Why Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov was emperor for only 25 days

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

In the history of the Russian state, there have been many autocrats who have sat on the throne for more than one year and are known for many economic, political and military achievements for the benefit of the state. But there is a man on the list of rulers who left a memory of himself, having been in power for only 25 days. This is the Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov, born in 1779, the son of Emperor Paul I and Maria Feodorovna.

"The future monarch" and his addictions

As a child, the boy, by order of his grandmother, Catherine II, received an excellent education. The child studied diligently, but was not particularly interested in sciences. Subsequently, he was not inclined to government affairs, since his real passion was military service. In this field, while still very young, Konstantin earned the respect of his fellow citizens, showing courage during the Italian and Swiss campaigns under the command of Alexander Suvorov, and later in the Patriotic War of 1812. Among the awards of the Grand Duke is the golden sword "For Bravery".

But in addition to military merits, the personal life of the heir to Paul I attracted close attention of contemporaries.

Unsuccessful marriage and unpredictable antics of the august tyrant husband

Constantine got married before reaching 17 years old. It cannot be said that he did not feel romantic feelings for his betrothed, Princess Julianne-Henrietta-Ulrike of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, who was named Anna Fedorovna in Orthodoxy. At first, the young husband was sincerely fascinated by his young wife, calling her the prettiest of women.

But some time after the wedding, Julianne had to face sharp changes in the mood of the faithful, unexpected transitions from tenderness to overt rudeness and insults. She suffered from the unpredictable, cynical and disgusting antics of the Tsarevich. There are eyewitness accounts that Constantine harassed his wife, forcing her to perform military marches on the harpsichord and accompanying on drums and trumpets.

Once, having witnessed the disgusting fun of her husband, which consisted of firing live rats from a small cannon, Anna fainted. A difficult test for the psyche of a young woman was the episode when the prince interrupted the session of painting her portrait, forcibly sat her on one of the Chinese vases in the lobby and opened fire on them.

Over time, the already difficult situation of Julianne was aggravated by her husband's indecently free behavior: carousing with actresses, scandalous betrayals, one of which turned out to be a "bad" disease for the princess. Far from being a model of virtue, Constantine began tyrannizing his increasingly attractive wife with bouts of jealousy, forbidding her to leave the confines of her personal chambers. Then, under the pretext of a trip to her sick mother, Anna Fedorovna fled from Russia and many years later achieved an official divorce.

Love on the side

The future passion of the Grand Duke began her career as an employee of a fashionable Parisian store. 14-year-old Josephine, pretty and charming, so charmed the elderly English client that he turned to her parents with a request to allow them to take their daughter to the UK. The lover undertook to give the girl an education, marry her when she reaches the age of majority and, in confirmation of the seriousness of his intentions, offered a large sum. Everything went on like that, except for one thing - Josephine's benefactor died suddenly, not having time to marry and draw up a will in favor of his chosen one. All the property of the deceased was taken by his relatives, leaving the girl with nothing.

Then she accepted the offer of the hand and heart of a man who had arrived from Russia, who called himself Alexander von Friedrichs - a colonel, aide-de-camp of the emperor. Soon after the wedding, the newly-made spouse left for his homeland, vowing to send his faithful money for the journey. Without waiting for the promised, Josephine arrived in St. Petersburg with the proceeds from the sale of jewelry, where it turned out that in fact her husband was a simple courier who delivered dispatches from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to England, and all his property was a bed in the soldiers' barracks. It was unbearable to live in a wretched rented apartment with the rude and ignorant Friedrichs. Fortunately, Josephine met Konstantin Romanov, who became her love and patron. She broke up with her husband and gave birth to a son, who was officially recognized by him.

The path from favorite to legal wife

On the days when Konstantin Pavlovich lives separately from his wife demanding a divorce, every now and then he changes his mistresses and feels himself not the most welcome guest at the court, a miracle occurs that changed his future fate - a meeting with a charming young Polish woman Zhanetta Grudzinskaya. Graceful, graceful, elegant, she instantly won the heart of the prince. Nationality and religion, as well as his status as a married man, did not allow to unite with her by legal ties.

However, Jeanette was brought up in strict rules, and nothing could force her to become an ordinary kept woman. Seeking reciprocity, Konstantin learned the Polish language, got a divorce from Julianne. Faced with a choice: the Russian throne or his beloved, he signed a document of abdication and preferred a morganatic marriage with Grudzinskaya, realizing that the children born in this union would not be able to inherit the title of their father.

Interestingly, Konstantin had to officially declare his abdication several times, nevertheless, on December 1, 1825, in St. Petersburg and Moscow, state institutions swore allegiance to him. After such a turn of events, the emperor had to literally demand that this "duty" be removed from him. As a result, on December 25, his brother Nikolai took over the "hard work" of governing the Russian Empire.

The joint life of Constantine and Jeanette, which became known as Princess Lowicz, was an example of tender marital relations. The wife had a beneficial effect on her husband and managed to curb his once indomitable temper. And until the end of his days he adored his chosen one and worshiped her. They say about such people: "They cannot exist without each other." And the princess proved this by not being able to live without a spouse. The death of Konstantin Romanov from cholera in 1831 broke the woman. Having buried her beloved, she followed him into another world a few months later.

The Romanovs were certainly one of the most powerful dynasties in the world. And how they looked, you can look at a selection of portraits of members of the royal family.