The Mistress who became Empress of Russia. Catherine Dolgorukaya.
On the 16 April 1841, aged 23, the future Tsar Alexander the Second married Marie, the 17 year old daughter of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse who became Empress of Russia when her husband ascended to the throne. The couple had six sons and two daughters.
In 1866, Alexander II started seeing Princess Catherine Dolgorukaya on the side. Catherine was then 23 years younger than the Empress Marie. Catherine liked the Tsar but she didn't want to become just another mistress. However, perhaps persuaded by her family, eventually she did, being escorted three or four times a week by the police to a private apartment in the Winter Palace. Possibly she was the only mistress. She was certainly the love of the Tsar’s life. He said that if only he were free, he would marry her. They wrote to each other constantly, sometimes several times each day, often in very intimate details. Some of these letters have survived.
Alexander II's family and court disapproved of their relationship. Catherine was accused of scheming to become Empress and influencing Alexander towards liberalism. In 1861, Alexander had emancipated the serfs, meaning that some 23 million Russians were no longer tied to the land and to the landowners. Alexander possibly sought to liberalise the country further.
In 1880, as Empress Marie lay dying from tuberculosis, he moved Catherine and the kids he had with her into the Winter Palace. Marie died on 3 June 1880. Not wanting to waste any time, on 18 July 1880, Alexander II married the woman he had been having a relationship with for the previous 14 years. This violated Orthodox custom which required a minimum period of 40 days mourning between the death of a spouse and the remarriage of the surviving spouse. This caused a scandal amongst royal courts abroad and alienation of his children with his first wife.
Before their marriage, Alexander and Catherine had four children, three of whom survived. In this photograph we can see them as adults.
Alexander was assassinated the following year by members of the Narodnaya Volya organisation which sought to overthrow the monarchy. Catherine had to move out of the Winter Palace but she was given a pension to live off. She died in 1922 at the age of 74 in Nice, France.
/ historysite
Production of independent researched history is time consuming and expensive. Please consider supporting me on Patreon. / alanheath
Смотрите видео The Mistress who became Empress of Russia. Catherine Dolgorukaya. онлайн без регистрации, длительностью часов минут секунд в хорошем качестве. Это видео добавил пользователь History on YouTube 01 Январь 1970, не забудьте поделиться им ссылкой с друзьями и знакомыми, на нашем сайте его посмотрели 1,210 раз и оно понравилось 43 людям.