Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio and Grim and mild from Erin Manky,

Norne Descression Advised!

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just that you listen to the show. So thank you so much. And a brief warning before we begin,

this episode contains some domestic violence. So if that's specifically triggering to you,

you might want to skip this episode.

17th century princesses had childhoods that as this podcast has shown,

have veered at best lonely, at worst, tragic. But Sophia Dorothea of Cell had a remarkably

idyllic childhood. As an only child, Sophia Dorothea was doded on by her parents,

the Duke and Duchess of Brunswick, Loonberg, who, unusually for the time, had married for love.

Little Sophia Dorothea wanted for nothing. Her parents' wealth and affection for her meant that she

simply had to ask for something and she would receive it. She was a happy, vivacious child,

who inherited her mother's shining brown eyes and glossy dark hair. From the windows of her bedroom

in her family's castle, Sophia Dorothea could look out at the line trees surrounding the moat,

or she could trace her fingers over the carved cupids that supported her mantelpiece.

Life was sunny for Sophia Dorothea. But she was a 17th century princess, and like any other 17th

century princess, Sophia Dorothea's life was not her own. No matter the love that her parents had

for her, they had larger political and familial obligations. And so when an opportunity presented

itself in the form of a strategic betrothal, an opportunity for a years-long feud to be ended for

the family line to be strengthened, her parents took the opportunity, even though the price

was their beloved daughter's happiness. And like many other political engagements,

it would lead to great sorrow, and not just sorrow, but scandal. The marriage of Sophia Dorothea

...