by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2018
Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; Credit – Wikipedia
Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia was the wife of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. She was born at the Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, on July 28, 1860, the second child and only daughter of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich of Russia son of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia, and Princess Cecilie Auguste of Baden. Anastasia had six brothers. Her brother Sergei was among the five other Romanovs murdered by the Bolsheviks along with Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna on July 18, 1918. Two of her brothers, Nicholas and George, were among the four Grand Dukes murdered by the Bolsheviks on January 28, 1919.
- Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich (1859-1919) – unmarried
- Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich (1861-1929) – married Countess Sophie of Merenberg, had issue
- Grand Duke George Mikhailovich (1863-1919) – married Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark, had issue
- Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich (1866-1933 – married Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia, daughter of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, had issue
- Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich (1869-1918) – unmarried
- Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich (1875-1895) – unmarried
When Anastasia was just two years old, her father was appointed Viceroy of the Caucasus and the family moved to Georgia where she was raised. The favorite of her father, and doted on by her brothers, Anastasia grew to become a very strong-willed and intelligent young woman. Educated privately at home, she developed a love of languages, becoming fluent in French, German, and English at a very young age.
Engagement photo of Anastasia and Friedrich Franz; Credit – Wikipedia
On May 4, 1878, the engagement of Grand Duchess Anastasia and the future Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was announced. The marriage was arranged by Anastasia’s future sister-in-law Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin who had married Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia. Anastasia and her fiancé were second cousins, both great-grandchildren of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia. They were married at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia on January 24, 1879, in both Orthodox and Protestant services. Following their marriage, the couple settled in the Marienpalais in Schwerin, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, and had three children:
- Duchess Alexandrine (1879-1952) – married King Christian X of Denmark, had issue
- Grand Duke Friedrich Franz IV (1882-1945) – married Princess Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland, had issue
- Duchess Cecilie (1886-1954) – married Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, had issue
Anastasia with her children, circa 1894; Credit – Wikipedia
Due to her husband’s health, Anastasia’s family traveled frequently to warmer climates. They were staying in Palermo, Italy when her husband became Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on April 15, 1883. When they eventually returned to Schwerin, they took up residence at Schwerin Castle. The Grand Duke reached an agreement with the government that he would stay in Schwerin for five months each year but would travel elsewhere the rest of the year due to his health. They spent six months each year at Villa Wenden, their private home in Cannes, France, and preferred to stay at the Gelbensande hunting lodge when in the Grand Duchy.
The Grand Duchess was an avid tennis player and had courts built at Villa Wenden where she played quite often. She was also a frequent visitor to the casino in Monte Carlo, Monaco, often gambling away large amounts of her fortune.
Following her husband’s death in April 1897, Anastasia inherited Villa Wenden and the hunting lodge in Gelbensande, along with most of his personal property. She spent as little time in Schwerin as possible, preferring Gelbensande and Cannes, and traveled often to St. Petersburg, Paris, and London.
A scandal erupted in 1902 when Anastasia became pregnant from an affair with her personal secretary Vladimir Alexandrovitch Paltov. She gave birth to a son Alexis Louis de Wenden in Nice, France on December 23, 1902. The surname ‘de Wenden’ was granted by King Christian IX of Denmark. Anastasia, who first hid the fact that she was pregnant, raised the child herself. When news of the scandal spread through the royal houses of Europe, Anastasia was shunned by several royal houses, particularly the Prussian court. When her younger daughter Cecilie married the son of the German Emperor, who was particularly outspoken in his disdain for Anastasia, she was only permitted to come to Berlin twice – for Cecilie’s wedding in 1905, and for the birth of her first child the following year.
World War I saw her family divided. Her son was a reigning German Grand Duke and her daughter was the daughter-in-law of the German Emperor, while her Russian brothers were on the opposing side. As the Dowager Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Anastasia was unable to remain in France. Because she placed her loyalty with the Russians, she was unable to return to Schwerin. Instead, she settled in Switzerland, living at the Savoy Hotel in Lausanne. The toll of the war was particularly devastating for Anastasia. She saw her son lose his throne and the murders of three of her brothers in Russia.
Following World War I, Anastasia returned to France. Unwelcome as a German, she used her Russian passport to sneak into the country as part of her entourage of her cousin Princess Ekaterina Yourievskaya. She settled at Villa Fantasia in Èze, near Cannes, France, where she returned to her hectic social schedule and frequent trips to the Monte Carlo casinos.
Dowager Grand Duchess Anastasia in her later years: Credit – Wikipedia
Dowager Grand Duchess Anastasia died in Èze, France on March 11, 1922, after suffering a stroke. Her remains were returned to Schwerin where she was buried in the Helena Pavlovna Mausoleum (link in German) on the grounds of Ludwigslust Palace in Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Her funeral would be the first time her three legitimate children were together since the beginning of World War I.
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Mecklenburg-Schwerin Resources at Unofficial Royalty
As the bride and groom made their procession from the Palace of Justice, guests had already arrived and were seated in the Grote of Sint-Jacobskerk. The several hundred guests included members of the Dutch Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, members of the Diplomatic Corps, representatives of nearly every town and city in the Netherlands, members of the court, and other personal friends. The procession into the church began with the foreign royal guests and family members, with the bride and groom the last to arrive. Despite the glitter of jewels and the numerous prominent guests, the service was the very simple and traditional marriage service of the Dutch Reformed Church, described as a service of “puritanical simplicity”, with no bridesmaids or groomsmen. The couple exchanged their vows and rings, followed by an address by the Chaplain. Following a final blessing, they made their way out of the church, to process back to Noordeinde Palace.
Luise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
