"Voluptuous uncle", or How Potemkin created a family "harem" from his nieces

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

Contemporaries admired the scale of the personality of Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin. He became famous as a brave commander, a skillful politician, a wise philosopher, an active minister, a subtle connoisseur of beauty. But, undoubtedly, one of the main talents of the Most Serene Prince was the ability to seduce women. Even the high honor of being loved by the empress did not prevent him from dragging right and left and even creating a "harem" from his own nieces.

How Potemkin turned his nieces into mistresses

Grigory, the youngest child in the Potemkin family, grew up surrounded by the care and love of his five older sisters, and always paid them the same. In the summer of 1775, when the prince firmly held the position of Catherine II's favorite, he received the sad news of the death of his beloved sister Martha and the humble request of his widowed brother-in-law Vasily Engelhardt to take care of his orphaned nieces. Five of the Engelhardt maidens (the eldest, Anna, by that time had already arranged her personal life) arrived in St. Petersburg, were presented to the court and were awarded the patronage of the empress.

Uncle adored girls and showered them with expensive gifts. However, soon the freshness of youth and the beauty of his nieces led to the fact that he began to feel not only kindred feelings for them. An experienced heartthrob longed for a young body and eventually persuaded the young ladies to an intimate relationship. In the 18th century, incestuous alliances, including between uncles and nieces, were not out of the ordinary. Therefore, the courtyard turned a blind eye to Potemkin's amorous tricks. Moreover, in an effort to please the favorite of the empress, his favorites were accepted in the world and expressed extremely respect to them.

Did Alexandra have passionate feelings for her uncle

The first Odalisque of the Potemkin "family harem" was 22-year-old Alexandra, a slender blue-eyed brunette with a royal bearing. The field marshal's feelings flashed instantly, and not only the majestic appearance of the beauty was the reason for this.

Sasha conquered her uncle with her pride, a lively mind, a strong will, an active nature - everything that so impressed Potemkin. The girl was sincerely attached to her patron and, despite the fact that Grigory quickly lost interest in her, all her life she was grateful for his care and remained a like-minded person and a faithful friend even after she became the wife of the Polish hetman Xavier Branitsky. It was Alexandra that Potemkin summoned when he was on his deathbed, it was her who wanted to see next to him in the last days of his life.

The insidious plan of the "divine Varyusha"

The flirtatious, hot-tempered Varvara flirted with her uncle with pleasure, skillfully aroused jealousy in him. In relations with her, Potemkin combined passion with the humility of a lover and paternal tenderness. He indulged all the whims of his "divine Varinka" and forgave her all the antics.

However, the girl strove for a marriage that would allow her to take an appropriate position in society. And the connection with the uncle could only be a long romance, and nothing more. Varvara still continued to respond to the feelings of a womanizer when her choice fell on Prince Sergei Golitsyn. Fearing to deceive an influential relative and not wanting to lose the benefits of their relationship, the girl played a cunning game. She began to reproach Grigory Alexandrovich for the fact that he grows cold towards her. And when the Most Serene One needed to leave Petersburg on business, Varvara "fell ill" - allegedly from the impending separation. It turned out that Potemkin abandoned his passion when she needed his support, and he, in order to make amends, in every possible way promoted the marriage of his niece with her chosen one.

Favorite Potemkin - Ekaterina Engelhardt

Katya, whom the Empress and her favorite affectionately called a kitten, was the undisputed prima of the sisters. Judging by the surviving portraits, she was divinely good - a real Venus. Physical beauty was complemented by meekness, therefore, with the light hand of her uncle, the definition of "Angel in the flesh" was firmly entrenched for the girl. Alas, this was the end of Catherine's merits: she did not shine with any talents, she had a phlegmatic character, was uneducated and did not strive for knowledge in her indulgence. Realizing what a seductive sight it is, she preferred to lie for hours on the couch practically naked - without a corset, covered with the floors of an expensive black fur coat, emphasizing her coppery hair and an amazing complexion.

Grigory Alexandrovich was always attracted to ladies passionate and ardent, which Katenka was not. But the fabulous beauty of the niece turned out to be stronger than her coldness - the uncle fell in love without memory. Not experiencing the same strong reciprocal attraction, Catherine nevertheless agreed to share the bed with a relative and remained his mistress longer than the other sisters. Potemkin selected a worthy husband for her - a noble nobleman Count Pavel Skavronsky, who was appointed as the Russian envoy in Naples. However, the young wife was not seduced by romantic Italy. She chose to stay with her uncle, and joined her husband only 5 years later.

Why Nadezhda Engelhardt was the most fortunate

The bizarre combination of red hair with dark skin unprofitable distinguished 15-year-old Nadezhda from the beautiful sisters, so Potemkin, a fan of giving nicknames to everyone around him, christened his niece “Hopeless Hope”. In addition, the girl was headstrong and stubborn. However, such a set of qualities played into her hands: Hope passed the fate of her uncle's concubine.

Nevertheless, an influential relative introduced his niece to the staff of court ladies-in-waiting and took care of her financial well-being, providing a solid dowry and marrying Colonel Pavel Izmailov. After the death of her husband, Nadezhda Vasilievna became the wife of Major General Pyotr Shepelev. It was rumored at court that Potemkin's niece paid Shepelev for the murder of Prince Pyotr Golitsyn in a duel, in whom he began to see a rival for influencing the empress.

Charming Tatiana - Potemkin's wife

The youngest of the Engelhardt sisters, Tanyusha, ended up in Northern Palmyra when she was only six, and by the age of 12 she was granted as a maid of honor of Empress Catherine. The little provincial girl attracted attention not only with her pretty face, but also with her lively, inquisitive mind. When Potemkin was away, the girl wrote him touching letters in which she thanked him for the generous gifts, assured her that the greatest happiness for her was to see her beloved uncle as soon as possible, and promised to be worthy of him and obey in everything.

In one, however, she did not obey - the darling of fate did not become a concubine. At the age of 16, Tatyana married another representative of the Potemkin family - Lieutenant General Mikhail Sergeevich.

By the way, among the inhabitants of eastern harems there were very interesting people.