Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom was the twelfth of fifteen children born to King George III and his wife Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She became her father’s favorite child and he was involved in her early upbringing, something uncommon for men of the period. Conversely, she and her sisters were fearful of their mother, who was not “benignly maternal.” Charlotte raised them in a rigidly strict and formal household, though they were well-educated in music, art, geography, and languages. At the age of 14, the “pretty and passionate” Sophia formally debuted at court as a “delightful though moody girl.” Though King George disliked the idea of marrying off his daughters, he had intended to find them suitable husbands though his recurring bouts of madness stopped most offers of marriage. They were further hampered by their mother’s desire to keep her daughters as her companions. She and her sisters were forced to live with their mother, and were not allowed to mix with anyone outside the Royal Court. So dreadfully bored, Sophia once remarked that her days were “so deadly dull … I wished myself a kangaroo.” Such a closeted and secretive life naturally gave rise to several rumors, including that Sophia was having an incestuous relationship with her brother Ernest Augustus. While these allegations were likely untrue, it is known that Sophia was involved with Major-General Thomas Garth, her father’s chief equerry. Thomas was thirty-three years her senior and had been born with a large purple birthmark on his face, earning him the nickname “the purple light of love” from Sophia’s sister Mary. Sophia was “violently” in love with him and everyone at court knew it – she just couldn’t contain herself when he was around. Courtier and diarist Charles Greville was less kind, calling Thomas a “hideous old devil” and lamenting that the secluded princesses had passions that were boiling over and she was ready to “fall into the hands of the first man” who would whisk her away. As is the case with most clandestine relationships, rumors of a secret pregnancy also began to spread after Sophia decided to spend the Summer of 1800 at Weymouth recovering from “dropsy”. If you believe the rumors, then Sophia gave birth to Thomas’ child there; the baby boy was later raised by Thomas away from court where he would be periodically visited by his mother. Or maybe the father was actually her degenerate brother. In any case, Sophia never married (despite the presence of a wedding ring in a later portrait) and became a favorite of her niece, Princess Charlotte of Wales. Her mother’s death in 1818 finally released her, and she took up residence at Kensington Palace. There, she fell under the spell of Sir John Conroy, comptroller of her sister-in-law the Duchess of Kent and she let him manage her money. She often spied for Sir John, being that she was in the center of the royal circle. Sir John took advantage of Sophia as she aged, becoming “confused [and] nearly blind” in her last years of life. In 1828, the elderly Sophia was supposedly contacted by her son, having found himself in debt, and eventually received an annual annuity from Sophia’s oldest brother thanks to a box of letters that proved his parentage (he had to give up the documents; however). Sophia died at the age of 70 years old and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery in London. Following her death, it was discovered that Sir John had squandered most of her money.
