#olga paley

[thepaleys]

The Strained Relationship between Olga Paley and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich

While it seems that Princess Paley's relationship with her stepdaughter Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna was very cordial and even friendly, the same could not be said of her stepson, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich. Here are a few excerpts from "The Flight of the Romanovs" by John Curtis Perry.

Dmitri had grown up to be a handsome, indeed dashing, young man but a Romanov Hamlet, tormented by many things simultaneously: his childhood as a virtual orphan, with his mother dead and his father banned from Russia; the terrible death of his guardian Grand Duke Sergei; his sister, closer to him than any other person, taken to Sweden in the duty of a royal marriage; and his ironic intimacy with the emperor and empress who had made him almost a member of their family but actually had deprived him in childhood of a father and in adolescence a sister. Dmitri remained always an outsider. (...)

The emperor had pardoned Dmitri’s father, Paul, his last surviving uncle, and permitted him to return to Russia when the war had broken out. Paul’s second wife, Olga, had shrewdly asked Rasputin to intercede on her husband’s behalf. She had been eager to drop her German title for a Russian one, and Paul secured permission from the emperor for his wife to be promoted from Countess Hohenfelsen to Princess Paley, taking the name of a Cossack chief to whom she was related.

There was no love lost between Dmitri and his stepmother. Olga, Princess Paley, had her own son by Paul, Vladimir, upon whom she doted. The fact that her own morganatic marriage meant that Vladimir could never be a grand duke like Dmitri irritated her tremendously. Dmitri, on his part, wrote to the emperor saying that he saw the “honorable family of Countess Hohenfelsen” as little as possible, thus making life in St. Petersburg, he said, much more peaceful.

Dmitri could only pity his father, so dominated by his aggressive second wife. In October 1916, Princess Paley was outraged to find that Grand Duke Paul had been choosing wines from their cellar and taking them to army headquarters, where he was then stationed. “I would somehow understand if you treated the Sovereign to it,” the princess complained, “but to waste it on Dmitri or Grand Duke George Mikhailovich was totally unnecessary.”

Princess Paley believed that Dmitri was scheming not only against her son but also against his own father. She wrote to her husband, “I have been telling you in every letter; ‘don’t trust Dmitri,’ and I myself was deceived by his damned tricks! I have rarely hated people, as I hate him right now!”

Of course, nothing of this comes across Princess Paley's Memoires, in which she gives the following description of Dmitri:

"During our stay at Mohileff the Grand Duke Dimitri, who was on duty with the Emperor, often came to lunch and. dine with us. Very well informed about war matters and what was in progress at the headquarters of the General Staff, endowed with remarkable intelligence and with the faculty of grasping facts and drawing from them the necessary conclusion, this young man of twenty-five was a mature man and a shrewd observer. He also recognised the imminent danger which the country was running, and he had conversations on the subject more than once with the Emperor . and with his own father. I remember that one day at Mohileff, at tea time, he said to me:

"Ah, mamotchka (a tender diminutive of mama), if only you knew what is going to happen!"

It was in vain that I pressed him to continue. he would say no more."

[nadziejacher]

Prince Vladimir Paley poem about Marie Antoinette harpsichord, which in 1910s was located in his palace in Tsarskoe Selo. Photo of my original Vladimir's book of poems, 1916

[loiladadiani]

“Royal Group”

This is an interesting picture, for more than one reason. First, lets see who is in it (I don't recognize them all but I will tell you who I recognize.) From left to right, the second woman in white is Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna; there is a woman I don't recognize behind her and then comes her mother, Miechen ( Grand Duchess Maria Palovna the Elder.) in front of Miechen, sitting on a step is Nicholas Nicholaievich (Nicholasha); slightly behind Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna is Olga Paley, Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich’s wife. Pavel is next to her, the only person in the picture sitting on a chair. In front of him there is an older gentleman in military garb, whom I don't recognize. Next to him sits a very young Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich. Sitting slightly behind Andrei is his brother Grand Duke Boris.

There are at least four interspersed ladies I don't recognize, as well as several officers. All the way to the right, stands the unmistakable Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich.

When I first saw this picture, I noticed that Miechen is resting her hand on Nicholasha’s neck in what to me appeared like a rather intimate gesture. And of course, some time after that I read that there were rumors that Miechen and Nicholasha had an affair (the source for that is not a consistently reliable one.) I don't believe the rumours. Nicholasha was no fool and in no position to offend his older and more powerful cousin, Vladimir, known for his fiery temper. Plus most of the literature states that Miechen and Vladimir we're very well matched and loved each other. But there is the hand…on…Nicholasha’s…neck…

[gogmstuff]

More images of 1912 fashion -

1912-1913 Afternoon dress.

1912 (Winter) Jeanne Paquin evening gown (Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection, FIDM Museum - Los Angeles, California, USA).

1912 (Winter) Jeanne Paquin evening gown (Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection, FIDM Museum - Los Angeles, California, USA).

Left 1912 Lucile dress (V&A). From omgthatdress.tumblr.com/post/654088327176306688/evening-dress-lucile-1912-the-victoria-albert 1280X1707.

Center and right ca. 1912 Chantilly lace dinner dress front quarter and back (location ?). From whitakerauction.smugmug.com-Fall2012-Clothing-ID-22-140-i-b3kCXfz 3068X2895

1912 Lady in Furs, Mrs. Charles A. Searles by Cilde Hassam (location ?). From tumblr.com/catherinedefrance 900X1090.

1912 Lady wearing a large hat sitting by Franz von Stuck (auctioned by Sotheby's). From their Web site 1753X1991.

1912 Mrs J., by Józef Męcina-Krzesz (location ?). From godsandfoolishgrandeur.blogspot.com/2016/11/randomly-ix.html; shadows 60% and fixed spots w Pshop 750X975.

1912 Mrs. Ernest Guinness by Sir Francis Bernard Dicksee (auctioned by Christie's) From www.pinterest.com/nouvellegiselle/vintage-inspiration slightly cropped & fit to screen 924X1500.

1912 Mrs. John Lawrence by Edmund Tarbell (private collection). From cutlermiles.com/mrs-john-lawrence-edmund-tarbell/ 992X1280.

Left 1912 Princess Elena of Greece, nee Russia, in 1912, wearing the diamond and pearl tiara she later gave to her daughter as a wedding gift From pinterest.com/inara0798/aristocrats/ 602X960.

Center 1912 Princess Paley in a dinner dress with fancy headdress. From Sacheverelle's photostream on flickr 488X983.

Right 1912 Vizcondesa de Termens From laalacenadelasideas.blogspot.com/2012/12 1018X1316.

1912 Robe de Visite de Paquin (pl.5, La Gazette du Bon ton 1912-1913 n°2) by George Barbier. From edition-originale.com/en/prints-engravings-photographs/ 1682X2518.

Left ca. 1912 Frau Prinzessin Rupprecht in Bayern, Marie Gabrielle in Bayern, by F. Grainer. From eBay fixed spots w Pshop 1017X1600.

Right ca. 1912-1913 Olga de Meyer wearing the famous Paul Poiret coat La Perse, photograph by Baron de Meyer. From facebook.com/144304418968266/photos/a.397639360301436/1143579645707400/?type=1&theater 1123X2048

Left 1912 Winifred, Duchess of Portland by Philip Alexius de László (Portland College - Ravenshead, Nottinghamshire, UK). From books0977.tumblr.com/post/111045895147/the-duchess-of-portland-1912-philip-alexius-de 999X1280.

Right 1912 New Book by Walter Bonner Gash (location ?). From tumblr.com/larobeblanche/742427773413556224/the-new-book-c-1912? 876X1024.

Left 1912 Le Manteau bleu by Xavier Gosé (location ?). From tumblr.com/mote-historie/744587745354301440/painting-by-xavier-gos%C3%A9-le-manteau-bleu-1912?.

Center 1912 Fourrures Max (Max Furs) in the catalogue 'Fourrures Portraits Minatures' by George Barbier. From tumblr.com/mote-historie/732453186620866560/george-barbier-illustration-for-the-catalogue?source=share& 1939X2541.

Right 1912 Man and woman in evening dress by Coles Phillips (NYPL). From tumblr.com/sartorialadventure/747029584815489024?; fixed flaws & spots w Pshop 764X1000

ca. 1912 a Femme chic, Supplément by A. Souchel (Rijksmuseum). From their Web site; fixed flaws & spots w Pshop 3229X5315.

[graceofromanovs]

Members of the House of Romanov, the last reigning Dynasty of Russia.

From the first Romanov Russian Tsar Michael I (reigned 1613-1645) until the last Emperor Nicholas II (reigned 1894-1917). Including the 18 members of the house executed from 1918 until 1919; Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich (13 June 1918). Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Grand Duchesses Olga Nikolaevna, Tatiana Nikolaevna, Maria Nikolaevna, Anastasia Nikolaevna, and Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich (17 July 1918). Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, Prince Ioann Konstantinovich, Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich, Prince Igor Konstantinovich, and Prince Vladimir Paley (18 July 1918). Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich, Grand Duke Dmitri Konstantinovich, Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich, and Grand Duke George Mikhailovich (28 January 1919).

[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.

[romanovsmurdermystery]

On the image: collage of five Grand Dukes - from left to right: Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia, Igor Konstantinovich of Russia, Vladimir Paley,  Ioann Konstantinovich of Russia, Konstantin Konstantinovich.

Single men, a monk to be, and two nuns

Let's go back to 17/18 July 1918. The supposed night of 'murder' of the following Romanovs-Hesse:

1) Vladimir Paley - the son of Pavel Alexandrovich of Russia by his second wife Olga Karnovich (Hungarian descent)

2) Elisabeth of Hesse - the wife of Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia - a nun

3) Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia - a friend of Nicholas II

4) Ioann Konstantinovich of Russia - a monk to be

5) Igor Konstantinovich of Russia

6) Konstantin Konstantinovich (junior)

7) Varvara Yakovleva - a nun

8) Fedor Semenovich Ramez - personal assistant and manager of Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia

If you look at the list of these people several things pop up:

There are two nuns. One monk to be (married), 4 single men, and a personal assistant/manager.

Chronology:

16 March 1918 - Uritsky, the Chief of Petrograd CHECKA summoned Romanovs - the exact list is not really available - for a meeting.

4 April 1918 - the above mentioned people were sent to exile to Vyatka

3 May 1918 - the same group arrived to Yekaterinburg

20 May 1918 - the same group arrived to Alapaevsk and is accommodated in Napolnuy School.

21 June 1918 - supposedly all the personal belongings including jewellery and money were taken away except some sheets, and the clothes that were on.

18 July 1918 - the day when the group was thrown into a shaft or so it was presented (a detail - it seems two of the people in the group were hit on the head by an axe, as if the 'killers' did not have guns to shoot them)

The questions that arise from the above are:

1) Why to move this group of people from Vyatka to Yekaterinburg and then to Alapaevsk?

2) Who was interested in even sending Elisabeth of Hesse, then a nun, to exile when she was a nun and her husband was long dead. Besides, she did not have any children.

3) What Varvara Yakovleva was doing in this group?

4) Why to be bothered about Ioann Konstantinovich who was a monk to be anyway? By the way, two of his children stayed in Petrograd and later immigrated abroad.

5) Why to be concerned about Vladimir Paley who broadly speaking was a recognised and titled but yet illegitimate son of Pavel Alexandrovich who had a very legitimate son at the same time, Dmitry Pavlovich?

The above questions are certainly something to ponder over.

[otmaaromanovas]

i know this is a bit outside your purview but i was hoping you could help me - would you be able to recommend some memoirs of russian aristocrats from the imperial family's immediate circle who survived the revolution and settled in the west? something in the vein of felix yusupov or alexander mikhailovitch's memoirs, maybe? i'm interested in how they adjusted to the change in political and cultural circumstances. thanks in advance :)

Hello there!

Yes, I know of a few! I will also link you to Felix Yusupov and Alexander Mikhailovich’s memoirs, just in case you didn’t know they could be read online for free :) Where possible, I will include links to access them online for free.

Lost Splendour by Felix Yusupov

Once a Grand Duke by Alexander Mikhailovich

25 Chapters of my Life by Olga Alexandrovna - the later chapters detail how she, her husband, and two young children fled Russia

The Last Grand Duchess by Ian Vorres - a memoir written and based off interviews with Olga Alexandrovna, with quotes from her.

Vera by Paul Gilbert includes some memoirs by Vera Konstantinovna. The memoirs focus mostly on her childhood, but touch a little on the Revolution and her life in America after.

Memories of Russia, 1916-1919 by Princess Paley and John van der Kiste - more focus on the Revolution rather than settling elsewhere, but I hope it will be helpful!

Dancing in St. Petersburg by Mathilde Kschessinska - details her life as the first love of Nicholas II, her work as a Prima ballerina, her relationship with Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich. She and Andrei eventually fled Russia to France.

Not sure if this counts as he wasn’t Russian, but Tutor to the Tsarevich by Sydney Gibbes and J. C. Trewin details Gibbes’ life, including his fleeing to Asia and then to Oxford.

If you can speak French, this interview with Felix and Irina might be of interest to you. They talk mostly about Rasputin, but it does show their situation living outside of Russia.

Education of a Princess by Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna details her marriage to Duke of Södermanland, which saw her relocate to Sweden

These aren’t memoirs but instead secondary sources, but I thought I would include them in case they were valuable to you. Once a Grand Duchess: Xenia by John van der Kiste and Coryne Hall details Xenia’s escape from Russia and her adjustment to life in England living in Frogmore Cottage, using sources in the form of letters written by Xenia herself.

I hope that this was somehow helpful! Enjoy your reading :)

[elsalouisa]

"A soldier broke into the conversation and said to me, in rough tones: "You have drunk our blood."

"I drink your blood!" I replied. "Why, I should get ill at once if I drank anything so horrid!"

Olga Paley "Memories of Russia 1916-1919"

[steliosagapitos]

~ "Tiara made in 1912 for Princess Olga Paley, of Diamonds and aquamarines, by Cartier." ~

[romanovsonelastdance]

I read about a pretty old post of yours about Vladimirovichi may I ask what are the other branches besides this? I am not really familiar with it at the same time I am curious who are their Family Head.

The branches are generally based on the sons of Nicholas I: Alexander, Konstantin, Nikolai and Mikhail.

The Alexandrovichi were obviously the main branch as belonging to the eldest son and thus future Tsar Alexander II. Many historians and enthusiasts further divide the Alexandrovichi from the main line by two sons of Alexander II, Vladimir and Paul, creating the subbranches Vladimirovichi and Pavlovichi, as they were the only two sons other than Alexander III himself to leave significant descendants. Nicholas II and OTMAA would be considered part of the main Alexandrovichi line, and because none of Nicholas II's brothers left significant descendants, there's no reason to divide it further.

Alexander II - Alexander III - Nicholas II - OTMAA Alexander II - Vladimir - Vladimirovichi (Kirill + his descendants, Boris, Andrei and Elena) Alexander II - Paul - Pavlovichi (Dmitri, Maria, the Paleys)

Next are the Konstantinovichi, the descendants of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich. His daughter Olga became Queen of the Hellenes (Greece), but of his sons only Konstantin Konstantinovich left a large family. Unfortunately many of his sons were killed in the revolution, and his two surviving sons, Gavriil and Georgiy, didn't have children, so this line has pretty much died out in the male line, but there are plenty through the female line.

The Nikolaevichi were the smallest branch, as only the legitimate children of Nikolai Nikolaevich are generally included, his sons Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Younger and Grand Duke Petr Nikolaevich. Of the two, only Petr had children, and only one son, Roman. Roman had two sons, but only one had children, and they were all daughters, so the male line has (I believe) died out.

Then the Mikhailovichi, which turned out to be one of the largest because of Alexander Mikhailovich's many sons with Nicholas II's sister Xenia. His brothers Georgiy and Mikhail also had children, but Georgiy's were both girls (Nina and Xenia) and Mikhail's were the product of an morganatic marriage and never lived in Russia. The current President and Vice President of the Romanov Family Association are both from this branch, and both descendants of Sandro and Xenia: Olga Andreevna (youngest daughter of their son Andrei) and Rostislav Rostislavovich (son of their son Rostislav).

The Vladimirovichi branch are the ones most vocally claiming the actual throne, though, as after the deaths of Nicholas II, Alexei, and Mikhail Alexandrovich, Kirill was next in line. Then his son, Vladimir Kirillovich, and in the present day the non-existent throne is claimed by his only child, Maria Vladimirovna. But the rest of the family don't generally agree with her claim.

[thepaleys]

Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna on meeting the Hohenfelsens

(safe to say she was not impressed 🤣)

Paris, 16 June 1908

The young Swedish couple" has arrived in our hotel. Little Marie is a very sedate and calm little person, but she poured her heart out to Baby: she feels it terribly meeting here her step-mother and suffers greatly under it. As to poor little Dmitry, he is in perfect despair. He hates the whole thing and loathed the idea of seeing his new Geschwister [siblings]. He comes to me to talk about it.

Of course Uncle Paul and wife manquent de tact [are tactless] in every way: for instance, last Tuesday he arranged a big luncheon with quantities of his French acquaintances and asked us too. It was the first time poor Dmitry went to his house here and Uncle Paul presented him to all the guests as "mon fils aine" [my eldest son]. The boy simply se tordait de désespoir [curled up in despair], we observed it all and in the middle of this unknown company appeared these second children and all the affected French people went into loud ectasies about them [at this time, Vladimir was 11, Irina 4 and Natalie 2], whilst poor Dmitry was pale with concentrated rage and moral suffering.

Marie told Baby that she never would have come here, had she known, how it would be. And people are wonderfully taktlos. They all praise her to the skies when they talk to me, cette charmante Comtesse Hohenfelsen, "elle est adorable, cette femme". Vous trouvez [that charming Countess Hohenfelsen. She's adorable, don't you think?]. I answer, oh! Bien pour moi, c'est très pénible [for me it's all very painful] and I tell them a few truths. Then they at once turn the conversation, as French people hate when they are found at fault et ne désirent pas du tout en savoir d'avantage. [and don't want to be wrong in any way].

As to Uncle Paul, I cannot support at all him here; his whole attitude and tone I find detestable, I don't show it, à quoi bon and I am simply polite with his wife, like with any lady in society I don't care for. I simply writhe when I see in his house portraits of my mother, what a desecration! And he pointed them out to me! I thought one moment I would like to insult him before all his idiotic French guests.

"Dear Mama" - Diana Mandache

This is what I love about digging into original sources. When we read Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna's memoires, the idea we get is that she always had a pleasent relationship with her stepmother, but here (at least according to Maria Alexandrovna, who clearly still held a deep resentment towards her brother and his second wife) it seems things were not so smooth.

It's also interesting (and sad) to notice how she doesn't really consider Grand Duke Paul's children from his second marriage worthy of any note and is even annoyed that the French fawn over them and that Grand Duke Paul introduces Dmitri as his "eldest son", which seems to imply she doesn't consider Vladimir to be his son at all.

It kind of shows what the rest of the family thought about Grand Duke Paul's second family: so irrelevant that it was as if they didn't exist.

[nadziejacher]

❤ Paley Palace, July 2023, Tsarskoe Selo

[loiladadiani]

Photographs: 1. Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich; 2. Pavel's first wife: Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna (Nee Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark); 3. Pavel's morganatic wife: Olga Valerianovna, Princess Paley (nee Olga Valerianovna Karnovich).

Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich (1860 - 1919) and his children

Grand Duke Pavel was the youngest son of Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna. As a child and even as an adult, he had very frail health (but that did not prevent him from being very successful with the ladies and a great dancer.) Politically, Pavel would play his most important role toward the end of the Romanov dynasty, when he largely acted as a liaison between Empress Alexandra and Emperor Nicholas II and the rest of the Romanov family. It was Grand Duke Paul who informed the Empress of the abdication.

Pavel was married twice and had five children. His first wife was Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna (nee Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark.) He had two children with her, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (the younger) and Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich (Alexandra died giving birth to him.) Several years later, Pavel married Olga Valerianovna Karnovich morganatically and was exiled from Russia by the Emperor; the couple had a comfortable exile since Paul had money out of Russia. Olga would be made Princess Paley when the couple was allowed to return to Russia. By the time they returned to Russia, they had three children: Vladimir, Irina, and Natalia.

Grand Duke Pavel's five children were remarkably good-looking. One of his daughters, Natalia, became a model and actress in the United States. It is a shame that they had to live through such horrible times; none of them seem to find lasting stability in the area of relationships throughout their lives. But this post is just about what a good example of the general good looks of the Romanov family Pavel's children were.

Following are some photographs of Pavel's beautiful offspring:

Photographs: Pavel and Olga's children: 1. Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley; 2. Princesses Natalia and Irina Pavlovna Paley; 3. Prince Vladimir with his two little sisters; 4. Prince Vladimir; 5. Princess Irina Pavlovna; 6. Princess Natalia Pavlovna

Photographs: Pavel and Alexandra's children: 1. Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Younger; 2. Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna; 3. Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich

[imperial-russia]

Olga Valerianovna, Princess Paley

[books0977]

Portrait of Princess Olga Paley (Countess Gogonfelsen) (between 1902 and 1904). Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret (French, 1852-1929). Oil on canvas. Hermitage Museum.

Countess Gogonfelsen wears a magnificent fur over a dress with an off-shoulder vee waistline and criss-cross bodice in this 1902 portrait.