#Olga konstantinovna

[romanovsonelastdance]

King George I of the Hellenes with his wife Olga Konstantinovna and sister Maria Feodorovna (nee Dagmar of Denmark).

[foreverinthepagesofhistoryy]

Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna of Russia (née Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg) with daughter Queen Olga of Greece (née GD Olga Konstantinovna), and granddaughters Princesses Alexandra and Marie of Greece and Denmark (later GD’s Alexandra and Maria Georgievna), 1880s

[graceofromanovs]

Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna of Russia and her children, 1863.

Source Royalty In Colour

[foreverinthepagesofhistory]

Queen Olga of Greece (née Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia) with her daughter Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna of Russia (née Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark) and her daughter in law Princess Alice of Greece and Denmark (née Princess Alice of Battenberg), all in traditional Greek costumes. Early 1900s

Source: Princess Victoria of Wales’s albums

[ykzzr]

Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and his children Grand Duke Nicholas, Grand Duchess Olga and Grand Dukes Dimitri, Konstantin and Vyacheslav 1865.

[konstantinovichisstuff]

Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna with her descendants 1909

Photograph of Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna (1830-1911), her daughter Queen Olga of the Hellenes (1851-1926), her great-granddaughter Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (1890-1958) and her great-great-grandson Prince Lennart of Sweden (1909-2004). Grand Duchess Alexandra is sitting in a chair with the baby Prince Lennart on her knee. Queen Olga is kneeling to the right, looking down at the baby. Grand Duchess Maria is standing behind them holding a photograph of her mother Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna, who died in 1891.

Sc. Facebook

[imperial-russia]

One of the many gatherings of the Danish royal family and their relatives from Russia, Greece and Britain. In the center of the photo there sits Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna. Directly behind her stands her son Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich as well as Queen Olga of Greece, herself formerly Russian Grand Duchess.

[greekroyalfamily]

The Greek Royal Family on holiday in Aegean Islands

TMs The Titular King Pavlos II and Queen Maria Chantal of the Hellenes Prince and Princess of Denmark

HRH Crown Prince Constantine-Alexios of Greece Prince of Denmark Duke of Sparta

TRHs Princes Achileas -Andreas ,Odysseus -Kimon , Aristedes-Stavros and Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark

Η Ελληνική Βασιλική Οικογένεια κάνει διακοπές στα νησιά του Αιγαίου

Οι ΑΑΜΜ Ο Τιτουλάριος Βασιλιάς Παύλος Β' και η Βασίλισσα Μαρία Σαντάλ των Ελλήνων Πρίγκιπας και Πριγκίπισσα της Δανίας

Η ΑΒΥ Πρίγκιπας Διάδοχος Κωνσταντίνος-Αλέξιος της Ελλάδας Πρίγκιπας της Δανίας Δούκας της Σπάρτης

Οι ΑΑΒΒΥΥ Πρίγκιπες Αχιλλέας - Ανδρέας , Οδυσσέας - Κίμων , Αριστείδης - Σταύρος και Πριγκίπισσα Μαρία - Ολυμπία της Ελλάδας και της Δανίας

[loiladadiani]

Grand Duchesses at the Coronation of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna

Nicholas II and his consort Empress Alexandra, were crowned on Tuesday, 14 May (O.S., 26 May N.S.) 1896, in Dormition Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. The magnificence of the occasion was never again seen in Russia. The Grand Duchesses were in full regalia. Here are two great photographs of them.

Above:

Sitting: Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna (who had been present at the coronation of Alexander III); sitting on the floor at her knees is Princess Olga of Wurttenberg; sitting next to Alexandra Iosifovna is Princess Louise Margaret, Duchess of Connaught

Back Row Standing from Let to Right: Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna, Grand Duchess Anastasia of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (the elder), Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mavrikievna, and Princess Elena of Saxe-Altenburg

Above:

In the center of this group, is Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna, (daughter of Tzar Alexander II, wife of Queen Victoria's second son Alfred, Duke of Saxe Coburg and Gotha, who is standing behind her.)

On the right side of Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna, is her daughter Victoria Melita, Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Sitting to the left of her mother is the Crowned Princess of Romania, Marie (same name as her mother; known by the family as Missy). Her husband the Crowned Prince of Romania, Ferdinand, is standing slightly to the side, behind Missy.

Next to Ferdinand of Romania is Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse and By Rhine, husband of Victoria Melita at the time and brother of the Empress being crowned, Alexandra Feodorovna. To the right of Victoria Melita is her brother, Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha who died at age twenty-four.

[epoque-victorienne]

[colorizedhistory]

[romanovsonelastdance]

King George I and Olga Konstantinovna with their family.

Back row: Maria (Georgievna), Nicholas, Sophie, Constantine and Andrew. Front row: King George with grandson Alexander, Queen Olga with granddaughter Helen, George (son of Constantine), George (son of George & Olga), and Christopher.

[foreverinthepagesofhistoryy]

Rare photo of Queen Olga of Greece (née Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia) with 5th child and 2nd daughter Princess Marie of Greece and Denmark (later Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna of Russia), mid 1880s

[foreverinthepagesofhistory]

Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna posing for an official portrait with her daughter Olga Konstantinovna. 1870s

[otmaaromanovas]

Romanov myths part three - did the Grand Duchesses go shopping?

Over the years, a prevalent belief that the Romanov Grand Duchesses, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, did not go shopping continues to be repeated. Some historians have even suggested that the girls did not know how paying for items worked. However, primary sources from people who knew the girls, were members of their entourage, and the Grand Duchesses' own diaries, tell a different story...

"Saturday. 10 August. … We walked along the historic boulevard and the main streets, but crowds followed us everywhere, so we were able to go into only 2 shops for a minute..." "Friday. 15 November. Had lessons, after that went shopping for wool with Nastenka as usual.." From Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna’s 1913 diary [my underlining]

In this entry, Olga describes shopping Countess Anastasia 'Nastenka' Vassilievna Hendrikova, who was a young lady-in-waiting at court and a particular favourite of the Grand Duchesses, often accompanying them on trips. As described in the first entry, it appears that safety and security concerns due to crowds, rather than a lack of understanding about shops, contributed to the Grand Duchesses not being able to shop frequently. Nastenka is frequently mentioned by the Grand Duchesses in their diaries, and volunteered to join the Romanov family in their house arrest and imprisonment. She was murdered by the Bolsheviks in September 1918.

"After coffee, I went for a walk with my pupils… They really liked to go to the shops and buy everything. Anastasia Nikolaevna was especially attracted to stores, where they sold doll shoes of various sizes… Tatiana Nikolaevna did not always accompany since the doctors found her heart was weak and she went with the Empress to take baths." A Few Years Before the Catastrophe by Sofia Ivanovna Tyutcheva.

Sofia Ivanovna Tyutcheva was a maid-of-honour to Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, and in 1907 was appointed as governess to the Grand Duchesses. The Grand Duchesses referred to her as "Savanna". She was dismissed in 1912 when she voiced concerns over Grigori Efimovich Rasputin. She wrote a short memoir in 1945, and passed away in 1957.

"[The] Grand Duchesses went shopping in the morning with one of the ladies-in-waiting to the Empress. They delighted in that because they could mix with the crowd and buy things just as everyone else did, and they were so pleased if they were not recognised at once." -- Upheaval - Olga Voronova [my underlining]

Countess Olga Konstantinovna Voronova was part of the aristocratic Kleinmichel family and in 1914, married one of the Romanov's favourite officers, Pavel Alexeievich Voronov. Through these connections, Olga Konstantinovna became a friend of the Grand Duchesses, exchanging frequent letters with Olga and Tatiana in particular, before and after the Revolution. She published her memoirs in 1932. Once again, it is inferred that being recognised and subsequent security concerns stifled the Grand Duchesses' shopping sprees.

Where did the myth come from?

It appears that the myth came about due to this extract from Margaretta Eagar, an Irish nanny who cared for the children from 1898 to 1904:

Her only knowledge of shops and shopping was derived from the toy and sweet shops in Darmstadt. One day she asked me why the Americans spoke English, not American. I told her the story of the Pilgrim Fathers, and described how they built houses and shops, and so made towns. She was exceedingly interested and inquired, ' Where did they find the toys to sell in the shops ? " Six Years at the Russian Court, by Margaretta Eagar

It appears that some historians forgot that Margaretta Eagar moved on from her nanny position in 1904, when the eldest Grand Duchess was nine and the youngest was three, and perhaps did not look for sources from when the Grand Duchesses had grown up and had slightly more independence.

Over time, the myth appears to have been exaggerated and repeated until it became part of the 'folklore' surrounding the Romanov Grand Duchesses, portraying them as isolated and naïve.

Whilst it is clear that the Grand Duchesses did enjoy going shopping in their lifetimes, safety and security concerns meant they could not enjoy shopping as frequently as other teenagers may have. In the same way royals today would not be able to go to shops without being recognised, there was a chance that a crowd could gather. Similarly, Olga and Tatiana appear to have shopped more than the younger pair, Maria and Anastasia, likely due to being older in age and therefore having more independence.

Photos:

First set, left: Olga, Anastasia (hidden behind Olga), and Maria Shopping in Germany, 1910. Right: Olga and Tatiana out shopping in the Isle of Wight, 1909, accompanied by Dr. Evgeny Botkin (in the suit)

Second set, left: Tatiana and Maria shopping with Sofia Ivanovna Tyutcheva, circa 1910. Right: The Grand Duchesses and their entourage by shops, most likely taken in Germany, 1910

Sources:

Journal of a Russian Grand Duchess: Complete Annotated 1913 Diary of Olga Romanov, Eldest Daughter of the Last Tsar, translator Helen Azar, (Independently published: 2015)

A Few Years Before the Catastrophe: The Memoirs of Sofia Ivanovna Tyutcheva, translator George Hawkins, (Independently published: 2020)

Upheaval, Olga Voronova (Woronoff), (New York; London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1932) -- Free to read online here

Six Years at the Russian Court, Margaretta Eagar, (New York: Charles L. Bowman and Company, 1906) -- Free to read online here

[la-belle-histoire]

Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia (later Queen Olga of Greece) with her mother, Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna of Russia (born Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg). 1865.