The marriage later led to divorce; Sophia Charlotte would remarry a few years later to Harald van Hedemann, a former police officer. Sophia Charlotte had a younger sister named Margaret, but she died young. Sophia Charlotte's mother died in , and her father remarried the next year to Duchess Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. They all resided together at the newly built Elisabeth-Anna-Palais named after her mother.
This second marriage made Sophia Charlotte's home life unhappy, and she was glad to escape once a suitable marriage was offered. 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. He alluded to her "illness" as the same that afflicted two princesses of Mecklenburg-Strelitz , about whose morals there had been much gossip.
In Kiel later that month, Sophia Charlotte became better acquainted with him. 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.
In September , Eitel traveled to Lensahn , an Oldenburg residence, for several weeks duration. 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. Sophia Charlotte wore a four-yard long dress that was made of pearl white silk and embroidered with silver roses.
