Mährchen und Erzählungen. She received the Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Catherine.
Sophie died in Tuschimitz, Bohemia. She was buried in the park of Schloss Preitenstein, the family residence of the Mensdorff-Pouilly family.

Family

Emmanuel and Sophie had six sons: