Plan
Introduction
1 Biography
2 Children
Bibliography
Introduction
Alexandra Feodorovna (nee Princess Friederika Charlotte Wilhelmina, also known as Charlotte of Prussia, German. Charlotte von Preussen; July 13, 1798, Potsdam - October 20 (November 1), 1860, Tsarskoye Selo) - wife of the Russian Emperor Nicholas I, Russian Empress.
1. Biography
Frederica Charlotte Wilhelmina was born on July 13, 1798, the third child of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and his wife, Queen Louise. She was the sister of the Prussian kings Friedrich Wilhelm IV and Wilhelm I, later the first German emperor.
On July 13, 1817, she married Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, brother of the Russian Emperor Alexander I. The marriage involved the transition of the bride to Orthodox confession and the naming of a new name, available in Orthodox saints. The marriage pursued primarily political goals: strengthening the political union of Russia and Prussia, but it turned out to be happy and large. After the accession of her husband to the throne in 1825, Alexandra Feodorovna became the Russian Empress. After the death of Nicholas I in 1855, she bore the title of Empress Dowager.
The daughter of the poet Tyutchev, Anna Fedorovna, maid of honor of Tsesarevna Maria Alexandrovna, wrote about the Empress in her memoirs: he feels. For him, this was a lovely bird, which he kept locked up in a gold and jeweled cage, which he fed on nectar and ambrosia, lulled with melodies and aromas, but whose wings he would cut off without regret if she wanted to escape from the gilded bars of her cage. ".
had friendly relations with Pushkin, who spoke warmly about her in his diary.
She died on October 20, 1860 in Tsarskoye Selo. The funeral service took place on November 5; buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
· Alexander Nikolayevich, future Emperor Alexander II (1818-1881), married in his first marriage to Maria of Hesse and in his second, morganatic marriage, to Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukova.
· Maria Nikolaevna (1819-1876), married in her first marriage to Maximilian de Beauharnais (the offspring from this marriage retained the right of succession), the Duke of Leuchteberg and in the second to Count Grigory Stroganov.
Olga Nikolaevna (1822-1892), married to King Charles I of Württemberg, died childless.
Alexandra Nikolaevna (1825-1844), married to Landgrave Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel, died in childbirth a year after her marriage.
· Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich (1827-1892), married to Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg (Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna), left offspring.
· Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder (1831-1891), married to Princess Alexandra of Oldenburg (Alexandra Petrovna), left offspring.
· Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich (1832-1909), married to Cecilia of Baden (Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna), left offspring.
Bibliography:
Carl Christian Philipp
Russian Empress, wife of Emperor Nicholas I (1796-1855) Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova (Princess Charlotte of Prussia) was born on July 1 (13), 1798 in Potsdam (Prussia). Born Princess Frederick-Louise-Charlotte-Wilhelmina was the third child in the family of the Prussian king Frederick William III of the Hohenzollern dynasty and his wife, Queen Louise.
Her father, Friedrich Wilhelm III (1770-1840), was a kind and sincere believer, but turned out to be a weak and indecisive ruler, in general, not remarkable in nature. After becoming King of Prussia in 1797, he promised assistance to Austria, but did nothing after Napoleon's invasion of Austria in 1805. After the crushing defeat of the Prussian army at Jena and Auerstedt (1806), having lost half of his possessions, Friedrich Wilhelm was forced to sign the Peace of Tilsit in 1807. Princess Charlotte's mother, the Prussian Queen Louise-Augusta-Wilhelmina-Amalie (1776-1810) was the daughter of Duke Karl of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Friedrich Wilhelm III (1770-1840) Louise Augusta Wilhelmina Amalie (1776-1810)
Friedrich Wilhelm and Queen Louise married in 1793 and had three children. Two sons from this marriage, Friedrich Wilhelm IV (1795-1861) and Wilhelm I (1797-1888), later became Prussian kings, and Wilhelm also became the first German emperor (since 1871). Charlotte was youngest child in the family and their only daughter. Becoming queen, Louise soon attracted the hearts of her subjects and joined the Reform Party. She tried to turn Napoleon's head, she herself was turned by the Russian Tsar Alexander. When Friedrich Wilhelm marched against the French in the autumn of 1806, Louise followed him to Thuringia. After the Battle of Jena, Louise fled to Konigsberg, taking with her three children, including the youngest, 8-year-old Charlotte.
In December 1809, Louise finally returned to Berlin with her children, but a few months later she fell ill and died at the age of 34. Her remains are buried in the palace garden in Charlottenburg, where a mausoleum will be erected for her and her husband. In the 19th century, the Louise Institute in Berlin, which trains educators, and the Order of Louise were dedicated to the memory of the Queen.
The unfortunate Charlotte, who already in her childhood knew for herself what war and exile were, was 12 years old when her mother died. Lotchen, as her family called her, was incredible beautiful girl- white, ruddy, tender, with surprising slim waist She seemed like an unearthly being. After the victory over Napoleon, she could think about marriage, and one of the potential suitors was younger brother Russian Emperor Alexander I - Nikolai Pavlovich.
Nicholas I
In Prussia, in 1814, Nicholas met and fell in love with the young daughter of King Frederick William III, Charlotte. Already on November 4, 1815 in Berlin, during an official dinner, the Russian Emperor Alexander I and the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III announced the engagement of Princess Charlotte and the brother of the Russian Tsar, Tsarevich and Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich.
Christina Robertson. Empress Alexandra Fedorovna
Everything was terribly sweet and sentimental in German: young Nikolai and Charlotte were considered almost the most beautiful couple in Europe and fell in love at first sight. Of course, this alliance "strengthened Russian-German friendship" at that stage, but on the part of the "young" it was completely devoid of even a hint of pragmatism.
Nikolai called his bride "my bird", his first feeling was not passion, not a thirst for possessing her beauty, but a desire to protect her, warm her, protect her from the worries of the world. The wedding took place on July 1 (13), 1817 in the church Winter Palace. Marriage involved the transition of the bride to the Orthodox confession and the naming of a new name, available in the Orthodox calendar. So Princess Charlotte of Prussia became known as Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna.
Christina Robertson, 3 portraits
Subsequently, the Empress recalled this event: “I felt very, very happy when our hands joined; with full confidence I gave my life into the hands of my Nicholas, and He never deceived this hope.
The marriage pursued primarily political goals: strengthening the political union of Russia and Prussia, but it turned out to be happy and large. Seven children were born from this marriage, including their first child, the future Emperor Alexander II (1818-1881). Motherhood captured her completely and made her happy.
with two older children, Alexandra and Maria Nikolaevna
Unlike the wife of Tsar Alexander I, Charlotte immediately came to the Russian Court "to the court." The mother-in-law fell in love with her all with the same German sentimentality, - Lotchen answered her in the same way. Not very educated, amiable, very “understandable” and “her own”, cheerful, beautiful, breathtakingly graceful, Alexandra Feodorovna became an ornament of the Russian Court. Tsar Alexander loved to open balls with her.
Franz Winterhalter
Young Pushkin was captivated by her and remained a playful admirer of A.F. all life. The poet's diaries (1834) contain Pushkin's conversation with Alexandra Feodorovna and his confession: "I love the queen terribly, despite the fact that she is already 35 years old, or even 36." And she, too, paid him great sympathy. At the Court, the young queen was nicknamed Lalla-Ruk in honor of the heroine of T. Moore's romantic poem for her beauty and grace. This is how Pushkin captured it in the original version of the eighth song of "Eugene Onegin"
And in the bright and rich hall,
When in a silent close circle,
Like a winged lily
Hesitating, Lalla Rook enters,
And over the drooping crowd
Shines with a royal head
And quietly curls and glides
A star is a charita among haritas.
Franz Krüger (1797-1857)
Sickly and infantile, Alexandra Feodorovna had little interest in state affairs. She led an active social life, since 1828 she became a trustee of charitable institutions that passed into her jurisdiction after the death of her mother-in-law, the wife of Paul I, Empress Maria Feodorovna. The empress was also the patroness of the Imperial Women's Patriotic Society and the Elizabethan Institute. The Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg is named after her. Nicholas I surrounded Alexandra Feodorovna with attention and love, creating a real cult of the "white lady" (the symbol of the Empress was White Rose). The line of V.A. is dedicated to her. Zhukovsky "Genius pure beauty", then repeated by A.S. Pushkin.
Peter Sokolov. Portrait of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna on the shore
Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna did not inherit the brilliant beauty of her August mother, Queen Louise, but admired those around her with her unsurpassed grace, lightness, and "flying" gait.
The empress had a majestic and slim figure representing "the finished type of German beauty".
Christina Robertson
The empress was characterized by restraint, reticence and a certain solemn slowness.
According to the testimony of the Marquis A. de Custine, “The Empress has ... indescribable grace. Far from being arrogant, as I have been told, her manner of carrying herself reveals rather a habit of submissiveness in a proud soul.”
Academician A.V. Nikitenko wrote: “The Empress has a slender, majestic figure, of which, I think, there are not many; the face is pale, but also majestic, with a touch of good nature; there is a lot of affable and affectionate in her receptions and treatment.
The lady-in-waiting A.F. Tyutcheva, who knew the Empress closely, wrote, “Alexandra Feodorovna was kind, she always had a smile and good word for all,. Who approached her, but this smile and this kind word never went beyond the small circle of those whom fate brought closer to her. Alexandra Feodorovna had no stern look for anyone, no unfriendly gesture, no harsh condemnation. If she heard about misfortune, she willingly gave away her gold, if only her secretary had something left ... Alexandra Feodorovna loved that everyone around her was cheerful and happy, loved to surround herself with everything that was young, lively and brilliant, she wanted so that all women are beautiful and smart, like herself; for everyone to have gold. Pearls and diamonds, velvet and lace ... The cult that Emperor Nicholas, and following his example, the whole Royal Family surrounded her, created real prestige around her. Meek and modest by nature, she was still an Empress, and it seemed legitimate to surround her with devotion, honors and attention, which the Emperor was the first to hasten to give her.
Gerhard von Kugelgen
The empress was ill a lot in the 1830-1850s, which gave the Imperial family life a certain character of restraint and closeness from the outside world.
At the insistence of the doctors, who demanded that she rest in a better climate, the Empress, who suffered from heart disease for many years, undertook repeated travels.
The health of the Empress finally deteriorated after the death of the Royal spouse.
The Empress outlived the unforgettable Sovereign and her crowned husband by a little over five years.
Alexander Bryullov, 2 portraits
At the insistence of doctors, the Dowager Empress Alexandra I Feodorovna spent the winter in Nice and Rome, and in 1859 she underwent a course of treatment in Ems and spent two months in Switzerland.
Returning to Tsarskoye Selo from a second trip to Nice in July 1860.
The empress did not stop getting sick, and on October 20 (November 2), 1860, she quietly died in Tsarskoye Selo at the age of 62.
The merciful Lord allowed her to be the Empress of boundless Russia for 34 years, having lived in her 43 happy, like a moment, years of life.
______________________________
Seven children were born from this marriage:
future emperor Alexander II Nikolaevich(1818-1881) and Mikhail Nikolaevich (1832-1909)
Nikolai Nikolaevich(1831-1891) and Konstantin Nikolaevich (1827-1892)
Olga Nikolaevna(1822-1892) Maria Nikolaevna(1819-1876) Alexandra Nikolaevna(1825-1844)
This term has other meanings, see Alexandra Fedorovna. Alexandra Feodorovna ... Wikipedia
Alexandra Fedorovna is the name given in Orthodoxy to two spouses Russian emperors: Alexandra Feodorovna (wife of Nicholas I) (Princess Charlotte of Prussia; 1798 1860) Russian Empress, wife of Nicholas I. Alexandra Feodorovna (wife ... ... Wikipedia
- (real name Alice Victoria Elena Louise Beatrice Hesse of Darmstadt) (1872 1918), Russian Empress, wife of Nicholas II (since 1894). Played a significant role in public affairs. She was under the strong influence of G. E. Rasputin. In period 1 ... ... Russian history
Alexandra Fedorovna- (1872 1918) Empress (1894 1917), wife of Nicholas II (since 1894), nee. Alisa Victoria Elena Louise Beatrice, daughter led. Duke of Hesse of Darmstadt Ludwig IV and Alice of England. Since 1878 she was brought up in English. Queen Victoria; finished... ...
Alexandra Fedorovna- (1798 1860) Empress (1825-60), wife of Nicholas I (since 1818), nee. Frederick Louise Charlotte of Prussia, daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and Queen Louise. Mother imp. Alra II and led. book. Konstantin, Nicholas, Mikh. Nikolaevich and led. kn… Russian humanitarian encyclopedic Dictionary
- (25.V.1872 16.VII. 1918) Russian. Empress, wife of Nicholas II (since November 14, 1894). Daughter led. Duke of Hesse of Darmstadt Ludwig IV. Before marriage, she was named Alice Victoria Helena Louise Beatrice. Domineering and hysterical, had a great influence on ... ... Soviet historical encyclopedia
Alexandra Fedorovna- ALEXANDRA FYODOROVNA (real name Alice Victoria Elena Louise Beatrice Hesse of Darmstadt) (1872–1918), grew up. Empress, wife of Nicholas II (since 1894). Played means. role in government affairs. She was under the strong influence of G. E. Rasputin. In period 1 ... ... Biographical Dictionary
Empress of Russia, wife of Nicholas II (since November 14, 1894). Daughter of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse of Darmstadt. Before marriage, she was named Alice Victoria Helena Louise Beatrice. Domineering and hysterical, ... ... Big soviet encyclopedia
- ... Wikipedia
- ... Wikipedia
Books
- The Fate of the Empress, Alexander Bokhanov. This book is about an amazing woman whose life was like a fairy tale and an adventure novel at the same time. Empress Maria Feodorovna... Daughter-in-law of Emperor Alexander II, wife of the Emperor...
- The Fate of the Empress, Bokhanov A.N. This book is about an amazing woman whose life was like a fairy tale and an adventure novel at the same time. Empress Maria Feodorovna... Daughter-in-law of Emperor Alexander II, wife of the Emperor...
, Empress of Russia.
Friederike Charlotte Wilhelmina was born on July 13, 1798, the third child and first daughter of King Frederick William III of Prussia and his wife Queen Louise. She was the sister of the Prussian kings Friedrich Wilhelm IV and Wilhelm I, the first German emperor. She lost her mother at the age of 12.
In her youth, Alexandra Fedorovna was a fair coquette, shed money on the best resorts Europe, almost every year I went with my husband to Germany. She is mentioned in the brilliant stanza "Eugene Onegin", which was not included in the final edition of the novel, under the name Lalla-Ruk. This was the court nickname of the Empress ( nom de society). In the era of romanticism, when all poets and artists sang of the beauty of Italy, the empress passionately wanted to visit this country. To quench this thirst, Nicholas ordered the construction of a pavilion in the "Pompeian" style for her in Peterhof. In Moscow, the Alexandrinsky Palace received her name.
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, “when Nicholas I read T. Shevchenko’s libel against the empress, he fell into great anger, and here are his own words:“ “” After her husband ascended the Russian throne, she received the title of empress. The coronation of Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna took place on August 22, 1826 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. During the coronation, the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called was conferred upon the Empress.
Granted, he had reason to be dissatisfied with me and hate me, but why her?Emperor Nicholas I had for his wife, this fragile, irresponsible and graceful creature, a passionate and despotic adoration of a strong nature for a weak being, whose only ruler and legislator he feels himself to be. For him, this was a lovely bird, which he kept locked up in a gold and jeweled cage, which he fed on nectar and ambrosia, lulled with melodies and aromas, but whose wings he would cut off without regret if she wanted to escape from the gilded bars of her cage. .In 1854, Alexandra Feodorovna was closer than ever to death. A year after the death of Nicholas I, she closed herself in the Alexander Palace and for five years bore the title of Empress Dowager. She was surrounded by a select circle of beloved ladies-in-waiting, who read Schiller and Goethe to her at night; among them was Varvara Nelidova. During these years, the Empress became increasingly sick, was treated in Switzerland, Nice and Rome, and after returning from a trip abroad in July 1860, she did not stop getting sick. Alexandra Feodorovna died on October 20, 1860 in Tsarskoye Selo, she was sixty-two years old.
The chief gendarme of Europe - this is how the emperor was nicknamed for Russia's participation in the suppression of European revolutions in mid-nineteenth century - the "habit" of all our rulers has not passed - the presence of a mistress. Only he went much further than his predecessors - he ensured that his wife "tacitly approved" the candidacy of his favorite, Varvara Nelidova. The girl quickly established herself at court. Well, still - to be the emperor's mistresses among the women of the Nelidov family, apparently, hereditary.
Varvara Nelidova
Emperors rarely hid their favorites from the entire court. Some - like, for example, Alexander II - even appointed their mistresses as ladies-in-waiting to the empresses. Nicholas I kept everything a secret, so historians are still arguing whether there was something between the ruler and the chamber maid of honor Varvara Nelidova.
However, from the attentive courtiers, little escaped the personal life of the rulers. So, Countess Maria Nesselrode more than once in her letters and diaries was indignant that the emperor pays attention to the maid of honor, and even Nelidova, whom the empress loves so much.
The Russian memoirist Alexandra Sokolova also mentioned these relations of Nicholas I and even said that he could not be judged, if only because by the time they began, the health of the empress had deteriorated greatly.
It is believed that the relationship between the 36-year-old emperor and the 18-year-old lady-in-waiting began in 1832. By that time, the wife of Nicholas I, Alexandra, had given birth to her seventh child. Due to health problems, she was banned from any intimate relationships.
"Hereditary mistress"
When gossip began to spread about the new hobby of the ruler, Varvara was branded a hereditary favorite. The fact is that the girl was the great-niece of the favorite of Paul I. Nikolai's father, however, did not hide his relationship with Ekaterina Nelidova, unlike his son.
The girl did not come from poor family. Her father Arkady was a retired headquarters captain, from 1849 to 1852 - the Kursk provincial marshal of the nobility, a privy councillor. And the mother, according to rumors, is the granddaughter of Catherine II and Grigory Orlov (it was rumored that his mother-in-law - illegitimate daughter empress).
Therefore, the girl, at the age of 16, in 1830, graduated from the most fashionable educational institution of that time in Russia for girls - the Smolny Institute. A number of his graduates were then taken to the court, and they either appeared at the court during solemn ceremonies, or were constantly present. First of all, they took those who graduated with a "cipher" (distinction). Vara was helped in this by a relative - the head of the Educational Society for Noble Maidens.
However, Barbara initially fell into the first category. So, in 1832, she attended the next masquerade ball. The emperor's daughter Olga later wrote in her memoirs that they allegedly met there. However, Nelidova heard a lot about the childhood of the ruler from her great-aunt. It is curious that soon after this reception, Nelidova was appointed a permanent maid of honor at court.
Nelidova, perhaps, is one of the few imperial mistresses, about whom mostly positive reviews have been preserved.
Nelidova atoned for her guilt by loving the sovereign with all the strength of her soul, regardless of either his greatness or his power, wrote Sokolova.
The maid of honor Anna Tyutcheva, who met Nelidova in the 1850s, was of the same opinion. She also noted that Varvara never hinted at the court about the sovereign’s disposition towards her, although everyone was already aware of it.
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, of course, knew about the connection. But, unlike her predecessors, she did not set the rest of the ladies-in-waiting and did not lock herself in her room. On the contrary, she never missed a moment to note that Nelidova was her favorite lady-in-waiting. Either she followed the old proverb and kept enemies closer than friends, or the connection was strictly with her permission - one can only guess.
Children
Officially, there were no children from this relationship. It is curious that at the German and French courts they still discussed information about the sovereign having three children from this relationship. It is possible that once the maid of honor of the Empress, and later - the wife of an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nikolai Smirnov, Alexandra, contributed to their spread. Her husband, on duty, visited both Paris and Berlin, where he took his wife with him.
However, Nikolai and Nelidova are still credited with two illegitimate children. So, in the annals of the Historical and Genealogical Society in Moscow, it is indicated that Alexei Pashin may be the son of Nikolai.
The boy was brought up by State Councilor Ivan Tutolmin - the child was thrown by unknown people to his house church. However, there is one inconsistency: even if there really was a connection between Nikolai and the maid of honor, then it began in 1832. And the boy's birthday is April 17, 1831. That is, Barbara was supposed to give birth at 17, and get pregnant at all at 16. But another option cannot be ruled out: the date of birth of the child was "corrected" so that any gossip was stopped in the bud.
Rumors about him kinship they crawled with the emperor after, at the age of 12, the “foundling” was allowed to take the noble title by the highest decree, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria also gave him and all his descendants the title of baron. Note that Nikolai and Ferdinand kept up a correspondence and called each other friends more than once.
Pashin studied at the Moscow gymnasium, served in the "blue" Life Cuirassiers, and then in the Life Guards Hussars. He died in 1863 with the rank of staff captain. He left no children.
In 1855, Nikolai Dobrolyubov wrote in the Rumors magazine that Peter Kleinmikhel had won considerable favor with the sovereign, not only because he was a relative of Nelidova. Allegedly, he adopted three children who appeared from their relationship. However, these rumors have not been confirmed.
Death of Nicholas
Nicholas I died on February 18, 1855 (according to the old style). The official version is death from complications due to pneumonia. As the witness wrote last hours Emperor Anna Tyutchev, he died long and painfully.
While we were following the drama of this night of agony step by step, I suddenly saw the unfortunate Nelidova appear in the lobby. It was evident that the madness of despair took possession of her poor head. Only now, when I saw her, did I understand the meaning of the rumors, ”Tyutcheva wrote in her memoirs.
By the bedside was the Empress, who asked if he would like to say goodbye to the lady-in-waiting. To this, Nikolai said to his wife the following: "Honey, I should not see her anymore. Ask her to forgive me."
When the emperor died, the Empress herself really approached the maid of honor, hugged her, kissed her, and then removed the bracelet with the portrait of Nicholas from her hand and put it on Varvara's hand. In addition, according to the memoirs of contemporaries, while the body of the emperor was in the palace, the empress allocated an hour during which no one was allowed to the deceased, except for Nelidova.
Nelidova remained a lady-in-waiting to the Empress, but asked for permission not to appear at official receptions. This continued until 1860. When the Empress died, Varvara moved in with her relatives. However, she continued to spend the summer in Peterhof.
The maid of honor never married, about her other love affairs is not spoken. The favorite of the Empress and favorite of the sovereign died in St. Petersburg in 1897. Attended her funeral Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich is the same child, after the birth of which the relationship between the maid of honor and the emperor began, which lasted two decades.
