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Dynasty games: German princesses on the Russian throne

On November 26, 1894, Emperor Nicholas II married Princess Alice of Hesse. The tradition of marrying into the German ruling dynasties has a long history. Some of these marriages were happy both for the royal spouses and for the country, others ended tragically. Let's understand Anna Popova's history.

Charlotte Christina Sophia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

Unknown artist of the 1st half of the 18th century. Portrait of Charlotte Christina Sophia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. 1711. Saratov Art Museum named after. Radishcheva

The tradition of marrying German royal families was started by Peter I. And for his son he chose a bride from the Welf dynasty, one of the oldest in Europe. Charlotte Christina Sophia, Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, spent her childhood at the court of the Polish king Augustus II the Strong. At the age of 15, she became the wife of Tsarevich Alexei, the son of Peter I from Evdokia Lopukhina. The marriage was dictated mainly by political motives - Charlotte was related to Charles VI of Habsburg, and Russia hoped, thanks to the alliance of the prince and the German princess, to enlist the support of Austria in the upcoming war with the Turks.

Peter I allowed the Lutheran Charlotte not to convert to Orthodoxy, although all subsequent foreign princesses changed their religion. And at court she was nicknamed Natalya Petrovna in the Russian manner. The idyll, however, was short-lived. Tsarevich Alexei was more interested in feasts and affairs, while the princess was forced to find a means of livelihood herself. At first, the warm attitude of Catherine I, the second wife of Peter I, towards her, noticeably deteriorated when it turned out that both the queen and the princess were expecting a child. Shortly after the birth of her second child, Charlotte died. She was 21 years old. According to the official version, the cause was appendicitis, but there is a legend that in fact the princess moved to America, where she married again and lived happy life. And her son, Peter II, ascended the throne and ruled for four years until he died of smallpox.

Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst

Peter Drozhdin. Portrait of Empress Catherine II. 1796. State Tretyakov Gallery

The most famous Russian monarch of German origin. When an agreement was reached on the marriage of Sofia Augusta Frederica, or Fike, as her relatives called her, and the future Emperor Peter III, she began to diligently study the history of Russia, the language and converted to Orthodoxy. So Sofia Augusta became Ekaterina Alekseevna, the future Catherine the Great. In 1762, she and like-minded people carried out a coup and took the throne.

During her reign, new lands were annexed to Russia (including Crimea, the east of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Kalmyk Khanate), about 30 new provinces were created and almost one and a half hundred cities were rebuilt. Under Catherine II, the country became the largest European power. During these years, a system of urban educational schools arose, and Catherine herself became a trustee of Smolny. The Hermitage and Russian Academy, studied Russian. At the same time, the empress maintained an active correspondence with Diderot and Voltaire and was herself no stranger to literary creativity. She created many fairy tales, plays and fables. There was no more brilliant ruler on the Russian throne who left such a mark on history.

Augusta Wilhelmina Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt

Alexander Roslin. Portrait of Grand Duchess Natalia Alekseevna. 1776. State Hermitage Museum

The son of Catherine II, Emperor Paul I, although he had a cool relationship with his mother, chose as his wife those whom she approved. When the heir to the throne reached adulthood, the Empress considered the possibility of his marriage with one of the princesses of Hesse-Darmstadt or the Princess of Württemberg. As it turned out, all the options came in handy.

In 1773, three princesses of Hesse-Darmstadt arrived at the court. Pavel drew attention to the middle one and, according to the memoirs of Catherine II, immediately fell in love with her. A month and a half later, Augusta Wilhelmina converted to Orthodoxy - now her name was Natalia Alekseevna - and soon the marriage took place. The Grand Duchess was passionate about the ideas of liberalizing power, spoke about the liberation of the peasants, and even participated in the creation of a project for noble representation. This document essentially proposed transferring legislative power to the Senate. Catherine II was not delighted with her daughter-in-law’s freethinking. After Natalia Alekseevna died in childbirth, the empress immediately began to look for a new wife for her son.

Sophia Dorothea Augusta Louise of Württemberg

Alexander Roslin. Portrait of Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna. 1777. State Hermitage Museum

Paul's second wife was a princess from the house of Württenberg, the same one who had been among the contenders before. However, then Sophia-Dorothea was still too young. It is interesting that she was born in the same Stettin castle as the Russian Empress. Like Catherine, the princess began to learn Russian and tried in every possible way to please her fiancé. Deprived by Catherine II of the opportunity to raise her own children, Maria Feodorovna took care of an educational society for noble maidens and supervised educational homes. She was also passionate about needlework: in Pavlovsk, the empress worked on a lathe, creating objects and jewelry from Ivory and amber, was engaged in engraving and drawing. She gave birth to ten children to Paul I, two of them - Alexander and Nicholas - became emperors.

Louise Maria Augusta of Baden

Jean-Laurent Monier. Portrait of Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna. 1805. Chelyabinsk regional art gallery

Like the sisters of Hesse-Darmstadt, the daughters of Karl Ludwig of Baden and Amalia of Hesse-Darmstadt, were among the contenders for marriage with Grand Duke Alexander. In 1793, the wedding of the heir to the Russian crown and Grand Duchess Elizaveta Alekseevna took place. The wedding celebrations lasted two weeks, and they ended with a fantastic fireworks display in the very center of St. Petersburg. After the coronation, which took place on September 15, 1801, balls were given in Moscow, one more luxurious than the other. However, the imperial couple was in a hurry to return to St. Petersburg. There, Elizaveta Alekseevna patronized schools, orphanages and devoted a lot of time to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. After the military campaign of 1812, the Empress decided to accompany her husband. Commemorative coins, triumphal arches, applauding audiences - the Russian royal couple was warmly received in every city.

Elizaveta Alekseevna outlived Alexander I by six months. There is a legend that the emperor actually became the elder Fyodor Kuzmich. A similar story is associated with the name of the empress. Some believe that she also abandoned worldly life and became Vera the Silent.

Friederike Louise Charlotte Wilhelmina of Prussia

George Dow's workshop. Portrait of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna." 1820s. State Historical Museum

The daughter of the Prussian king Frederick William III met her future husband, Grand Duke Nicholas, in 1814. Their marriage was mutual love and was politically beneficial, since it strengthened the alliance of Prussia, Russia and Austria. Alexandra Feodorovna studied Russian under the guidance of the poet Vasily Zhukovsky and believed that the life of a Grand Duchess, but not an Empress, lay ahead of her. However, in 1823, the heir to the throne, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich renounced his rights and the throne passed to his brother. In 1826, the coronation took place, and three years later, Nicholas I and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna were crowned again - in the Kingdom of Poland. The Warsaw ceremony is unique in its kind because it happened only once. Due to poor health, Alexandra Feodorovna was forced to spend a lot of time away from Nicholas I; the same, experiencing separation, decided to build a palace for her in Crimea.

Maximilian Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria of Hesse and the Rhine

Franz Xavier Winterhalter. Portrait of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. 1857. State Hermitage Museum

The wife of Alexander II and mother of Alexander III, Empress Maria Alexandrovna went down in history as a patron of female education and a benefactor. Seeing young Maria at the opera, Grand Duke Alexander Nikolaevich immediately fell in love and wrote to his mother about his desire to get married immediately. He was even ready to give up the throne just to be close to his beloved. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna personally paid a visit to her father, Duke Ludwig II of Hesse, and, having gotten to know the girl better, gave her consent. Having become empress, Maria Alexandrovna was not interested in politics, devoting much more time to charity. She created the Red Cross movement, was a trustee of hospitals and shelters, gymnasiums, including women's. Institutions for female students of all classes were financed by private and public donations, and training program was divided into mandatory and optional parts. The first, for example, included the Russian language of Nikolai Alexandrovich, heir to the throne. During the First World War, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna allocated funds for the organization of ambulance trains, and organized treatment for the wounded at the Tsarskoe Selo hospital. Together with their daughters, they assisted in operations and cared for the sick. Alexandra Fedorovna was also in charge of more than three dozen charitable societies, including the Women's Patriotic Society, which provides assistance to the poor and those affected by the war. He was in charge of the Tsarskoye Selo school of nannies, the Alexandria women's shelter and others.

“Natalya Alekseevna was a cunning, subtle, insightful woman with a quick-tempered, persistent disposition. The Grand Duchess knew how to deceive her husband and courtiers, who would not yield to the devil in their cunning and intrigues; but Catherine soon penetrated her cunning and was not mistaken in her guesses!”

So Alexander Mikhailovich Turgenev, who managed to achieve his long life serve five kings, described the first wife of Tsarevich Paul. And Prince Waldeck, Chancellor of the Austrian Empire, remarked:

“If this one didn’t stage a coup, then no one will.”

The English envoy to the Russian court, Harris, spoke no less unequivocally about Natalya Alekseevna:

“This young princess was proud and determined, and if death had not stopped her, there would probably have been a struggle between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law during her life.”

Wilhelmina spent only 3 years in Russia. During this time, she actively tried to take away at least part of the power from her mother-in-law, Catherine the Great, but in her venture she obviously overestimated her strength.

It all started in 1771, when Catherine the Second, despite the complexity of the situation in Russia due to the costly war with the Turks, epidemics and riots, came to grips with such an important matter as the marriage of her son Pavel, who was then 17 years old. The Empress fixed her gaze on the German princesses. Catherine instructed Baron von Asseburg, a subject of the Prussian king, to collect relevant information about potential brides. Von Asseburg, who was the Danish envoy to the Russian court, had just transferred to Russian service.

After going through several “candidates,” Catherine focused her attention on the three daughters of the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, which, naturally, was greatly welcomed by the King of Prussia, Frederick the Great. After all, his nephew Friedrich Wilhelm, heir to the Prussian crown, was married to Princess Friederike of Darmstadt, and therefore the King of Prussia counted on significant benefits from the marriage of one of his nephew’s daughters-in-law with the Russian heir to the throne.

Frederick the Great had a corresponding conversation with von Asseburg, and he contributed to the fact that Catherine chose the Darmstadt family. He openly admits in his notes that the King of Prussia had a hand in choosing a bride for Paul (and writes about himself in the third person):

“The elder sister of these princesses was married to the Prince of Prussia; Consequently, there was a great gain for Prussia when one of them became the Grand Duchess, for by adding ties of kinship to the ties of allied friendship, it seemed that the alliance of Prussia with Russia would become even much closer. The king used all his capabilities to tilt things in this direction, and was happy with his success.”

Von Asseburg tried to convince Catherine of the falsity of rumors about Wilhemina’s quarrelsome character. As historian Kobeko noted, von Asseburg

“turned out to be an excellent diplomat: he at the same time acted as a zealous and devoted man to Catherine, showed great affection for the interests of the Prussian king and seemed to take the interests of the Hesse-Darmstadt family to heart.”

Catherine pretended to trust the baron, but she was going to decide everything herself. Having learned that the Prussian king intended the eldest of the three Darmschatt sisters to be Paul’s bride, the empress noted in her handwritten note:

“I don’t particularly dwell on the praises lavished on the eldest of the Hessian princesses by the King of Prussia, because I know how he chooses and what he needs; what he likes would hardly satisfy us. For him, the stupider the better; I have seen and know those chosen by him...”

Through von Asseburg, Landgrave Henriette Caroline was given an invitation to come with her three daughters to St. Petersburg. Landgrave Henrietta Caroline, unlike her husband, who enjoyed the fame of the best drummer in the entire Holy Roman Empire, was one of the most educated women in Germany at that time. Goethe, Herder, and Wieland often visited her palace. This woman combined a deep mind with incredible ambition. Frederick the Great said that the Landgrave was “a man of intelligence,” and Catherine described her as “a man of a strong soul.” The Landgrave accepted the invitation without much hesitation, although the situation was very unusual. As historian Baron Bühler noted,

“her (Catherine’s) vanity was flattered that Europe and Russia would accept as a new manifestation of her greatness and power the fact that a foreign sovereign was bringing her three daughters for show and for the heir to choose from Russian throne. Until now, in the West there was a custom, due to which some kings did not go for their brides, but they were brought to them, but engaged in absentia or even betrothed. And here there was no bride yet, and in general there was no example in history of what the great empress achieved from the Landgrave of Darmstadt.”

However, the prospects seemed too tempting to Henrietta Caroline, so in her response letter to Catherine she wrote:

“My action will prove to you that I do not know how to hesitate in those cases when it comes to whether to please and obey you or to follow prejudices that make the public a strict and terrible judge.”

The money for the trip (80 thousand guilders) was provided by Catherine. In order to avoid gossip in the event that the marriage did not take place, Frederick convinced the Landgrave to come to Berlin, supposedly to visit his daughter (the wife of the Prussian heir to the throne). In Berlin, in his opinion, it will always be possible to find an excuse for a trip to Russia. Catherine, apparently, was impatient to carry out her plans. Having received Wilhelmina's portrait, she noted:

“This portrait favors her and you have to be very discerning to find any flaw in her face. Her facial features are regular; I compared this portrait with the first one sent earlier, and again read the description of those features that, as you find, the painter did not catch. From this review I concluded that gaiety and pleasantness, the always accompanying gaiety, disappeared from this face and, perhaps, were replaced by tension from a strict upbringing and a cramped lifestyle. This would soon change if this young lady were less constrained and if she knew that a pompous and too sullen appearance is a bad way to succeed according to the views or motives of her ambition. Everything you say about her morality is not to her detriment, and she can develop into a strong and worthy character. But we need to find out where the rumors about her penchant for discord come from? Try to get to their source and investigate without any prejudice whether these suspicions deserve any attention."

Apparently, Catherine did not take von Asseburg’s doubts too seriously, who noted that Wilhelmina’s heart was “proud, nervous, cold.” In a letter to the Russian Vice-Chancellor Panin, von Asseburg wrote:

“Princess Wilhelmina... still makes it difficult for anyone who would like to discern the true curves of her soul with that learned and commanding expression on her face that rarely leaves her. I often attributed this to the monotony of the court, which was unusually monotonous... Pleasures, dancing, outfits, the company of friends, games, and finally, everything that usually arouses the liveliness of passions does not achieve it. Among all these pleasures, the princess remains concentrated in herself, and when she takes part in them, she makes it clear that she does it more out of gratification than out of taste. Is it insensitivity, or is it driven in this case by the fear of seeming like a child? ... I innocently admit that the main features of this character are still covered with a veil for me... The Land Countess distinguishes her, her mentors praise the abilities of her mind and the courtesy of her disposition; she does not show whims; although she is cold, she remains even with everyone, and not a single one of her actions has yet refuted my opinion that her heart is pure, restrained and virtuous, but that it was enslaved by ambition.”

In 1773, a special Russian squadron was sent to Lubeck, which was supposed to deliver the Countess and her daughters to Revel. One of the three ships of the squadron was commanded by captain-lieutenant Count Andrei Razumovsky, who was raised from childhood together with Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich. All the way to Revel, the handsome and self-confident count did not leave Princess Wilhelmina, courting her in every possible way and showering her with compliments. From then on, when she saw Count Razumovsky, Wilhelmina always modestly lowered her eyes and blushed slightly. But this first meeting turned out to be fatal.

The first meeting of the travelers with Catherine and Paul took place in Gatchina, from where they went to Tsarskoe Selo in an eight-seater imperial phaeton. Pavel quickly made his choice, and already on the third day, Catherine, on behalf of her son, officially asked the Landgravine for her daughter’s hand in marriage. A few days later, Henrietta Caroline wrote to Frederick the Great:

“I will never forget that I owe Your Majesty the arrangement of my daughter Wilhelmina... The Grand Duke, as you can see, fell in love with my daughter and even more than I expected.”

In August 1773, the anointing of Wilhelmina took place, and upon her conversion to Orthodoxy she received the title of Grand Duchess Natalya Alekseevna. The next day, Wilhelmina and Pavel were solemnly engaged. The wedding was scheduled for the end of September.

There had been no wedding celebrations at the Russian court for a long time, and therefore the ceremony took place with special pomp. On the wedding day, the bride wore a silver brocade dress studded with diamonds, and the empress wore a Russian dress of scarlet satin, embroidered with pearls, and an ermine robe.

Pavel doted on his young wife. Catherine was also pleased. Natalya Alekseevna was showered with gifts: on her wedding day she received diamond buckles, the next day - a headdress made of emeralds and diamonds; Pavel gave her a ruby ​​necklace worth 25 thousand rubles. So, the honeymoon passed peacefully. In a letter to the Landgravine, Catherine writes:

“Your daughter is healthy. She is always quiet and gracious, just as you know her. Her husband adores her. All he does is praise her and recommend her to everyone; I listen to him and sometimes choke with laughter, because she doesn’t need recommendations. Her recommendation is in my heart; I love her, she deserves it, and I am extremely pleased with it. You have to be terribly picky and worse than some gossip not to remain pleased with this princess, as I am pleased with her, which I tell you, because it is fair. I asked her to study Russian; she promised me. In general, our family life is going very well...”

However, Pavel's family happiness was short-lived. Natalya Alekseevna longed for real power. Not loving her husband, she had a huge influence on him. She tried to isolate Pavel from the influence of his mother and his immediate circle, trying to completely subordinate the will of her husband to hers. She has not yet opposed herself to Catherine, but the first steps on this dangerous path have already been taken. As the historian Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich noted,

“She looked closely at Catherine’s court with curiosity, saw little there that was edifying for herself, and failed to gain popularity either in society or among the people.”

The situation at court is gradually deteriorating. Foreign ambassadors openly write in messages to their governments about Natalya Alekseevna’s connection with Count Razumovsky. Catherine watched her son’s family life with increasing displeasure. Her attitude towards her daughter-in-law has already changed. In a letter to Baron Grimm, the Empress wrote:

“This lady has extremes everywhere; if we go for walks, it’s twenty miles; if we dance, then twenty country dances, the same number of minuets, not counting the alemands; in order to avoid heat in the rooms, we do not heat them at all; If others rub ice on their faces, our whole body becomes a face at once; in a word, the golden mean is very far from us. Fearing the evil ones, we do not trust anyone in the world, we do not listen to either good or bad advice; We still have no pleasantness, no caution, no prudence in anything, and God knows how it will all end, because we don’t listen to anyone and decide everything with our own minds. After more than a year and a half, we don't know a word of Russian; we want to be taught, but we don’t devote a minute of effort to this matter; everything is spinning head over heels for us; we cannot bear this or that; we are in debt twice as much as what we have, and we have as much as hardly anyone has in Europe.”

Catherine tried to point out to Pavel the impermissibility of the relationship between Razumovsky and Natalya Alekseevna, but the Grand Duchess always managed to convince her husband of her innocence.

On April 10, 1776, when the entire imperial family was in a country residence, Natalya Alekseevna felt the approach of childbirth. And after 5 days the Grand Duchess died in terrible agony. Catherine and Pavel were with her all these days. That same evening, the Empress ordered that a box containing letters and papers from Natalya Alekseevna be brought to her. There she discovered not only the love correspondence of her daughter-in-law with Razumovsky, but also a project for monetary loans made by the Grand Duchess from the French and Spanish ambassadors. The Empress immediately summoned her son and showed him letters that excluded questions about who was the true father of the unborn child.

Contrary to custom, Natalya Alekseevna was buried not in the Romanov family tomb in the Peter and Paul Fortress, but in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Pavel was not present at the funeral. Instead, Count Razumovsky sobbed at his beloved’s grave.

Anatoly Ivanov

So, 1773...
Although, to be absolutely precise, this story began back in 1769, it was then that Empress Catherine began to select a bride for her son, Grand Duke Paul.
Since the Empress herself was born Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst, it is quite natural that her main attention was drawn to Germany, since there was no shortage of princesses of marriageable age there.
However, two princesses who initially interested the Empress were rejected: Sophia-Dorothea of ​​Württemberg - because she was too young age; Louise of Saxe-Gotha - because of her refusal to convert to Orthodoxy.
Then, largely thanks to the intense efforts of the former Danish envoy to Russia, Baron A.F. Asseburg, Catherine settled on the three daughters of Ludwig IX of Hesse-Darmstadt and Henrietta Caroline Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld.

Portrait of Landgrave Ludwig IX of Hesse-Darmstadt:

Portrait of Henrietta Caroline, Countess Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. A. Peng:

Their eldest son and heir, Ludwig, subsequently took the title of Grand Duke of Hesse and Rhine, under the name Ludwig I.
The eldest daughter Caroline became Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg.
Frederick's second daughter, having married the heir to the Prussian throne, Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, later became Queen of Prussia.
It was this circumstance that made the marriage of the Russian heir to one of the Hessian princesses very desirable for King Frederick the Great.
He writes about this in his notes: “The elder sister of these princesses was married to the Prince of Prussia; Consequently, there was a great gain for Prussia when one of them became the Grand Duchess, for by adding ties of kinship to the ties of allied friendship, it seemed that the alliance of Prussia with Russia would become even much closer.”
Catherine II's attention to the princesses of Hesse-Darmstadt was expressed primarily in the desire to obtain detailed information about them.
Having studied the information provided by Baron Asseburg, the Empress shared her impressions with him: “Princess Wilhelmina of Darmstadt is described to me, especially from the side of kindness of heart, as the perfection of nature; but besides the fact that perfection, as we know, does not exist in the world, you say that she has a rash mind, prone to discord. This, combined with her father’s intelligence and with a large number of sisters and brothers, some already settled in, and some still waiting to be accommodated, prompts me to be cautious in this regard.”
However, the empress decided to make her final choice only after meeting the princesses personally. The Empress wrote to the tutor of Grand Duke Paul, Count Panin: “The Landgravine, thank God, still has marriageable daughters; let's ask her to come here with this swarm of daughters; we will be very unhappy if out of the three we do not choose one that suits us. We’ll look at them and then decide.”
On April 28, 1773, Catherine sent an official invitation to Russia to the Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt with her three daughters - Amalia, Wilhelmina and Louise, supported by a considerable amount - 80,000 guilders - for the trip.
The Empress believed “that Europe and Russia would accept as a new manifestation of her greatness and power the fact that a foreign sovereign was bringing her three daughters for show and for the heir to the All-Russian throne to choose from. Until now, in the West there was a custom, due to which some kings did not go for their brides, but they were brought to them, but engaged in absentia or even betrothed. And here there was no bride yet, and in general there was no example in history of what the great empress achieved from the Landgrave of Darmstadt,” (Baron Bühler, historian).
From Lübeck to Revel (Tallinn), the Landgrave and her daughters were to be accompanied by Major General Rebinder, from Revel to Tsarskoye Selo by Baron Cherkasov.
Baron Cherkasov received from the Empress very interesting document, containing rules of conduct for the princess who will “have the happiness of becoming Catherine’s daughter-in-law and the wife of Pavel Petrovich,” created personally by the Empress or with her direct participation and entitled “Instructions of Catherine II given to the Russian princesses.”
Here they are summary: Having become the wife of Pavel Petrovich, the princess should not listen to any slander of evil people against the empress or the crown prince, and in matters of politics should not succumb to the suggestions of foreign ministers. Among entertainments and amusements, she must always remember the position she occupies, and therefore behave with dignity and avoid short treatment, which can cause a lack of respect. As for the funds that will be allocated for her expenses, she must use them wisely so as to never make debts. Since idleness entails boredom, the consequence of which is a bad mood, we must try, after fulfilling all our duties, to look for something to do in our free hours. Reading forms taste, heart and mind; if the princess manages to find interest in him, then this will, of course, be best; in addition, she can practice music and all kinds of handicrafts; By diversifying her leisure time, she will never feel empty during the day. It is just as dangerous to avoid the light as to love it too much. You should not be burdened by light when you have to be in society, but you should be able to do without light, resorting to activities and pleasures that can decorate the mind, strengthen the feelings or give activity to the hands. The “Instructions” end with the 13th paragraph: “Following these rules, the princess should expect the happiest future. She will have the most tender husband, whom she will make happy and who will probably make her happy; she will have the advantage of being called the daughter of the empress who most brings honor to our century, to be loved by her and to serve as a joy to the people, who have moved forward with renewed vigor under the leadership of Catherine, who is increasingly glorifying them, and the princess will only have to wish for an extension of the days of Her Imperial Majesty and His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke, in the firm belief that her well-being will not be shaken as long as she lives dependent on them.”*
On June 15, 1773, Catherine and Paul met the Hessian family.
Of course, political motives came to the fore in such an important matter, i.e. strengthening friendly ties with Prussia, but politics was pushed aside by a force more powerful than all calculations and intrigues - love.
After the first meeting with the young princesses, Pavel writes in his diary: “Despite the fatigue, I kept walking around my room... remembering what I had seen and heard. At that moment my choice had almost settled on Princess Wilhelmina, whom I liked best, and I saw her in my dreams all night.”
to the heir to the throne Russian Empire A single glance was enough to understand – SHE.
The Grand Duke’s chosen one, seventeen-year-old Wilhelmina Louise, was the most prominent of the three sisters, although the description given to the princess by Baron Asseburg (one of the main organizers of the marriage), in a letter to Paul’s tutor, Count Panin, is suggestive: “Princess Wilhelmina... still makes it difficult for anyone who would like to discern the true curves of her soul with that learned and commanding expression on her face that rarely leaves her. I often attributed this to the monotony of the court, which was unusually monotonous... Pleasures, dancing, outfits, the company of friends, games, and finally, everything that usually arouses the liveliness of passions does not achieve it. Among all these pleasures, the princess remains concentrated in herself, and when she takes part in them, she makes it clear that she does it more out of gratification than out of taste. Is it insensitivity, or is it driven in this case by the fear of seeming like a child? ...the main features of this character are still covered with a veil for me... The Land Countess distinguishes her, her mentors praise the abilities of her mind and the courtesy of her disposition; she does not show whims; although cold, she remains even with everyone, and not a single one of her actions has yet refuted my opinion that her heart is pure, restrained and virtuous, but that it was enslaved by ambition... Her character and manners acquired some negligence; but they will soften, become more pleasant and affectionate when she lives with people who especially attract her heart. I expect the same from the direction of her mind, now inactive and attached to a small number of local ideas and inattentive more by habit than by natural inclination; serious and subject to certain prejudices, but which - in a different locality and with other responsibilities - will have to acquire more vastness, charm, fidelity and strength. The princess will want to be liked. Of all the young Darmstadt family, she has the most grace and nobility in manners and character, just as she has the most resourceful mind.”

Portrait of Princess Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt:

However, Empress Catherine considered the choice of her son successful; in part, the fact that Frederick II insisted on the candidacy of the eldest princess, Amalia, also played a role here.
Catherine wrote about this: “I don’t particularly dwell on the praises lavished on the eldest of the Hessian princesses by the King of Prussia, because I know how he chooses and what he needs; what he likes would hardly satisfy us. For him, the stupider the better; I have seen and know those chosen by him...”
The empress herself decided that “the eldest is very meek, the younger, apparently, has a lot of intelligence, the second has everything we need: her face is charming, her features are correct, she is friendly, smart, I am very pleased with her...”
Three days later, on June 18, an official proposal followed, made on behalf of her son by Catherine herself.
On the same day, a courier was sent to the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. The answer came unusually quickly, in less than two months: “... on the third day the courier returned... and brought consent to the marriage of Princess Wilhelmina with the Grand Duke. Although this should have been expected, it seems as if confidence in this produced noticeable satisfaction; at least, this is the impression made on the Grand Duke, who is beside himself with joy and sees the greatest happiness in his marriage with this princess; he is very much in love with her and considers her completely worthy of his love and respect...” - (from the report of the Prussian ambassador, Count Solms, dated August 3, 1773).
Of course, Landgrave Henrietta could not help but send thank you letter to the chief matchmaker - the King of Prussia: “I will never forget that I owe Your Majesty the arrangement of my daughter Wilhelmina... The Grand Duke, as you can see, fell in love with my daughter and even more than I expected.”
On August 15, Wilhelmina converted to Orthodoxy and received the name Natalya Alekseevna.
The next day, her engagement to the Grand Duke took place, and a new title was added to her new name - Grand Duchess.
On September 29, 1773, the wedding took place and was celebrated with great pomp. In addition to the actual wedding ceremony, holidays were held for all classes: for nobles, merchants, ordinary people. The two-week celebrations ended with fireworks.
What is the reason for such haste, almost indecent for royalty?
Love? Yes, of course, but not only...
September 20 is the birthday of Grand Duke Paul.
Although he had already been an adult for a year, Catherine did not officially recognize this, since he could well lay claim to the throne, and much more solidly than her own. After all, she nevertheless carried out a coup d’état and overthrew her husband, the legitimate emperor.
That is why his eighteenth birthday passed quietly and unnoticed. And the nineteenth, the empress, being an intelligent and prudent politician, replaced it with a marriage ceremony.
Let the subjects rejoice at the wedding and think less about whose throne it really is.
Grand Duchess Natalia's mother and sisters were also present at the wedding and left Russia on October 15 of the same year.
(It should be noted that the fates of Natalya’s sisters turned out to be quite closely connected with the Romanov house.
Princess Amalia married Crown Prince Charles Ludwig of Baden, and her daughter Louise Maria Augusta became better known in Russia as Elizaveta Alekseevna, wife of Emperor Alexander I.
Princess Louise became the wife of the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Charles Augustus; her son Karl Friedrich, in turn, married Grand Duchess Maria - Paul's daughter from his second marriage).
But let's return to the main character.
The newly crowned Grand Duchess was literally showered with gifts: on her wedding day - diamond buckles, the next day - a headdress of emeralds and diamonds, and finally, from her loving husband - a ruby ​​necklace worth 25,000 rubles.
At first, everything goes great: the lover Pavel does not get enough of his wife, whom he calls “a quiet angel.”
In reality, the “quiet angel” is “a cunning woman of a subtle, insightful mind, a hot-tempered, persistent disposition,” who “without difficulty discovered the secret of influencing her husband, and does it in such a way that he alienates from himself those few people close to him whom he himself chose...”, and “... her heart is proud, nervous, cold, perhaps somewhat frivolous in its decisions...”.

Portrait of Grand Duchess Natalia Alekseevna. P.-E. Falconet, 1773:

However, the mother-in-law is also fascinated by the daughter-in-law, at least at first.
November 10, 1773, Catherine writes to the Landgravine of Hesse:
“Your daughter is healthy, she is still meek and kind, as you know her. My husband adores her, constantly praises and recommends her, I listen and sometimes I laugh because she doesn’t need recommendations, her recommendation is in my heart, I love her, she deserves it and I’m completely happy with her. You have to be terribly picky and worse than some gossip not to remain pleased with this princess, as I am pleased with her, which I tell you, because it is fair. I asked her to study Russian; she promised me. In general, our family life is going very well...”
Meanwhile, both the empress and the whole country are impatiently awaiting the appearance of an heir.
As the Grand Duchess writes to her mother on February 1, 1774: “It is impossible to say either “yes” or “no” about my condition. Here they think “yes” because they want it. I’m afraid that it’s “no,” but I act like it’s “yes.”
Spring 1774. There is no child yet, but the idyll continues.
“Recently the Empress expressed that she was indebted to the Grand Duchess for the fact that her son had been returned to her, and that she would make it the task of her life to prove her gratitude for such a service; indeed, she never misses an opportunity to caress this princess, who has even less intelligence than The Grand Duke, despite this, acquired strong influence over him and, it seems, is still very successfully implementing the instructions, undoubtedly given to her by her mother, the Landgrave.” - (from the report of the English envoy Gunning).

Portrait of Grand Duchess Natalia Alekseevna:

Portrait of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich. Unknown artist of the latter quarter XVIII c., (copy from the work of J.L. Voil).:

Another English envoy, Harris, writes about the Grand Duchess: “This young princess was proud and determined, and during her life there would probably have been a struggle between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.”
Harris turned out to be a prophet - the struggle really began.
At the end of 1774, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law took a turn in the exact opposite direction: from love to hatred one step, and, moreover, passed suspiciously quickly.
Here is an excerpt from Catherine’s letter to her longtime friend, Baron Grimm, December 21, 1774:
“She is constantly sick, but how can she not be sick? She has extremes in everything. If he decides to walk on foot, then 20 miles away, if he starts dancing, then he will immediately dance 20 contradances and the same number of minuets, not counting allemans. To prevent the rooms from getting too hot, they stopped heating them altogether. Some people rub ice on their faces, but we have turned our whole body into a face. In a word, the golden mean is far from us. Fearing evil people, we distrust everyone in general and do not accept any advice - neither good nor bad. In a word, there is still no sign of good nature, caution, or prudence. God knows where all this will lead, since we don’t want to listen to anyone, but have our own will. Imagine, we’ve been here for a year and a half now, and we still don’t know a word of Russian. We demand to be taught, but at the same time we do not want to devote a minute of diligence to this. It’s all just rubbish, we don’t like this or that. Our debts are twice as much as our assets, and it seems that hardly anyone in Europe receives so much.” (The annual maintenance of the Grand Duchess is 50,000 rubles - a huge amount for those times - [Rostislava]).
The empress is very worried about the state of her daughter-in-law's health. Thus, in a letter to Baron Grimm in February 1775, Catherine reports that she fears the Grand Duchess will develop consumption.
And yet, the main reason for Catherine’s dissatisfaction lay in something completely different.
At this time, a new knot of intrigue began at court: the rapprochement of Austria and Prussia with Russia on the basis of the first partition of Poland (1772) was negatively perceived by France and Spain.
What does the Grand Duchess have to do with it?
The question is quite natural, but the answer is somewhat unexpected.
It is very reliably known that Pavel Petrovich, alas, did not shine with beauty; on the contrary, his best friend, Count Andrei Kirillovich Razumovsky (son of the former hetman of Ukraine and nephew of Elizabeth Petrovna’s favorite), was not only handsome, but had brilliant abilities (graduated from the University of Strasbourg) and, in addition, managed to distinguish himself in one of the famous battles of the Russian-Turkish war - Chesmensky.
Well, how could you resist? Natalya Alekseevna fell madly in love with Andrei, he reciprocated, and dating was very easy: Count Razumovsky was not only a friend of Pavel, but also a chamberlain of the “small court”, i.e. special, closest to the spouses in court position.

Portrait of Andrei Razumovsky, A. Roslin, 1776:

It was Andrei, who could not resist the Franco-Spanish gold, who involved Natalya Alekseevna in politics, and then quite simply - where Natalya is, there is Pavel.
Moreover, it was even rumored that Natalya intended to follow the example of her mother-in-law and carry out a new coup d’etat.
Unlike her son, Catherine did not suffer from excessive gullibility and, having received such compromising information - however, without absolute evidence (in the form of rumors), tried to draw her son's attention to the too close relationship between his wife and best friend.
This did not bring the expected results.
Natalya convinced Pavel that this was slander, the purpose of which was to quarrel between them.
Pavel easily believed his wife, especially since his relationship with his mother was never distinguished by warmth and affection; The mutual hostility of Catherine and the young spouses only intensified.
However, on August 27, 1775, after Catherine and Natalia visited the Trinity-Sergius Lavra together, the Empress wrote to Baron Grimm: “Our prayers have been heard: the Grand Duchess is pregnant and her health seems to have improved.”
At the beginning of 1776, the Swedish artist Alexander Roslin painted 2 portraits of the Grand Duchess (a very rare case - an image of a royal person expecting a child): “solemn”

and “almost homey”:

Alas, fate treated Natalya Alekseevna cruelly.
On April 10, the Grand Duchess went into labor. After three days of continuous suffering, she was still unable to give birth to a child. A belated caesarean section did not change the situation: the baby was already dead, and two days later the mother also died.
In the official conclusion on the cause of death of the Grand Duchess, doctors explained the unsuccessful birth as a consequence of the curvature of the spine.
Meanwhile, an unofficial version arose, or rather, a rumor that the Grand Duchess was poisoned.
To stop unpleasant speculation, the Empress described the death of her daughter-in-law in great detail in a letter to Baron Grimm:
“God wanted it that way. What to do! But I can say that nothing was said, that only human mind and art could come up with to save her. But there was a confluence of various unfortunate circumstances, which made this incident almost unique in the world.
The Grand Duke came to me on Fomino Sunday morning at four o'clock and announced that the Grand Duchess had been tormented since midnight; but since the torment was not strong, they hesitated to wake me up. I got up and went to her, and found her in a decent state, and stayed with her until ten o’clock in the morning, and, seeing that she was still in direct pain, I went to get dressed, and returned to her again at 12 o’clock. By evening the torment was so strong that they expected its resolution every minute. And here with her, except for the best grandmother in the city, Countess Katerina Mikhailovna Rumyantseva, her chamberlain, the Grand Duke and me, there was no one; the doctor and her doctor were in the hall. The whole night passed, and the pain varied with sleep: sometimes she got up, sometimes she lay down, as she pleased. We spent another day in the same way, but Cruz and Tode were already called, whose advice the grandmother followed, but our good hope remained without success. On Tuesday the doctors demanded Rogerson and Lindeman, because the grandmother had refused the opportunity. On Wednesday Thode was admitted, but nothing could come of it. The child was already dead, but the bones remained in the same position. On Thursday, the Grand Duchess was confessed, received communion and received unction with oil, and on Friday she gave up her soul to God.
The Grand Duke and I were with her for five days, day and night. After her death, when the body was opened, it turned out that the Grand Duchess had been damaged since childhood, that the dorsal bone was not only like an S, but the part that should have been curved was concave and lay on the back of the child’s head; that the bones were four inches in circumference and could not move apart, and the child had up to nine inches in the shoulders. This was connected to other circumstances, of which there are no examples. In a word, such a confluence did not allow either the mother or the child to remain alive. My grief was great, but, having surrendered to the will of God, now I must think about the reward of the loss.”
Pavel Petrovich, who idolized his wife, was in such a state that the most serious fears arose for his life and sanity.
Without further ado, the empress applied to her son “ shock therapy": she gave him the letters found in the secret drawer of Natalya's desk. From them, Pavel learned that his beloved wife had cheated on him with his best friend and, therefore, he could be the father of her child.
The Grand Duke never fully recovered from this blow, becoming even more suspicious and distrustful.
Natalya Alekseevna was buried on April 26, 1776, in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. The ceremony, despite the presence of the empress, was very modest. The secretary of the French embassy, ​​Corberon, wrote in his diary: “I was unpleasantly struck by the lack of funeral pomp: as if they had regretted giving her due honor and it seems that death itself could not soften the feeling of envy towards her that arose in the heart of the stronger person.”
It is also very interesting that the legal spouse, Grand Duke Paul, was not at the funeral, but Natalya’s lover was present. After some time, Count Razumovsky was exiled to Revel (Tallinn), and then became the Russian envoy in Naples.

Marble bust of Natalia Alekseevna. M.-A. Collot, 1775:

The first marriage of the Romanovs with the House of Hesse-Darmstadt ended very tragically.

This name first appeared in the Romanov house after the second marriage of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich to Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. Her fate can be called more prosperous compared to other namesakes.
The beloved sister of Peter I, Princess Natalya Alekseevna, was an intelligent and talented woman. She understood and supported her brother in his pursuit of European order. A way of life close to the European one was established in her home, in the village of Preobrazhenskoye. Here the princess created a court theater, and later a second one in St. Petersburg, and was also a director and even (presumably) the author of four plays. However, she died unmarried and childless.

Portrait of Princess Natalya Alekseevna. I. Nikitin, first half of the 18th century:

Peter I and Catherine I had two daughters named by this name: the first Natalya lived 2 years and 2 months; the second Natalya died of measles three weeks after her father - on February 22, 1725, at the age of six.

Portrait of Crown Princess Natalya Petrovna. Unknown artist, 19th century, from a portrait of L. Caravaque, c. 1722:

Grand Duchess Natalya Alekseevna - the sister of Emperor Peter II - an intelligent, well-mannered, educated girl, died of consumption in 1728, at the age of 14 years and 4 months.

Tsarevich Pyotr Alekseevich and Tsarevna Natalya Alekseevna. L. Caravaque, 1722:

You involuntarily begin to believe in the influence of your name on your destiny. Perhaps this is why Grand Duchess Natalya Alekseevna became the last Natalya in the Romanov house.