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Video: Small crown of the House of Romanov: At the intersection of the fate of the descendants of Pushkin and the royal dynasties of Russia and England
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
It is unlikely that A. S. Pushkin, who once wrote in his poem "Pedigree": "", suggest that his descendants will bloodily unite not only with the royal dynasty of the Romanovs, but also with the royal family of Windsor, and become one of the most influential people in the British kingdom. And, nevertheless, it is so …
In the marriage of Natalia Goncharova with Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, which lasted six years, four children were born - two sons and two daughters. Let's briefly trace the fate of their youngest daughter, Natalia, because, in fact, it all started with her.
The young beauty Natalya, "the imp Tasha", was inflamed with feelings for Count Nikolai Orlov, who reciprocated her. However, the desired wedding did not take place. “- shouted Count Orlov to his son. - ".
In despair, Natalya accepted the offer of a certain Mikhail Dubelt, who was reputed to be a brawler and a gambler, which she very soon regretted bitterly, and literally fled from her husband, first to Hungary to her relative, and then to Germany. There she was seriously carried away by the German prince Nikolai Wilhelm of Nassau, whom she married, divorcing her first husband. And although their marriage was morganatic, the prince loved Natalia so much that he preferred to renounce his rights to the throne for her sake. Despite the unequal marriage, Natalya still received the title of Countess Merenberg.
The remarriage turned out to be happy for the countess; she gave the prince three children. And by the will of fate, two of their children, who were Pushkin's grandchildren, later turned out to be blood ties with the Romanov family - the son of George married the daughter of Alexander II and Princess Catherine Dolgoruka, Princess Olga Yuryevskaya, and the eldest daughter Sofia married Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov, a grandson Nicholas I from his seventh son, Mikhail.
The marriage of Mikhail Romanov and Pushkin's granddaughter was vigorously discussed throughout Europe. The prince's family categorically refused to agree to this unequal marriage. For the willful decision of the groom, they were fired from service, expelled from Russia, and the family practically stopped communicating with him, but the prince did not part with his wife.
The groom presented his beloved with a wonderful gift - a magnificent openwork gold crown, decorated with many diamonds, rubies and diamonds. At the same time, she was very light and graceful, weighed only 156 g.
The crown was made in the famous jewelry house “K. E. Bolin . She was not only very beautiful, but also had a unique design - it could be easily disassembled into several separate, smaller pieces of jewelry - a necklace, three brooches and earrings.
After leaving Russia, the couple moved to live in England, where they were well received and supported by Queen Victoria herself. From her, Sophia received the title of Countess de Torby.
In England, the loving spouses had three children - two daughters and a son.
Daughters Sophia and Michael and the British Royal Family
The marriage of Sophia and Michael laid the foundation for the formation in Britain of a whole branch of very successful descendants of the Pushkin family, even related to the royal family.
Natalya Nikolaevna always dreamed of a "brilliant party" for her beautiful daughters, and they fully justified her hopes by marrying English aristocrats.
Sophia's eldest daughter, Anastasia (Zia), successfully married Sir Harold Werner, who was reputed to be the richest bachelor in the kingdom.
Their estate Luton Hu was not inferior in wealth even to Windsor Palace, and the Queen herself and Prince Philip often visited them.
Zia's granddaughter, Natalia Philips, who in 1978 married the Duke of Westminster, billionaire Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, also achieved a high position in society. Their daughter was baptized by Princess Diana herself. Natalia, in turn, became the godmother of Diana's eldest son, heir to the throne of Prince William.
The second daughter of Sofia and Mikhail, Nadezhda (Nada), also married an English aristocrat, Prince George of Battenberg.
His nephew was Prince Philip, the future husband of Queen Elizabeth II. Young Philip often came to visit his uncle, and Countess Nada spent a lot of time with him, actively participating in his upbringing.
The fate of the crown
Sofia Nikolaevna's crown, brought to England in 1891, remained here for over a hundred years. It was inherited as a family heirloom. And the heirs, despite the tempting offers they received, did not even think to sell it. But its last owner, the Marquess Sarah Milford-Haven, nevertheless decided to part with the crown, selling it in parts. But perfectly aware of what historical value it represents, the heiress decided to first consult with her friend, Russian businessman Artem Tarasov. Tarasov, who had previously admired this beautiful crown more than once, tried to do everything possible to prevent it from being sold out of the way, piece by piece. Having made a considerable deposit for her, Tarasov persuaded Sarah to wait a little and brought the crown to Russia. It was in 2004.
Russian experts, after conducting an examination, estimated the value of this unique relic at $ 5 million. And while the crown was on display in the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia and in the State Hermitage, Tarasov tried to find the funds necessary to redeem the crown and return it to Russia. But the money for this was not found either in Gokhran or in the Ministry of Finance.
But, nevertheless, the crown was redeemed. This was done by a Latvian bank following an order from one of its clients, whose name was not disclosed. It is only known that he is a Russian citizen permanently residing in Latvia.
The story of how why Princess Blanche's crown was the only one to survive among all the crowns of medieval England.
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