Princess Tatiana Vasilievna Yusupova, née Engelhardt (12 (23 N.S.) January 1769 – 24 May (5 June N.S.) 1841) was a niece of Prince Grigory Potemkin and a

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 ...

to Empress Catherine the Great.

Life

She was born into a poor family, to Vasili Andreevich Engelhardt, captain of the Smolensk gentry (1735–1794) and Martha (Elena) Alexandrovna Potemkina (1725–1775), the sister of Grigory Potemkin, lover and possible husband of Catherine the Great. Her siblings included Varvara,

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

, and Vasili Engelhardt. Her childhood coincided with the rise of her uncle, so she and her sisters were provided with a bright future. Before the age of twelve, Tatiana had already become the maid of honour to Catherine II. At court, Tatiana attracted attention not only as the niece of the most powerful nobleman in Russia, but also due to her intelligence, beauty, and lively attitude. The Duchess of Kingston who visited

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 ...

and joined the court in 1777, became attached to the then fifteen-year-old Tatiana, treating her like a daughter. She offered to make her the heiress of her entire, vast fortune if she would leave with her and travel to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Tatiana refused, not having needed funds since the family's rise to power. On 11 September 1785, Tatiana married a distand relative, 25 years her senior, Lieutenant General Mikhail Sergeevich Potemkin (1744–1791). The couple had two children

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

and Catherine, whose godmother was the empress. Six years later in 1791, Mikhail Potemkin died suddenly. Widowed, Tatiana retired from court and only visited occasionally at the insistent requests of the empress herself. Soon she met nobleman Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov, who had recently returned from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

where he was stationed at the embassy. With the blessing of Catherine II they were married in 1793. A year later their son Boris was born. However, the marriage was unhappy and the couple began to live separately. Tatiana left court again and devoted herself to raising her son. She hosted the famous St. Petersburg salon in her house on the

English Embankment The English Embankment (; ''Angliyskaya Naberezhnaya'') or English Quay is a street along the left bank of the Bolshaya Neva River in Central Saint Petersburg. It has been historically one of the most fashionable streets in Saint Petersburg, and ...

. Her circle included

Gavrila Derzhavin Gavriil (Gavrila) Romanovich Derzhavin (, ; 14 July 1743 – 20 July 1816) was one of the most highly esteemed Russian poets before Alexander Pushkin, as well as a statesman. Although his works are traditionally considered literary classicis ...

Ivan Krylov Ivan Andreyevich Krylov (; ; 13 February 1769 – 21 November 1844) is Russia's best-known fabulist and probably the most epigrammatic of all Russian authors. Formerly a dramatist and journalist, he only discovered his true genre at the age of ...

Vasily Zhukovsky Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky (; – ) was the foremost Russian poet of the 1810s and a leading figure in Russian literature in the first half of the 19th century. He held a high position at the Romanov court as tutor to the Grand Duchess Alexan ...

, and

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

. She lived with Praskovya Grigorievna Lupolova, the daughter of an exiled man who had come to the capital to seek mercy for her father and found the patronage of Yusupovna, Daria Trubetskaya, and Avdotya Golitsina. At the Yusupov's house, Lupolova was introduced to Empress Maria Feodorovna who was able to use her influence to have her father pardoned. Tatiana was skillful at managing the family's affairs, she herself managed the numerous estates of her husband and managed to increase the already huge fortune of the family, although her inheritance from Potemkin amounted to 18 million rubles. She was considered by society as an expert in financial matters and many turned to her for advice. Some mistook her modest lifestyle, simple dining, and dislike of luxury for stinginess. In reality, she donated large sums to charity, often anonymously. She took an active part in the fate of serf poet Slepushkin by buying him and his family out of serfdom for 3,000 rubles. She was fond of collecting precious stones. Her collection included several world-famous pieces, such as the Polar Star diamond, Marie Antoinette's Diamond Earrings, the Al-debaran diamond, a large sapphire, the pearl and diamond diadem of Caroline Bonaparte, Queen of Naples, and the Pelegrin pearl. She outlived her husband by ten years and died on 24 May 1841, "retaining her famous mind and charm to the end". She was buried in the Annunciation Church,

Alexander Nevsky Lavra Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alexa ...

Legacy

Her great-great-grandson,

Prince Felix Yusupov Knyaz Felix Felixovich Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston (; – 27 September 1967) was a Russian aristocrat from the House of Yusupov who is best known for participating in the assassination of Grigori Rasputin and for marrying Princess Irina ...

, described her in his memoirs:

''Princess Tatiana was not only a perfect hostess, as gracious as she was witty, but also proved to be an excellent businesswoman. Under her wise administration her husband's fortune increased, while the standard of living of the peasants on the Yusupov estates was much improved. ..Notwithstanding her many virtues, she loved beautiful clothes.''

Issue

Children from her first marriage to Lieutenant General Mikhail Sergeevich Potemkin (1744–1791) are: *

Alexandr Mikhailovich Potemkin Alexandr Mikhailovich Potemkin (30 January 1787 - 19 July 1872) was a Russian nobleman and army officer. He fought against the French invasion of Russia in 1812, the 1813-15 campaign and the Battle of Paris, rising to the rank of colonel. He al ...

(1787–1872),

Active Privy Councillor Active Privy Councillor (, deystvitelnyi taynyi sovetnik) was the civil rank (ru: чин / chin) in the Russian Empire, according to the Table of Ranks introduced by Peter the Great in 1722. That was a civil rank of the 2nd class and equal to those ...

, married to Princess Tatiana Borisovna Potemkina *

(1788–1872), married to Count Alexander Ivanovich Ribopierre (1783–1865) Children from her second marriage to Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (1750–1831) * Prince Boris Nikolaevich Yusupov (1794–1849), heir to his father. * Nikoli (1795-1796) * Maria (1802-?) :File:MuravievYusupov1802в.jpg File:A.M. Potemkin (cropped).jpg, Alexandr Potemkin File:Ekaterina Ribeaupierre1.jpg, Catherine Potemkin, later Ribeaupierre File:Boris Yusupov by Robertson.jpg, Boris Yusupov

Reference section

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yusupova, Tatiana Vasilievna 1769 births 1841 deaths House of Yusupov Ladies-in-waiting from the Russian Empire Engelhardt family Burials at the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra