Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia (; 21 September 1827 – 25 January 1892) was the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

's Viceroy of Poland from 1862 to 1863 and a general admiral of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until being dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution and the declaration of ...

Early life

Konstantin Nikolayevich was born as the second son of Nicholas I and his wife, Charlotte of Prussia, daughter of

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...

and his first wife,

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Luise Auguste Wilhelmine Amalie; 10 March 1776 – 19 July 1810) was Queen of Prussia as the wife of King Frederick William III. The couple's happy, though short-lived, marriage produced nine children, inclu ...

Biography

The Grand Duke was a supporter of the liberal (sometimes referred to as "enlightened") bureaucrats during the period of his brother Alexander II's great reforms. He served as chairman of the

Imperial Russian Geographical Society The Russian Geographical Society (), or RGO, is a learned society based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It promotes geography, exploration and nature protection with research programs in fields including oceanography, ethnography, ecology and stati ...

(founded in 1845). The Geographical Society was subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was home to a conspicuous number of , including Nikolai Miliutin. In addition to his support of and participation in the 1861 emancipation of the serfs, the Grand Duke also instituted reforms in the

from 1854. Konstantin's brother, Alexander II of Russia was supposed to have said: "Let the Poles have their own court and intrigues." Though the Grand Duke tried to show a liberal attitude towards the Poles, his efforts came too late and he was recalled with the outbreak of the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

in 1863.

Marriage and issue

In the

Winter Palace The Winter Palace is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the House of Romanov, previous emperors, from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now house the Hermitage Museum. The floor area is 233,345 square ...

St 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 ...

, on 11 September 1848, Konstantin married Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg, daughter of

Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg Joseph (Joseph Georg Friedrich Ernst Karl; 27 August 1789 – 25 November 1868) was Duke of Saxe-Altenburg from 1834 to 1848. Biography Joseph was the second but first surviving son of Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (of Saxe-Altenburg f ...

and his wife, Duchess Amelia of Württemberg. They had six children: *

Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich of Russia Grand Duke Nicholas Constantinovich of Russia (14 February 1850 – 26 January 1918) was the first-born son of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich and Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna of Russia and a grandson of Nicholas I of Russia. Early li ...

(1850–1918) * Olga Konstantinovna, Queen of the Hellenes (1851–1926) * Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna of Russia (1854–1912) *

Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia ( rus, Константи́н Константи́нович, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ, a=Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov.ru.vorb.oga; 22 August 1858 – 15 June 1915 ...

(1858–1915) * Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich of Russia (1860–1919) * Grand Duke Vyacheslav Konstantinovich of Russia (1862–1879); died of

brain hemorrhage The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

At the end of the 1860s, Konstantin embarked on an affair, having an illegitimate daughter, Marie Condousso. Konstantin had five illegitimate children with his mistress Anna

Kuznetsov Kuznetsov, Kuznyetsov, Kuznetsoff, or Kouznetsov (masculine, ) or Kuznetsova (feminine, ) is the third most common Russian surname, an equivalent of the English "Smith" (derived from a Russian word ''kuznets'' that means ''blacksmith''). Men * Al ...

a (1847–1922); they bore the last name Knyazev: *Sergey Konstantinovich Knyazev (1873–1873); died as an infant. *Marina Konstantinovna Knyazeva (8 December 1875 – 8 June 1941); married Alexander Pavlovich Erchov on 23 April 1894. They had nine children. *Anna Konstantinovna Knyazeva (16 March 1878 – 5 February 1920); married Nicholas Lialine on 17 April 1898. They had three children. *Izmail Konstantinovich Knyazev (2 August 1879 – 1885); died of

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'', a Group A streptococcus (GAS). It most commonly affects children between five and 15 years of age. The signs and symptoms include a sore ...

. *Lev Konstantinovich Knyazev (April 1883 – 1885); died of scarlet fever. Konstantin was the paternal great-great-grandfather of King

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

of the United Kingdom, since his daughter Olga married

George I of Greece George I ( Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, romanized: ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination on 18 March 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was born in Copenhage ...

, whose son

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

married

Princess Alice of Battenberg Princess Alice of Battenberg (Victoria Alice Elizabeth Julia Marie; 25 February 1885 – 5 December 1969) was the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, mother-in-law of Queen Elizabeth II, and paternal grandmother of King Charles III. Af ...

, and they became the parents of

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

, Charles' father. Through

Constantine I of Greece Constantine I (, Romanization, romanized: ''Konstantínos I''; – 11 January 1923) was King of Greece from 18 March 1913 to 11 June 1917 and again from 19 December 1920 to 27 September 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army dur ...

, another son of Olga and George I, Konstantin is also the paternal great-great-grandfather of

Queen Sofía of Spain Sofía (Sophia Margaret Victoria Frederica; Μαργαρίτα Βικτώρια Φρειδερίκη, romanized: ''Sofía Margaríta Bictória Freideríki''; born 2 November 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who was Queen of Spai ...

, mother of King

Felipe VI Felipe VI (; Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. In accordance with the Spanish Constitution, as monarch, he is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed For ...

In fiction

The Grand Duke is a central character in Act III of the novel ''Forty-Ninth'' by Boris Pronsky and Craig Britton. Konstantin is the force behind the liberal reforms enacted by his brother, Alexander II, as well as the sale of Alaska to the United States.

Honours

;National orders and decorations *

Knight of St. Andrew The Order of Barbados is a national Order of honours and decorations for Barbados. History The first Order of Barbados was instituted by Queen Elizabeth II by letters patent dated 25 July 1980. With Barbados becoming a republic on 30 November 20 ...

, ''1827'' * Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky, ''1827'' * Knight of the White Eagle, ''1827'' * Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class, ''1827'' * Knight of St. George, 4th Class, ''1849'' * Knight of St. Vladimir, 1st Class, ''1853'' * Knight of St. Stanislaus, 1st Class, ''1865'' ;Foreign orders and decorations

Ancestry

References

*Chavchavadze, David. ''The Grand Dukes''. Atlantic, 1989. *Ferrand, Jacques, ''Descendances naturelles des souverains et grands-ducs de Russie, de 1762 à 1910 : répertoire généalogique'',1995. *Van Der Kiste, John. ''The Romanovs 1818–1959''. Sutton Publishing, 1999. . *Zeepvat, Charlotte. ''Romanov Autumn''. Sutton Publishing, 2000.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia, Grand Duke 1827 births 1892 deaths Grand dukes of Russia House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov Imperial Russian Navy admirals Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) 19th-century people from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Knights Commander of the Military Order of William Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Children of Nicholas I of Russia Sons of Russian emperors Burials at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg Sons of dukes