 The marriage was unhappy and the couple separated without ever taking divorce; Sophie lived in Italy while the Duc served as the Governor of Holland from 1811-1813.Upon the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, the Duchess and her daughter generously supported the Greek cause and in 1830, they moved to Nafplion, the capital of Greece at that time and she was reacquainted with the Greek leader Ioannis Kapodistrias whom she had met in Paris in 1826.She became an ardent financial supporter of public education.