Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia

Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia,
Archduchess of Austria
Portrait by Vladimir Borovikovsky

Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna was the eldest daughter of Paul I of Russia and Empress Maria Feodorovna. She was born on August 9, 1783 in Tsarskoe Selo. Her grandmother Empress Catherine took Alexandra's elder brothers, Alexander and Constantine, to be brought up and educated under her supervision. She had no interest in a granddaughter that's why Alexandra was allowed to be brought up by her parents. In turn, Alexandra became her father's favorite daughter. 

The young princess was educated to a high standard. She received lessons in languages, music and painting. By the time she was 10 years old, she could already speak four languages and was an excellent harpsichord player. Her dancing was exquisite, and although Catherine had greatly admired the beauty of Alexandra's younger sister, Elena, she was also starting to praise young Alexandra's beauty and her gentleness. Catherine wrote to Baron Grimm: "She speaks four languages, writes well, draws, plays the harpsichord, sings, dances, learns easily and reveals a nature of extraordinary gentleness."

Alexandra had many talents: she was also an amateur translator and a painter. Her translations were published in the book "The Muses" and her paintings were sent to the Academy of Fine Arts. When she was being prepared by her grandmother for the role of Queen of Sweden, she also studied the Swedish language.

Alexandra was only 10 years old when her fate was sealed by her grandmother. The Empress wished to strengthen Russia's ties with other European countries, and thought about Sweden. She immediately began negotiating with the Swedes on a marriage between Alexandra and the young Swedish king Gustav IV Adolf. The Swedes accepted and the wedding would take place when the bride turned 18 (Alexandra was only 13).

Catherine liked the young king very much. He was said to have "a very pleasing face, in which wit and charm were portrayed." And Alexandra was described by Madame Vigee Le Brun with"an angelic face, complexion so tender and delicate that one might have supposed that [she] lived in ambrosia. ...She was of the Greek type of beauty, and very much resembled Alexander [her older brother]."

Another description of her: "At 14, she was already tall and womanly; her figure was noble and majestic, softened by all graces of her sex and age. Her features were regular, and her complexion fair as alabaster. Innocence, candour, and serenity stamped their divine impressions on her brow; and light flaxen hair...fell in ringlets on her well-turned neck. Her heart, her talents, and her intellect were in unison with her exterior appearance."

Alexandra saw a miniature of her future husband and convinced herself to be in love with him and that she will be happy 'forever'.

On August 1796, Gustav IV Adolf arrived in St. Petersburg. His stay in the capital was accompanied by endless festivities, balls and parades. Gustav first saw the portrait of Alexandra by Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun in the artist's studio. Madame Le Brun recalled: "He was only seventeen years old, but his tall figure and his proud and noble bearing made him respected in spite of his youth. Having been very carefully brought up, he showed a most unusual politeness. The Princess whom he had come to marry, and who was fourteen, was lovely as an angel, and he speedily fell deeply in love with her. I remember that when he came to my house to see the portrait I had done of his bride elect, he looked at it with such rapt attention that his hat fell from his hand." Gustav was so fascinated with his Russian princess that he immediately asked the Empress for Alexandra's hand. Catherine joyfully consented and the engagement ceremony was scheduled for September in the Throne Room of the Winter Palace.

Unfortunately, everything happened very badly on the day of the betrothal ceremony. As the future Queen of Sweden, Alexandra must change her religion from Orthodoxy to Protestantism. Catherine insisted that Alexandra should keep her Orthodox religion. Catherine thought that Gustav had implicitly agreed to this when he declared his love to Alexandra. It was a misunderstanding, and not just a simple one. Upon reading the contract where it was stated that Alexandra will remain an Orthodox after her marriage, Gustav was livid. He was adamant that he will never give his people an Orthodox queen. He didn't appear in the betrothal ceremony. The whole Russian court - and the whole Europe - was shocked. The social affront was humiliating for Catherine and the whole Russia. As for Alexandra, she also felt humiliated and brokenhearted.

This rebuke apparently shortened Catherine's life and she died two months later. But the new emperor Paul I, had other plans. He hoped to make an alliance between Russia and Austria against France and Napoleon.
In 1798, Alexandra's parents received a proposal from the Austrian court about a possible marriage between Alexandra and Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary, younger brother of Emperor Franz II of Austria. Negotiations were conducted, and Archduke Joseph personally went to St. Petersburg to ask Alexandra's hand for marriage.

Archduke Joseph was described as 'nice and intelligent, shy, awkward but kind... His accent more Italian than German'. He felt deeply in love with Alexandra and they were married in St. Petersburg in October 1799. A month after the wedding, Alexandra and Joseph left Russia for Austria. She was quiet and very sad to say goodbye to her family, particularly to her father. She confined to a lady-in-waiting that she had a feeling that she would never be able to see Russia or any of her family again. And indeed she was right.

Joseph and Alexandra arrived in Austria, and stayed in Vienna for the next few weeks. She was warmly welcomed by her brother-in-law, the Emperor Franz I, but not by his wife, the Empress Maria Theresa. Alexandra looked so much like the Emperor's beloved first wife, Elizabeth of Wurttemberg, who had died in childbirth, (Elizabeth was Alexandra's maternal aunt), and he felt naturally drawn to her. The kindness he was showing her quickly aroused the animosity of the Empress. In addition, the Empress became jealous of Alexandra's youthful beauty, her magnificent jewelries from Russia, and her growing popularity among the people. As a result, Alexandra's life at the Austrian court became exceedingly unhappy. When she appeared for the first time in a theater box to watch a performance, the audience's attention immediately drawn to her. They were captivated by her fresh beauty and her incredible Russian jewels. This greatly infuriated the Empress, and in the next day, when Alexandra was to attend a ball, the Empress forbade her to wear her jewelries. Alexandra meekly followed, and during the ball, she decorated her hair and her dress with fresh flowers only. Her simple attire further enhance the radiance of her beauty, and when she appeared, the people were all attention to her. This further aroused the Empress's animosity, and she began to be concerned of Alexandra's influence might have at court. She insisted to Joseph to take his wife and leave immediately for their residence in Buda, the capital of Hungary. The Empress rendered Alexandra's life so intolerable that when Emperor Paul learned how his favorite child had been treated, "he flew into a rage, demanded that she should be sent back to St. Petersburg, and even threatened war".

Archduchess Alexandra of Austria,
wearing the traditional Hungarian costume.

In Buda, the couple settled in the castle of Alcsut. For the first time since she left Russia, Alexandra was extremely happy. She was happy with Joseph, and she immediately won the hearts of the Hungarian people, even calling her "The Queen". She became her husband's counselor and persuaded him to build a town center in order to give Budapest the features of a European capital city. She did not have difficulty in feeling herself one with the culture of Hungary that she started wearing the Hungarian national costume, and this was followed by the aristocrats who used to refuse wearing it.

Joseph was a doting husband and he deeply cared for his young wife. He was constantly by her side, especially during their early days in Austria, comforting and encouraging her, knowing how his wife deeply misses Russia and her family. However, he had a weak character and he could not protect his wife from the intrigues of the Viennese court and from the antagonism of the Empress. But even in Hungary where she was beloved, she was not free to practice her Orthodox religion. The court at Vienna was watching her every move, and she was forbidden to attend Orthodox masses. She was not allowed to have her own Orthodox chapel in Buda. Alexandra's confessor Father Andrew Samborski wrote in his memoirs that the ministers of the Austrian court were afraid because if Alexandra bore a son, then there would be a possibility of establishing an independent Hungarian kingdom.

When Alexandra became pregnant, Joseph decided to return to Vienna with his wife. Alexandra had a difficult pregnancy, and Joseph was convinced that if they were in Vienna, Alexandra could receive better medical care. Unfortunately, she was far from having a comfortable situation. The rooms she was given to in the palace were cold and wet. Her food was so badly prepared that she could not eat any of it. Father Andrew even had to use his own money to buy provisions and food for Alexandra. Joseph could do nothing to help her, although he loves her.

Alexandra finally gave birth to a daughter, who was named Alexandrine, but unfortunately, the baby died several hours later. Alexandra was greatly weaken by her pregnancy and childbirth. Several days later, she contracted puerperal fever, and died without ever regaining her consciousness. When Father Andrew came to her rooms to check her, he found her already dead. His cries awaken Joseph who was sleeping on a chair. He rushed to his wife only to see her dead. Joseph was grief-stricken and cried the whole time. On March 16, 1801, Joseph mournfully wrote to Paul I of Russia, "I had an irreparable misfortune on losing my wife. She is no more, and my happiness all vanished." Joseph didn't know that Paul would never be able to read this letter. Five days before Alexandra's death, Paul had been killed in his palace by conspirators.

After Alexandra's death, Empress Maria Theresa refused her burial in Austrian grounds. Her coffin remained unburied for some time in the basement of the palace. Then, with the efforts of Father Samborski, her remains were transferred in Buda, and an Orthodox chapel was constructed to house her remains.

Joseph remained a widower for the next ten years. He eventually remarried two times and had children but he never truly forgot Alexandra. He remained devoted to her memory. In 1814, Emperor Alexander I and the Grand Duchesses Ekaterina and Maria visited the grave of their sister. For many years, Alexandra's tomb was carefully maintained by the Orthodox Church in Russia. But after the Revolution, everything changed. Her coffin was exhumed and the jewels on Alexandra's corpse were robbed. In the end, her remains were reburied to the family vault of the Hapsburgs. For a daughter of a Russian emperor, Alexandra's short life and the events after her death were rather sad and tragic.

Read about Alexandra's sisters:
Elena | Maria | Catherine 

Flower of the Bonapartes: Hortense de Beauharnais

Hortense de Beauharnais,
Queen of Holland
Portrait by Anne Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson, 1808

"My life has been so brilliant and so full of misfortune that the world has been forced to take notice of it."

- Hortense de Beauharnais

Hortense de Beauharnais, the future Queen of Holland, was the the daughter of Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais and Marie Josephe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie or more popularly known as Josephine de Beauharnais. She was born on April 10, 1783 in Paris. Shortly after her birth, her parents separated. Her father was executed during the French Revolution when Hortense was 11 years old, and her mother was also imprisoned. She was later released in the summer of 1794.

The now widowed Rose took her two small children with her, but she was penniless. The Revolution greatly traumatized her, but she tried to forget its horrors and began embracing Parisian society. With her natural charm, aristocratic manners and sharp wit, she befriended many influential people. Hortense was sent to be educated at Madame Campan's school at St.-Germaine-en-Laye. Here she received an excellent education: she learned to compose music and, besides the usual skills such as learning languages, took dancing and acting lessons. She received painting and drawing lessons from the famous painter Jean Baptiste Isabey. Hortense excelled in everything and was loved by everyone at school. But her mother had no time to admire the accomplishments of her daughter. She was busy establishing herself and making a name in Parisian society.

Soon, Rose attracted the attention of a 28-year-old Corsican general, Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon became passionately in love with the charming 32-year-old Rose. When Hortense first met Napoleon, she admitted to her mother that she disliked him. Soon, Napoleon decided to marry Rose. He changed the name of his future bride into Josephine because he didn't like the name Rose. Rose was henceforth called and known as Josephine. Napoleon and Josephine quickly married, and began his rise to power. Hortense was angry towards Napoleon for stealing her mother's heart, but after writing her a letter which describes his devotion to her mother and his longing to be of a good father for her, Hortense slowly softened her attitude towards him. Now the husband of Josephine, Napoleon doted on his stepdaughter. He admired her talent for singing and composing that he called her "notre Terpsichore". He fondly said about her: "Hortense, so good, so generous, so devoted." He treated her as his own daughter and was fiercely proud of her talents. When Napoleon and Josephine were crowned as Emperor and Empress of France, Hortense was present during the coronation.

When Hortense was 17 years old, the ambitious Napoleon arranged the marriage of his brother Louis Bonaparte to Hortense. It was a match that neither of them wanted. But Louis and Hortense, both obedient to Napoleon, consented. They were married in January 1802. The couple's marriage was unhappy from the very beginning and even the birth of three children didn't change that. Eventually, Louis and Hortense were chosen as the King and Queen of Holland and they moved to The Hague. Hortense quickly became accustomed to life in the Netherlands and fell in love with the country. Much to the annoyance of her husband, the Dutch people liked her and was highly regarded. Louis and Hortense lived in different parts of the palace and avoided each other at every opportunity.

After the death of Louis Bonaparte, Hortense embarked in an affair with Colonel Charles Joseph, Comte de Flahaut, a handsome and sophisticated man. Hortense then gave birth secretly to a son.

Near the end of her life, Hortense was banished from France because of her support to Napoleon. She then purchased a house in Switzerland, which was named the Château of Arenenberg. She lived there until her death in October of 1817. She was buried next to her mother Josephine in a church in Malmaison.

Hessian Princess in Russia: Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt

The Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna of Russia
Born Princess Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt
by Alexander Roslin

The first Hessian princess to marry into the Romanov family was Princess Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was the fourth daughter of Landgrave Louis IX of Hesse-Darmstadt and Countess Caroline of Zweibrucken.

Wilhelmine grew up under the strict care of her mother Caroline, who was called "The Great Landgravine", one of the most learned women of her time. Their house was frequented by intellectual people like Goeth, Herder and Wieland. In this kind of environment, young Wilhelmine grew up to be a girl with an outstanding mind but with a strong nature and quick-temperament.

At the invitation of Catherine the Great, Wilhelmine and her two sisters, Amalie and Louise, travelled to Russia with their mother. The Empress was looking for a suitable bride for her son, the Tsarevich Paul. Upon meeting the princesses, Paul was immediately attracted to Wilhelmine and eventually chose her to be his wife. Wilhelmine was received into the Russian Orthodox Church and was baptized Natalia Alexeievna, Grand Duchess of Russia. She will never be able to use the name 'Wilhelmine' again.

Weeks after her arrival, Natalia and Paul were married with great pomp and opulence in St. Petersburg. Paul was delighted and contented with his beautiful and exuberant wife. However, Natalia was not. She was willful and temperamental, and was disappointed with her husband's eccentric nature. The Empress, though initially delighted with her daughter-in-law, realized that there was something wrong. Natalia was interested in French poetry, theater and most of all, politics. Being brought up in the free spirit of Europe, Natalia manifested independence in her statements, adhering to liberal ideas, and every now and then spoke in favor of the release of the peasants. This certainly didn't please the Empress. She commented that Natalia "loves extremes in all things" and that "she listens to no advice". Natalia's disappointment in her marriage prompted her to influence Paul to keep him distant to all, except to a small circle of friends.

After 3 years of marriage, Natalia finally became pregnant. She delivered a daughter after a long and painful labor. The baby was a stillborn and it was impossible for Natalia to deliver the infant normally. The doctors didn't perform a Cesarean operation, and Natalia died. Her death devastated Paul and was in no way could be comforted. To keep him sane, Catherine showed him letters from Natalia's desk, purported proof that Natalia and his bestfriend Andrei Razumovsky had had an amorous affair. Having been convinced by his mother that Natalia had been unfaithful, Paul didn't attend the burial of his wife and court mourning was not declared. Almost immediately, the search for a new bride for the heir was began.

Many contemporaries regarded Natalia as ambitious, arrogant, and egoistic. Maybe she was not the right wife for Paul nor the right woman to become the Empress of Russia someday. But despite her shortcomings, I think Natalia was just a victim of circumstances and her own personality. Perhaps, she thought that what she was doing at that time was right and people misunderstood her. Nevertheless, she had a very unhappy life in Russia which ended tragically.