Though she never wed, rumours spread that Sophia became pregnant by Thomas Garth, an equerry of her father's, and gave birth to an illegitimate son in the summer of 1800.

Historians are divided on the validity of these stories, as some believe she gave birth to Garth's child while others call them tales spread by the royal family's political enemies.

The Princess Sophia was born at Buckingham House, London on 3 November 1777, the twelfth child and fifth daughter of King George III and Queen Charlotte.

[1][2] The young princess was christened on 1 December 1777 in the Great Council Chamber at St James's Palace[3] by Frederick Cornwallis, Archbishop of Canterbury.

[7] Queen Charlotte made attempts to be economical where possible; the younger princesses wore country-made dresses, which were less expensive, and ate plain food.

[13] Princess Sophia's first appearance in public occurred when she accompanied her parents and elder siblings to a commemoration for George Frideric Handel, held at Westminster Abbey on 26 May 1784.

"[20] Prior to 1788, King George had told his daughters that he would take them to Hanover and find them suitable husbands[21] despite misgivings he had, which stemmed from his sisters' own unhappy marriages.

The question of matrimony was rarely raised; Queen Charlotte feared the subject as something which had always discomforted the King and would push him back into insanity.

[11][32] During Sophia's lifetime, there were various rumours about her alleged incestuous relationship with her brother, Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, who later became the King of Hanover.

Sophia entered into a relationship with her father's chief equerry, Major-General Thomas Garth, a man thirty-three years her senior.

"[38] Greville wrote about Sophia and her sisters' affairs in a diary entry, "women fall in love with anything – and opportunity and the accidents of the passions are of more importance than any positive merits of mind or of body... [The princesses] were secluded from the world, mixing with few people – their passions boiling over and ready to fall into the hands of the first man whom circumstances enabled to get at them.

[42] In his book Royal Babylon: the Alarming History of European Royalty, author Karl Shaw writes of the possibility that the Duke raped his sister, citing evidence from Charles Greville's diaries, as well as other factors.

Charlotte's feelings towards her other aunts were capricious; she once wrote, "I can hardly believe [Sophia] belongs to them- so wholly different is she in thoughts, opinions, matters.

"[45] The Prince Regent's efforts to help his sisters led to the marriages of Mary and Elizabeth, and Queen Charlotte's death in 1818 allowed Augusta and Sophia their domestic freedom, though it was too late for them to marry.

Like her sister-in-law the Duchess of Kent, Sophia fell under the spell of Victoria's comptroller Sir John Conroy and let him manage her money.

[11] The princess became a part of the Duchess of Kent's social circle and, in return, Sophia spied for Conroy when he was absent from Kensington Palace.

[28][51] After having been blind for over ten years,[37] on the morning of 27 May 1848, Princess Sophia became ill at her residence at Vicarage Place, Kensington; she was visited by her sister Mary, sister-in-law Queen Adelaide, and nephew-in-law Prince Albert.

[40][52] The princess was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery in London, immediately in front of (east of) the central chapel[53][54] rather than at Windsor Castle, as she wished to be near her brother, Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (who lies on the opposite side of the path).

[11][37] Charles Greville wrote an entry in his diary on 31 May: The Princess Sophia died a few days ago, while the Queen [Victoria] was holding the Drawing-room for her Birthday.