Empress Maria Alexandrovna

Maria Alexandrovna (), born Princess Maximiliane Wilhelmine Auguste Sophie Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (8 August 1824 – 3 June 1880), was Empress of Russia as the first wife of Emperor Alexander II.

The daughter of Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse, and of Princess Wilhelmine of Baden, she was given a good education and raised in relative austerity, with an emphasis on simplicity, piety and domesticity. Her mother died when Marie was only twelve, and when she was fourteen, she caught the eye of Tsesarevich Alexander Nikolaevich, who was visiting her father's court while making his Grand tour of Western Europe. The couple were married after Marie turned sixteen. The new tsesarevna did not initially enjoy court life because of her withdrawn nature, and the fact that she found the splendor and extravagance of the Russian court daunting after the frugality that she was accustomed to. Marie soon grew to identify strongly with her adopted country, and her young age at marriage facilitated this adoption.

After the death of her father-in-law, Nicholas I, in 1855, Alexander became emperor and, now known as Maria, she became empress consort of Russia. After the death of her mother-in-law in 1860, Maria took on a greater role in public life. She became one of the founders of the Russian Red Cross Society, part of the International Red Cross Movement which was founded in 1863 to promote nursing and medical care across the world. She also established Russia's first all-female schools. She gave her husband strong moral support as he navigated the legislations to end serfdom. She also interested herself in the arts: The Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg and the Mariinskyi Palace were built under her patronage and named after her.

Despite identifying strongly with Russia and Russian interests, she visited her native Hesse regularly every year from the early 1860s onward, and kept in touch with her own family, as also with her husband's relatives across Europe. She suffered from tuberculosis from 1863 onwards and spent long periods of time in southern Europe to avoid the harsh winters of Russia. Her health worsened after the death of her eldest son, Nicholas Alexandrovich, who died just before the date of his intended wedding. She was noted for her wisdom and intellect, and her generous devotion to family, including her husband's mistress and her children.

Childhood

Maximiliane Wilhelmine Auguste Sophie Marie was born in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany,Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p.49Gilbert, ''Alexander II and Tsarkoe Selo'', p. 40. the youngest of seven siblings born to Prince Hereditary Ludwig of Hesse and Princess Wilhelmine of Baden, sister of Russian Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna. Although her parents were double first cousins, they were a mismatched couple:Zeepvat, ''Heiligenberg'', p. 2. Ludwig was dull, shy and withdrawn, while Wilhelmine, eleven years his junior, was pretty and charming. After the birth of three sons, the couple grew apart during the turbulent years of the Napoleonic Wars while Ludwig was in the battlefields.

After a gap of eleven years, Princess Wilhelmine went on to have four more children, but court rumors attributed the biological paternity of the second set of children to Baron August von Senarclens de Grancy, Grand Master of the stables of the Grand Duke of Hesse.Korneva & Cheboksarova, ''Russia & Europe'', p. 13. Of those four children, Marie and her brother Alexander, who was a year older, lived to adulthood. While Prince Ludwig officially recognized the children as his, he and his wife became estranged by 1827. Her ancestry chart below assumes her legitimacy. See Grancy's page for her rumored paternal ancestry.

In 1828, Princess Wilhelmine moved with her two younger children and their household to Heiligenberg, a mountainside estate nestled on a hill overlooking the village of Jugenheim that she purchased that same year.Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 50. Wilhelmine Marie was 4 years old when she moved with 5-years-old Alexander and their mother to Heiligenberg, where the siblings spent most of their childhood. The castle had been previously a nunnery and was located some 20 kilometers from Darmstadt. In 1829, however, their parents celebrated their silver wedding anniversary in apparent harmony.Zeepvat, ''Heiligenberg'', p. 3. In 1830, their paternal grandfather, Ludwig I of Hesse, died and their father became the new reigning Grand Duke. The ducal couple gradually reconciled and used Heiligenberg in the summer months.

Wilhelmine Marie grew up under the care of her mother, who was responsible for her high education and had preference for French culture. This was evident in her lessons, which had special emphasis on finances, history, and literature. After her mother died of tuberculosis, her lady-in-waiting and possible paternal aunt, Marianne von Senarclens de Grancy, successfully took over the responsibility of 11-years-old Marie's education.

After their mother's death, Marie and Alexander moved permanently to their father's court in Darmstadt. The siblings would remain very close throughout their lives. She became close to her two elder brothers Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse, and Prince Karl of Hesse. However, the cloud over the birth's legitimacy continued to be cast upon Marie and Alexander since Ludwig II was cold and distant towards the children.

Engagement

In 1839, Tsesarevich Alexander Nikolaevich, son of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, traveled to western Europe to complete his education and search for a wife.Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 11. His parents had preselected Princess Alexandrine of Baden, but he was unmoved.Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 31. On 13 March, after visiting the courts of Prussia, Württemberg and Baden, Alexander's entourage made an unplanned stop at the court of Hesse. Although the Grand Duke's only surviving daughter wasn't on the list of possible brides,Radinsky, ''Alexander II'', p. 66. they stopped for one day in Darmstadt because it was on their way and they needed some rest.

Invited to a performance of Gaspare Spontini's '' La vestale'' by the Grand Duke, Alexander was introduced to 14-year-old Marie, who was slender and tall for her age, but still wore her hair loose. She was eating cherries and had to spit the pits into her hands when she was pushed forward to be introduced to the Tsesarevich.Zeepvat, ''The Camera and the Tsars'', p. 41. Alexander's tutor, Vasily Zhukovsky, who was traveling with him, described the Princess as: "modest, charming and even intelligent."Radinsky, ''Alexander II'', p. 67.

Alexander was smittenVan der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 12. and stayed to dine with the boring Ludwig II to see Marie again. Before he left Darmstadt, she gave him a locket containing a piece of her hair. That night Alexander wrote to his father: "I liked her terribly at first sight. If you permit it father, I will come back to Darmstadt after England." As his son had carefully planned, Nicholas I received the letter nine days later on the day of the annunciation and saw the timing as a good omen. He gave his approval despite the gossip surrounding her birth: if Ludwig II recognized her as his daughter, that was good enough.Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 32. In early June, Alexander returned to Darmstadt to propose to Marie, who accepted. As she wasn't yet fifteen, a long engagement period was necessary before the actual marriage would take place. Towards the closing weeks of 1839, he returned to Darmstadt to visit her again. A Russian Orthodox priest came to Darmstadt to give her instruction in the Russian Orthodox religion.Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818–1959'', p. 13.

The engagement between the Princess of Hesse and the Russian Tsesarevich was officially announced in April 1840. Two generations earlier, another princess of Hesse-Darmstadt had married a Tsesarevich: Marie's paternal great-aunt, Natalia Alexeievna, was the first wife of Tsar Paul I. In addition, Marie's maternal aunt Louise of Baden (Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna) had married Tsar Alexander I, though she died when Marie was only two years old. However, Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia) objected to her son's choice of a wife. The Empress wasn't only disturbed by the rumors surrounding Marie's paternity, but ill-disposed towards the Hesse family and concerned that Marie might have inherited her mother's consumption. In a letter to his mother, Alexander wrote: "I love her, and I would rather give up the throne, than not marry her. I will marry only her, that has my decision!" After being persuaded by her husband, Empress Alexandra went to Frankfurt, where she met Marie in June. By then, Marie had quickly learned the Russian language. The Empress liked what she saw and gave her permission for the marriage.

Tsesarevna

Wedding

A few weeks after her sixteenth birthday in August 1840, Marie's party set out for Russia. She was escorted by her brother Alexander and her governess, Mlle. von Grancy, who remained in Russia. Marie arrived in September and shared her impressions of Saint Petersburg in a letter to her family: "St. Petersburg is much more beautiful than I thought. The Neva River contributes to this. I think it is difficult to find a greater city. The view from the Winter Palace on the Neva is wonderful!" Her arrival in Russia was greeted with great ceremony with a continuous round of amusements. French plays, operas and new ballets were performed in the Chinese theater, and each Sunday her future mother-in-law gave a banquet in the Alexander Palace. However, Marie had a hard time adapting to her new surroundings. Years later, her-lady-in waiting Anna Tiutcheva was to write about this period in the life of her mistress: "Having been raised in seclusion even, one might say, in austerity, in the little castle of Jugenheim, where she saw her father only rarely, she was more frightened than bedazzled when she was suddenly brought to the most opulent and brilliant court of all European nations. She told me that many times. After constant battles of overcoming her awkwardness, later on, under cover of darkness and the stillness of her room, she would give freedom to her muffled cries".Korneva & Cheboksarova, ''Russia & Europe'', p. 16.

Having been raised in the Lutheran religion, Marie was received into the Russian Orthodox Church on and became Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna. On the next day, the official betrothal was held in the presence of the Imperial Family, the whole court, the Russian nobility, many notable foreign guests, and representatives of foreign states.Gilbert, ''Alexander II and Tsarkoe Selo'', p. 41. The wedding took place on in the Cathedral Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, on the eve of Alexander's twenty-third birthday.Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 33. Maria wore a white dress richly embroidered with silver, a crimson robe with white satin and fine ermine fastened on her shoulders, and diamond jewelry (tiara, earrings, a necklace, and bracelets). Her future mother-in-law decorated her hair with orange blossoms sticking them between the diamonds in her tiara and pinned a small branch on her chest. The wedding was attended by members of the Russian Imperial family, the court and numerous guests and it was followed by a festive dinner ball.

First years

After the wedding, the young couple settled in a suite of rooms in the south-west block of the Winter Palace. During the summer, they resided in Tsarskoye Selo. Their apartments were located in the Zubov wing of the Catherine Palace.Korneva & Cheboksarova, ''Russia & Europe'', p. 17.

Maria Alexandrovna struggled to assimilate herself with the court and make friends. Endless balls and court receptions bored her, but etiquette obliged her to fulfill the duties of representation as the wife of the Tsarevich. She reflected that life at court demanded "daily heroism... I lived like a volunteer fireman, ready to jump up at the alarm. Of course, I wasn't too sure about where to run or what to do." She preferred country life in Tsarskoye Selo, where she enjoyed a more private life.Gilbert, ''Alexander II and Tsarkoe Selo'', p. 42.

Maria won the approval of her father-in-law, Nicholas I. Nicholas I forbade anyone from discussing, or even thinking about, any rumors about her.

Like her mother, Maria took great interest in horticulture and imported flowers from her native Germany, such as lilies of the valley and cowslips. In the mornings, she took long walks with her ladies-in-waiting through the parks at the Catherine and Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo.

In this early period of her life in Russia, Maria was guided by her husband's aunt, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna. Although seventeen years apart in age, the two women became close friends and frequently ran their salons as a joint venture.Cowles, ''The Romanovs'', p. 171.

Maria and Alexander made a happy couple, full of tender care for one another. He ordered that banquets of fresh strawberries should be placed on his wife's dining table and enjoyed her company spending his mornings sitting on her bed. There were regular informal gatherings at the young couple's household of loud readings, music, and card playing. Alongside her husband, Maria read Mikhail Lermontov's ''A Hero of Our Time'', Nikolai Gogol's '' Dead Souls'', Fyodor Dostoevsky's ''Poor Folk'', and later, Ivan Turgenev's '' A Sportsman's Sketches'', sharing Alexander's sympathies for the plight of the serfs and becoming an ardent abolitionist. The Tsarevich and the Tsarevna charmed their guests with their manners. She gave useful advice to her husband, who in turn gave her confidence to guide herself into society.

Sixteen months after her wedding, Maria Alexandrovna gave birth to her first child, Alexandra, born in August 1842, two years after her arrival in Russia. In September 1843, she gave birth to a son, Nicholas. Two more sons, Alexander and Vladimir, were born in 1845 and 1847. Shortly after having her third son, her health began to fail and she had to go to Bad Kissingen in Bavaria to recuperate. To mark each birth, Alexander and Maria planted oak trees in their private garden at Tsarskoye Selo, where skittles, swings and slides were provided for the children. Indoors, she played the piano and created tapestries with her family. In July 1849, both parents were devastated when their daughter Alexandra died from infant meningitis at the age of six and a half. Grief-stricken by her loss, Maria had to go to the sea town of Revel in Estonia to recuperate.Nelipa, ''Alexander III His Life and Reign'', p. 10. Even many years later, she would still cry over the death of her eldest child.Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 52. In January 1850, she gave birth to a fourth son, Grand Duke Alexei.

During her first decade in Russia, Maria Alexandrovna enjoyed the company and support of her brother Alexander, who had accompanied her to Russia to follow a military career there. In 1851, he contracted a morganatic marriage with Julia von Hauke, one of his sister's ladies-in-waiting. As a consequence, he fell from grace and had to resign his Russian commission. He left the country, returning to Heiligenberg, the siblings' childhood home. In October 1853, Maria had a much-awaited second daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna.Nelipa, ''Alexander III His Life and Reign'', p. 22.

Empress

On 18 February 1855, Nicholas I died of pneumonia and was succeeded by Alexander to the Russian throne as Tsar.Cowles, ''The Romanovs'', p. 179. It was a turbulent period as Russian troops were being defeated by an international coalition in the Crimean War.Cowles, ''The Romanovs'', p. 178. After a siege lasting eleven months, Sevastopol fell in September 1855. With a prospect of invasion from the west if the war continued, Russia sued for peace in March 1856 in Paris.Cowles, ''The Romanovs'', p. 181. The humiliation of defeat was left behind by the coronation festivities that were held with Byzantine splendor from 14 to 26 August 1856. The coronation ceremony lasted five hours took place at the Assumption Cathedral of Moscow Kremlin on . When four court ladies tried to fix the crown to the 30-years-old Empress's head it nearly clattered to the ground, saved only by the fold of her cloak, a bad omen by the time.Cowles, ''The Romanovs'', p. 182.

Nine months after the coronation, Maria Alexandrovna gave birth to a fifth son, Sergei, in April 1857.Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 53. Suffering from depression, she was sent to Kissingen to recuperate.Nelipa, ''Alexander III His Life and Reign'', p. 37. On 3 October .S. 21 September1860, she gave birth to Paul, her eighth and final child,Nelipa, ''Alexander III His Life and Reign'', p. 48. but was so weakened that she was forced to spend several months resting on a couch in her boudoir in the Winter Palace.King, ''Livadia in the Reign of Alexander II'', p. 147. A month later, her mother-in-law died.

Charity Institutions

Since Russian tradition gave precedence to the Empress Mother over the reigning tsar's consort, it was only then that Maria Alexandrovna took a more decisive role in charitable activities. It was with her that the Red Cross was established in Russia, which quickly turned into the largest and wealthiest public structure. Under her organization, the institution accumulated in its accounts huge sums of money transferred by benefactors from all over the Empire.Cowles, ''The Romanovs'', p. 185. The women's committees recollected twice the average funds recollected by provincial committees.

Maria Alexandrovna was the supreme patroness of the Red Cross: In total, she patronized 5 hospitals, 12 alms-houses, 30 shelters, 2 institutes, 38 gymnasiums, 156 lower schools, and 5 private charitable societies. Empress Maria expanded charitable activities during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. The beginning of a new era in women's education in Russia was marked by her establishment of open all-union women's educational institutions in 1872. The students received lessons of physics, chemistry, and medicine.

Emancipation Manifesto

Tsar Alexander II relied on Maria Alexandrovna's judgment and serious nature to support his government, opening official documents and discussing states of affairs with her. She supported Alexander's ideals of introducing reforms. Two opposite philosophical currents divided Russian politics of their time: Westernizers and Slavophiles. The Westernizers, led by Alexander Herzen, Vissarion Belinsky, Ivan Turgenev and Mikhail Bakunin, wanted Russia aligned to Western science and values such as free thought, rationalism and individual liberty.Cowles, ''The Romanovs'', p. 172 By contrast, the Slavophiles, led by Aleksey Khomyakov, the two Aksakov brothers, Konstantine and Ivan, and Ivan Kireyevsky and his brother Pyotr Kireevsky advocated three principles: Autocracy, Orthodoxy and Nationalism.Cowles, ''The Romanovs'', p. 173.

Maria Alexandrovna embraced Slavism with fervor and encouraged capitalism. She also played an important role in the liberation of the serfs that came into fruition with the Emancipation Proclamation on , ending serfdom in Russia.

Court life

The Russian court began its season early December and lasted until Lent.Cowles, ''The Romanovs'', p. 189. While subzero temperatures and icy winds kept the streets empty, balls and banquets were held indoors in overheated palaces, where their gracious host, Alexander II, gave intimate parties known as ''Les Bals des Palmières'' for which hundreds of palm trees were brought to the Winter Palace in horse-drawn boxes.Cowles, ''The Romanovs'', p. 190. However, Maria Alexandrovna did not share her husband's enthusiasm since she still disliked court events and considered Russian nobility frivolous.King, ''Livadia in the Reign of Alexander II'', p. 146. Society complained that she seemed cold, distant, and had no taste in dress. Behind her back, she was called ''la petite bourgeoise allemande''.

Instead of letting the gossips affect her, Empress Maria paid great attention to the upbringing and education of her children, carefully choosing experienced teachers and ensuring their environment was strict. Her efforts centered on her eldest son, Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich, her favorite child who resembled her most.Zeepvat, ''Romanov Autumn'', p. 36.

Empress Maria expressed her anger about Queen Victoria's negative view of Russia and her poor treatment of her daughter-in-law and Empress Maria's daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. She complained to her brother Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse that England was "certainly hostile to us. That makes the Tsar very anxious, on Marie's account too." When she learned about Queen Victoria's negative view of Russians, she wrote "The insulting things that the Queen says in her letters to Alfred about the Tsar and the Russian people are worthy of a fish-wife. Added to this is her grief that 'our dear Marie' should belong to a nation from whose vocabulary the words truth, justice, and humanity are lacking. Silly old fool." When her daughter Maria complained about Queen Victoria, she sympathized with Maria: "To be quite frank, it is difficult to take such a mother-in-law seriously, and I am sorry on Marie's account."

Declining health

As Empress consort, Maria Alexandrovna had to attend many state functions, but from the 1860s her health declined. The doctors advised her to spend the winters in a warm climate and stop
intercourse with her husband in an effort to prolong her life. Preferring to remain in Russia, she agreed to the suggestion of recuperating in Crimea. Alexander II then bought for his wife the Livadia villa,King, ''Livadia in the Reign of Alexander II'', p. 148. a two-story wooden villa from the heirs of Polish Count Lev Potocki.King, ''Livadia in the Reign of Alexander II'', p. 145. At the end of August 1861, Maria, her husband, and their children Alexei, Sergei and Paul visited Crimea for the first time. She was charmed by the southern flora, the mild climate, the beautiful house, and the surrounding park.Korneva & Cheboksarova, ''Russia & Europe'', p. 29. The modest villa was expanded with the additions of a large palace, a small palace, and a church. Construction took place between 1862 and 1866 under the direction of Ippolito Monighetti, a Russian architect who had redecorated her apartments in the Catherine Palace in the 1850s.King, ''Livadia in the Reign of Alexander II'', p. 153.

Feeling better, Maria Alexandrovna financed the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Peterburg in 1859–1860, built according to the plans of architect Albert Cavos as an opera and ballet house. The theatre opened on 2 October 1860, with a performance of Mikhail Glinka's opera ''A Life for the Tsar''. The new theatre was named Mariinsky after its imperial patroness.Korneva & Cheboksarova, ''Russia & Europe'', p. 25. (The name was changed into Kirov Theatre during the Soviet period, but the original name was restored in 1992, and at present there is a bust of the Empress in the main entrance foyer.)

The humid summers in Saint Petersburg began to take a toll on Maria's frail constitution, to the point she was absent from Russia's capital for long periods of time. In June 1864, she left Russia, accompanied by her husband and their three youngest children, to take the waters in the Bavarian spa of Bad Kissingen. King Ludwig II of Bavaria came to meet his distant aunt and became infatuated with her. In late July, Alexander II returned to Russia, but Maria traveled to Bad Schwalbach, where she celebrated her birthday with Ludwig II. In late August, the whole family was reunited in Darmstadt.

As she was still sick, Maria Alexandrovna spent the winter in Nice

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