Elizaveta Mikhailovna: Biography

As it was sung in a famous hit of the 70's, no king can marry for love. However, there are exceptions to any rule. These include the marriage between the niece of Nicholas I and the Grand Duke of Luxembourg Adolf Nassau. Romanova Elizaveta Mikhailovna lived a very short life. Her memory was immortalized not only by her husband, but also by her uncle and mother, who decided to express their love for the prematurely departed young beauty, having built an Orthodox church, a hospital and a shelter.

Parents

Elizaveta Mikhailovna was the second daughter of Frederick of Württemberg (the first-born in the family of the youngest son of King Frederick I) and Grand Duke Michael - the last of the children of Emperor Paul the First. The girl's parents did not have tender feelings for each other, and their bark could hardly be called happy. As a result, Elena Pavlovna (the Orthodox name of Princess Frederika), gave all her love to 5 daughters who were curious and, according to the contemporaries, were real beauties.

Biography

The daughter of Prince Mikhail Pavlovich was born in Moscow on May 14 (26), 1826. It was named after the wife of Alexander the First, Elizabeth Alekseevna, who was a close friend of her mother and died 10 days before her birth.

The Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, deprived of her husband's attention, devoted her entire life to the formation of daughters. As for their father, Mikhail Pavlovich insisted on introducing military subjects into the curriculum, arguing that the girls are honorary commanders of cavalry regiments. The Grand Duke began to acquaint Elizabeth, Maria and Catherine with infantry and cavalry signals on the drum and bugle. It is said that sometimes he brought officers to the palace who made mistakes in military reviews or exercises. Then he invited the girls and ordered the bugler to play signals. Usually the Grand Duchesses unmistakably called their values, and the triumphant father shamed the officers and sent them to the guardhouse.

Matrimonial plans of the imperial family

Nikolay First and Mikhail Pavlovich were very friendly from the very childhood. Their good relations were preserved even in adulthood. However, in 1843, a black cat almost ran between the brothers' families. The reason was the matchmaking of Adolf Nassau.

The fact is that Elena Pavlovna dreamed of giving the princess Maria Mikhailovna for the Baden prince. She had plans for Elizabeth, whom she wanted to marry for Duke Adolf.

The Nassau dynasty led its history from the 12th century, one of its branches to this day rules the Netherlands. In addition, Adolf Nassau himself was a young man, worthy in all respects. That's why the Emperor Nikolay the First and his wife, Alexandra Fyodorovna, wanted to see her husband as her husband.

Matchmaking

Emperor Nicholas I did not want his family to split. Therefore, he stated that he would not exert any influence on the Duke of Nassau, giving him the right to choose which of the two cousins he wanted to see as his wife. At the same time, Elena Pavlovna understood that the Grand Duchess Olga, being the daughter of the emperor, had more chances than Lily, although the latter was no less charming.

Soon the groom arrived in Kronstadt with his brother, Prince Maurice. They asked for an audience with Nicholas I. They were informed that the emperor was ready to meet with them in Ropsha, where he watched military exercises. When the young men came to the king's tent, the Duke Adolf, without delay, asked permission to marry Elizaveta Mikhailovna. Despite disappointment, Nicholas I did not object, and the duke in love went to Carlsbad, where Elena Pavlovna and her daughters were resting.

Wedding

The Grand Duchess was delighted and did not stint on the organization of wedding celebrations on the occasion of the wedding of her daughter. Elizaveta Mikhailovna and the Duke of Nassau were married in St. Petersburg on January 31, 1844. Two weeks before that, the wedding of Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna with Prince Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel was held. Both these festivities gathered in the Russian capital the whole color of the European aristocracy. According to eyewitnesses, in a series of solemn balls and dinners the most elegant was a reception organized by Elena Pavlovna, who spent a fabulous amount of 200,000 rubles for him at that time.

Death

It would seem that Elizaveta Mikhailovna was expecting a happy family life, as she adored her husband, and his love for her was so great that for her he refused the honor of becoming the son-in-law of the Russian emperor. However, fate ordered in its own way, and exactly exactly one year after the wedding, Elizaveta Mikhailovna died during difficult births. Her baby did not survive. Thus ended the life of a young beauty. In an unexplained accident, the happiness of her cousin Alexandra Nikolaevna, who died several months earlier, did not last long.

Memory

In memory of his niece, Nicholas the First ordered the name of a clinical hospital for young children, which was founded in the northern capital in 1844.

After the Grand Duchess Maria Mihailovna died in November 1846, her mother, Princess Elena Pavlovna, decided to found a charitable institution. So in St. Petersburg and Pavlovsk appeared "shelters of Elizabeth and Mary."

The duke Adolf decided to perpetuate the memory of his wife. He ordered the construction of an Orthodox church of St. Elizabeth in Wiesbaden. For construction, he transferred the money that was allocated to the Grand Duchess as a dowry. Upon completion of the work in the crypt of the temple, the young duchess and her newborn daughter were reburied.