Elisa Radziwill and Prince William of Prussia: A Love Found and Lost

Princess Elisa Radziwill as the Goddess Peri by
Wilhelm Hensel. She wore this costume on the
play "Lalla Rookh".
(Courtesy of Getty Images)

Long before Kaiser William I, became King of Prussia and German Emperor, he had been in love with a pretty Polish princess named Elisa Radziwill. Theirs was a touching but poignant story; due to their ranks and the political circumstances surrounding them, the call of duty eventually outweighed their love for each other. Love was not enough to conquer all. 

From Royal to Monastic: Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna of Russia

Alexandra of Oldenburg,
Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna of Russia

Another member of the Romanov family that I am writing about today is the Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna, wife of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaievitch, third son of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. The Grand Duchess Alexandra was a scion of the German princely family of Oldenburg, who were descended from Tsar Paul I thru his daughter, Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna. The Grand Duchess Catherine married Duke George of Oldenburg and they had two sons. The youngest one, Peter, was Alexandra's father.

Prince Peter, despite his Oldenburg title, was born and raised in Russia. He married Princess Therese of Nassau-Weilburg in 1837 and together they had eight children; Alexandra was their eldest child.