The Electress Sophia and the Hanoverian Succession by A.W.Ward

The Electress Sophia and the Hanoverian
Succession by A. W. Ward 1909

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Uncrowned and yet 'mother of kings to be'

This is a reproduction of the historical account of the life of Sophia of the Palatinate, Electress of Hanover, uncrowned and yet 'mother of kings to be' but better known as the Electress Sophia. This account, written by A. W. Ward, was originally printed in 1909.

Written in the last few years before the First World War - the last days when most of Europe was still made up of many imperial nations that held enthralled most of the populations of the world. Nearly all the European nations still had the royal monarchical households at the peak of the social hierarchy and many of these still held the power to rule their lands directly. Thus this biography of the Electress Sophia, mother of the first Hanoverian king that would ascend to the thrown of Great Britain, replacing the defunct Stewart Dynasty, was written at the end of days for the old order that could trace the roots of its power back over a thousand years across the whole continent.

Written when it was at a time when the establishment held a reverence to the royal households that is no longer so unswerving in the twenty-first century, this is a straightforward and sympathetic account of the life of the Electress. Unlike many modern accounts or documentaries in today's media, where the most sensational and salacious facts are brought to the fore to accentuate the more extreme events and aspects of the lives of the monarchy, this account is what would be considered an old fashioned biography of the early house of Hanover. It is, non the less, a very detailed account of the life of the Electress of Hanover that is accurate and relevant today despite new facts having come to light in the more than one hundred years that have passed since it was written, with some facts, inevitably over such a long time since it was written, having since changed.

Hanoverian succession

One of the most important concerns that helped shape the policies of the House of Hanover was the succession to the thrown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and it is for this event that Electress Sophia is best known. The last Stewart King, James II, had been ousted by the British because he had refused to curtail his Catholic intentions, despite his kingdom being entirely protestant and openly hostile to the introduction of any Catholic traditions. The reign of James II second ended with an invasion of the Dutch under William of Orange, at the instigation of Parliament. James put up little resistance once he understood that the Dutch invasion had been arranged by his own parliament and fled abroad. Thereon it was proclaimed that no other monarch would take the thrown of the Great Britain (Later the United Kingdom) if they or their family were catholic. The Electress Sophia belonged to one of the few families in all of Europe that met these conditions.

Hence in 1701 Parliament passed the Act of Settlement declaring that, in the default of legitimate issue from Anne or William III, the current monarchs on the thrown of Great Britain, the crowns were to settle upon "the most excellent princess Sophia, Electress and duchess-dowager of Hanover" and "the heirs of her body, being Protestant". She was made heiress presumptive thereby preventing any claim by the Roman Catholic James Francis Edward Stewart, the son of James II. And she may well have been crowned queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, but she died just a few days after Queen Anne and before a ceremony could be arranged. It was therefore her eldest son who received the crown, George I, the first of the Hanoverian kings of Great Britain.

Gottfried Leibniz

The Electress Sophia became acquainted with the German philosopher Leibniz when he was a librarian at the court of Hanover, they became very good friends and she would maintain correspondence with him for the rest of her life. He was one of the greatest mathematicians of his day and a contemporary of Isaac Newton. Both Leibniz and Newton were well known to each other and both members of the Royal Society, and both are also credited with contributing the formulation of calculus, they were, however, never to be on good terms with each other. Newton accused Leibniz of plagiarism when it was alleged that Leibniz was shown a copy of Newton's unpublished work on calculus whilst on a visit to London. Leibniz always denied this but he would be plagued with the accusation for the rest of his life, this dispute became known as the calculus priority dispute.

The Electress always showed her support to Leibniz and he would always support the cause of the House of Hanover to ascend to the thrown of Great Britain. Over the years there was a great deal of correspondence between the Electress Sophia and Leibniz, they would be published in the 19th century, and these would show that she was well read and displayed a great intellect. Many of these letters are referred to through the narration of the book showing how close their friendship became.

Ward tells of the life of the Electress, from the background of her parents, her childhood and right through to the changes in her life as she was made heiress of Great Britain. It remains even today a thorough and compelling account of her life which has hardly been rivalled.