Category Archives: Russian Royals

Assassination of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2014

Emperor Alexander II of Russia; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

March 13, 1881 (Old Style Date March 1) – Assassination of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia; buried at the Fortress of Sts. Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg, Russia

Of the twenty Romanov monarchs,  five died violent deaths (Ivan VI, Peter III, Paul I, Alexander II, and Nicholas II). Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia was assassinated by a bomb on March 13 (Old Style Date March 1), 1881 in St. Petersburg, Russia.  Born in 1818, he was the eldest child of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia and Princess Charlotte of Prussia who was known as Alexandra Feodorovna after her marriage.  In 1841, Alexander married Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, known as Maria Alexandrovna after her marriage.  Although the marriage produced eight children, Alexander had a number of lovers, the chief one being his long-time mistress Catherine Dolgorukova with whom he had three surviving children.  Maria Alexandrovna was frequently ill and died of tuberculosis in 1880.  Less than a month after her death, Alexander married Catherine Dolgorukova morganatically.  This marriage caused a scandal in the Imperial Family and violated the Russian Orthodox rules regarding the waiting period for remarriage following the death of a spouse. Alexander granted his new wife the title of Princess Yurievskaya and legitimized their children.

In 1855, Alexander became Emperor of All Russia upon the death of his father.  He is known as the most reforming tsar since Peter the Great.  His foremost accomplishment was the emancipation of the serfs in 1861.  In addition, Alexander II reorganized the judicial system, established local self-government called Zemstvo, instituted universal military service in which sons of the rich and the poor were required to serve, ended some of the privileges of the nobility, and promoted higher education in the universities.

A liberal-leaning ruler, Alexander was subjected to several assassination attempts, including two attempts in 1879 and 1880 by The People’s Will (Narodnaya Volya), a radical revolutionary group whose goal was a social revolution.  After the failed attempts, a committee of The People’s Will members called March 1 (Pervomartovtsy) began to plan the next attack on Alexander II.  The group was led by Andrei Zhelyabov who was arrested a few days before the planned attack, and his lover Sophia Perovskaya.

On March 13, 1881, Alexander II signed an order creating several commissions, composed of government officials and prominent private individuals, to prepare reforms in various branches of the government. Afterward, he attended Mass with the Imperial Family, the usual custom on Sunday.  Before leaving the Winter Palace, Alexander’s wife begged him not to follow his usual route home because of the reports of possible terrorist attacks.  He promised he would return to the palace via the Catherine Canal Embankment instead.  Alexander left the Winter Palace and attended a parade at the Michael Riding School and then visited his cousin Grand Duchess Catherine Michaelovna.  The conspirators had laid dynamite mines in tunnels dug under the Tsar’s usual route.  When Sophia Perovskaya saw that Alexander visited his cousin and might return to the palace using a different route, she arranged her co-conspirators along the Catherine Canal Embankment, the most logical alternate route.

Alexander II was riding in a bomb-proof carriage, a gift from Emperor Napoleon III of France.  As the carriage turned onto the Catherine Canal Embankment, a bomb was thrown.  The carriage was damaged and several onlookers were wounded, but the emperor was unharmed.  Next, Alexander II made a mistake that cost him his life.  Unaware that another conspirator was leaning against a railing about six feet away, he left the carriage to inspect the damage and check on the wounded people, and a bomb was thrown directly between the emperor’s legs.  The noise from the bomb was deafening, smoke filled the air, wounded people were screaming, and the snow was drenched with blood. When the smoke cleared, Alexander II lay mortally wounded, his legs crushed and torn from the blast of the bomb.  Alexander asked to be taken to the Winter Palace so he could die there.

As they heard the news (and some of them heard the two bombs), members of the Imperial Family arrived at the Winter Palace.  The sight that greeted them was grim.  Alexander II’s face and body were intact, but his legs were basically gone up to his knees.  The room began to get crowded as more family members arrived.  Alexander II’s eldest son Alexander and his Danish wife Dagmar arrived.  Dagmar was still wearing her skating costume and carrying her ice skates as she had been planning to go ice skating. Dagmar’s husband stood in disbelief and their eldest son 13-year-old Nicholas was clinging to a cousin for comfort.  The emperor’s wife Catherine Dolgorukova (Princess Yurievskaya) hysterically ran into the room, threw herself on her husband’s body, kissed his hands, and called out his name.  For 45 minutes, those in the room watched as Emperor Alexander II’s life ebbed away. At 3:35 PM, the emperor died, and as the Imperial Family knelt to pray, his wife fainted and was carried from the room, her clothes drenched with his blood.

The assassination of Emperor Alexander II; Credit: Wikipedia

Just the day before he died, Alexander II had completed plans to create an elected parliament and he intended to release these plans within a few days.  Perhaps if Alexander II had lived Russia would have become a constitutional monarchy and not been led down the path the country ultimately took. Alexander II’s son and successor, Alexander III was very conservative and reversed some of the liberal reforms of his father.  One of the first things he did as tsar was to tear up his father’s plans for an elected parliament and cancel the order his father had signed the day he died.

Two of Alexander II’s sons met violent deaths: Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was assassinated by a terrorist bomb at the Kremlin in Moscow in 1905 and Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich was shot by the Bolsheviks at the Peter and Paul Fortress in 1919.

Emperor Alexander II was buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg next to his first wife.

Tomb of Alexander II (on left) and Maria Alexandrovna, his wife (on right); Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

In 1883, construction was started on the Church on the Spilt Blood.  The church was built on the site of Alexander’s assassination and is dedicated to his memory.

Church on the Spilt Blood in St. Petersburg, built on the site of Alexander II’s assassination; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Anna Pavlovna of Russia, Queen of the Netherlands

by Emily McMahon
© Unofficial Royalty 2014

Credit – Wikipedia

Born on January 18, 1795, at the sumptuous Gatchina Palace just south of St. Petersburg, Russia, Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna was the eighth of the ten children and youngest daughter of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia and his second wife, Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.

Anna had nine siblings:

Like her siblings, Anna received an excellent education in the arts, mathematics, foreign languages, and sciences. Once Anna hit adolescence, stiff competition began for her hand in marriage. She was considered as a possible wife for both Napoleon I of France and of the future William IV of the United Kingdom, but Anna’s family rejected them as being unsuitable. Anna was instead engaged to the future King Willem II of the Netherlands, then Prince of Orange. The marriage had been arranged by Anna’s brother and sister, Emperor Alexander I and Catherine, Queen of Württemberg.  Willem and Anna married at the Grand Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia on February 21, 1816. With no pressing need to immediately return to the Netherlands, the couple spent about a year living in Russia after their marriage.

Anna and Willem had five children:

Willem II and Anna Pavlovna with their family. From left to right: the future Willem III, Alexander, Willem II, Anna Pavlovna, Sophie, and Hendrik; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna and Willem moved to the Netherlands shortly before the birth of their first child. She became known in the Netherlands (which at that time included present-day Belgium) by the Dutch version of her name, Anna Paulownia. Although she took an interest in Dutch history and learned to speak the language quite well, Anna was very homesick for her family and for Russia. She compensated by remaining in constant contact with her family and recreating bits of Russia in the Netherlands.

Anna became especially dismayed when in 1840 the family was forced to leave Brussels due to the revolution and formation of Belgium. Always very observant and proud of her impressive position, Anna found the more relaxed social constraints in Amsterdam very tough to weather. Anna and Willem also separated around this time due to differences in personalities and his affairs with both men and women.

Anna became Queen of the Netherlands in October of 1840 after her father-in-law’s abdication. She and Willem II came to something of an understanding in their relationship early in his reign and lived together after that time. However, Anna never really connected with the Dutch public and was not a popular queen. She founded several orphanages in the Netherlands and did not meddle in politics. Anna is remembered particularly for her association with a genus of plants named in her honor by a Dutch botanist. Paulownia, which is native to Southeast Asia, is a fast-growing plant; its wood is used in making musical instruments and some furniture. Charcoal made from Paulownia wood is used in fireworks, cosmetics, and by artists for sketching.

Queen Anna Pavlovna as a widow, next to the bust of her husband King Willem II; Credit – Wikipedia

Willem II died in 1849 and was succeeded by his son, Willem III. Anna had already disliked court life for years and during her son’s reign, she left it completely. Although she discussed returning to her native Russia, Anna stayed in the Netherlands. She died on March 1, 1865, in The Hague and was buried in the crypt at the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft.

The access to the royal crypt in the foreground; Credit – By Sander van der Wel from Netherlands – Royal grave tomb and the grave of Willem van Oranje, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28146859

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Kingdom of the Netherlands Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2013

Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Elisabeth Alexandra Louise Alice of Hesse and by Rhine was born on November 1, 1864, in Bessungen, Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany.  Ella, as she was called by her family, was the second daughter and the second of the six children of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (a daughter of Queen Victoria) and Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, and the elder sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia.

Ella in 1865; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Ella had six siblings:

Ella’s family in 1876, two years before the death from diphtheria of Ella’s mother and sister May: Her brother Friedrich, who was a hemophiliac, had died in 1874 after a fall. The photo shows Ella’s father Ludwig holding May, Victoria at his side, Ernest and Irene at the front, Ella with her hand on Irene’s shoulder and leaning against her mother, and Ella’s mother Alice holding on to Alix (the future Empress Alexandra Feodorovna), Photo: Wikipedia

Ella and her siblings received a very strict education and were encouraged to be humble.  They were brought up in a modest lifestyle for royalty, sweeping the floors and cleaning their rooms, while their mother sewed clothes for her children.  The children spoke English with their mother and German with their father.

Ella was 14 years old in 1878 when her mother died, following an outbreak of diphtheria in the family which also took the life of her youngest sister, four-year-old May. Ella had been sent away to her paternal grandmother’s home at the beginning of the outbreak and was the only family member to remain unaffected. Much of the next years were spent, along with her sisters, under the supervision of their grandmother Queen Victoria. The Queen had taken a particular interest in the children following Alice’s death, overseeing almost every aspect of their lives.

Victoria, Ella, Irene, and Alix grieving for their mother, February 1879; Credit – Wikipedia

Ella was charming and considered beautiful, so it is not surprising that she had a number of suitors.  Her first cousin, the future Wilhelm II, German Emperor, proposed to Ella, but she turned him down.  Another suitor who also got a “No” from Ella was Wilhelm’s first cousin, the future Friedrich II, Grand Duke of Baden, who was favored by Ella’s grandmother Queen Victoria.

The Hessian court had a special relationship with the Russian court since Ella’s great-aunt Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (Empress Maria Alexandrovna after her marriage) had married Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia.  The Empress regularly visited her homeland and was usually accompanied by her two youngest sons, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich. Ella and Sergei, who was seven years older, got to know each other and eventually fell in love.  Queen Victoria was strongly against marriage, primarily due to her strong distaste for all things Russian. Despite the misgivings of the two families, Sergei was intent on making Ella his bride. In 1883, during a visit to the Hessian family’s hunting lodge Schloss Wolfsgarten, Sergei proposed and Ella accepted. The engagement was announced publicly in February 1884 when Sergei was visiting Darmstadt.

Ella and Sergei in 1884; Credit – Wikipedia

The couple married on June 15, 1884, at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. As Ella had not yet converted to the Russian Orthodox religion, there were two ceremonies, one Lutheran and one Russian Orthodox. The wedding was attended by many royals from around Europe, with the noticeable exception of Queen Victoria. Instead, she was represented by two of her sons, The Prince of Wales, and Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh who had married Sergei’s sister. After her marriage, Ella was known as Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.

Ella in 1885; Credit – Wikipedia

Following the wedding, the couple spent their honeymoon at Ilinskoye, Sergei’s country estate outside of Moscow, and then settled at the Sergeivsky Palace in St. Petersburg. In addition to these two homes, they also had a home on the grounds of Peterhof, and a house on the bank of the Moskva River. Serge and Ella did not have any children of their own. However, they later took in the children of Sergei’s brother Paul, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (the younger), and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich. The children’s mother had died in 1891 in childbirth, and they spent much time with Sergei and Ella. In 1902, when Paul entered into a morganatic marriage and was banished from Russia, he was not permitted to take the children, and they were formally put under the guardianship of Sergei and Ella.

Sergei with his foster children: Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich; Credit – Wikipedia

The couple were very close with Sergei’s brother, Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, and his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna (born Princess Dagmar of Denmark), and were often asked to represent them at royal events elsewhere in the world. In 1887, they represented the Emperor at Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, and the following year attended the consecration of the church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem, built in memory of the brothers’ mother, the late Empress Maria Alexandrovna.  In 1894, Ella’s youngest surviving sister Alix married Sergei’s nephew Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia.  Alix and Nicholas had first met at Ella and Sergei’s wedding.

In 1891, Alexander III appointed Serge Governor-General of Moscow. In the following years, Sergei was also appointed to the Imperial State Council and made Commander of the Moscow military district.  Sergei’s nephew Nicholas became Emperor upon his father’s death in November 1894.  Over the next eleven years, Sergei would become increasingly disenchanted with his nephew’s policies and decisions. Finally, after massive losses in the Russo-Japanese War, Sergei resigned as Governor-General of Moscow on January 1, 1905.

On February 17, 1905, Grand Duke Sergei left the Nicholas Palace in Moscow in his carriage, en route to the Governor General’s mansion where he was in the process of clearing out his office. He had just come through one of the gate towers when an assassin threw a nitroglycerin bomb into the carriage from just a few feet away. The bomb landed in Sergei’s lap and exploded. The Grand Duke was killed instantly, his body literally blown to pieces. The assassin, Ivan Kalyayev, who was injured in the attack, was promptly arrested and later executed. Ella, having heard the blast from the Nicholas Palace, rushed to the scene and began to gather what was left of her husband’s body.

Four years after her husband’s assassination, Ella sold all her jewelry and with the proceeds opened the Convent of Saints Martha and Mary and became its abbess.  A hospital, pharmacy, and orphanage were opened on the convent’s grounds, and Ella and her Russian Orthodox nuns spent their time serving the poor of Moscow.

Ella in her nun’s habit; Credit – Wikipedia

After the Russian Revolution, Ella was arrested in 1918 by the Bolsheviks and was sent away to the Urals where she was later joined by five other Romanovs: Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, three sons of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich: Prince Ioann Konstantinovich, Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich, Prince Igor Konstantinovich, and a son of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich:  Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley. Also in the group were Varvara Yakovleva, a nun from Ella’s convent, and Feodor Remez, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich’s secretary.  On May 20, 1918, they were all taken to Alapaevsk where they were kept in the Napolnaya School.

On July 18, 1918, the day after the shooting of Emperor Nicholas II and his family,  Ella and all of the people with her were thrown down a mineshaft near Alapayevsk by the Bolsheviks. All except Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich survived the fall.  Hand grenades were thrown down after them killing Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich’s secretary, Feodor Remez.   According to the personal account of Vassili Ryabov, one of the killers, the singing of hymns was heard after the grenade explosions.  Ryabov threw another grenade into the mine shaft, but the singing continued.  Finally, wood and brush were set on fire and thrown into the mine shaft.

The Romanovs killed with Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna who was 53 years old when she died; All photos from Wikipedia

Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, 48 years old, grandson of Emperor Nicholas I.

Prince Ioann Konstantinovich, 32 years old, son of Grand Duke Konstantine Konstantinovich who was a grandson of Emperor Nicholas I. 

Prince Igor Konstantinovich, 24 years old, son of Grand Duke Konstantine Konstantinovich who was a grandson of Emperor Nicholas I.

Prince Vladimir Paley, 21 years old, son of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich, a son of Emperor Alexander II.

Three months later, White Army soldiers found the remains of the victims.  Ella’s remains eventually were interred at the St. Mary Magdalene Convent on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem along with the remains of her fellow nun Varvara Yakovleva.  Princess Alice of Battenberg, the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the niece of Ella, asked to be buried with her aunt.  Princess Alice founded a nursing order of Greek Orthodox nuns, the Christian Sisterhood of Martha and Mary, which was modeled after her aunt’s order of nuns. When Princess Alice died in 1969, she was interred at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, but her remains were transferred to St. Mary Magdalene Convent in 1988.

Tomb of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna; Photo Credit – Автор: Deror Avi – собственная работа, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6527236

Ella was canonized as a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in 1981, and in 1992 by the Moscow Patriarchate as New Martyr Elizabeth. She is one of the ten 20th-century martyrs depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey in London, England. Ella’s convent was closed in 1920 during the Soviet regime, but the convent was re-opened in 1994 and the sisters there continue doing the work Ella started.

Statue of Elizabeth (far left) and other martyrs of the 20th century at Westminster Abbey in London; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Recommended Books

  • Elizabeth, Grand Duchess of Russia – Hugo Mager
  • The Life and Death of Ella, Grand Duchess of Russia: A Romanov Tragedy – Christopher Warwick

Maria Pavlovna of Russia, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Credit – Wikipedia

June 23, 1859 – Death of Maria Pavlovna of Russia, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Maria Pavlovna’s Wikipedia page

Born in St. Petersburg in 1786, Maria Pavlovna was the third daughter and fifth child of Tsar Paul of Russia and his second wife, Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. Maria Pavlovna’s siblings included two future Russian Tsars, a Queen of Württemberg, and a Queen of the Netherlands. She grew up mainly at the imperial palaces at Pavlovsk and Gatchina, the latter of which was her parents’ favorite residence. Maria Pavlovna was known by the nickname of “Masha” within the family and was particularly close to her younger brothers Nicholas and Michael.

Maria Pavlovna was close to her sisters, but was not considered as pretty as her smallpox inoculation during her childhood had caused facial scarring. Nevertheless, Maria Pavlovna received an excellent education, with lessons in literature, math, music, and foreign languages. She was a particularly talented pianist. Like Paul’s older children, her lesson plans were designed in part by Maria Pavlovna’s paternal grandmother, Catherine II.

Maria Pavlovna grew up as somewhat of a tomboy, so much so that Catherine referred to her granddaughter as the “guardsman in a skirt” and remarked that she would more fortunate if born a boy. As she matured, Maria Pavlovna’s looks improved greatly, and she was noted for her charm and intelligence.

In 1804, Maria Pavlovna married Charles Frederick, the future Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach in a lavish ceremony in St. Petersburg. Charles Frederick had spent some months in Russia with the imperial family and had become very fond of his new wife, although their different personalities caused some strife in the following years. The match was an excellent one for intelligent Maria Pavlovna, as Weimar was then an important cultural center (particularly for music) in Europe. Her new husband shared her love of music and worked to keep Weimar’s musical heritage strong. Franz Liszt (who was invited to Weimar at Maria Pavlovna’s insistence) and Richard Wagner both enjoyed considerable success while in Weimar.

Maria Pavlovna maintained her intellectual pursuits during her time in Weimar, attending lectures at the University of Jena, hosting circles of local writers in her home, and serving as patroness of various literary, artistic, and scientific organizations. She also maintained correspondence with several Russian and German intellectuals of the time. Maria Pavlovna also established a horticultural school and provided funding for the establishment of several parks.

Maria Pavlovna and Charles Frederick had three surviving children. Their daughters Marie and Augusta respectively married Charles of Prussia and the future German Emperor Wilhelm I. Son Charles Alexander succeeded his father in the grand duchy. Several current European monarchs can claim descent from Maria Pavlovna, including Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Sophia of Spain.

Maria Pavlovna died of a heart attack at Schloss Belvedere, surviving her husband by six years. She is buried beside her husband at a mausoleum in Weimar. A Russian Orthodox church was erected near the mausoleum in her honor.

Louise of Baden, Elizabeth Alexeievna, Empress of All Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Louise of Baden, Elizabeth Alexeievna, Empress of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

The Romanov Emperors of Russia often married princesses of German principalities and grand duchies and Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia was no different.  Princess Louise Maria Auguste of Baden was born in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on January 24, 1779.  She was the third of the six daughters and the third of the eight children of Karl Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Baden and Amelia Frederica of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Louise, herself an empress, had seven siblings including two queens, a grand duchess, a duchess, and a grand duke. Collectively, Louise’s siblings are ancestors of a number of royal families.

Catherine II (the Great, Empress of All Russia) was considering candidates for the bride of her eldest grandson Alexander and was favorably impressed by 12-year-old Louise.  Louise and her younger sister Frederica went to St. Petersburg, Russia in the fall of 1792.  Empress Catherine was enchanted with the young princess and Louise was attracted to the tall, handsome Alexander.   Louise stayed in Russia to learn the Russian language and convert to Russian Orthodoxy.  She exchanged her birth name for Elizabeth Alexeievna and became a Grand Duchess of Russia.  The couple was formally betrothed in May 1793 and the wedding occurred on September 28, 1793. Elizabeth Alexeievna looked resplendent with the diamond-studded Order of St. Andrei on her silver brocade gown. The bride was fourteen and the groom was fifteen.

Alexander I circa 1801; Credit – Wikipedia

Elizabeth Alexeievna and Alexander’s young age and lack of experience caused them to become overwhelmed with expectations that they could not fulfill.  Court intrigues confused and frightened Elizabeth Alexeievna and Empress Catherine’s own lover attempted to seduce the young Grand Duchess.  She felt alone in a strange world, especially after her sister Frederica returned to Baden and felt comfort only with her husband.  Less than six months after her marriage, Elizabeth Alexeievna wrote to her mother, “Without my husband, who alone makes me happy, I should have died a thousand deaths.”

Empress Catherine II  died in 1796, disappointed that her eldest grandson and his wife had not produced a son,  and Alexander’s father Paul became Emperor.  Elizabeth Alexeievna did not like her father-in-law or his policies and avoided his court as much as possible.  Alexander and Elizabeth Alexeievna’s marriage started to falter and she sought affection from her husband’s friend Polish Prince Adam Czartoryski, a Polish noble.  In 1799, Elizabeth Alexeievna gave birth to a daughter Maria Alexandrovna, who had dark eyes and dark hair like Prince Adam Czartoryski and unlike the blond-haired and blue-eyed Elizabeth Alexeievna and her husband.  Sadly, the child died when she was 13 months old.

Prince Adam Czartoryski; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1801, the behavior and policies of Emperor Paul led to a conspiracy to overthrow him.  Paul was assassinated and his eldest son became Emperor Alexander I.  Elizabeth Alexeievna fulfilled her duties as Empress, but by this time their marriage was really one in name only.  Alexander started a long-term affair in 1803 and Elizabeth Alexeievna resumed her affair with  Prince Adam Czartoryski.  This affair lasted until Elizabeth Alexeievna began a new affair with Captain Alexis Okhotnikov.  In 1806, Elizabeth Alexeievna gave birth to another daughter, Elizabeth Alexandrovna, who died of an infection when she was 17 months old.  Rumors circulated that Elizabeth Alexandrovna was really the daughter of Alexis Okhotnikov.  In 1807, Alexis Okhotnikov was killed and suspicions arose that either Emperor Alexander I or his brother Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich had ordered him killed.

Elizabeth Alexeievna in 1807; Credit – Wikipedia

Although the death of Elizabeth Alexandrovna brought Alexander and Elizabeth Alexeievna temporarily closer, they had no more children.  In 1819, Alexander became very involved in religious mysticism, ended his long-term affair, and somewhat reconciled with his wife.  By 1825, Elizabeth Alexeievna’s health was suffering due to lung problems and the doctors recommended getting away from the harsh climate of St. Petersburg.  Alexander and  Elizabeth Alexeievna relocated to the city of Taganrog, Russia by the Sea of Azov where they stayed in a modest house.  In November of 1825, Alexander returned to Taganrog after visiting Crimea.  He had a cold, which developed into typhus. On December 1, 1825, he died in Elizabeth Alexeievna’s arms in their home in Taganrog.  Elizabeth Alexeievna survived him by five months.  While traveling back to St. Petersburg for her husband’s funeral, she felt so sick that it was necessary to stop at Belev in Tula Province, Russia.  On the morning of May 16, 1826, Elizabeth Alexeievna’s maid went to check on her and found her dead in her bed of heart failure at the age of 47.  Elizabeth Alexeievna and her husband were buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

Tombs of Emperor Alexander I and Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna, Photo: Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Romanov Resources at Unofficial Royalty