Duchess Sophie was born in Bavaria on 28 October 1967 in Munich
as the eldest of the five daughters of Duke Max and Duchess Elizabeth in Bavaria. She was given the
names Sophie Elizabeth Marie Gabrielle and is a direct descendant of the last King of Bavaria. Ludwig
III (1845-1921) was her great-great-grandfather. Hereditary
Princess Sophie spent her childhood together with her parents and sisters in Wildbad Kreuth, where she
also attended the first years of the primary school. From 1978 to 1980 she attended the Girls' Home
Primary School of the English Lady in Heiligenstatt and then changed to the Girls' Secondary Boarding
School Hohenburg in Lenggries. In 1984 she entered the
Adolf Weber Gymnasium in Munich and passed the school-leaving examination in 1988. During
a stay in London, which lasted several months, she attended tutorial classes at the Inchbald School
of Interior Design. She was particularly interested in the various styles of interior furnishings. Hereditary
Princess Sophie studied history and English language and literature at the Catholic University in Eichstätt. At
the beginning of 2006 Hereditary Princess founded the Sophie von Liechtenstein Stiftung für Frau und
Kind (Sophie of Liechtenstein Foundation for Woman and Child). The goal of the Foundation is to give
women, who unintentionally became pregnant, a more positive life perspective for themselves and their
child. The consulting centre "schwanger.li", with offices in Schaan, Liechtenstein, as wall
as in the neighbouring Vorarlberg, Austria, is being supported by the Foundation. She
married Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein on 3 July 1993. They have four children: Prince Joseph
Wenzel, born 24 May 1995; Princess Marie Caroline, born 17 October 1996; Prince Georg, born 20 April
1999; and Prince Nikolaus, born 6 December 2000. |
