Table of contents:
- Mikhail Fedorovich
- Alexey Mikhailovich
- Peter I
- Peter II
- Peter III
- Paul I
- Alexander I
- Nicholas I
- Alexander II
- Alexander III
- Nicholas II
Video: How brides were chosen in Russia for the emperors of the Romanov dynasty
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
As you know, for the emperors of states, marriage was not only a family matter, but also a political one. There could be no question of any feelings. Russian tsars approached the issue of creating a family carefully, but even this did not guarantee a happy family life. We offer in our today's review to remember how the Russian tsars from the Romanov dynasty chose their brides.
Mikhail Fedorovich
The first Russian tsar from the Romanov dynasty had a chance to get married after he took the throne. For the first time, Mikhail Fedorovich married at the insistence of the mother of Ksenia Ivanovna, who after the tonsure became nun Martha.
The tsar called Maria Khlopova the bride, but the nun Martha disliked the future relative and, taking advantage of the latter's slight ailment, declared her sterile and sent her home, personally choosing Maria Dolgorukova as the future tsarina. She soon died, and a review of brides was gathered for the king. The boyars were eager to intermarry with the tsar, and therefore the most beautiful and healthy young ladies came to a kind of casting.
None of the 60 girls liked Mikhail Fedorovich. He drew attention to Evdokia Streshneva, who was in the retinue of one of the potential brides. Their marriage lasted 20 years, in which 10 children were born, however, five of them died in infancy. Evdokia outlived her husband by five weeks.
Alexey Mikhailovich
The son of Mikhail Fedorovich and his wife Evdokia, too, could not marry the girl that he himself chose. Boyar Boris Morozov, who had a great influence on the young tsar, was able to convince Alexei Mikhailovich to marry his protégé, Maria Miloslavskaya. When she died 20 years later, they gathered a review for the tsar, where Alexei Mikhailovich chose Natalia Naryshkina as his wife. It was she who later became the mother of Peter the Great.
Peter I
Pyotr Alekseevich, son of Aleksey Mikhailovich and Natalia Kirillovna, the last tsar and first emperor of Russia, ascended the throne at the age of ten after the death of his half-brother Fedor Alekseevich. The 17-year-old Peter entered into his first marriage with Evdokia Lopukhina at the insistence of his mother. As you know, Lopukhina took part in the conspiracy, after which she was exiled to the monastery.
Peter the Great chose his second wife at his own discretion. Ekaterina Alekseevna was the only one who could cope with the tsar's outbursts of anger, helped him get rid of his headache, even one sound of her voice soothed him.
Peter II
Attempts to impose on Peter II's wife Maria Menshikova were unsuccessful, and the tsar himself named the name of his bride: Ekaterina Dolgorukova. True, the wedding scheduled for January 19, 1730 never took place due to the death of the tsar.
Peter III
By and large, nobody was interested in the opinion of Peter III about the future marriage. He was only 17 when Peter III was married to Sophia Frederick Augusta (the future Catherine II). This marriage turned out to be disastrous for the king: the wife never forgave the neglect with which the emperor treated her. After the death of Elizabeth Petrovna and the accession of Peter to the throne, only six months passed, when Ekaterina Alekseevna overthrew her husband, staging a palace coup.
It was with Peter III that the tradition began to marry kings only to those persons who would be equal to them in origin, including foreign princesses.
Paul I
The son of Peter III and Catherine II, Pavel acquired favorites from his youth, but his mother arranged both weddings. Pavel's first marriage with Wilhelmina of Darmstadt (Natalia Alekseevna) was short-lived, since she died in childbirth. Pavel's second wife was Sofia Dorothea of Württemberg (Maria Fedorovna), who was sympathetic to him. However, he was not going to keep loyalty to his wife, continuing to acquire favorites. Paul I was killed as a result of a conspiracy.
Alexander I
Catherine II again chose the bride for the heir to the throne, without asking the opinion of the Tsarevich's parents. As a result, Alexander married Louise Maria Augusta (Elizaveta Alekseevna). However, marriage for him was only a formality, since the heir to the throne was loving to the point of indecency. In general, he almost did not care who to marry, so the daughter of the Margrave Karl Ludwig was no worse, but no better than the others. Alexander I consoled himself in the arms of his numerous mistresses.
Nicholas I
This ruler was incredibly lucky. The Prussian princess Charlotte was predicted to be his wife, but when Nikolai saw his bride, he simply fell in love with her. Nicholas I treated his wife very reverently, as a fragile creature requiring warmth and care. True, feelings for his wife did not prevent the tsar from starting romances and indulging in pleasures on the side. To the credit of Nicholas I, it should be noted: he did not seek brides for his son and allowed him to marry at his own request.
Alexander II
Tsarevich Alexander was very amorous and enjoyed success with the fair sex. However, it was unlikely that one could be found that would refuse the heir to the throne. The wife of Alexander II was Maria Alexandrovna (Princess of Hesse), whom the heir to the throne decided to marry against the will of his mother. The latter considered the candidacy unworthy of her son because of rumors that she was born as a result of an illegal relationship. However, Alexander neglected his mother's opinion and was quite happy in marriage, although he also had a mistress.
Alexander III
The heir to the throne after Alexander II was considered Nicholas, who was in love with the Danish princess Dagmara. However, Nicholas died, and Alexander was now supposed to ascend to the throne after the death of his father. At the same time, the father, encouraging the courtship of the eldest son for Dagmara Danish, also pursued political goals. Therefore, he was categorically against Alexander's intention to marry Princess Meshcherskaya and actually forced his son to ask for the hand of Dagmara (after the adoption of Orthodoxy - Maria Fedorovna). However, this marriage turned out to be very happy.
Nicholas II
The son of Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna was in love with Alice of Gesse, but his parents were categorically against his marriage to her. Nikolai, on the other hand, categorically refused to marry anyone other than his beloved. When Alexander III fell seriously ill, and the question of marrying the heir to the throne could no longer be postponed, Nikolai declared with all the firmness that he was generally capable of: he would either marry Alice or never marry at all. Parents had to agree to the marriage of their son. It is known that Nicholas II was very happy in marriage with his wife, who became Alexandra Fyodorovna after chrismation.
To find myself a wife Russian tsars of the 16th-17th centuries arranged bridal shows, to which only the most beautiful and healthy virgins were allowed. Boyar families competed among themselves for the opportunity to marry their fiancee. The fate of eminent families and even the course of the history of the Moscow kingdom depended on the results of this medieval casting.
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