#vera konstantinovna

[graceofromanovs]

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

Source Royalty In Colour

[romanovsonelastdance]

Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna with her daughters and grandchildren.

[ykzzr]

Grand Dukes Nicholas, Dmitri, Vyacheslav Konstantinovich and their sister Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna 1880s.

[foreverinthepagesofhistory]

“..but how could I choose just one…” 💔

People:

~ Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia ~

~ Princess Alix of Hesse and By Rhine ~

~ Princess Margaret of the UK ~

~ Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse ~

~ Princess Charlotte of Prussia ~

~ Anne Frank ~

~ Prince Leopold Duke of Albany ~

~ Grand Duke Ernst Louis of Hesse and By Rhine ~

~ Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha ~

~ Queen Anne of Great Britain and Ireland ~

~ Vera Konstantinovna ~

~ Otto Frank ~

~ Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich ~

~ Prince Joachim of Prussia ~

~ “Joanna the Mad” ~

~ Kaiser Wilhelm II ~

~ Marie Therese, Madame Royale and Dauphin Louis Charles ~

Made by me using iMovie

[la-belle-histoire]

Princess Vera Konstantinovna of Russia, 1920s.

[loiladadiani]

The "Autocrat" and the "Princess"

Princess Vera Konstantinovna (1906 - 2001) was the youngest daughter of Grand Duchess Elizabeta Mavrikievna and Gran Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich (and niece of her namesake - Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna.) The Konstantinovichi children frequently had playdates with the Imperial children...Alexei and Vera were close in age and played together.

Alexis went through one of those phases of mischievousness children go through. I supposed that if the child is the future autocrat of his country and also if that child goes through long periods of confinement due to illness, that can be worse...in any event, I have read that Alexis sometimes passed by the guards just to see them salute him....and had the orchestra of the Standart play and stop and play and stop and things like that...which the Emperor was the only one able to put an end to as Alexis always listened to him.

There is a cute anecdote involving Princess Vera (whom the Tzarevich apparently loved to torment). The little Princess arrived at their play date wearing a beautiful, lacy white dress. Alexis "commanded" her to jump into a muddy puddle, and she immediately did as he told her, only to emerge a mess and crying.

Many years later, someone in an interview asked her why she had obeyed Alexei. Princess Vera answered: "Because he was my Tsarevich."

[epoque-victorienne]

[venicepearl]

Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna of Russia (16 February 1854 – 11 April 1912), was a daughter of Grand Duke Konstantine Nicholaievich of Russia. She was a granddaughter of Tsar Nicholas I and first cousin of Tsar Alexander III of Russia.

She had a difficult childhood marked by illness and tantrums. In 1863, while her father was Viceroy of Poland, she was given away to be raised by her childless uncle and aunt, King Karl and Queen Olga of Württemberg. Vera's condition improved in their home and she outgrew her disruptive behavior. In 1871 she was legally adopted by Karl and Olga, who arranged her marriage in 1874 to Duke Eugen of Württemberg (1846–1877), a member of the Silesian ducal branch of the family. Her husband died suddenly three years later. Vera, only twenty-three years old, did not remarry, dedicating herself to her twin daughters. At the death of King Karl in 1891, Vera inherited a considerable fortune and she turned her home into a cultural gathering place. She was a popular figure in Württemberg, notable for her charitable work.

Grand Duchess Vera was known in royal circles as an eccentric both in appearance and behavior. Although she kept in touch with her Romanov relatives, visiting Russia many times, she identified more closely with her adopted country. In 1909 she abandoned Orthodox Christianity and converted to Lutheranism. She died two years later after a stroke.

[miyashportie]

Summer arts

[loiladadiani]

Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavrikievna, Princess Tatiana Konstantinovna with her children, Prince Georgiy Konstantinovich, Princess Vera Konstantinovna

The family was probably in exile at the time this photo was taken. The "Konstantinovichi" suffered many losses during WWI and the Russian Revolution. Their splendorous wealth was taken away, and for a while, Mavra had to "steal" her own property from what used to be her palace to sell the articles and feed her children.

Her son Oleg died at the beginning of the war (in battle.) Her husband, Grand Duke Konstantin, died of natural causes shortly after that. Her daughter's first husband and the father of her children also died in the war. KR's brother, Dmitry Konstantinovich, was executed by the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks arrested her sons, Princes Ioann, Gavriil, Konstantin, and Igor. All but Gavriil were executed.

Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavrikievna survived all those losses and lived to finish raising Vera and Georgiy, her youngest children. Gavriil settled in Paris with his wife. Tatiana married again, but her second husband died within a year of the marriage. After that, Tatiana finished raising her children and became an Orthodox nun.

Vera died at the age of 94 in New York. Konstantin and Mavra are known to have at least ten descendants living today. (gcl)

Two slightly different photos of Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavrikievna withher children Tatiana, Georgiy and Vera, and Tatiana´s children Teymuraz and Natalia

[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.

[graceofromanovs]

GODPARENTS OF PRINCE GAVRIIL KONSTANTINOVICH

Prince Gavriil Konstantinovich was born on 15 July 1887 in the Grand Bedroom of Empress Maria Feodorovna at Pavlovsk Palace, Saint Petersburg. The second son of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia and his German-born wife Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mavrikievna, he was christened on 8 August at 1:30 pm at a private church of Pavlovsk. His godparents were:

ALEXANDER III, EMPEROR OF RUSSIA - his father’s first cousin was named as one of his many godparents. He was highly reactionary in domestic affairs and reversed some of the liberal reforms of his father, Alexander II. He was most likely present at his young cousin’s christening.

GEORGE I, KING OF GREECE - his uncle, the husband of Queen Olga Konstantinovna, was one of his godparents. Born a Danish prince, he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly, when he was only 17. His reign of almost 50 years (the longest in modern Greek history) was characterized by territorial gains as Greece established its place in pre–World War I Europe.

GRAND DUCHESS ALEXANDRA IOSIFOVNA OF RUSSIA - his paternal grandmother, born a German princess, was listed as one of his godparents. Married to Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich of Russia in 1848, she was considered a beautiful woman, but plagued by insecurity. Within the family, she was later known to be a formidable character.

GEORGE II, DUKE OF SAXE-MEININGEN - his maternal great-uncle, was the penultimate Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, reigning from 1866 to 1914. He was likely present, having been named as one of his young nephew's godparents.

ERNST I, DUKE OF SAXE-ALTENBURG - a paternal great-uncle named as a godparent of the young prince, was the reigning Duke of Saxe-Altenburg from 1853 until 1908. He was of a retiring disposition and he took little active part in running the country, of which he ruled for fifty-five years.

GRAND DUCHESS VERA KONSTANTINOVNA OF RUSSIA - one of his paternal aunt, Vera was known in royal circles as an eccentric both in appearance and behaviour. She was named as one of Gabriel's godparents, and was present at the christening. Although she kept in touch with her Romanov relatives, visiting Russia many times, she identified more closely with her adopted country, Württemberg.

GRAND DUKE DMITRI KONSTANTINOVICH OF RUSSIA - his paternal uncle, and his favourite, was also one of his godparents. He followed a military career, and was religious. He never married, and was one of several Romanov relatives executed by a firing squad at the walls of Peter and Paul Fortress during the Russian Civil War.

MARIE FRIEDRIKE, DOWAGER DUCHESS OF SAXE-MEININGEN -  his maternal great-grandmother was one of his godparents. Born a Princess of Hesse-Kassel, she married the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, with whom two children (seventeen years apart) were born.

PRINCESS AUGUSTA OF SAXE-MEININGEN - his maternal grandmother was absent at her grandson's christening, of whom she was named as one of his godparents. In 1862, she married Prince Moritz of Saxe-Altenburg, and bore him five children.

GEORG, PRINCE OF SCHAUMBURG-LIPPE - the husband of his maternal aunt, was also absent at the young prince's christening but was named as one of his numerous godparents. He ruled the small Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe within the German Empire from 1893 to 1911.

Source

[romanovsonelastdance]

Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna and her family.

[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 :)

[foreverinthepagesofhistory]

Vera Konstantinovna with her paternal aunt Queen Olga of Wurttenburg who would soon become her adopted mother, 1850s-60s

[adini-nikolaevna]

When Queen Olga of Württemberg was going to marry her husband, there were many rumors about her husband being gay. How did his father, Tsar Nicholas I, and his older brother, Alexander II, allow this situation? Did not having children upset his family? For example, he expressed his sadness in the letter he wrote to his brother Alexander III's wife, Maria Feodorovna, because Elizabeth Feodorovna and Sergei Alexanderovich did not have children. Do you know a letter or a saying about this for Queen Olga??

Hi! I don’t know much about rumors at the time of the engagement/wedding ( @sbiizv might be able to help you there, though). Olga certainly didn’t write about it in her memoir, haha. By the time Karl of Wurttemberg came into the picture, Nicholas I was desperate to marry Olga off—she was 24 years old already and had had several potential matches that had fallen through, and she was also flirting with a man of unsuitable rank. He was also keen to have her make a dynastic marriage, as her sisters had both married fairly minor princes, and pickings were slim at this point, so he had to take what he could get, so to speak. The Romanovs were connected to the Wurttembergs, as Nicholas I’s mother was born a Duchess of Wurttemberg, and his sister, Grand Ekaterina Pavlovna, had been the second wife of Karl’s father, so I suppose it was an attractive potential marriage from that perspective as well. I don’t know how Olga or Karl’s family felt about their being childless, but I do believe it caused Olga herself some pain. Later, she and Karl formally adopted Olga’s “problem child” niece, Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna, and Olga loved her as her own.