Sophia, Electress of Hanover (1630-1714), granddaughter of James 1 of England and mother of George. is best remembered in the English-speaking world as the connection between the Houses of Stuart and Hanover, and she would have succeeded Anne as Queen of England had she lived long enough. This new biography, however, reveals how Sophia - daughter of Frederick and Elizabeth of the Palatinate, known as the Winter King and Queen of Bohemia - was much more than a crucial link in the lineage of the English throne. Her memoirs, which she wrote at the age of fifty, and her correspondence, which dates from 1658 until the time of her death - extensively quoted for the first time here - reveal a gifted and prolific chronicler of her times. These offer readers a fascinating insider's view of life for the top echelons of society in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries at The Hague, where she spent her childhood, the Castle of Heidelberg, where her brother ruled as Elector of the Palatinate, and the Leine Schloss in Hanover, and of politics, intrigue and daily life in the royal houses of Western Europe, to many of which she was related by blood or marriage Sophia spoke English, French, German, Dutch and Italian fluently and was remarkably open-minded, sophisticated and intellectually curious. Her writings cover an astonishing variety of subjects: from politics, religion and philosophy to international gossip and house-hold tips, as well as intimate details of the lives of her illustrious family J.N. Duggan, who has long been fascinated by Sophia, has translated a considerable proportion of the princess's memoir from the German as well as a number of letters to paint a remarkable portrait of a remarkable woman