TABLOID FODDER
Sophia’s life of luxury brought her a great number of material possessions. She adored high fashion, and shopped for the finest silks and styles. She became a fixture of the society columns in magazines of the time, and celebrity reporters closely watched her every move. Sophia was invited to all the high society parties of the era, and she couldn’t have been happier.
But signs of Sophia’s radical behaviour began to emerge. She became one of the first women in Britain to ride a bicycle, a revolutionary act at a time when it was considered unladylike for a woman to sit even fractionally openlegged. Sophia’s cycling scandalised the press, and people were keen to see what she would do next. Sophia was also a renowned dog lover. Her Pomeranian dogs were a marvel to behold, and even beat those of Queen Victoria’s at a predecessor of today’s Crufts competition. Though Sophia lost touch with her socialite self, she remained a dog lover for the rest of her life.
Indeed, when she was arrested for tax evasion in 1913, it was because she refused to pay tax on her five dogs – as well as a carriage and her servant.
Her celebrity has survived her death, and her image is once again in the public eye. She has inspired books, newspaper articles, postage stamps – and even high fashion collections.