Princess Elizabeth (Elizaveta) Esperovna Beloselskaya-Belozerskaya, later Princess Trubetskaya (20 November 1834 – 30 March 1907, Saint Petersburg), was a Russian noblewoman,

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

and a salonist.

Early life

Elizaveta Esperovna, nicknamed Lise, was born on 20 November 1834 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

into the ancient House of Belosselsky-Belozersky. She was the eldest daughter of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Esper Beloselsky-Belozersky (1802-1846) and the

maid of honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Tudors and Stuarts Traditi ...

Elena (Helena) Pavlovna Bibikova (1812-1888). Her aunt, singer and composer Princess Zinaida Alexandrovna Volkonskaya Beloselskaya (1789-1862), was at one time the owner of a famous literary salon, which was visited by famous writers Mitskevich, Baratynsky, Venevitinov, DeVitte, A.S. Pushkin also visited there.

Court life

Elizaveta was the maid of honour of

Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (; – 22 October 1920) was the sixth child and only surviving daughter of Alexander II of Russia and Marie of Hesse and by Rhine; she was Duchess of Edinburgh and later Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and G ...

. In 1859, her portrait was painted by

Franz Xaver Winterhalter Franz Xaver Winterhalter (20 April 1805 – 8 July 1873) was a German painter and lithography, lithographer, known for his flattering portraits of royalty and upper-class society in the mid-19th century. His name has become associated with fashio ...

. After the death of her husband, Elizaveta Esperovna began to spend more time abroad, lived in France, where she kept a political salon. She hosted a famous

literary salon A salon is a gathering of people held by a host. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to please or to educate" (Latin: ''aut delectare aut prodesse''). Salons in the tradition of the Fren ...

in Paris during the Second Empire, and played a crucial part as a mediator when France and Russia reestablished their diplomatic contacts in the 1870s. Her salon was attended by many famous politicians: Prince Kochubey,

Ivan Durnovo Ivan Nikolayevich Durnovo (, the patronymic is also transcribed as Nikolaevich; – ) was a Russian politician. He served as Russian Council of Ministers, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers between 1895 and 1903, the precursor to the po ...

and others. The princess was in correspondence with many political figures of the time: Francois Guizot, 3rd Viscount Palmerston,

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( ; ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian who served as President of France from 1871 to 1873. He was the second elected president and the first of the Third French Republic. Thi ...

and Prince Alexander Gorchakov.

Elizavetino estate

Lise was the owner of the Elizavetino summer estate from 1852 in the Saint Petersburg province, the main building was designed by architect Harald Julius von Bosse in 1874, and a collector of material about the Trubetskoy family. The family grave was situated in Vladimir Church in Elizavetino, where she was buried alongside her husband and children.

Personal life

In 1851, she married Prince Pyotr Nikitich

Trubetskoy The House of Trubetskoy, (; ; ; Ruthenian: ''Trubetsky''; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a Russian gentry family of Ruthenian stock and Lithuanian origin, like many other princely houses of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, later prominent in Russian history, science, ...

(1826-1880), True State Councillor and Saint Petersburg district leader of the nobility. Together, they were the parents of: * Princess Elena "Hélène" Trubetskaya (1853–1917), who married

Pavel Pavlovich Demidov, 2nd Prince of San Donato Pavel Pavlovich Demidov, 2nd Prince of Villa San Donato, San Donato (; 9 October 1839 – 26 January 1885) was a Russian industrialist, jurist, Table of Ranks, master of the hunt at Russian imperial court, philanthropist and nobleman of the ...

. * Prince Sergei Trubetskoy (1855–1856), who died young. * Princess Alexandra Trubetskaya (1857–1949). * Princess Olga Trubetskaya (1860–1879), who died from

consumption Consumption may refer to: * Eating *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically known as consumption * Consumer (food chain), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of n ...

at the age of 19. * Prince Alexander Trubetskoy (1867–1912/7) * Princess Maria Trubetskaya (1872–1954). Princess Trubetskaya died on 30 March 1907 in Saint Petersburg.

Descendants

Through her eldest daughter Elena, she was a grandmother of Princess Aurora Pavlovna Demidova di San Donato, great-grandmother of Prince Regent Paul of Yugoslavia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trubetskaya, Elizabeth 1834 births 1907 deaths Ladies-in-waiting from the Russian Empire Salon holders from the Russian Empire