#natalia alexeievna

[roehenstart]

Portrait of Natalia Alexeievna of Russia (1755-1776), wife of Paul I of Russia. By Peter Falconet.

[the-last-tsar]

"Catherine II played a decisive role in the choice of future tsarinas, introducing compatriot women in the court. And so, with one exception (Alexander III's wife, who would be Danish), they would all be of German origin. The princesses were selected very young, between fourteen and sixteen years old, still shy and malleable. The ceromonies obeyed a very strict etiquette, starting with the solemn entrance of the future Grand Duchess, until her wedding. The court carriages were waiting for the young lady at the station. On the way to the Winter Palace, where the great dignitaries would be presented to her, she could admire the living barrier of the imperial Guard outlined to her passage. On horseback, the emperor escorted the golden carriage with the imperial crown on top, pulled by eight gray horses. The Grand Dukes followed on horseback, and the Grand Duchesses, in other luxurious carriages. The next stage was a kind of guided tour by the imperial palaces of St. Petersburg and the surrounding area, which was an opportunity for the young foreigner to learn the history of the country. Another important stage of this training consisted of inculcating the culture of the country of adoption, to allow a complete integration. (something Catherine II had achieved to perfection). The future Grand Duchesses were to learn Russian and convert to Orthodoxy. It didn't take long for them to lose all contact with their home country. Thus, stripped of their Germanness, they could become authentic Slavs. The wedding ceremonial remained unchanged until the reign of Nicholas II. After the festivities ended, the young wife found herself closed in the rigid world of the Russian monarchy. They had to give up their personal tastes and erase their personality. Becoming another guardian of secular traditions, she was to become an idol of the nation."

The Tsarinas - The Women who Made Russia | Vladimir Fedorovski.

(Loose translation)

[thewritingpossum]

Heartbreaking: the worst person on this show just made a great point

[graceofromanovs]

first wife of Tsar Paul I of Russia.

Cameo of Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna of Russia, nee Princess Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt.

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna by Alexander Roslin, 1776, Sweden.

[palecleverdoll]

Women of Imperial Russia: Ages at First Marriage

I have only included women whose birth dates and dates of marriage are known within at least 1-2 years, therefore, this is not a comprehensive list. This data set ends with the Revolution of 1917.

Eudoxia Lopukhina, wife of Peter I; age 20 when she married Peter in 1689 CE

Catherine I of Russia, wife of Peter I; age 18 when she married Johan Cruse in 1702 CE

Anna of Russia, daughter of Ivan V; age 17 when she married Frederick William Duke of Courland and Semigallia in 1710 CE

Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter I; age 17 when she married Charles Frederick I, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, in 1725 CE

Catherine II, wife of Peter III; age 16 when she married Peter in 1745 CE

Natalia Alexeievna, wife of Paul I; age 17 when she married Paul in 1773 CE

Maria Feodorovna, wife of Paul I; age 17 when she married Paul in 1776 CE

Elizabeth Alexeivna, wife of Alexander I; age 14 when she married Alexander in 1793 CE

Anna Feodorovna, wife of Konstantin Pavlovich; age 15 when she married Konstantin in 1796 CE

Alexandra Pavlovna, daughter of Paul I; age 16 when she married Archduke Joseph of Austria in 1799 CE

Elena Pavlovna, daughter of Paul I; age 15 when she married Frederick Louis, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1799 CE

Maria Pavlovna, daughter of Paul I; age 18 when she married Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach in 1804 CE

Catherine Pavlovna, daughter of Paul I; age 21 when she married Duke George of Oldenburg in 1809 CE

Anna Pavlovna, daughter of Paul I; age 21 when she married William II of the Netherlands in 1816 CE

Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas I; age 19 when she married Nicholas in 1817 CE

Joanna Grudzinska, wife of Konstantin Pavlovich; age 29 when she married Konstantin in 1820 CE

Elena Pavlovna, wife of Mikhail Pavlovich; age 17 when she married Mikhail in 1824 CE

Maria Nikolaevna, daughter of Nicholas I; age 20 when she married Maximilian de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg, in 1839 CE

Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Alexander II; age 17 when she married Alexander in 1841 CE

Elizaveta Mikhailovna, daughter of Mikhail Pavlovich; age 17 when she married Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, in 1844 CE

Alexandra Nikolaevna, daughter of Nicholas I; age 19 when she married Prince Frederick-William of Hesse-Kassel, in 1844 CE

Olga Nikolaevna, daughter of Nicholas I; age 24 when she married Charles I of Wurttemberg, in 1846 CE

Alexandra Iosifovna, wife of Konstantin Nikolaevich; age 18 when she married Konstantin in 1848 CE

Catherine Mikhailovna, daughter of Mikhail Pavlovich; age 24 when she married Duke Georg August of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, in 1851 CE

Alexandra Petrovna, wife of Nicholas Nikolaevich the Elder; age 18 when she married Nicholas in 1856 CE

Olga Feodorovna, wife of Michael Nikolaevich; age 18 when she married Michael in 1857 CE

Maria Feodorovna, wife of Alexander III; age 19 when she married Alexander III in 1866 CE

Olga Konstantinovna, daughter of Konstantin Nikolaevich; age 16 when she married George I of Greece in 1867 CE

Vera Konstantinovna, daughter of Konstantin Nikolaevich; age 20 when she married Duke Eugen of Wurttemberg in 1874 CE

Maria Pavlovna, wife of Vladimir Alexandrovich; age 20 when she married Vladimir in 1874 CE

Maria Alexandrovna, daughter of Alexander II; age 19 when she married Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, in 1874 CE

Anastasia Mikhailovna, daughter of Michael Nikolaevich; age 19 when she married Friedrich Franz III, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1879 CE

Nadezhada Alexandrovna Dreyer, wife of Nicholas Konstantinovich; age 21 when she married Nicholas in 1882 CE

Elizabeth Feodorovna, wife of Sergei Alexandrovich; age 20 when she married Sergei in 1884 CE

Olga Valerianovna Paley, wife of Paul Alexandrovich; age 19 when she married Erich von Pistolhkors in 1884 CE

Elizabeth Mavrikievna, wife of Konstantin Konstantinovich; age 19 when she married Konstantin in 1885 CE

Anastasia of Montenegro, wife of Nicholas Nikolaevich the Younger; age 21 when she married George Maximilianovich, Duke of Leuchtenberg in 1889 CE

Milica of Montenegro, wife of Peter Nikolaevich; age 23 when she married Peter in 1889 CE

Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, wife of Paul Alexandrovich; age 19 when she married Paul in 1889 CE

Sophie Nikolaievna, wife of Michael Mikhailovich; age 23 when she married Michael in 1891 CE

Victoria Feodorovna, wife of Kirill Vladimirovich; age 18 when she married Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse, in 1894 CE

Xenia Alexandrovna, wife of Alexander Mikhailovich; age 19 when she married Alexander in 1894 CE

Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas II; age 22 when she married Nicholas in 1894 CE

Olga Alexandrovna, daughter of Alexander II; age 18 when she married Count George-Nicholas von Merenberg in 1985 CE

Maria of Greece and Denmark, wife of George Mikhailovich; age 24 when she married George in 1900 CE

Alexandra von Zarnekau, wife of George Alexandrovich; age 16 when she married George in 1900 CE

Catherine Alexandrovna, daughter of Alexander II; age 23 when she married Alexander Baryatinksy in 1901 CE

Olga Alexandrovna, daughter of Alexander III; age 19 when she married Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg

Elena Vladimirovna, daughter of Vladimir Alexandrovich; age 20 when she married Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark in 1902 CE

Natalia Brasova, wife of Michael Alexandrovich; age 22 when she married Sergei Mamontov in 1902 CE

Elisabetta di Sasso Ruffo, wife of Andrei Alexandrovich; age 31 when she married Alexander Alexandrovitch Frederici in 1907 CE

Maria Pavlovna, daughter of Paul Alexandrovich; age 18 when she married Prince Wilhelm of Sweden in 1908 CE

Helen of Serbia, wife of Ioann Konstantinovich; age 27 when she married Ioann in 1911 CE

Tatiana Konstantinovna, daughter of Konstantin Konstantinovich; age 21 when she married Konstantine Bagration of Mukhrani, in 1911 CE

Irina Alexandrovna, daughter of Alexander Mikhailovich; age 19 when she married Felix Felixovich Yusupov in 1914 CE

Nadejda Mikhailovna, daughter of Michael Mikhailovna; age 20 when she married George Mountbatten in 1916 CE

Antonina Rafailovna Nesterovkaya, wife of Gabriel Konstantinovich; age 27 when she married Gabriel in 1917 CE

Nadejda Petrovna, wife of Nicholas Orlov; age 19 when she married Nicholas in 1917 CE

Anastasia Mikhailovna, daughter of Michael Mikhailovna; age 25 when she married Sir Harold Wernher in 1917 CE

59 women; average age at first marriage was 20 years old. The oldest bride was 31 at her first marriage; the youngest was 14.

[otmaaromanovas]

The Lost Grand Duchesses: Part 1 - Anna Petrovna

Anna Petrovna was born in January 1708, officially out of wedlock. Her father, Peter ‘the Great’, had six daughters; Ekaterina, Anna, Elizaveta, Maria Natalia, Margarita, and Natalia. Peter planned to marry every daughter that survived infancy to a European house in order to consolidate alliances and friendships with Russia. Peter did not raise Anna, instead giving her to his younger sister Natalia Alexeievna and her husband Alexander Danilovich to raise. Peter’s plan to use the girls as alliance pawns influenced their childhood greatly; their education included embroidery, literature, dancing, and etiquette in order to be perceived as proper and lady-like. By her teenage years, Anna could speak five languages, no doubt to make her more attractive to European houses. Meanwhile, Peter’s sons were taught geography, history, and mathematics.

In 1721, serious marriage was on the table. Karl Friedrich of Schlewsig-Holstein-Gottorp was called to Russia, in order to meet Anna and her father. Karl had just entered his twenties, and his denouncers insisted that he was rude and arrogant. In comparison, Anna was barely thirteen years old, and incredibly shy.

This did not deter Peter, who was incredibly attracted by the idea of a Schleswig-Russian alliance. After a few years of shopping for other potential candidates, the marriage contract was signed. Ironically, the bride was not on the contract, and it was her father Peter and Karl Friedrich who signed. When the men signed the contract, Anna’s right to the Russian throne was instantly revoked.

In 1725, less than a year after the marriage between Anna and Karl Friedrich, Peter ‘the Great’ fell seriously ill. He called for Anna, whom he asked to write his will under his dictation. There has been great speculation over whether Peter planned to name Anna his heir; even though she had been forced to revoke her right to succession when her marriage was arranged, the Tsar of Russia still retained the power to elect his own heir regardless of the marriage contract terms. Peter was unable to speak, passing away shortly after, before declaring his heir. Whether or not Peter desired to make Anna heir remains one of history’s big ‘’what if’ questions.

In 1727, Anna and her husband Karl Freidrich moved to his native Kiel. Anna was deeply unhappy, missing her sister and nephew Peter Alexeievich; the Grand Duchess loved children. She wrote copious letters to her sister, Ekaterina, detailing her depression at being taken away from her home country. The rumours of Karl Freidrich’s arrogance appeared true; he preoccupied himself with affairs, leaving a pregnant Anna isolated.

In February, Anna gave birth to a baby boy, named Carl Peter Ulrich. Just days after, Anna contracted Puerperal fever, then known as ‘childbed fever’, a postpartum infection most likely caused by contaminated medical equipment and/or the medical staff not practicing proper hygiene. Anna became gravely ill, and requested to be buried back in her homeland, alongside her father in St. Petersburg. Her son Carl Peter survived the labour, and outlived his father, becoming the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. When his aunt Elizaveta, Anna’s sister, died in 1762, Carl Peter became the Tsar of Russia, adopting the name Peter Feodorovich, Peter III.

Despite refusing to parent Anna himself, trying to marry her off when she was a child, and signing a marriage contract without Anna’s signature of consent, Peter claimed that Anna was his ‘favourite daughter.’ Only three of Peter’s fifteen legitimate children survived into adulthood. Anna died when she was only twenty years old. Her brother, Alexei Petrovich was imprisoned and tortured under the order of his father, dying from the torture. Only Anna’s beloved sister Elizaveta survived unscathed - the only out of fifteen siblings.

[ittamoroz]

Paul I of Russia x Natalia Alexeievna: Hands

[thebeautiesofthepast]

Natalia Alexeievna

A Portrait by Alexander Roslin, 1776, rococo

Princess Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt (25.06.1755 - 26.04.1776) was the daughter of Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken. She had been brought up under the strict supervision of her mother and was known for her temperament, outstanding mind and strong character.

When Wilhelmina was seventeen years old, Empress Catherine II decided that her son, Tsarevich Pavel Petrovich should marry her or one of her sisters, even if she was quite displeased with that choice. She sent an invitation to the girls and their mother to come and visit her in Russia.

There, the minute Tsarevich Pavel Petrovich had laid eyes on her, he was in love and so Wilhelmina converted to Russian Orthodoxy and took up the name Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna. They married in 1773. After a few years at court, where she stood out like a sore thumb for refusing to speak Russian, intriguing against her mother-in-law and being a steadfast believer in liberal ideas, she became pregnant.

Her labour lasted five days, after which she delivered a stillborn son and died as well, aged 20. There were rumours that Catherine II killed her by not letting doctors intervene but it was shown that she suffered from scoliosis of the spine, with which it would have been impossible to give birth naturally.

[kosemsultanim]

Natalia Alexeievna’s costumes in Season 2 & 3 of Ekaterina ~ requested by anonymous

[thewritingpossum]

Geez Natalia, I really wonder why she might be afraid to be alone in a room with you, truly a strange reaction...

[adini-nikolaevna]

Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna of Russia (nee Princess Wilhelmina Luisa of Hesse-Darmstadt).

[graceofromanovs]

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝: 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 & 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐧𝐚

On 29th September 1773, Emperor Paul, when Tsarevich married Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna (née Princess Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt). The English envoy James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury noted that she "ruled her husband despotically, without even giving herself the trouble to show the least attachment to him." Their union was considered a failure: although Paul Petrovich loved his wife, Natalia was disappointed with her life as a married woman. In 1776, Natalia delivered a stillborn son and died as a result, Paul was devastated to lose his wife but as duty calls, he married a second time in less six months after Natalia’s death.

Paul and Natalia were both 4th cousins (twice), and 6th cousins (twice). Their common ancestors were Frederick IV, Margrave of Baden-Durlach and Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt.

[venicepearl]

Natalia Alexeievna, Tsarevna of Russia (25 June 1755 – 26 April 1776) was the first wife of Paul Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia (future Emperor Paul I), son of the Empress Catherine II. She was born as Princess Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt as the fifth child of Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and his spouse Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken.

[tiny-librarian]

An engraving of Natalia Alexeievna (Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt).  

[imperial-russia]

Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna, the ill-fated first wife of Emperor Pavel