by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2017
Olga Nikolaevna of Russia, Queen of Württemberg; Credit – Wikipedia
Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia was the wife of King Karl I of Württemberg. She was born at the Anichkov Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, on September 11, 1822, to Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia and Princess Charlotte of Prussia, and had six siblings:
- Emperor Alexander II of Russia (1818-1881) – married Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, had issue
- Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna (1819-1876) – married Maximilian de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg, had issue
- Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna (1825-1844) – married Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel, had issue
- Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich (1827-1892) – married Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg, had issue
- Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich (1831-1891) – married Princess Alexandra of Oldenburg, had issue
- Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich (1832-1909) – married Princess Cecilie of Baden, had issue
Crown Prince Karl of Württemberg, circa 1851. source: Wikipedia
In January 1846, Olga met her future husband Crown Prince Karl of Württemberg while both were in Palermo, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, now in Italy. Karl was the son of King Wilhelm I of Württemberg and Duchess Pauline of Württemberg. Karl proposed on January 18 and Olga accepted. They were married in a lavish ceremony at the Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia on July 13, 1846. They had no children of their own, but in 1863, took in Olga’s niece, Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna, the daughter of Olga’s brother Konstantin. They later formally adopted Vera in 1871. It is believed by many that Karl was gay, which contributed to their not having any children. Whether true or not, it is a fact that he had very close relationships with several men, some of which caused significant public outcry and scandal.
From the time she arrived in Württemberg, Olga threw herself into charity work, focusing on the education of girls, and helping wounded soldiers and handicapped people. After becoming Queen in 1864, she continued to support these, and many other causes, earning her the utmost respect and devotion of the people of Württemberg.
Queen Olga (left), with two ladies-in-waiting and a reader (possibly her husband’s chamberlain and reputed lover Charles Woodcock), c1885. photo: Wikipedia
Aside from her charity work, Queen Olga also had several other interests. One of these was a significant interest in natural science, and she amassed an extensive collection of minerals, later left to the State Museum of Natural History in Stuttgart. In 1881, Olga wrote a memoir “The Golden Dream of My Youth” about her childhood and life in Russia up until the time of her marriage.
The Altes Palais (Old Castle) in Stuttgart. photo: By BuzzWoof – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3869267
Just a year after her husband’s death, Dowager Queen Olga died on October 30, 1892, at Schloss Friedrichshafen (link in German), in Friedrichshafen, Kingdom of Württemberg, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. She is buried alongside her husband in the crypt below the Schlosskirche at the Old Castle (Altes Palais) in Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.
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