 After Prince Frederick Adolf had proposed to Sophie, she informed the Princess, who welcomed her as a sister-in-law because of their friendship, but advised her to inform her father.When Frederick Adolf presented his proposal to her father in January 1774, her father declined with the motivation that it was not a suitable match, and that although honored, he must decline for the sake of loyalty to the royal house.Sophie was by that time already promised to Count Piper, because he was rich, and because the families were friends.