What did the obstinate daughter of Nicholas I go to for her own happiness: Maria Romanova

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

She was very similar to her father, not only in appearance, but also in character. The Grand Duchess Maria, the only one of the whole family, was able to withstand the "special" look of her father and answer him in kind. She knew how to deliver a lot of trouble to her parents and was always guided in her behavior solely by her own interests. And they completely obeyed her feelings. Maria Nikolaevna could afford to marry for love, however, her father never found out about her daughter's second marriage.

Eldest daughter

Nicholas I was sure that after the birth of Alexander, he would have a son again. The news that Alexandra Feodorovna gave him a daughter somewhat disappointed the prince, but soon the future tsar realized his own mistake and subsequently fell in love with Maria with all his heart, although she gave him a lot of trouble. The daughter, like all the children of Nicholas I, received an excellent education at home, but she could never boast of being particularly compliant.

She was the only one of all the household who could withstand the angry look of her father, moreover, she knew how to look at him in the same way. When the views of father and daughter crossed, all household members and courtiers simply froze. Young Maria never looked down first. She was always ready to achieve her goals in any way. Olga, the second daughter of Nicholas I, considered her sister more virtuous and more active than all the other children of the emperor, but noted her emotionality, irascibility and unwillingness to sacrifice her own life to duty.

On the day of her 16th birthday, Maria, in addition to the gifts due, was able to receive a very important promise from her father. Nicholas I granted his daughter's request and gave her his word: she would never leave Russia. In fact, Maria Nikolaevna thus insured herself against a possible dynastic marriage. Naturally, for her part, Maria Nikolaevna had to take advantage of the gentle hint that in the event of an attempt to forcibly marry her, she would simply go to a monastery.

Nicholas I could be sure that the eldest daughter would certainly fulfill her promise if they tried to force her into a marriage that she did not want. That is why, when Maria Nikolaevna fell in love with the young cornet Alexander Baryatinsky, the emperor had to act with cunning. He sent his beloved daughter to the Caucasus to the active army, and then arranged an acquaintance of Mary with a more suitable groom.

First marriage

Maria Nikolaevna's acquaintance with Duke Maximilian of Leuchtenberg took place during cavalry maneuvers in Kherson, where the young man arrived on behalf of his uncle, the Bavarian king Ludwig I. At the same time, Nicholas I drew attention to the young man as a potential groom for his daughter. He was the grandson of the Empress Josephine, the son of Eugene de Beauharnais, Napoleon's stepson. And, unambiguously, Maximilian suited the role of the future husband of the princess much more than the cornet Baryatinsky. Duke Nicholas I was offered service in the Russian army with the rank of second lieutenant of the Guards. Maximilian agreed.

Sympathy arose between Maria and Maximilian of Leuchtenberg, soon their betrothal took place, and on July 2, 1839 they got married. The newlyweds immediately expressed a desire to live in Russia, which indescribably pleased the father of the bride.

After the wedding, Nicholas I promoted his son-in-law to the rank of major general and awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. For his daughter, he gave a very generous dowry for setting up an economy, appointed a solid annual maintenance and ordered to build a palace, later called the Mariinsky. A year later, Maximilian already had the title of His Imperial Highness, and after the descendants of Maria Nikolaevna and Maximilian of Leuchtenberg received the surname and title of the Romanov princes. In total, the spouses had seven children, and only the first, Anastasia, lived for only three years, having died of whooping cough. All other children survived to adulthood.

Maximilian Leuchtenberg was a very gentle person, and therefore the head of the family, in fact, was Maria Nikolaevna. She devoted a lot of time to charity and indulged in social life with great pleasure. True, the too free behavior of the Duchess of Leuchtenberg gave rise to a lot of rumors, including that her husband was not at all the biological father of three younger children. And the youngest, George, was considered the son of Grigory Stroganov, the beloved of Maria Nikolaevna.

However, the spouse of the Duchess was not at all up to rumors. In recent years, doctors unsuccessfully fought Maximilian's chronic pneumonia, which he received on a trip to the Ural factories as the manager of the Institute of Mining Engineers. But the doctors were powerless: in 1852, Maximilian of Leuchtenberg died at the age of 35.

Secret marriage

But even a year before the death of Maximilian, people in the world had already started talking about the affair of his wife with Count Stroganov. The widow observed befitting mourning, and after that she first returned to work as president of the Academy of Arts, then began to attend social events and in November 1853, in the Trinity Church, she secretly married her lover.

Nicholas I would never have given his consent to this union, and therefore Maria Nikolaevna, having enlisted the assistance of her brother Alexander, decided to hide the fact of her second marriage from her parents. Count Stroganov loved Maria so much that he was ready to sacrifice his own life for the sake of marriage with her.

Not a single person aware of the secret marriage let Nicholas I out. And the witnesses Prince Vasily Dolgorukov and Count Mikhail Vielgorsky, the future Emperor Alexander II and his wife Maria Alexandrovna knew about it.

The wayward daughter of the king was going to inform her father about her marriage over time, but did not have time. On the one hand, she was sure that Nicholas I would forgive her, on the other, she was still afraid of the tsar's anger. My father passed away in 1855 without knowing anything. The marriage of his sister was legalized by a special Act by Alexander II, who ascended the throne, and his wife.

Alexandra Fedorovna, the widow of Nicholas I, having learned from the courtiers about her daughter's marriage, was shocked and could not come to terms with the blow inflicted on her by the children. After the news, she simply fell ill.

Maria Nikolaevna tried to make public the fact of her marriage a year after her father's death, but, despite the intercession of Alexander II, she could not do this because of her aunt Queen of the Netherlands Anna Pavlovna, who expressed disagreement with the secret morganatic marriage of her niece. Alexandra Fedorovna at that time was being treated abroad and did not take part in the family council.

Maria Nikolaevna and her husband chose to live abroad, so as not to provoke rumors. In marriage, two children were born: Grigory, who lived to be only two years old, and Elena. No privileges of members of the royal family extended to them. The marriage itself lasted only six years, after which the couple divorced.

After the divorce, Maria Nikolaevna lived in Florence, and no one could have suspected the daughter of Nicholas I in a rather cheeky and eccentric person. According to the testimony of contemporaries, in recent years she has become very depressed and emaciated. She suffered from many diseases, including Graves' disease, and died in 1876, shortly after her return to Russia.

Unlike his sister, Alexander II did not dare to marry the girl he loved. In 1839, the young Queen Victoria ruled in England. At the same time, Tsarevich Alexander was in Europe in search of a bride and even had already looked for a suitable candidate for himself. No one thought that representatives of the royal dynasties would fall in love with each other.