Natalya Alekseevna, born princess Augusta Wilhelmina Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt(German: Wilhelmina Luisa von Hessen-Darmstadt; June 14 (25), 1755, Darmstadt - April 15 (26), 1776, St. Petersburg) - Grand Duchess(1773), daughter of Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt Ludwig IX and Caroline of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, first wife of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich (later Emperor Paul I).

She died in childbirth, giving birth to a stillborn Grand Duke.

Biography

Augusta Louise Wilhelmina was born on June 14 (25), 1755 and was the fifth child and fourth daughter in the large family of Landgrave Ludwig IX of Hesse-Darmstadt (1719-1790) and his first wife Princess Caroline of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (1721-1774).

The girl was brought up under the strict supervision of her mother, nicknamed the “Great Landgravine,” a worthy and educated woman, in whose house Goethe, Herder and other celebrities of that time visited. Already in her youth, the girl was distinguished by her extraordinary intelligence, strong character and fiery temperament.

Marriage plans

In 1772, Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich turned eighteen years old, and his mother, Empress Catherine, began searching for a bride for his heir. After a long search, we settled on two candidates: Sophia Dorothea of ​​Württemberg and Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt. But Sophia had just turned thirteen years old, and Catherine urgently needed an heir, so the Empress was forced to choose the three princesses of Hesse-Darmstadt. This circumstance did not please the empress. In a letter to her envoy Mr. Asseburg, she wrote:

Princess Wilhelmina of Darmstadt is described to me, especially from the side of kindness of heart, as the perfection of nature; but besides the fact that perfection, as far as I know, does not exist in the world, you say that she has a rash mind prone to discord. This, combined with the intelligence of her lord-father and with a large number of sisters and brothers, some already settled in, and some still waiting to be accommodated, prompts me to be careful in this regard. However, I ask you to take the trouble to renew your observations...

Frederick II, King of Prussia, wanted this marriage; he persuaded Landgrave Caroline to travel to Russia, convincing him of the importance of this marriage for Prussia.

In October 1772, Catherine wrote to Nikita Ivanovich Panin:

The landgravine, thank God, has three more marriageable daughters; let's ask her to come here with this swarm of daughters; we will be very unhappy if out of the three we do not choose one that suits us. We'll look at them and then decide. These daughters are: Amalia-Frederica - 18 years old; Wilhelmina - 17; Louise - 15 years old... I don’t dwell particularly on the praises lavished on the eldest of the princesses of Hesse by the King of Prussia, because I know how he chooses, and which ones he needs, and the one he likes could hardly please us. In his opinion, those who are stupider are better: I have seen and known those he chose.

Catherine sent three frigates for Landgrave Caroline and her daughters. One of them was commanded by Count Andrei Razumovsky.

Meeting of the Tsarevich with Princess Amalia (1754-1832); future Princess of Baden), Wilhelmina and Louise (1757-1830); future Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach) occurred in Gatchina on June 15, 1773. Pavel chose Wilhelmina. Ekaterina wrote:

... My son fell in love with Princess Wilhelmina from the very first minute, I gave him three days to see if he would hesitate, and since this princess is superior to her sisters in all respects ... the eldest is very meek; the youngest seems to be very smart; in the middle, all the qualities we desire: her face is lovely, her features are regular, she is affectionate, smart; I am very pleased with her, and my son is in love...

On August 15, 1773, Princess Wilhelmina received holy confirmation with the name and title of Grand Duchess Natalia Alekseevna, and the next day her betrothal to Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich took place.

Plan
Introduction
1 Biography
1.1 Marriage plans
1.2 Marriage
1.3 Life in Russia
1.4 Death

Bibliography Introduction Natalya Alekseevna (June 14 (25), 1755, Darmstadt - April 15, 1776, St. Petersburg) (nee Princess Augusta Wilhelmina Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt; German: Wilhelmina Luisa von Hessen-Darmstadt) - Grand Duchess (1773), daughter of Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Caroline of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, first wife of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich (later Emperor Paul I). 1. Biography Augusta Louise Wilhelmina was born on June 14 (25), 1755 and was the fifth child and fourth daughter in the large family of Landgrave Ludwig IX of Hesse-Darmstadt (1719-1790) and his first wife Princess Caroline of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (1721-1774). The girl was brought up under the strict supervision of her mother, nicknamed the “Great Landgravine,” a worthy and educated woman, in whose house Goethe, Herder and other celebrities of that time visited. Already in her youth, the girl was distinguished by her extraordinary intelligence, strong character and ardent temperament. 1.1. Marriage plans In 1772, Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich turned eighteen years old, and his mother, Empress Catherine, began searching for a bride for his heir. After a long search, we settled on two candidates: Sophia Dorothea of ​​Württemberg and Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt. But Sophia had just turned thirteen years old, and Catherine urgently needed an heir, so the Empress was forced to choose the three princesses of Hesse-Darmstadt.
This circumstance did not please the empress. In a letter to her envoy Mr. Asseburg, she wrote: Princess Wilhelmina of Darmstadt is described to me, especially from the side of kindness of heart, as the perfection of nature; but besides the fact that perfection, as far as I know, does not exist in the world, you say that she has a rash mind prone to discord. This, combined with the intelligence of her lord-father and with a large number of sisters and brothers, some already settled in, and some still waiting to be accommodated, prompts me to be careful in this regard. However, I ask you to take the trouble to resume your observations... King Frederick II of Prussia wanted this marriage, he persuaded Landgrave Caroline to travel to Russia, convincing him of the importance of this marriage for Prussia. In October 1772, Catherine wrote to Nikita Ivanovich Panin: At the Landgravine, thank God, there are three more marriageable daughters; let's ask her to come here with this swarm of daughters; we will be very unhappy if out of the three we do not choose one that suits us. We'll look at them and then decide. These daughters are: Amalia-Frederica - 18 years old; Wilhelmina - 17; Louise - 15 years old... I don’t particularly dwell on the praises lavished on the eldest of the princesses of Hesse by the King of Prussia, because I know how he chooses, and which ones he needs, and the one he likes could hardly please us. In his opinion, those who are stupider are better: I have seen and known those chosen by him. Catherine sent three frigates for Landgrave Caroline and her daughters. One of them was commanded by Count Andrei Razumovsky. The meeting of the Tsarevich with princesses Amalia ((1754-1832); in the future, Princess of Baden), Wilhelmina and Louise ((1757-1830); in the future, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach) took place in Gatchina June 15, 1773. Pavel chose Wilhelmina. Catherine wrote:... My son fell in love with Princess Wilhelmina from the very first minute, I gave him three days to see if he would hesitate, and since this princess is superior to her sisters in all respects... the eldest is very meek; the youngest seems to be very smart; in the middle, all the qualities we desire: her face is lovely, her features are regular, she is affectionate, smart; I am very pleased with her, and my son is in love...On June 27, 1773, Duchess Caroline and her three daughters were awarded the Order of St. Catherine. On August 15, 1773, Princess Wilhelmina received holy confirmation with the name and title of Grand Duchess Natalia Alekseevna, and the next day the her engagement to Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich. 1.2. Marriage On September 20, 1773, a solemn wedding took place in the Kazan Cathedral of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich and Grand Duchess Natalia Alekseevna. Very soon she showed her domineering and fickle character. The English envoy D. Harris noted that she “ruled her husband despotically. Not even allowing myself the trouble to show the slightest affection for him.” 1.3. Life in Russia Pavel Petrovich was pleased with his wife, but the relationship with Catherine did not work out for the Grand Duchess. Looking curiously at the court of the Russian Empress, she saw little good for herself. The “Young Court” entertained itself with French poetry, theater, but most of all political intrigues against Catherine II. At the head of these hobbies was Natalya Alekseevna. Brought up in Europe in a free spirit, Natalya Alekseevna showed a certain independence in her statements, adhering to liberal ideas and sometimes even advocated for the liberation of the peasants. The Empress clearly did not like this:... Fearing the evil ones, we do not trust the whole land. We do not listen to either good or bad advice. There is still no good nature, no caution, no prudence in all this, and God knows what will come of it, since they don’t listen to anyone and everyone wants to do it their own way.
after a year and a half or more, we still don’t speak Russian, we want to be taught, but we don’t want to be diligent. We have twice as much debt as wealth, and hardly anyone in Europe receives that much. Natalia Alekseevna did not feel love for her husband, but, using her influence, she tried to keep him away from everyone except a narrow circle of her friends. According to contemporaries, the Grand Duchess was a serious and ambitious woman, with a proud heart and a tough disposition. In addition, she had been married for four years, but there was still no heir. In 1776, the court of Empress Catherine was excited: the long-awaited pregnancy of Grand Duchess Natalia Alekseevna was announced. 1.4. Death On April 10, 1776, at four o'clock in the morning, the Grand Duchess began to experience the first pains. A doctor and a midwife were with her. The contractions lasted for several days, and soon the doctors announced that the child was dead. Catherine II and Paul were nearby. The baby could not be born naturally, and the doctors did not use either surgical pincers or a caesarean section. The child died in the womb and infected the mother's body. " Our business is going very badly, - Catherine reported to her Secretary of State S. M. Kozmin, perhaps the next day, in a letter marked 5 o’clock in the morning. - Which way the child went, tea, and the mother will go. Keep this with you for the time being..." After five days of torment, at 5 a.m. on April 15, 1776, Grand Duchess Natalia Alekseevna died. Catherine wrote: You can imagine what she had to suffer, and so did we. My heart was torn; I did not have a minute of rest during these five days and did not leave the Grand Duchess day or night until my death. She told me: “We are a great nurse.” Imagine my position: I need to console one, encourage another. I was exhausted both in body and soul... The Empress did not like Natalya Alekseevna, and diplomats gossiped that she did not allow the doctors to save her daughter-in-law. The autopsy, however, showed that the mother suffered from a defect that would have prevented her from giving birth naturally, and that the medicine of the time was powerless to help her. But since the case took place in Russia, de Corberon reported that no one believed the official version, and that Potemkin visited the Grand Duchess's midwife named Zorich and gave her the fatal order. . The official cause of death of the princess was named curvature of the spine. According to some indications, in childhood she suffered from a hunchback or stoop, which was corrected, according to the custom of that time, with a rigid corset, which led to the incorrect position of the bones in such a way that they interfered with the natural birth of the child. Pavel Petrovich could not recover from the loss of his wife. Catherine II, wanting to quickly erase his attachment to the deceased from his heart and persuade him to a new marriage, showed her son irrefutable evidence that compromised Natalia Alekseevna’s behavior. This was a love correspondence between his wife and Count Andrei Kirillovich Razumovsky. Natalya Alekseevna’s funeral took place on April 26 at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Catherine was accompanied by Potemkin, Zavadovsky and Prince Grigory Orlov; Pavel did not find the strength to attend the ceremony. Almost immediately after the funeral, the search began for a new wife for the heir. This whole story greatly influenced Pavel's character, making him suspicious and unbalanced (later he did not trust either his second wife or children). Bibliography:

S. S. Montefiore. “Potemkin” Morokhin A. Curvature of the frame

The city of Yekaterinburg has a special history of relationship with the Russian imperial family, starting with the fact that the city was named Yekaterinburg in honor of the wife of Emperor Peter the Great (Romanov), and its path royal dynasty The Romanovs sadly ended in the tragically famous house of engineer Ipatiev in our city.
Therefore, I would like to tell you a little about the fate of the Hesse-Darmstadt princesses. This story has worried me for a long time; Darmstadt is one of my favorite German cities. I know this city well, because the EnviroChemie company office is located near Darmstadt, where I have been working for almost 20 years.
On my very first walk around the city, I saw the “Russian Church”, a small, elegant, and now like a brand new Orthodox church. German colleagues said that this church is a gift Russian Emperor Nicholas II to the city of Darmstadt, where his beloved wife was born and raised. But, most likely, the decision to build a church in Darmstadt was caused by the desire of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna (nee Princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt) to visit Orthodox services in the temple during her stay in the empress’s hometown, because the journeys were long then.
The foundation stone for the permanent church was carried out by Protopresbyter John Yanyshev on October 4 (16), 1897 in the presence of the imperial and ducal families. The church was built on land that was brought from several provinces Russian Empire. The temple was built with personal funds from the imperial family. The author of the project is the architect L.N. Benois.
It is clear that this beautiful story aroused curiosity and I began to become interested in the history of Darmstadt and its princesses.
The city of Darmstadt, home of the Landgraves, Electors and then the Grand Dukes of Hesse and the Rhine since the 18th century, has very close relations with Russia.

Four Hesse-Darmstadt princesses linked Russian and German history together - Natalya Alekseevna, the first wife of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, later Emperor Paul I, Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Alexander II and mother Alexandra III, Elizaveta Fedorovna, wife of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, and, finally, Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas II.
Dynastic marriages expanded and strengthened Russia’s cultural and political ties with the West; these marriages began with Peter the Great. In fact, choosing a bride for the heir to the throne in Europe was not easy, because the family of the future bride had to not only belong to the ruling houses of Europe, but also profess Lutheranism, only in this case the future wives could convert to the Orthodox Faith.
“The choice has been made – it’s Mimi”
Wilhelmina (Natalia Alekseevna at baptism) became the first princess from Darmstadt to marry a member of the ruling house of Romanov. Marriage alliance with Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, subsequently All-Russian Emperor Paul the First, was the merit of her ambitious mother, Landgrave Caroline Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, nicknamed the Great Landgrave for her outstanding qualities.

The Countess set herself a very difficult task, and, despite the deplorable financial situation of the Landgraviate, she managed to solve it - she found spouses from the best noble houses of Europe for all her five beautiful daughters. The Countess dreamed of marrying one of her daughters to Russia and the dream came true, because Tsarina Catherine the Second began to look for a wife for the heir Russian throne Grand Duke Paul.

The daughter of Countess Wilhelmina was in a narrow circle of contenders from the very beginning. After Catherine II saw a life-size portrait of the princess, in 1763 she invited Landgrave Caroline Louise and her three unmarried daughters - Amalia, Wilhelmina and Louise - to St. Petersburg to get to know each other better. It must be said that at that time such a trip was an extraordinary event: ladies could travel only in exceptional cases. Permission for this trip had to be given not only by the countess’s husband, but also by the Prussian king. The Prussian king Frederick II, whose nephew, Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, was married to the Landgrave's eldest daughter, Frederica, desired a marriage alliance between Hesse-Darmstadt and St. Petersburg and granted permission to travel.

Unfortunately, such a carefully planned marriage, in which the newlyweds had complete mutual understanding, did not have a happy ending: in 1776, Grand Duchess Natalya Alekseevna died giving birth to her first child. There were rumors that Catherine the Second doubted the paternity of her son and therefore the princess was not helped during childbirth.
The basis of all marriages between representatives of the House of Romanov and the Hesse-Darmstadt princesses was love, and even, according to eyewitnesses, love at first sight.
Maximilian Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria of Hesse and the Rhine - Maria Alexandrovna: wife of the Tsar-Liberator
Alexander II, while still heir to the throne, fell passionately in love with his future wife from Darmstadt when he visited Darmstadt on a European trip in 1838. The 14-year-old Hessian princess was not even on the list of brides approved by his father, Nicholas I.

Since 1820, Mary's mother, Princess Wilhelmina of Baden, lived separately from her husband Ludwig II, and there were rumors that the father of the younger children was the Alsatian Baron Augustus de Grancy, although Ludwig II officially recognized his wife's younger children. Alexandra Fedorovna, the wife of Nicholas I, was so concerned about the origins of the future bride that she herself went to Darmstadt to meet the girl and her family, which was an exception to the rule in those years.
But the imperial family had no choice, because the heir to the throne wrote: “Dear Mother, what do I care about the secrets of Princess Mary! I love her, and I would rather give up the throne than give up her. I will only marry her, that’s my decision!”

The wedding took place on April 16, 1841. At first the marriage was very happy, Maria Alexandrovna gave birth to 8 children, 5 of them sons. Alexander Nikolaevich loved his wife and called her by the name of the city.
Maria Alexandrovna loved her husband until the end of her life and supported him in everything. She was widely involved in charitable activities and was the first chairman Russian Society Red Cross, founded by Alexander II after Crimean War, personally founded 5 hospitals, 8 almshouses, 36 shelters, 38 gymnasiums, 156 vocational schools in Russia. The death of the first son Nicholas, heir to the throne, undermined the already fragile health of the empress; she was very upset by the assassination attempts on her husband and, of course, his infatuation with Ekaterina Dolgorukova, who bore him four children, who lived for some time in the Winter Palace on the floor above Maria Alexandrovna. The husband briefly outlived his forgotten wife, who died of tuberculosis; a year later he died at the hands of terrorists.

The last princesses from Darmstadt to marry representatives of the House of Romanov were two sisters - Ella and Alice. The lives of both sisters were cut tragically short in Time of Troubles Civil War when the mighty Russian empire collapsed.

Prince Sergei, the son of Maria Alexandrovna, met Princess Ella for the first time in Darmstadt when he was seven years old. The Russian crowned family was returning to Russia from their trip to Europe, and they stopped by relatives in Darmstadt: the little Grand Duke was allowed to be present at the bathing of the newborn Ella.
Second daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig IV and his wife Alice, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland (she was the daughter Queen of England Victoria), was considered one of the most beautiful brides in Europe. Among her admirers were the Prussian Prince Wilhelm, the Danish Prince Waldemar, the Baden Prince Frederick (the favorite of Victoria’s grandmother)... But Princess Ella believed that she had found her happiness in Grand Duke Sergei.

There were many rumors surrounding this couple. Despite the great love for the children of both spouses, there were no children in the marriage. Perhaps the reason was Sergei Alexandrovich’s serious illness, which he suffered all his life. The appointment of the Grand Duke as governor-general of Moscow also did not add to his popularity. In troubled times, to maintain order in Moscow, he was a tough and sometimes cruel official.
Elizabeth Fedorovna's life changed tragically after a terrible event - the explosion of the carriage in which her beloved husband was riding... The explosion was so strong that the prince's heart was found only on the third day on the roof of the house. And the Grand Duchess collected the remains of Sergei with her own hands at the site of the terrorist attack. After a year of mourning, Grand Duchess Elizabeth sold most her jewelry and created the monastery of sisters of mercy, the Martha-Mary Convent of Mercy - from that day on, she devoted her entire life to charity.

On July 5, 1918, Elizaveta Fedorovna, her cell attendant Varvara (Yakovleva), nephew Vladimir Pavlovich Paley, the sons of Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich - Igor, John and Konstantin, and the manager of the affairs of Prince Sergei Mikhailovich Fyodor Mikhailovich Remez were thrown alive into a mine near Alapaevsk.

Princess Alix of Hesse and the Rhine fell in love with Grand Duke Nicholas at the age of 16. Both families were not happy about the outbreak of mutual sympathy; grandmother Victoria really did not like Russia, writing in letters “... This cannot continue. The Pope must insist on his own and Aliki should no longer visit Russia. ... Russian state so bad and rotten that something terrible could happen there at any moment.”

This couple, from their engagement to the day of their death, faced the most severe trials. Sudden death Emperor Alexander 111, Khodynka tragedy, revolution of 1905, First World War. However, more than enough has been written about these events.

The death of all royal family the history of dynastic ties between Darmstadt and St. Petersburg has ceased. “Our Ural”, support us financially. Any help from you will be valuable, and from raindrops, streams are first formed, and then powerful rivers that flow into the seas. Thank you!

So, 1773...
Although, to be absolutely precise, this story began back in 1769, it was then that Empress Catherine began to select a bride for her son, Grand Duke Paul.
Since the Empress herself was born Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst, it is quite natural that her main attention was drawn to Germany, since there was no shortage of princesses of marriageable age there.
However, two princesses who initially interested the Empress were rejected: Sophia-Dorothea of ​​Württemberg - because she was too young age; Louise of Saxe-Gotha - because of her refusal to convert to Orthodoxy.
Then, largely thanks to the intensive efforts of the former Danish envoy to Russia, Baron A.-F. Asseburg, Catherine II settled on the three daughters of Ludwig IX of Hesse-Darmstadt and Henrietta Caroline Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld.

Portrait of Landgrave Ludwig IX of Hesse-Darmstadt:

Portrait of Henrietta Caroline, Countess Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. A. Peng:

Their eldest son and heir, Ludwig, subsequently took the title of Grand Duke of Hesse and Rhine, under the name Ludwig I.
The eldest daughter Caroline became Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg.
Frederick's second daughter, having married the heir to the Prussian throne, Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, later became Queen of Prussia.
It was this circumstance that made the marriage of the Russian heir to one of the Hessian princesses very desirable for King Frederick the Great.
He writes about this in his notes: “The elder sister of these princesses was married to the Prince of Prussia; Consequently, there was a great gain for Prussia when one of them became the Grand Duchess, for by adding ties of kinship to the ties of allied friendship, it seemed that the alliance of Prussia with Russia would become even much closer.”
Catherine II's attention to the princesses of Hesse-Darmstadt was expressed primarily in the desire to obtain detailed information about them.
Having studied the information provided by Baron Asseburg, the Empress shared her impressions with him: “Princess Wilhelmina of Darmstadt is described to me, especially from the side of kindness of heart, as the perfection of nature; but besides the fact that perfection, as we know, does not exist in the world, you say that she has a rash mind, prone to discord. This, combined with her father’s intelligence and with a large number of sisters and brothers, some already settled in, and some still waiting to be accommodated, prompts me to be cautious in this regard.”
However, the empress decided to make her final choice only after meeting the princesses personally. The Empress wrote to the tutor of Grand Duke Paul, Count Panin: “The Landgravine, thank God, still has marriageable daughters; let's ask her to come here with this swarm of daughters; we will be very unhappy if out of the three we do not choose one that suits us. We’ll look at them and then decide.”
On April 28, 1773, Catherine sent an official invitation to Russia to the Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt with her three daughters - Amalia (later the mother of Elizaveta Alekseevna), Wilhelmina and Louise, supported by a considerable amount - 80,000 guilders - for the trip.
The Empress believed “that Europe and Russia would accept as a new manifestation of her greatness and power the fact that a foreign sovereign was bringing her three daughters for show and for the heir to the All-Russian throne to choose from. Until now, in the West there was a custom, due to which some kings did not go for their brides, but they were brought to them, but engaged in absentia or even betrothed. And here there was no bride yet, and in general there was no example in history of what the great empress achieved from the Landgrave of Darmstadt,” (Baron Bühler, historian).
From Lübeck to Revel (Tallinn), the Landgrave and her daughters were to be accompanied by Major General Rebinder, from Revel to Tsarskoye Selo by Baron Cherkasov.
Baron Cherkasov received from the Empress a very interesting document containing rules of conduct for the princess, who will “have the happiness of becoming Catherine’s daughter-in-law and the wife of Pavel Petrovich,” created personally by the Empress or with her direct participation and entitled “Instructions of Catherine II given to the Russian princesses.”
Here they are summary: Having become the wife of Pavel Petrovich, the princess should not listen to any slander of evil people against the empress or the crown prince, and in matters of politics should not succumb to the suggestions of foreign ministers. Among entertainments and amusements, she must always remember the position she occupies, and therefore behave with dignity and avoid short treatment, which can cause a lack of respect. As for the funds that will be allocated for her expenses, she must use them wisely so as to never make debts. Since idleness entails boredom, the consequence of which is a bad mood, we must try, after fulfilling all our duties, to look for something to do in our free hours. Reading forms taste, heart and mind; if the princess manages to find interest in him, then this will, of course, be best; in addition, she can practice music and all kinds of handicrafts; By diversifying her leisure time, she will never feel empty during the day. It is just as dangerous to avoid the light as to love it too much. You should not be burdened by light when you have to be in society, but you should be able to do without light, resorting to activities and pleasures that can decorate the mind, strengthen the feelings or give activity to the hands. The “Instructions” end with the 13th paragraph: “Following these rules, the princess should expect the happiest future. She will have the most tender husband, whom she will make happy and who will probably make her happy; she will have the advantage of being called the daughter of the empress who most brings honor to our century, to be loved by her and to serve as a joy to the people, who have moved forward with renewed vigor under the leadership of Catherine, who is increasingly glorifying them, and the princess will only have to wish for an extension of the days of Her Imperial Majesty and His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke, in the firm belief that her well-being will not be shaken as long as she lives in dependence on them.”
On June 15, 1773, Catherine and Paul met the Hessian family.
Of course, political motives came to the fore in such an important matter, i.e. strengthening friendly ties with Prussia, but politics was pushed aside by a force more powerful than all calculations and intrigues - love.
After the first meeting with the young princesses, Pavel writes in his diary: “Despite the fatigue, I kept walking around my room... remembering what I had seen and heard. At that moment my choice had almost settled on Princess Wilhelmina, whom I liked best, and I saw her in my dreams all night.”
A single glance was enough for the heir to the throne of the Russian Empire to understand – SHE.
The Grand Duke's chosen one - seventeen-year-old Wilhelmina Louise - was the most noticeable of the three sisters, although the description given to the princess by Baron Asseburg, in a letter to Count Panin, is suggestive: “Princess Wilhelmina ... still makes it difficult for anyone who would like to make out the true curves of her soul, with that learned and commanding expression on her face that rarely leaves her. I often attributed this to the monotony of the court, which was unusually monotonous... Pleasures, dancing, outfits, the company of friends, games, and finally, everything that usually arouses the liveliness of passions does not achieve it. Among all these pleasures, the princess remains concentrated in herself, and when she takes part in them, she makes it clear that she does it more out of gratification than out of taste. Is it insensitivity, or is it driven in this case by the fear of seeming like a child? ...the main features of this character are still covered with a veil for me... The Land Countess distinguishes her, her mentors praise the abilities of her mind and the courtesy of her disposition; she does not show whims; although cold, she remains even with everyone, and not a single one of her actions has yet refuted my opinion that her heart is pure, restrained and virtuous, but that it was enslaved by ambition... Her character and manners acquired some negligence; but they will soften, become more pleasant and affectionate when she lives with people who especially attract her heart. I expect the same from the direction of her mind, now inactive and attached to a small number of local ideas and inattentive more by habit than by natural inclination; serious and subject to certain prejudices, but which - in a different locality and with other responsibilities - will have to acquire more vastness, charm, fidelity and strength. The princess will want to be liked. Of all the young Darmstadt family, she has the most grace and nobility in manners and character, just as she has the most resourceful mind.”

Portrait of Princess Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt:

However, Empress Catherine considered the choice of her son successful; in part, the fact that Frederick II insisted on the candidacy of the eldest princess, Amalia, also played a role here.
Catherine wrote about this: “I don’t particularly dwell on the praises lavished on the eldest of the Hessian princesses by the King of Prussia, because I know how he chooses and what he needs; what he likes would hardly satisfy us. For him, the stupider the better; I have seen and know those chosen by him...”
The empress herself decided that “the eldest is very meek, the younger, apparently, has a lot of intelligence, the second has everything we need: her face is charming, her features are correct, she is friendly, smart, I am very pleased with her...”
Three days later, on June 18, an official proposal followed, made on behalf of her son by Catherine herself.
On the same day, a courier was sent to the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. The answer came unusually quickly, in less than two months: “... on the third day the courier returned... and brought consent to the marriage of Princess Wilhelmina with the Grand Duke. Although this should have been expected, it seems as if confidence in this produced noticeable satisfaction; By at least, such is the impression made on the Grand Duke, who is beside himself with joy and sees the greatest happiness in his marriage with this princess; he is very much in love with her and considers her completely worthy of his love and respect...” - (from the report of the Prussian ambassador, Count Solms, dated August 3, 1773).
Of course, Landgrave Henrietta could not help but send a letter of gratitude to the main matchmaker - the King of Prussia: “I will never forget that I owe Your Majesty the arrangement of my daughter Wilhelmina... The Grand Duke, as you can see, fell in love with my daughter and even more than I expected "
On August 15, Wilhelmina converted to Orthodoxy and received the name Natalya Alekseevna.
The next day, her engagement to the Grand Duke took place, and a new title was added to her new name - Grand Duchess.
On September 29, 1773, the wedding took place and was celebrated with great pomp. In addition to the actual wedding ceremony, holidays were held for all classes: for nobles, merchants, ordinary people. The two-week celebrations ended with fireworks.
What is the reason for such haste, almost indecent for royalty?
Love? Yes, of course, but not only...
September 20 is the birthday of Grand Duke Paul.
Although he had already been an adult for a year, Catherine did not officially recognize this, since he could well lay claim to the throne, and much more solidly than her own. After all, she nevertheless carried out a coup d’état and overthrew her husband, the legitimate emperor.
That is why his eighteenth birthday passed quietly and unnoticed. And the nineteenth, the empress, being an intelligent and prudent politician, replaced it with a marriage ceremony.
Let the subjects rejoice at the wedding and think less about whose throne it really is.
Grand Duchess Natalia's mother and sisters were also present at the wedding and left Russia on October 15 of the same year.
The newly crowned Grand Duchess was literally showered with gifts: on her wedding day - diamond buckles, the next day - a headdress of emeralds and diamonds, and finally, from her loving husband - a ruby ​​necklace worth 25,000 rubles.
At first, everything goes great: the lover Pavel does not get enough of his wife, whom he calls “a quiet angel.”

Portrait of Grand Duchess Natalia Alekseevna. P.-E. Falconet, 1773:

In reality, the “quiet angel” is “a cunning woman of a subtle, insightful mind, a hot-tempered, persistent disposition,” who “without difficulty discovered the secret of influencing her husband, and does it in such a way that he alienates from himself those few people close to him whom he himself chose...”, and “... her heart is proud, nervous, cold, perhaps somewhat frivolous in its decisions...”.
However, the mother-in-law is also fascinated by the daughter-in-law, at least at first.
November 10, 1773, Catherine writes to the Landgravine of Hesse:
“Your daughter is healthy, she is still meek and kind, as you know her. My husband adores her, constantly praises and recommends her, I listen and sometimes I laugh because she doesn’t need recommendations, her recommendation is in my heart, I love her, she deserves it and I’m completely happy with her. You have to be terribly picky and worse than some gossip not to remain pleased with this princess, as I am pleased with her, which I tell you, because it is fair. I asked her to study Russian; she promised me. In general, our family life It's going very well..."
Meanwhile, both the empress and the whole country are impatiently awaiting the appearance of an heir.
As the Grand Duchess writes to her mother on February 1, 1774: “It is impossible to say either “yes” or “no” about my condition. Here they think “yes” because they want it. I’m afraid that it’s “no,” but I act like it’s “yes.”
Spring 1774. There is no child yet, but the idyll continues.
“Recently the Empress expressed that she was indebted to the Grand Duchess for the fact that her son had been returned to her, and that she would make it the task of her life to prove her gratitude for such a service; indeed, she never misses an opportunity to caress this princess, who has even less intelligence than Grand Duke, despite this, she acquired a strong influence over him and, it seems, is still very successfully implementing the instructions, undoubtedly given to her by her mother, the Landgravine.” - (from the report of the English envoy Gunning).

Portrait of Grand Duchess Natalia Alekseevna:

Portrait of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich. Unknown artist of the last quarter of the 18th century, (copy from the work of J.L. Voile):

Another English envoy, Harris, writes about the Grand Duchess: “This young princess was proud and determined, and during her life there would probably have been a struggle between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.”
Harris turned out to be a prophet - the struggle really began.
At the end of 1774, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law took a turn in the exact opposite direction: from love to hatred one step, and, moreover, passed suspiciously quickly.
Here is an excerpt from Catherine’s letter to her longtime friend, Baron Grimm, December 21, 1774:
“She is constantly sick, but how can she not be sick? She has extremes in everything. If he decides to walk on foot, then 20 miles away, if he starts dancing, then he will immediately dance 20 contradances and the same number of minuets, not counting allemans. To prevent the rooms from getting too hot, they stopped heating them altogether. Some people rub ice on their faces, but we have turned our whole body into a face. In a word, the golden mean is far from us. Fearing evil people, we distrust everyone in general and do not accept any advice - neither good nor bad. In a word, there is still no sign of good nature, caution, or prudence. God knows where all this will lead, since we don’t want to listen to anyone, but have our own will. Imagine, we’ve been here for a year and a half now, and we still don’t know a word of Russian. We demand to be taught, but at the same time we do not want to devote a minute of diligence to this. It’s all just rubbish, we don’t like this or that. Our debts are twice as much as our assets, and it seems that hardly anyone in Europe receives so much.” (The annual maintenance of the Grand Duchess is 50,000 rubles - a huge amount for those times - [Rostislava]).
The empress is very worried about the state of her daughter-in-law's health. Thus, in a letter to Baron Grimm in February 1775, Catherine reports that she fears the Grand Duchess will develop consumption.
And yet, the main reason for Catherine’s dissatisfaction lay in something completely different.
At this time, a new knot of intrigue began at court: the rapprochement of Austria and Prussia with Russia on the basis of the first partition of Poland (1772) was negatively perceived by France and Spain.
What does the Grand Duchess have to do with it?
The question is quite natural, but the answer is somewhat unexpected.
It is very reliably known that Pavel Petrovich, alas, did not shine with beauty; on the contrary, his best friend, Count Andrei Kirillovich Razumovsky (son of the former hetman of Ukraine and nephew of Elizabeth Petrovna’s favorite), was not only handsome, but had brilliant abilities (graduated from the University of Strasbourg) and, in addition, managed to distinguish himself in one of the famous battles Russian-Turkish war- Chesmensky.
Well, how could you resist? Natalya Alekseevna fell madly in love with Andrei, he reciprocated, and dating was very easy: Count Razumovsky was not only a friend of Pavel, but also a chamberlain of the “small court”, i.e. special, closest to the spouses in court position.

Portrait of Andrei Razumovsky, A. Roslin, 1776:

It was Andrei, who could not resist the Franco-Spanish gold, who involved Natalya Alekseevna in politics, and then quite simply - where Natalya is, there is Pavel.
Moreover, it was even rumored that Natalya intended to follow the example of her mother-in-law and carry out a new coup d’etat.
Unlike her son, Catherine did not suffer from excessive gullibility and, having received such compromising information - however, without absolute evidence (in the form of rumors), tried to draw her son's attention to the too close relationship between his wife and best friend.
This did not bring the expected results.
Natalya convinced Pavel that this was slander, the purpose of which was to quarrel between them.
Pavel easily believed his wife, especially since his relationship with his mother was never distinguished by warmth and affection; The mutual hostility of Catherine and the young spouses only intensified.
However, on August 27, 1775, after Catherine and Natalia visited the Trinity-Sergius Lavra together, the Empress wrote to Baron Grimm: “Our prayers have been heard: the Grand Duchess is pregnant and her health seems to have improved.”
At the beginning of 1776, the Swedish artist Alexander Roslin painted 2 portraits of the Grand Duchess (a very rare case - an image of a royal person expecting a child): “solemn”

and “almost homey”:

Alas, fate treated Natalya Alekseevna cruelly.
On April 10, the Grand Duchess went into labor. After three days of continuous suffering, she was still unable to give birth to a child. A belated caesarean section did not change the situation: the baby was already dead, and two days later the mother also died.
In the official conclusion on the cause of death of the Grand Duchess, doctors explained the unsuccessful birth as a consequence of the curvature of the spine.
Meanwhile, an unofficial version arose, or rather, a rumor that the Grand Duchess was poisoned.

To stop unpleasant speculation, the Empress described the death of her daughter-in-law in great detail in a letter to Baron Grimm:
“God wanted it that way. What to do! But I can say that nothing was said, that only human mind and art could come up with to save her. But there was a confluence of various unfortunate circumstances, which made this incident almost unique in the world.
The Grand Duke came to me on Fomino Sunday morning at four o'clock and announced that the Grand Duchess had been tormented since midnight; but since the torment was not strong, they hesitated to wake me up. I got up and went to her, and found her in a decent state, and stayed with her until ten o’clock in the morning, and, seeing that she was still in direct pain, I went to get dressed, and returned to her again at 12 o’clock. By evening the torment was so strong that they expected its resolution every minute. And here with her, except for the best grandmother in the city, Countess Katerina Mikhailovna Rumyantseva, her chamberlain, the Grand Duke and me, there was no one; the doctor and her doctor were in the hall. The whole night passed, and the pain varied with sleep: sometimes she got up, sometimes she lay down, as she pleased. We spent another day in the same way, but Cruz and Tode were already called, whose advice the grandmother followed, but our good hope remained without success. On Tuesday the doctors demanded Rogerson and Lindeman, because the grandmother had refused the opportunity. On Wednesday Thode was admitted, but nothing could come to fruition. The child was already dead, but the bones remained in the same position. On Thursday, the Grand Duchess was confessed, received communion and received unction with oil, and on Friday she gave up her soul to God.
The Grand Duke and I were with her for five days, day and night. After her death, when the body was opened, it turned out that the Grand Duchess had been damaged since childhood, that the dorsal bone was not only like an S, but the part that should have been curved was concave and lay on the back of the child’s head; that the bones were four inches in circumference and could not move apart, and the child had up to nine inches in the shoulders. This was connected to other circumstances, of which there are no examples. In a word, such a confluence did not allow either the mother or the child to remain alive. My grief was great, but, having surrendered to the will of God, now I must think about the reward of the loss.”
Pavel Petrovich, who idolized his wife, was in such a state that the most serious fears arose for his life and sanity.
Without further ado, the empress applied “shock therapy” to her son: she gave him the letters found in the secret drawer of Natalia’s desk. From them, Pavel learned that his beloved wife had cheated on him with his best friend and, therefore, he could be the father of her child.
The Grand Duke never fully recovered from this blow, becoming even more suspicious and distrustful.
Natalya Alekseevna was buried on April 26, 1776, in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. The ceremony, despite the presence of the empress, was very modest. The secretary of the French embassy, ​​Corberon, wrote in his diary: “I was unpleasantly struck by the lack of funeral pomp: as if they had regretted giving her due honor and it seems that death itself could not soften the feeling of envy towards her that arose in the heart of the stronger person.”
It is also very interesting that the legal spouse, Grand Duke Paul, was not at the funeral, but Natalya’s lover was present. After some time, Count Razumovsky was exiled to Revel (Tallinn), and then became the Russian envoy in Naples.

Marble bust of Natalia Alekseevna. M.-A. Collot, 1775:

The first marriage of the Romanovs with the House of Hesse-Darmstadt ended very tragically.

Story >> German-Russian connections

“Partner” No. 3 (246) 2018

Hessian princesses – members of the royal family of Russia

“Liebe, Glanz und Untergang” - under this name an exhibition about the Hessian princesses who left their mark on Russian history was held in Frankfurt. In Russian, the exhibition was called “Love, Tragedy and Duty”

The exhibition featured rare exhibits relating to the lives of the four princesses of the Hesse-Darmstadt Ducal House. Paintings by outstanding masters of Russian and European painting, sculptural images of members of the royal family, brought from fifteen museums in Moscow, St. Petersburg, the National Museum of Arts of Azerbaijan, Makhachkala and private collections showed all the brilliance and beauty of these extraordinary women whom history elevated to the royal throne or brought her closer to him.

Archival documents, evidence, letters were provided by the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel Heinrich Donatus, the Darmstadt Museum, the Holy Trinity Monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church in Jordanville, USA.

Dynastic marriages in European history are a tradition stretching back to the Middle Ages. In Russia, until the 18th century, reigning persons married exclusively the daughters of noble boyar families, which subsequently led to court intrigues and internal political conflicts. In 1721, Peter I signed a decree allowing marriage with Christians of other faiths, subject to their conversion to Orthodoxy. Peter considered attracting foreigners to Russia with their capital and knowledge, at least in this way, the most important thing. But back in 1711, Peter I restored the institution of dynastic marriages, marrying his son Alexei to Princess Charlotte Christina Sophia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Grand Duchess Natalia Alekseevna

The first marriage of Paul I to Princess Augusta Wilhelmina Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt (baptized Natalia Alekseevna) pursued primarily political goals. The marriage was beneficial to both the Russian court of Catherine II and the Prussian Kaiser Frederick II the Great. Catherine II, having married her 17-year-old son Paul, received Prussia as an ally. Frederick also counted on significant benefits. It was up to the choice of the bride. Catherine II did not skimp. A squadron of ships was sent for the intended bride, as well as her mother Ladcountine Henrietta-Christina-Carolina and her sisters, and Catherine allocated 80 thousand guilders for travel expenses.

In June 1773, the Landgraves of Hesse family arrived in Tsarskoye Selo. Paul was given three days to choose. But back in 1772, a portrait of Wilhelmina was delivered to the court to get acquainted with the prospective bride, so Pavel did not doubt for long. The portrait presented at the exhibition played a significant role in this. In addition, the 19-year-old boy was fascinated by young Wilhelmina. Catherine approved of her son’s choice, characterizing her: “She ... has everything we need: her face is charming, her features are correct, she is friendly, smart, I am very pleased with her.” It seems that they were of little interest in the bride’s opinion.

On August 15, 1773, Wilhelmina's baptism ceremony took place. And then the wedding of Tsarevich Pavel Petrovich with now Natalya Alekseevna took place.

The marriage lasted only three years and ended very sadly. Young Pavel doted on his wife. But Ekaterina, apparently sensing a strong opponent in Natalya Alekseevna, abruptly changed her opinion about her. The distance between the young spouses and the empress grew. As we know, Pavel was very ugly, but his friend Prince Andrei Razumovsky was the opposite. The young couple spent a lot of time in the company of Prince Razumovsky. And although the company was quite large, rumors spread at court about the connection between Natalia Alekseevna and Andrei Razumovsky. But soon the family hostility was softened by the news of the Grand Duchess’s pregnancy.

Childbirth began on April 10, 1776; on April 15, Natalia Alekseevna passed away. A 21-year-old girl died in agony for five days. Judging by the Empress's written report, the cause was a curvature of the spine. Natalia Alekseevna simply could not have children. The level of medicine at that time allowed for a caesarean section, but, as a rule, this meant the death of the woman in labor. No one dared to take on such responsibility. So, because of political ambitions, a young girl died.

Empress Maria Alexandrovna

The fate of another Hessian princess, Maximiliana Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria of Hesse and the Rhine, in the baptism of Maria Alexandrovna, turned out to be much happier. It was also called the story of the Hessian Cinderella. The princess was born in 1824 to Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and Maria Wilhelmina of Baden. And although three of Maria Wilhelmina’s children were from Baron Augustus Senarchlin de Grancy, Ludwig II, in order to avoid a European scandal, recognized the children as his own.

Living in a secluded castle in the town of Heiligenberg near Darmstadt and being illegitimate, Maria had nothing to hope for. But... In 1838-1839, while traveling around Europe, the Russian Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich, who was 21 years old at that time, accidentally stopped in Darmstadt and visited the opera house, where he noticed the charming 14-year-old Maria. He fell in love at first sight, which he notified his parents about. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the mother of the Tsarevich, was embarrassed by the origin of the bride. But Alexander insisted: “Dear Mother, what do I care about the secrets of Princess Mary! I love her, and I would rather give up the throne than give up her. I will marry only her, that’s my decision! This was a serious statement, and in 1840 an engagement took place to 16-year-old Maria. That same year, the princess converted to Orthodoxy and became Maria Alexandrovna. And in 1841 the wedding took place.

Eight children were born into the family. Alexander was lucky with his wife. She was involved in children, fine arts, education and charity. And all her life she turned a blind eye to her husband’s romantic hobbies. She was truly an associate of Emperor Alexander II. With her participation, the Red Cross Society was created in Russia. She gave huge sums to charity; they say that Maria Fedorovna spent only a quarter of the amount allocated for her maintenance on herself. The rest goes to charity. Under her patronage there were 5 hospitals, 12 almshouses, 36 shelters, 38 gymnasiums, 2 institutes, 156 primary schools and 5 private charitable societies. It was with her participation that women's gymnasiums were established in Russia.

The unexpected death of Nikolai's eldest son from tuberculous meningitis in 1864 becomes terrible tragedy, from which Maria Fedorovna did not recover until the end of her days. In 1865, the first attempt by Narodnaya Volya took place on Emperor Alexander II. Anxiety for her husband and depression undermine the already weak health of the empress. She spends more and more time in Crimea, only occasionally visiting St. Petersburg. Moreover, the Emperor has a new passion - Princess Dolgorukova. And in 1880, Maria Alexandrovna died, having written a letter to Alexander II before her death, where she thanked him for the happiness of 39 years of marriage.

It is unlikely that such serious political changes as the abolition of serfdom would have occurred in the country if Alexander II had not had such a devoted and faithful wife.

Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna

As you know, misfortune brings people together. Having lost her mother at the age of 14, Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Louise Alice of Hesse and the Rhine could only rely on the love of her loved ones. Her younger sister Alix (later Empress Alexandra Feodorovna) was then 6 years old. Until her death, Empress Maria Alexandrovna strongly supported her great-nieces Elizabeth and Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt and would like to see them as closer members of the imperial family.

In 1884, the fifth son of Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna, Sergei, having known both princesses since childhood, goes to Darmstadt and proposes to Elizabeth. In the same year, the wedding of Grand Duke Sergei and the Hessian princess took place. By the way, it is here that the first meeting of the future Emperor Nicholas II with his future wife Alexandra Fedorovna takes place.

Arriving in Russia, Elizabeth, brought up in the traditions of sacrifice and self-denial, devotes all her strength to charity. Moreover, the sexual orientation of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich did not imply having children. In 1891, Sergei Alexandrovich was appointed to the post of Moscow Governor-General. Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna establishes a charitable society called “to look after the legitimate babies of the poorest mothers, who had hitherto been placed, although without any right, in the Moscow Orphanage under the guise of being illegal.” With the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, Grand Duchess Elizabeth organized a Special Committee for Assistance to Soldiers. In the Grand Kremlin Palace, parcels are collected for soldiers, bandages are prepared, and clothes are sewn.

In 1905, at the beginning of the first Russian revolution, Sergei Alexandrovich died from a bomb by terrorist revolutionaries.

After the death of her husband, Elizabeth withdraws from the world and uses her own money to buy an estate in Moscow, where she establishes the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy, with a canteen and a hospital for the poor. With the beginning of the revolution of 1917, Elizabeth refuses to leave Russia and remains close to her sister, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, until the end, and dies in the Alapaevsk mine.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

The fate of the last Hessian princess Victoria Alice Elena Louise Beatrice (after baptism - Alexandra Feodorovna), who ascended the Russian throne, is known. Dozens of books have been written about her, letters have been published, and research has been conducted. The only thing left unexplored is that which cannot be studied - love. Love Nicky and Alix. “My dear, priceless, dear Sun, it is difficult to endure separation, but it is even worse not to know when a meeting is possible. It seems cruel to me not to receive any letter from you, my beloved child...” - this is what Tsarevich Nicholas wrote to his bride Alix. Could such words be written by a person who did not experience any feelings?

“They lived happily ever after and died on the same day.” It's about them. About the last Hessian princess and the Russian emperor.

One can talk endlessly about the Hessian princesses. Fortunately, the materials presented at the exhibition allow. Talk about their contribution to social life Russia, their relationships with their husbands, their character and moods. This is already part of history, the history of Russia and Germany.

Marina Bast (Frankfurt am Main)