Maria Vladimirovna Dolgorukova (''Мария Владимировна Долгорукова'' in Russian) (1601 – 17 January 1625) was a Tsaritsa of Russia as the first spouse of Tsar Michael I of Russia.

Life

Maria Dolgorukova was born to

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were s ...

Knyaz , or (Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...

Vladimir Timofeyevich Dolgorukov and Princess Maria Vasilievna Barbashina-Shuiskaya. Her family were of Rurikid stock, and related to the ancient grand princes of Russia. She was selected for marriage to Michael by his mother,

Xenia Shestova Boyarinya Kseniya Ioannovna (Ivanovna) Shestova (russian: Ксения Ивановна Шестова (or Романова); 1560–1631) was a spouse of Fyodor Romanov and the mother of Mikhail Romanov. Life The origins of Xeniya Ivanovna have ...

, after several years of difficulty of finding a partner for the tsar. In 1616, Shestova refused to accept the tsar's choice of

Maria Ivanovna Khlopova Maria Ivanovna Khlopova (died 1633), was a Russian noble, the fiancee of Tsar Michael I of Russia. Maria Ivanovna Khlopova was chosen via a brideshow to be the future bride of the tsar in 1616, and brought to live amongst the court. However, desp ...

, and Michael I had eventually been forced to give up his plans to marry her. In 1619, the tsar's father

Patriarch Philaret of Moscow Feodor Nikitich Romanov (russian: Фео́дор Ники́тич Рома́нов, ; 1553 – 1 October 1633) was a Russian boyar who after temporary disgrace rose to become patriarch of Moscow as Filaret (russian: Филаре́т, ), and bec ...

suggested he marry the sister of

John, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein Johan of Schleswig-Holstein (9 July 1583 – 28 October 1602) was the youngest son of Frederick II of Denmark and Norway and Sophia of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He went to Russia in 1602 as the bridegroom of Boris Godunov's daughter Ksenia (Xeni ...

, but eventually, these negotiations were discontinued. In 1623, Xenia Shestova selected Maria Dolgorukova as a marriage partner because of her family connections: her sister had been married to prince Ivan Shuisky the Button, brother of

Vasili IV of Russia Vasili IV Shuisky (russian: Василий IV Иванович Шуйский, ''Vasiliy IV Ivanovich Shuyskiy'', c. 155212 September 1612) was Tsar of Russia between 1606 and 1610 after the murder of False Dmitri I. His rule coincided ...

, the last of the Rurikid dynasty. The wedding took place on 19 September 1624. Not long after the wedding, tsaritsa Maria took ill. She finally died 17 January 1625, four months after the wedding. There were rumors at the time that she had been poisoned by fractions at court determined to prevent any potential pro-Rurikid influence, or by the enemies of the Dolgorukov family. Chronicles called her death a divine punishment for the fate of the previous fiancee of the tsar,

References

*Государство и общество в России XV-начала XX века. // Ред. А. П. Павлов. Стр. 254. , - , - 1601 births 1625 deaths 17th-century Russian people 17th-century Russian women

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

House of Romanov Russian tsarinas Burials at Ascension Convent {{Russia-noble-stub