She was the only surviving child of Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg by his first wife Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia.

Sophia Charlotte ("Lotte") is best known for her unhappy and well-publicized marriage to Prince Eitel Friedrich, second son of Wilhelm II, German Emperor.

The marriage later led to divorce; Sophia Charlotte would remarry a few years later to Harald van Hedemann, a former police officer.

There had always been a fear that Sophia Charlotte had inherited her mother's delicate health, so sojourns to various spa towns was a common component of her childhood.

[1] Eitel's mother in particular desired the match, as she wanted her son to marry one of the Oldenburgs (a family considered quiet, inoffensive, and suitable for a prince).

[7] The Oldenburgs were also an ancient family with strong ties to both the Empress and Emperor (as Sophia Charlotte's mother had been a Prussian princess).

Her family also had other strong ties to the Hohenzollerns, as Sophia Charlotte's mother had been a great intimate of the Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, the Emperor's sister.

The strong pressure on Eitel's side (despite his supposed reluctance), along with the desire of Sophia Charlotte to leave her home, may have been the real cause of their betrothal.

There had been many rumours leaking out about Eitel's actions as a soldier, both on the field and off it, so his parents were no doubt eager to see him married off to a seemingly respectable and virtuous bride.

[8] One contemporary disparagingly described how the events came about: "Prince Eitel Fritz, who is his father's favourite, being as tall as he is brutal, and as ferocious as he is fat, took to himself a wife almost by compulsion, and in order to put an end to ugly rumours that were flying about Berlin concerning him and his strange propensities".

Sophia Charlotte wore a four-yard long dress that was made of pearl white silk and embroidered with silver roses.

One source states that upon realizing what type of person she had married, Sophia Charlotte "withdrew into a kind of haughty reserve, from which she never emerged".

[14] These events began when Sophia Charlotte was summoned as a witness in a divorce case, and apparently admitted to having an affair with the male defendant.

[19] Despite his low status, the wedding was held at the grand ducal palace at Rastede Castle, and was attended by her father the ex-Grand Duke as well as a small number of both their relations.

Once source stated right before her marriage that Sophia Charlotte had "developed into a thoroughly healthy and happy woman, whose fair hair and blue eyes, so entirely German, are somewhat piquantly associated with a delicacy of feature that suggests the Latin rather than the Teutonic origin".