Sophie Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt
Sophie Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt was a member of the House of Hesse and by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Eisenberg.Life
Sophie Marie was born in Darmstadt, a daughter of Count Louis VI of Hesse-Darmstadt from his marriage to Maria Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp, a daughter of Duke Frederick III of Holstein-Gottorp.
On 9 February 1681 in Darmstadt, she married Duke Christian of Saxe-Eisenberg. At the time, he was a widower and father of a daughter. He had become the first Duke of Saxe-Eisenberg when Saxe-Gotha had been divided by Christian and his six brothers the year before. They had no children and Christian died without leaving an heir. A dispute erupted among the remaining brothers and their descendants about he inheritance of Saxe-Eisenberg.
The Duchess was described as a very hard-working housewife, with a particular fondness for spinning. Disguised as an ordinary woman, she supplied local merchants with wool and yarn. She died in Gotha.
