Sophie Piper

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Portrait of Sophie Piper, painted by the Chevalier de Chateaubourg

Eva Sophie Piper (born March 30, 1757 - † February 2, 1816 Schloss Löfstad ), b. von Fersen, was the daughter of Land Marshal Fredrik Axel von Fersen and sister Axel von Fersen the Younger.

Life

Sophie was considered one of the beauties at the court of Gustav III. of Sweden and received a marriage proposal from Duke Fredrik Adolf, the king's younger brother and number two in the line of succession. Her father forbade marriage, however, as he did not want his influential family to be bound to the throne. As the historian Crusenstolpe , who specializes in gossip, reports, Sophie personally did not take a liking to Duke Fredrik Adolf, whose intellectual abilities were considered limited.

In 1777 Sophie von Fersen married Chamberlain Adolf Ludwig Piper , whose family, like the Fersens, originally came from northern Germany.

In 1786 Sophie Piper became court master of the Duchess and later Queen Hedwig , known in Sweden as Hedvig Elisabet Charlotta. She became the closest friend of the Duchess, who addressed an extensive, historically interesting correspondence (misleadingly known as the "diary") to her.

Sophie Piper was also the closest confidante of her brother Axel, who is known in the German-speaking world as a favorite and possible lover of the French Queen Marie Antoinette . The correspondence between Axel and Sophie gives numerous indications of Axel von Fersen's relationship with Marie Antoinette. For reasons of caution, Marie Antoinette is not named by name, but referred to as either "Elle" (you) or "Josephine". The Swedish historian Alma Söderhjelm has proven that these are aliases for the French queen.

Like her brother Axel, Sophie Piper came under the false suspicion in 1810 of having to do with the death of Crown Prince Karl August . While her brother was murdered in the street by an angry mob on June 20, 1810, Sophie managed to escape. She spent the last years of her life at Löfstad Castle near Norrköping .

literature

  • Charlotte Bellamy & My Hellsing, Ma chère amie, Billets de la duchesse Charlotte de Sudermanie à Sophie de Fersen , Paris, Mercure de France, 2018.
  • Sophie Piper . In: Theodor Westrin, Ruben Gustafsson Berg (eds.): Nordisk familjebok konversationslexikon och realencyklopedi . 2nd Edition. tape 21 : Papua – Posselt . Nordisk familjeboks förlag, Stockholm 1915, Sp. 918-919 (Swedish, runeberg.org ).
  • Sophie Piper . In: Herman Hofberg, Frithiof Heurlin, Viktor Millqvist, Olof Rubenson (eds.): Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon . 2nd Edition. tape 2 : L – Z, including supplement . Albert Bonniers Verlag, Stockholm 1906, p. 288 (Swedish, runeberg.org ).