Name Sophie of | ||
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Born 7 May 1661
Darmstadt ( 1661-05-07 ) Died 22 August 1712(1712-08-22) (aged 51)
Gotha Spouse Christian, Duke of Saxe-Eisenberg Father Louis VI of Hesse-Darmstadt Mother Maria Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp | ||
Sophie Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt (7 May 1661, Darmstadt – 22 August 1712, Gotha) was a member of the House of Hesse and by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Eisenberg.
Life
Sophie Marie was a daughter of Count Louis VI of Hesse-Darmstadt (1630–1678) from his marriage to Maria Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp (1634–1665), 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.