Marie of Baden, Duchess of Brunswick

I have always found the daughters of Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden quite interesting. In the past, I wrote several articles about his daughters, Caroline, Louise, and Frederica, and now I'll be continuing with Marie, second to the youngest daughter in the family.

Marie was born in 1782, the fifth daughter in a family of 7 children. Marie's family had a rather modest lifestyle as opposed to other noble houses of Europe, so her parents had to made up with this by ensuring that their children receive an excellent education which will strengthen their marriage prospects. Both Charles Louis and Amalie were politically astute individuals who tried to make the most out of their circumstances. As a result, Marie’s eldest sister, Caroline, would eventually become Queen of Bavaria, while her other sisters, Louise and Frederika would become, Empress of Russia and Queen of Sweden, respectively. Her younger sister Wilhelmine would become Grand Duchess of Hesse. Another sister, Amalie, who was the identical twin of Caroline, remained unmarried and would settle permanently in Russia with their sister Louise. Their brother Charles would marry Napoleon's step-niece, Stephanie de Beauharnais.

With her sisters and brother made brilliant marriages, it was also imperative for Marie to have the same brilliant marriage. She was suggested as a prospective bride to one of the sons of Charles William, Duke of Brunswick, Prince Frederick William

Like Marie, Frederick William also came from a large family. As the fourth son and since his eldest brother was already married, much cannot be expected of him inheriting his father's title. However, with his eldest brother proved to be incapable of having an issue and his two elder brothers declared invalid and excluded from the succession, Frederick William was now seen as the hope of the House of Brunswick in continuing the family line. His father began to put pressure on him to marry. On his part, Frederick William felt that there was no need for him to marry right away.

At the same time, Marie was not fond of the idea of marriage to Frederick William, since he already had a reputation of leading a rather “fast” life. However, Frederick William's family continued to put pressure on him to marry and he finally agreed to woo the young princess. Fortunately, he and Marie became fond of each other and they were married in Karslruhe on 1 November 1802. Their eldest child, Karl, was born two years later and they had another son, William, in 1806.

Marie's quiet family life in Brunswick was interrupted by the war against Napoleonic France. As her husband was a major-general in the Prussian army, he actively participated in the war zone. When Frederick William's father died from a wound he sustained in the battlefield, Marie and her mother-in-law, Augusta, went to his deathbed despite the danger. They were not allowed to remain for a long time and they were advised to flee. Marie's husband was captured and with two very young children with her, she had no choice but to flee in Northern Europe. She and her children accepted the offer of her brother-in-law, King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden to take up residence with the royal family in Malmo. 

Marie with her eldest son, Karl

While in Sweden, Marie was constantly worried about the whereabouts of her husband and the future of their duchy. They were finally allowed to return to Germany in 1807 and she was reunited with her husband. Since Brunswick was now under Napoleon's control, they were not able to go back there and they stayed with Marie's family in Karlsruhe. While in Karlsruhe, Marie became pregnant with her third child, However, when she gave birth, the baby was stillborn, and Marie succumbed to puerperal fever. She died four days later, on December 8, 1808 at the age of 25.

Marie's life was short, but she led an exemplary life dedicated to, to her husband, and to the preservation of her duchy. After her death, Frederick William became a freedom-fighter and formed a corps raised from volunteers. They wore black uniforms which earned them the name "the Black Brunswickers". Frederick William, the Black Duke of Brunswick, became a local hero and a living legend. Perhaps as a way to give tribute to the memory of his wife, several streets, places and churches in Brunswick were named after. 

A Requiem for Adini

The Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna was the youngest daughter of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (born Princess Charlotte of Prussia). She was affectionately called "Adini" and her family loved her immensely. She was a favorite among her brothers and sisters because of her cheerful, spirited and mischievous nature. Her death at the age of 19 devastated the whole family and this left a lasting sorrow to the otherwise blissful family life of Nicholas I. This event also left a profound effect on each family member, particularly on Grand Duchess Olga, who was very close to her sister. On her memoirs, Olga wrote about her relationship with her sister, the courtship between Adini and Frederick William of Hesse-Kassel, Adini's marriage, sickness and subsequent death.

The following was an excerpt from the memoirs of the Grand Duchess Olga entitled "The Golden Dream of My Youth".

Royal Portrait: The Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna of Russia

“I always get a pleasant feeling every time I see something that reminds me of her. Strangely, I love her immensely, although I have never known her, and not only because she was dear to you, but also because of all the things I heard about her; it was said that she was really a great woman: she was able to keep people’s deep affection for her.”

–Grand Duchess Elizabeth Alexeievna about her aunt, the Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna (nee Princess Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt), the first wife of Emperor Paul I of Russia, in a letter to her mother on July 1, 1797.

"A charming effect that is impossible to describe"

"Those who were given the good fortune to see up close the Empress Elizabeth had the opportunity to judge the extreme sociability of her nature and her extraordinary judgment. Gifted with great tact and exquisite taste, having a mass of diverse and deep knowledge, she always tried to hide her talents, as opposed to that zeal and skill with which she showed to ordinary people. Her nature had the property of contemplation which allowed her to see the serious side of her surrounding; but at the same time her passion and imagination gave her a charm and grace of simplicity; combining all these qualities engendered a charming effect that is impossible to describe."

- From an essay about the spouse of Alexander I "Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna" by Sergei Semenovich Uvarov. Published in the journal "Russian Antiquity" in 1884.

Tatiana Vasilievna Engelhardt, Princess Yusupova

Princess Tatiana Yusupova
by Elisabeth Louise Vigee Lebrun

Today my post is dedicated to the great-grandmother of the famous Russian belle and heiress, Princess Zinaida Yusupova. 

Zinaida's great-grandmother was Princess Tatiana. She was actually born as Tatiana Engelhardt into a family of an impoverished gentry in Smolenk, Russia named Vasily Engelhardt. Her mother was Martha Elena Alexandrovna Potemkin, sister of Grigory Potemkin, who would go down in history as a brilliant military leader, statesman and a lover of Catherine the Great. Tatiana's childhood coincided with that period when her uncle rose to power. As a result, she and her sisters made a brilliant match because of their uncle's influence at the Russian court. Possessing both beauty and a gentle nature, and not to mention her uncle's protection, she was destined to have a bright future.

Tatiana and her five sisters were orphaned at a very young age. They were left to the care of their grandmother and as a result, they received little education and their manners were unpolished. As their uncle Potemkin rose to power, he took the sisters under his protection and brought them to the Russian court, where the Empress Catherine treated them generously. They were treated almost as grand duchesses and soon they learned how to be sophisticated and act accordingly.

Tatiana, at the age of 12, was appointed as a maid-of-honor to the Empress Catherine. And although she came from a poor province, she attracted admiration and attention at the court not only for being the niece of Potemkin but also for being a witty and lively girl. When the Duchess of Kingston visited St. Petersburg and was invited at court, she became strongly attached to the then 15 year-old Tatiana, treating her like her own daughter. The Duchess even told Tatiana that she would make her the heiress of her vast fortune if she would agree to live with her in England. Tatiana, however, refused.

Instead, her uncle arranged her to be married to her uncle and mother's cousin who was 25 years her senior, Mikhail Potemkin. Her uncle gave her a large dowry which further made her an attractive bride. The couple had two daughters, with the Empress serving as their godmother. However, the marriage did not last long - Tatiana's husband died six years later. It was a blow for her and she retired from court life, occasionally appearing only at the request of the Empress herself. 

But soon enough, she met a dashing nobleman named Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov, who had just returned to Russia from Italy where he was working at the embassy. He and Tatiana married in 1793 with Catherine's blessing and a year later, they had a son, Boris. Despite the promising start of their married life, Nikolai and Tatiana's marriage would be a failure and soon enough the couple started living separately. Nikolai stayed in Arkhangelskoye Grand Palace while Tatiana moved to Caprice Palace where she managed the Kupavinskaya textile plant, one of Prince Nikolai’s properties. Along with the management of her husband's estate, she also devoted her time in raising her son Boris.

Despite her wish for a more quiet and secluded life, this would prove to be almost impossible. Her intellectual pursuits and artistic inclinations attracted a group of likewise intellectual and artistic people who frequented her home including the Russian poet Gavrila Derzhavin who dedicated a poem for her entitled "To a mother who brings up her children herself", Vasily Zhukovsky and Alexander Pushkin.

Tatiana also proved to be skillful and highly competent in the management of their estates. Under her supervision, she was able to increase the already vast fortune of the Yusupovs (which is also due to her inheritance from Potemkin that amounted to 18 million rubles) and her practical ability and financial acumen made her acquired substantial properties. But people were surprised by her modest lifestyle and her disdain for flamboyance and ostentatious display of wealth and they sometimes mistook it for stinginess. However, she was spending large sums of money for charity which she donated anonymously.

Tatiana, with an eye for beauty, was fascinated with jewelry and she possessed some of the most dazzling jewelry collections. Among them was the world-famous Polar Star Diamond, the diamond earrings of Marie Antoinette, a sapphire statue of Venus, the pearl and diamond tiara of Caroline Murat and the Peregrina pearl.

Tatiana died in May 25, 1841 and the large fortune of the Yusupovs was inherited by her only son, Boris.