Sisters-in-Law at the Russian Court: Elizabeth Alexeievna and Anna Feodorovna

In the last decade of the 18th century, two very young German princesses separately made a long and tiring journey from their homeland to the vast Russian empire. The first princess, Louise, came from Baden in 1793 to marry the heir to the Russian throne, Alexander. The second princess, Juliane, came to Russia in 1796 from Coburg to marry Alexander's younger brother, Constantine. Both princesses came to Russia when they were only adolescents - Louise was 13 and Juliane was 15 - and in order to become full-fledged member of the Imperial Family both were required to give up not only their names but also their religion. Upon their conversion to the Russian Orthodox Church, Louise of Baden became Elizabeth Alexeievna and Juliane of Coburg became Anna Feodorovna.

For the first three years of her married life, Elizabeth had no closed female friend at Court to whom she could share her intimate thoughts and feelings. She had no one to turn to for a 'girl talk' since she was not even particularly closed to Alexander's sisters. But everything changed with Anna's arrival in Russia. Here was a new girl who also came from Germany and who was also subjected to the same bride-choosing ordeal as Elizabeth was when she came to Russia with her sister three years ago. They had so much to share with each other - news from Germany, the latest fashion trend, the music and the dances, the balls...and they could converse to each other in German. Elizabeth was more than happy to welcome the newcomer and soon she was writing an enthusiastic letter to her mother about her new sister-in-law:

"Julia is such a wonderful child: kind, polite, trustworthy, and she is the best friend I could ever dream of. She is cheerful and amusing... She has brown hair, brown dazzling eyes, and a pretty mouth..."

As for Anna, she likewise immediately felt comfortable with Elizabeth. Only two days after her arrival, she suddenly approached Elizabeth during a ball, held her hands, and called her in a German endearment equivalent to "darling". This vivacity initially surprised Elizabeth but she felt quite amused of Anna's naivete and spontaneity.

Grand Duchesses Elizabeth Alexeievna and Anna Feodorovna as young wives

Elizabeth and Anna were actually poles apart. In terms of physical appearance, Elizabeth was blonde while Anna was a brunette. Temperamentally, Anna was more vivacious and exuberant, while Elizabeth was the serene and soft-spoken one. But they have a thing in common: the two grand duchesses were highly acknowledged for their pretty faces and charming manners. Prince Eugen of Wurttemberg wrote about the two grand duchesses when he met them in St. Petersburg:

…During these early days of my life in St. Petersburg, I was introduced to Grand Duchesses Elizabeth and Anna, the wives of Alexander and Konstantin. The first, a former Princess of Baden, was lovely and kind, and at the same time possessed the most gentle character. The latter was probably even more a striking beauty, but still she could not overshadow the charms of Elizabeth…”

The then ruler of the Russian Empire was the indomitable Empress Catherine the Great. She was the one, through her careful machinations, who was largely responsible for these two early marriages of her grandsons. She was nonetheless delighted of her granddaughters-in-law and asked Mme. Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun to do a portrait of them.

Mme. Le Brun described Elizabeth to be 'ravishing' and a 'heavenly figure'
while she described Anna to be 'sweetly pretty' and with features of 'life and mirth'.

After her death, the throne was inherited by her despotic son who became Paul I. Paul resented his mother and upon his accession he was swift to enact changes and undo some of her mother's legacy. The brilliance and opulence of Catherine's reign was quickly replaced by military-structured and austere Court life which proved to be exceedingly stifling and boring for his two older sons and their wives. Court life was never the same as before. In this highly oppressive environment, coupled by Paul's temperamental and volatile nature and his wife Maria Feodorovna's obvious dislike of her daughters-in-law who treated them a little more than ladies-in-waiting, it was not surprising that the two young wives, Elizabeth and Anna, drew closer to each other. Elizabeth wrote to her mother several weeks after Catherine's death:

" I am certain, dear Mother, that the death of the good Empress affected you deeply. As for me, I can assure you that I cannot cease thinking of it. You have no idea how every little thing has been turned upside down. All this made such a wretched impression on me, especially in the first days, that I scarcely recognized myself. Oh, how awful those first days were! Anna was my only consolation, as I was hers. She practically lived with me, coming here in the morning, dressing here, having dinner on most occasions and remaining all day until we would go together in attendance on the Emperor. Our husbands were hardly ever at home and we could find little to do with ourselves, the way of life not having been regulated in every aspect."

In these early years of their life in Russia, Elizabeth was happily married to Alexander. They were a good-looking couple and their marriage was clearly based on friendship and mutual respect, if not love. But the same cannot be said of Anna and Constantine. Their married life was becoming increasingly unhappy as the months went by. From the beginning, Constantine was indifferent from his wife, and made no efforts to gain, at least, her friendship. He was moody and bad-tempered, totally dedicated to his military career, and Anna was too outspoken not to berate him about it and his lack of affection. This almost always resulted in quarrels between husband and wife. Despite his disinterest in his wife, Constantine proved to be an extremely jealous and insecure boy who exercised a very tight control over his wife. He was jealous of his brother Alexander's close friendship with her and he resented her increasingly popularity at Court. Whenever Anna earned admiring glances and remarks, he would forbade her to leave her rooms. In her misery, the usually cheerful and witty Anna soon became sickly and dispirited. She relied heavily on Elizabeth for moral and emotional support, as she was the one who could relieve the tension and smooth things out between the frequently quarreling couple. Throughout the duration of Paul's reign, Anna led a miserable married life.

After the death of Tsar Paul in 1801, Anna decided once and for all that her marriage is over. She left Russia and once in Coburg refused to return to Russia. She was determined not to go back to her unhappy life and immediately she started divorce proceedings against her husband. It was a bold move in her part despite her family's initial lack of support. It certainly says something about her character. She never returned to Russia but she and Elizabeth continued writing to each other well until Elizabeth's death in 1826. In the absence of Anna, Elizabeth once again felt lonely and deprived of a closed female friend within the imperial family. The new Empress certainly missed Anna, who settled permanently in Switzerland, that when she had a new sister-in-law, Charlotte of Wurttemberg later Elena Pavlovna, she confided to her mother how Elena reminded her so much of Anna and how her tender feelings for the new grand duchess were reminiscent to that she had for Anna more than twenty years ago.

Despite the subsequent breakdown of her marriage and the many other tribulations in her life, Elizabeth was determined not to follow Anna's example and leave Russia. She was fully resolved to stick to her husband and her marriage, knowing that he would one day finally come to his senses and return to her.

The close friendship between Elizabeth and Anna was the result of those early years they spent in Russia when they first knew opulence under Catherine the Great and which eventually gave way to a time of uncertainty and stifling formality under Paul I. In those uncertain times, they found comfort and solace with each other, and these helped them get through to their early life in the intimidating grandeur and magnificence of the Russian court.

Elizabeth and Anna in later life. Elizabeth would die at 47 and Anna at 79.

The Hesse Sisters

Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by the Rhine, adored his four sisters Victoria, Elizabeth, Irene and Alix. They were known in royal circles as "The Four Graces" because they were famous for their beauty. The sisters were of different personalities and temperaments but they all share a deep love and bond with each other. Here is an excerpt from Ernst Ludwig's memoirs and his descriptions about them:

The Hessian princesses: Victoria, Elisabeth (Ella), Irene, and Alix.

"Victoria...was often misunderstood. She easily reacts with sharpness, which made her give scathing answers. Ella was one of the most beautiful women, because her figure was perfect in everything . She had a warm voice; had a special fondness for painting and drawing. Yet she delighted in dressing up, but not out of vanity, but out of joy to create beauty. With a great sense of humor, she could comically tell about the things that happened to her. Irene, from our father in particular, has inherited the absolute goodness of his heart, from our grandmother - her shyness. As child, she was the one who settles disputes between sisters; she was constantly worried that we should do the right thing... Being a sanguine person, she often did not exercise measures, so we called her 'Aunt Fuss'. She rode superbly and, like me, was addicted to dancing. We often sing a melody while dancing in pairs in an empty room... Alicky was already a beautiful child with a serious face. Humor was not in her. Like all my sisters, she had a generous heart and a limitless sense of duty. After the death of May, she became the youngest and felt hurt that she refused to say anything. She was a good companion to our father and did everything possible to cheer his spirit. Since she was easily embarrassed...and laughed only when she was in the mood, it was often thought that she was gloomy, bored or unhappy..."

The Daughters of King Maximilian I of Bavaria

Maximilian I Joseph was the first King of Bavaria and he had 13 children from his two marriages. His first wife, Princess Auguste of Hesse-Darmstadt, bore him five children, two of them were daughters, but she died after giving birth to her last child. One year after Auguste's death, Maximilian married the 20-year-old Princess Caroline of Baden, and together they had eight children - two sons and five daughters.

Augusta, 

Vice-Reine of Italy and Duchess of Leuchtenberg

Augusta was the eldest daughter of King Maximilian and Princess Auguste. At an early age, she was betrothed to Prince Karl of Baden, but the engagement was broken at the instigation of Napoleon Bonaparte, who wanted a Bavarian princess as a wife for his stepson, Eugene de Beauharnais. This was a political marriage - because of Augusta's marriage to Eugene, Bavaria became a kingdom and her father became King of Bavaria. Fortunately, Augusta and Eugene's marriage turned to be a happy one, and they were very loving and devoted to each other. With her beauty, charming manners, and high sense of duty, Augusta became a favorite of Napoleon, who affectionately called her, "my beloved daughter".

"The Four Lovely and Noble Sisters on the Throne"

"Aphrodite, Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia once looked down into the clear-obscure of earth, and, weary of the ever-bright but cold Olympus, yearned to enter in beneath the clouds of our world. ... Then they determined to take the earthly veil, and to clothe themselves in our mortal form. They came down from Olympus...and our nightingales fluttered to meet them out of the bosom of May. But, as they touched the first flowers of earth...Fate raised her eternal scepter and said: "The immortal becomes mortal upon the earth, and every spirit becomes a human being!" So they became human beings and sisters, and were called Louisa, Charlotte, Theresa, Frederica... And the dream was ended and fulfilled... Therefore, be it consecrated to the four fair and noble sisters..."  

--Jean Paul Fr. Richter.

This was how German Romantic writer Jean Paul dedicated his work, Titan, to the four beautiful daughters of Charles II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The sisters were Louise, Queen of Prussia, Charlotte, Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Therese, Princess of Thurn-Taxis, and Frederica, Queen of Hanover. 

Charlotte, Therese, Louise and Frederica were all born and raised in Hanover, where the princesses's father served as governor. Their mother, Princess Friederike, died when the princesses where still very young. Grand Duke Charles remarried, and his second wife was the princesses' maternal aunt, Charlotte. Princess Charlotte was a loving and devoted stepmother, and her stepchildren dearly loved her. Unfortunately, she died a year later, shortly after giving birth to her son. 

With no mother to look after his daughters, Charles decided that his daughters would received proper education and have better upbringing if they live with their grandmother in Darmstadt. And so in 1785, all sisters, except the eldest, Charlotte, went to Darmstadt to be brought up by their grandmother, Princess George. There they were given the kind of education suitable for their position, and this would be of great use to them once they married into the different royal houses of Europe.

Charlotte Georgine, Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen

Born in 1769, Charlotte was the eldest of the four sisters. At the 16, he married Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen, and together they had 12 children! It was not a happy marriage, however. Charlotte was far more intelligent than her husband, and he treated her with indifference. The couple was also plagued by financial problems, and had to live in a reduced civil list. When Charlotte's grandmother came over to Hildburghausen, she noticed the cold relationship between husband and wife. She wrote: "Of all his duties, he only fulfills his marital duties with zeal. Charlotte, who never loved this man, is always pregnant." Despite her country's financial problems, Charlotte gave half of her annual income to charity and educational institutions, and she provided support to poor families and women. Under Frederick and Charlotte, Saxe-Hildburghusen prospered, and its cultural life reached its peak. As a result, poets and artists called Hildburghausen "little Weimar". Charlotte had a beautiful singing voice, and her remarkable talent for singing earned her the nickname "Singlotte". Writer Jean Paul Richter wrote about Charlotte to a friend: "Paint to yourself the heavenly Duchess, with her childlike eyes, her whole face full of love and the charm of youth, her voice like the nightingale's..."

Therese, Princess of Thurn and Taxis

Therese was the second daughter, and she was born 4 years after Charlotte. While she and her sisters Louise and Frederica were living in Darmstadt, they received as their guest the Prince Carl of Thurn and Taxis. His parents were planning to marry him off to a British princess, but upon meeting Therese, he declare that he would not marry no one else but her. They were allowed to get married, on the condition that after marriage, Therese would not convert to Roman Catholic and remain a Lutheran. She was married to Carl at the age of 16 in Neustrelitz, and together they settled down in the Palais Thurn und Taxis in Frankfurt. Therese was very interested in the arts and literature. Possessing political acumen like her sister Louise, she made efforts to reinforce the sovereignty of the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis, and staunchly defended its interest at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Therese's marriage with Prince Carl was greatly strained by her husband's "political incompetence". He was far more interested in hunting than in the affairs of the government. As a result, she embarked in an affair with a Bavarian diplomat, Count Maximilian von Lerchenfeld, and Therese gave birth to two illegitimate children: George and Amalie, Baroness von Krudener. Because of her contributions to her adopted country, historians viewed Therese as "one of the great women of Thurn and Taxis".

Louise, Queen of Prussia

The most famous of the four sisters, Louise was destined to be a queen and a legend. She married the heir to the Prussian throne, Frederick William, and when he became king, and she, a queen, she used her beauty, influence, charm, determination, and political savviness to ensure Prussia's honor. Her love and devotion to her husband, family, country, and people greatly endeared her to the masses, and she was regarded as the personification of German nationalism. Her influence was greatly feared by even Napoleon Bonaparte who called her his "beautiful enemy". She openly encouraged her husband to declare war on France, and favor a Russian alliance. The queen had many admirers, and it was said that the Prussian soldiers were ready to sacrifice their life in war for their beautiful queen. Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun described Louise in her memoirs: "...but here my pen must remain powerless for it cannot convey the impression that my first meeting with the Princess made upon me. her charming and heavenly face shone with an expression of gentle virtue and she possessed the finest and most regular features. The beauty of her figure, her neck, her arms, the dazzling freshness of her complexion, everything about her surpassed the most perfect ideal. She was in deep mourning and wore a crown made with spikes of jet which, far from unbecoming, gave her palid cheeks a certain radiance."

Frederica, Queen of Hanover

Frederica was the youngest of the sisters, and the closest to Louise. As a young girl, she caught the eye of Prince Louis of Prussia, the younger brother of the Crown Prince of Prussia. They had a double wedding; her sister Louise married the Crown Prince. But while Louise's marriage was happy, Frederica's was not. Prince Louis had many mistresses and preferred their company to that of his wife. The neglected wife was hurt and soon tried to find solace elsewhere. Three years later, Prince Louis died, and Frederica was now a young widow with three children. Still very beautiful, she was unofficially engaged to her cousin, Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, but she later became pregnant by the Prince Frederick of Solms-Braunfels. To avoid a scandal, the Prince married her, but after their daughter died, he became disappointed and embittered, and soon resumed his usual dissipated lifestyle of alcohol and mistresses. The couple lived  separate lives, and by this time, Frederica had become notorious in Europe for her life and affairs. When the Duke of Cumberland came to Mecklenburg on a visit, he met Frederica and fell in love with her. She and the Prince of Solms-Braunfels were allowed to divorce, but before divorce proceedings could start, the Prince suddenly died. His death was regarded as a "little too convenient", and some suspected Frederica that she had something to do with his death. Nevertheless, Frederica and Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland were married in 1815. They traveled back to England and had a place of their own, Carlton House. Queen Charlotte, Ernest Augustus's mother, didn't like her new daughter-in-law and refused to receive her. When Ernest Augustus became King of Hanover, he and Frederica, now Queen of Hanover, moved to Hanover where they held court at Altes Palace. Despite Ernest Augustus's difficult personality and Frederica's checkered past, fortunately for the couple, they had a happy and harmonious marriage.

The Winter Princesses

Daughters of Princess Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia

The Mother:

Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia

Elizabeth was the daughter of King James I and Anne of Denmark. She was thus a granddaughter of Mary, Queen of Scots. This beautiful and accomplished princess became known in history as the "Winter Queen" because of her short tenure as Queen of Bohemia. She was a rather fascinating character based from what I had gathered about her so far. Her four daughters are also quite interesting characters.

The Daughters:

Elizabeth

Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of the Winter Queen, and reputedly one of  Europe's greatest beauties. Serious-minded and with profound intellectual attainments, she was one of the most learned women of her day. She was fluent in six languages, and was called "the Greek" because of her knowledge in classical languages. She developed a close friendship with writer and philosopher Rene Descartes, to whom she established and maintained a philosophical correspondence. Elisabeth never married despite plans to marry her off to a Polish king. A committed Protestant, she became the abbess of Herford Abbey in Germany.

Louise Hollandine
Louise, the second daughter, was born shortly after her parents' escape to Holland.  She was a very talented artist and painter. She painted many portraits of her and her family, all of them could be mistaken for the work of a professional artist. She studied under the tutelage of Gerard van Honthorst, but she can be considered an "amateur". Like her sister Elisabeth, she was inclined towards intellectual pursuits, but in contrast to her sister, Louise possessed a passionate nature. She converted to Catholicism, much to the dismay of her devoutly Protestant family, and fled to France.

Henrietta Maria
Henrietta Maria was described as gentle and sweet-tempered. She was a "homemaker" sort of princess. She had a great talent in embroidery, preserve-making, and confectionery, and was at her happiest when she was at the kitchen. She was the only blonde daughter in the family, and her sister Sophia considered her the beauty of the family. She married Prince Sigmund of Siebenbergen in Transylvania when she was 24. She had an extremely happy married life, but unfortunately, she died five months after the wedding. She was buried in her wedding gown and pearls.

Sophia, Electress of Hanover

Sophia, the best known of the Elizabeth's daughters, was the youngest daughter of the family. She was a well-educated woman, very accomplished, strong-willed, and possessed a sharp tongue. When she was 28, she married Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Luneberg, and had several children. One of them was the future King George I of Britain.

The Daughters of Tsar Paul I

Alexandra Pavlovna, 
Archduchess of Austria (left)

Alexandra's birth was a disappointment to the Empress Catherine, who preferred grandsons to granddaughters. A less pretty child (in the Empress's judgment), she was compared unfavorably to her "good-looking" older brothers and with her younger sister Elena. Nevertheless, she was reportedly Paul's favorite daughter, and that when he received reports that her daughter was miserably unhappy at the Austrian court, he threatened war with Austria. 

Elena Pavlovna, 
Hereditary Princess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (right)

Elena, named after the legendary Helen of Troy, was the beauty of the imperial family. Judging from Empress Catherine's letters, she preferred Elena's physical appearance to her sister Alexandra. As Princess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Elena became acquainted and eventually friends with Queen Louise of Prussia. She was the one who 'introduced' the Prussian king and queen to her brother Tsar Alexander I, and their resulting friendship helped forged an alliance between Russia and Prussia against Napoleonic France.

Maria Pavlovna, 
Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Maria was highly precocious as a child, and she was generally regarded as the most intellectual and literary of all Paul's daughters. She used her talents and learning to the improvement of Weimar, and she was able to transform her adoptive country as the cultural and literary center of Europe. 

Catherine Pavlovna, 
Queen of Wurttemberg

After the deaths of Alexandra and Elena at a relatively young age, Catherine, or "Katya" to the family, became the recognized beauty of the imperial family. A very vivacious and ambitious woman with a fiery temper, she was her brother Alexander's favorite sister. Of all Paul's daughters, Catherine was the only one who inherited her father's large dark eyes. She had a strong and daring personality and possessed great intellectual power, but also, according to Countess Lieven, a need to "always eclipse others". 

Anna Pavlovna, 
Queen of the Netherlands
Just like the youngest girls of other families, "Annette" was her father and mother's 'pet'. Unlike her older sisters whose upbringing and education were strictly supervised by Empress Catherine, Anna was brought up by her parents. It can be say that Anna and her younger brothers were Maria Feodorovna's favorite children. She was determined to have her own way in raising her three youngest children. After Paul's assassination, Maria Feodorovna turned to the then six-year-old Anna as source of comfort and consolation. She also became her mother's constant companion, and was horrified when Napoleon Bonaparte proposed to marry the teenage Anna. Nothing came out from this proposal, and Anna was eventually married to the future King of the Netherlands.

Three Graces: The Daughters of Nicholas I of Russia

It was said that they were Raphael's ideal of loveliness... And that these ladies were highly-exceptional not just because they were the Tsar's daughters, but because they were remarkably talented and that they possessed special qualities unusual for princesses... These three sisters were the daughters of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. Below are descriptions of the sisters from the book Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia.

"The grand duchess Maria was extremely lively, of quick perceptions, condescending, winning all by her goodness of heart, full of life and energy, and free from all petty forms and prejudices. Her presence never checked the most easy or unreserved conversation; she was courteous to those whom she liked, and loving to her friends; her father's dignity was reflected in her regular feaures, while the heart and freshness and energy of her mother invested her whole being with a singular charm."

"The majestic mien of the grand duchess Olga evinced more calm repose; hers was a finished beauty, more remarkable for stateliness, never in intercourse with other for a moment forgetting that she was of regal birth, and concealing her real goodness of heart by a certain degree of reserve. Her perceptive faculties were not so quick as those of her elder sister, but her studies more profound; her disposition led her thoroughly to investigate every subject and every question, and to persevere with industry and patience in all that she undertook."

"The two eldest daughters most resembled their father, but the youngest, Alexandra, bore a greater likeness to their mother, and indeed to Queen Louise also. Till the age of 13, she gave no promise of equalling her sisters in beauty or talent; she showed very little inclination for serious matters, and cared more for childish games; but suddenly a change took place that astonished her mother, and a few months seemed to have done the work of years. This change occured in Alexandra in her 13th year; her charming figure was developed, her pretty features refined, an eager interest in her studies ensued, and unexpected talents were displayed. From this time, she showed a love for music, and for singing in particular; and occuppied herself much about nature."





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Source: 

Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia. Orig. in German by August Theodor von Grimm, translated in English by Lady Grace Wallace.