Follower of Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.

The sitter was the daughter of Cara Elizabeth, Baroness von Platen, and probably Duke Ernst August of Brunswick and Luneburg, the Bishop of Osnabruck.  She was the half sister of George Lewis, Elector of Hanover and later King George I.  In 1701 she married Johann Adolf, Baron von Kielmansegg, Deputy Master of the Horse to George Lewis.

Sophia Charlotte and her family moved to London on the accession of George I to the throne.  She was a great favourite with the King and was regarded as a rival to the King's mistress, Melusine von der Schulenburg.  She fascinated the English court and Horace Walpole remarked  upon her physical appearance:

" … Two fierce black eyes, large & rolling, beneath two lofty arched eyebrows, two acres of cheeks spread with crimson, an ocean of neck that overflowed & was not distinguished from the lower part of her body, and no part restrained by stays. (Reminiscences, 29–30)".

Provenance:
Herrenhausen Anlage 1893, Inv. Nr. 67;
Furstenhaus Anlage 1893, Inv. Nr. 486.