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Old January 5th, 2017 #1
Alex Him
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Smile Russian Archival photos

All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 1

"Ал" from the word "альбом" (album).
"сн" from the word "снимок" (snapshot).

Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1859-1860.
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. The wife of Emperor Nicholas I.


"Alexandra Feodorovna (1798-1860) - (Russian: Алекса́ндра Фёдоровна), born Princess Charlotte of Prussia, was Empress consort of Russia. She was the wife of Emperor Nicholas I, and mother of Emperor Alexander II.

Charlotte was born the eldest surviving daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia, and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Her childhood was marked by the Napoleonic wars and the death of her mother when she was twelve years old.

In 1814, her marriage was arranged for political reason with Grand Duke Nicholas Pavlovich of Russia, the future Tsar Nicholas I. They married on July 1, 1817. Upon her marriage, Charlotte converted to Russian Orthodoxy, and took the Russian name Alexandra Feodorovna. Ideally matched with her husband, she had a happy marriage that produced a large family; seven children survived childhood.

At the death of her brother in law, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, in December 1825, Alexandra’s husband became the new Russian emperor. Alexandra enjoyed her husband’s confidence in affairs of state, but she had no interest in politics other than her personal attachment to Prussia, her native country. She was the obedient and admiring supporter of her husband's views. Her personality was completely overshadowed by Nicholas I's strong character. As empress consort, Alexandra Feodorovna had no interest in charity work. Her chief interests were in family affairs, dancing, balls and jewels. After 1841 her health deteriorated. She spent long sojourns abroad in search for a respite to her frail constitution. As she became largely an invalid, Nicholas I took mistresses, but Alexandra retained her husband's love. She survived Nicholas I by five years and died in 1860."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 2
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1860-1861
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
The daughter of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna with a toy horse.


"Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (1853-1920) - (later Duchess of Edinburgh and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Russian: Мари́я Алекса́ндровна) was the fifth child and only surviving daughter of Emperor Alexander II of Russia and his first wife Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine. She was the younger sister of Emperor Alexander III of Russia and the paternal aunt of Russia's last Emperor, Nicholas II.

In 1874, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna married Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; she was the first and only Romanov to marry into the British royal family. The couple had five children: a son, Alfred, and four daughters: Marie, Victoria Melita, Alexandra, and Beatrice. For the first years of her marriage, Maria Alexandrovna lived in England. She neither adapted to the British court nor overcame her dislike for her adopted country. She accompanied her husband on his postings as an Admiral of the Royal Navy at Malta (1886 -1889) and Devonport (1890–1893). The Duchess of Edinburgh travelled extensively through Europe. She visited her family in Russia frequently and stayed for long periods in England and Germany attending social and family events.

In August 1893, Maria Alexandrovna became Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha when her husband inherited the duchy on the death of his childless uncle, Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She enjoyed life in Germany where she was active in cultural endeavours and charitable work. To her daughters, she gave all her support, but she was critical of her wayward son who died young in 1899. Her husband died the following year.

In her widowhood, Maria Alexandrovna continued to live in Coburg. The outbreak of World War I divided her sympathies. She sided with Germany against her native Russia. Her only surviving brother, Grand Duke Paul, her nephew Tsar Nicholas II and many other relatives were killed during the Russian Revolution and she lost her considerable fortune. From 1893 until her death, she had the distinction of being a Russian grand duchess (by birth), a British princess and royal duchess (by marriage), and the consort (and later widow) of a German sovereign duke.

After World War I, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the duchy her husband and nephew had ruled, ceased to exist in November 1918. Maria Alexandrovna died two years later while living under reduced circumstances in exile in Switzerland."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 3
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: Unknown.
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Emperor Nicholas I.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2030374&postcount=39

"Nicholas I (1796-1855) - (Николай I Павлович) was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855. He was also the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He is best known as a political conservative whose reign was marked by geographical expansion, repression of dissent, economic stagnation, poor administrative policies, a corrupt bureaucracy, and frequent wars that culminated in Russia's disastrous defeat in the Crimean War of 1853-56. His biographer Nicholas V. Riasanovsky says that Nicholas displayed determination, singleness of purpose, and an iron will, along with a powerful sense of duty and a dedication to very hard work. He saw himself as a soldier – a junior officer totally consumed by spit and polish. A handsome man, he was highly nervous and aggressive. Trained as an engineer, he was a stickler for minute detail. His reign had an ideology called "Official Nationality" that was proclaimed officially in 1833. It was a reactionary policy based on orthodoxy in religion, autocracy in government, and Russian nationalism.

He was the younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I. Nicholas inherited his brother's throne despite the failed Decembrist revolt against him and went on to become the most reactionary of all Russian leaders. His aggressive foreign policy involved many expensive wars, having a disastrous effect on the empire's finances.

He was successful against Russia's neighbouring southern rivals as he seized the last territories in the Caucasus held by Persia (comprising modern day Armenia and Azerbaijan) by successfully ending the Russo-Persian War (1826–28). By now, Russia had gained what is now Dagestan, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia from Persia, and had therefore at last gained the clear upper hand in the Caucasus, both geo-politically as well as territorially. He ended the Russo-Turkish War (1828–29) successfully as well. Later on, however, he led Russia into the Crimean War (1853–56) with disastrous results. Historians emphasize that his micromanagement of the armies hindered his generals, as did his misguided strategy. Fuller notes that historians have frequently concluded that "the reign of Nicholas I was a catastrophic failure in both domestic and foreign policy." On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its geographical zenith, spanning over 20 million square kilometers (7.7 million square miles), but in desperate need of reform."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 4
Photographer: Александровский
Date: 1859-1861
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Emperor Alexander II in an overcoat with his daughter Maria (left) and with his son Sergei on the his hands.


"Alexander II (1818-1881) - (Russian: Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич) was the Emperor of Russia from 2 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881. He was also the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Finland.

Alexander's most significant reform as emperor was emancipation of Russia's serfs in 1861, for which he is known as Alexander the Liberator (Russian: Алекса́ндр Освободи́тель). The tsar was responsible for other reforms, including reorganizing the judicial system, setting up elected local judges, abolishing corporal punishment, promoting local self-government through the zemstvo system, imposing universal military service, ending some privileges of the nobility, and promoting university education.

In foreign policy, Alexander sold Alaska to the United States in 1867, fearing the remote colony would fall into British hands if there were another war. He sought peace, moved away from bellicose France when Napoleon III fell in 1871, and in 1872 joined with Germany and Austria in the League of the Three Emperors that stabilized the European situation. Despite his otherwise pacifist foreign policy, he fought a brief war with Turkey in 1877–78, pursued further expansion into Siberia and the Caucasus, and conquered Turkestan. Although disappointed by the results of the Congress of Berlin in 1878, Alexander abided by that agreement. Among his greatest domestic challenges was an uprising in Poland in 1863, to which he responded by stripping that land of its separate constitution and incorporating it directly into Russia. Alexander was proposing additional parliamentary reforms to counter the rise of nascent revolutionary and anarchistic movements when he was assassinated in 1881."



"Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia (1857-1905) - (Сергей Александрович) was the fifth son and seventh child of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. He was an influential figure during the reigns of his brother Emperor Alexander III of Russia and his nephew Emperor Nicholas II, who was also his brother in law through Sergei's marriage to Elizabeth the sister of Tsarina Alexandra.

Grand Duke Sergei's education gave him lifelong interests in culture and the arts. Like all male members of the Romanov dynasty, he followed a military career, and he fought in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, receiving the Order of St George for courage and bravery in action. In 1882, his brother, Tsar Alexander III, appointed him Commander of the 1st Battalion Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment, a position he held until 1891. In 1889, Grand Duke Sergei was promoted to the rank of Major General. In 1884, Sergei married Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Their marriage remained childless, but they became the guardians of the two children of his brother, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia: Grand Duchess Maria, and Grand Duke Dimitri. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife promoted the marriage of Sergei's nephew, Tsar Nicholas II, with Princes Alix of Hesse, Elizabeth's youngest sister.

Between 1891 and 1905, Grand Duke Sergei served as Governor General of Moscow. His reputation was tarnished as he was partially blamed by the Khodynka Tragedy, which, during the festivities following the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II, resulted in thousands of deaths. As a Governor of Moscow, Grand Duke Sergei was responsible for the expulsion of Moscow's 20,000 Jews at the start of his tenure, and he repressed a student movement to prevent the spread of revolutionary ideas. His conservative policies, extreme even by contemporary standards, made him a polarizing figure, and he was regarded as a reactionary. In 1894 Grand Duke Sergei was made a member of the State Council. In 1896 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed as Commander of Moscow military district. After thirteen years of service, Grand Duke Sergei resigned from the Governorship on January 1, 1905. Targeted by the SR Combat Organization, he was assassinated by a terrorist bomb at the Kremlin."

Texts by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 5
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: Unknown.
Location: Unknown.
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. The wife of Emperor Nicholas I.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 6
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Children of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (he sitting on a toy horse).






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 7
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Unknown.
The daughter of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 8
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1859-1861
Location: Russia.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexander in military uniform with a dog in his arms.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2012961&postcount=26

"Alexander III (1845-1894) - (Russian: Алекса́ндр III), or Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Рома́нов) was the Emperor of Russia, King of Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death on 1 November 1894. He was highly conservative and reversed some of the liberal reforms of his father, Alexander II. During Alexander's reign Russia fought no major wars, for which he was styled "The Peacemaker" (Russian: Миротво́рец).

Though he was destined to be a strongly counter-reforming emperor, Alexander had little prospect of succeeding to the throne during the first two decades of his life, as he had an elder brother, Nicholas, who seemed of robust constitution. Even when Nicholas first displayed symptoms of delicate health, the notion that he might die young was never taken seriously, and he was betrothed to Princess Dagmar of Denmark, daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Queen Louise of Denmark, and whose siblings included King Frederick VIII of Denmark, Alexandra, Queen of the United Kingdom and King George I of Greece. Great solicitude was devoted to the education of Nicholas as tsesarevich, whereas Alexander received only the training of an ordinary Grand Duke of that period. This included acquaintance with French, English and German, and military drill.

Alexander became Tsesarevich upon Nicholas's sudden death in 1865; it was then that he began to study the principles of law and administration under Konstantin Pobedonostsev, then a professor of civil law at Moscow State University and later (from 1880) chief procurator of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in Russia. Pobedonostsev instilled into the young man's mind the belief that zeal for Russian Orthodox thought was an essential factor of Russian patriotism to be cultivated by every right-minded emperor. While he was heir apparent from 1865 to 1881 Alexander did not play a prominent part in public affairs, but allowed it to become known that he had ideas which did not coincide with the principles of the existing government.

On his deathbed the previous tsesarevich was said to have expressed the wish that his fiancée, Princess Dagmar of Denmark, should marry his successor. This wish was swiftly realized when on 9 November 1866 in the Grand Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Alexander wed Dagmar, who converted to Orthodox Christianity and took the name Maria Feodorovna. The union proved a happy one to the end; unlike his father's, there was no adultery in his marriage.

Later on the Tsesarevich became estranged from his father; this was due to their vastly differing political views, as well was his resentment towards Alexander II's long-standing relationship with Catherine Dolgorukov (with whom he had several illegitimate children) while his mother, the Empress, was suffering from chronic ill-health. To the scandal of many at court, including the Tsesarevich himself, Alexander II married Catherine a mere month after Marie Alexandrovna's death in 1880.

On 13 March 1881 Alexander's father, Alexander II, was assassinated by members of the terrorist organization Narodnaya Volya.

All of Alexander III's internal reforms aimed to reverse the liberalization that had occurred in his father's reign. The new Emperor believed that remaining true to Russian Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality (the ideology introduced by his grandfather, emperor Nicholas I) would save Russia from revolutionary agitation. Alexander's political ideal was a nation composed of a single nationality, language, and religion, as well as one form of administration. He attempted to realize this by the institution of mandatory teaching of the Russian language throughout the empire, including to his German, Polish, and other non-Russian subjects (with the exception of the Finns), by the patronization of Eastern Orthodoxy, by the destruction of the remnants of German, Polish, and Swedish institutions in the respective provinces, and by the weakening of Judaism through persecution of the Jews. The latter policy was implemented in the "May Laws" of 1882, which banned Jews from inhabiting rural areas and shtetls (even within the Pale of Settlement) and restricted the occupations in which they could engage.

Alexander weakened the power of the zemstva (elective local administrative bodies resembling British parish councils) and placed the administration of peasant communes under the supervision of land-owning proprietors appointed by his government. These "land captains" (zemskiye nachalniki) were feared and resented throughout the Empire's peasant communities. These acts weakened the nobility and the peasantry and brought Imperial administration under the Emperor's personal control.

In such policies Alexander III had the encouragement of Konstantin Pobedonostsev, who retained control of the Church in Russia through his long tenure as Procurator of the Holy Synod (from 1880 to 1905) and who became tutor to Alexander's son and heir, Nicholas. (Pobedonostsev appears as "Toporov" in Tolstoy's novel Resurrection.) Other conservative advisors included Count D. A. Tolstoy (minister of education, and later of internal affairs) and I. N. Durnovo (D. A. Tolstoy's successor in the latter post). Mikhail Katkov and other journalists supported the emperor in his autocracy – as did the novelist Dostoyevsky.

Encouraged by its successful assassination of Alexander II, the Narodnaya Volya movement began planning the murder of Alexander III. The Okhrana uncovered the plot and five of the conspirators, including Alexander Ulyanov, the older brother of Vladimir Lenin, were captured and hanged on 20 May 1887. On 29 October 1888 the Imperial train derailed in an accident at Borki. At the moment of the crash, the imperial family was in the dining car. Its roof collapsed, and Alexander supposedly held its remains on his shoulders as the children fled outdoors. The onset of Alexander’s kidney failure was later attributed to the blunt trauma suffered in this incident.

The famine of 1891–1892 and the ensuing cholera epidemic permitted some liberal activity, as the Russian government could not cope with the crisis and had to allow zemstvos to help with relief (among others, Tolstoy helped organize soup-kitchens, and Chekhov directed anti-cholera precautions in several villages).

In foreign affairs Alexander III was a man of peace, but not at any price, and held that the best means of averting war is to be well-prepared for it. Though he was indignant at the conduct of German chancellor Otto von Bismarck towards Russia, he avoided an open rupture with Germany—even reviving the League of Three Emperors for a period of time—and in 1887, signed the Reinsurance Treaty with the Germans. However, in 1890, the expiration of the treaty coincided with the dismissal of Bismarck by the new German emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II (for whom the Tsar had an immense dislike), and the unwillingness of Wilhelm II's government to renew the treaty. In response Alexander III then began cordial relations with France, eventually entering into an alliance with the French in 1892.

Despite chilly relations with Berlin, the Tsar nevertheless confined himself to keeping a large number of troops near the German frontier. With regard to Bulgaria he exercised similar self-control. The efforts of Prince Alexander and afterwards of Stambolov to destroy Russian influence in the principality roused his indignation, but he vetoed all proposals to intervene by force of arms.

In Central Asian affairs he followed the traditional policy of gradually extending Russian domination without provoking conflict with the United Kingdom (see Panjdeh Incident), and he never allowed the bellicose partisans of a forward policy to get out of hand. His reign cannot be regarded as an eventful period of Russian history; but under his hard rule the country made considerable progress.

In 1894 Alexander III became ill with terminal kidney disease (nephritis). In the fall of that year, Maria Fyodorovna's sister-in-law, Queen Olga of Greece, offered her villa of Mon Repos, on the island of Corfu, in the hope that it might improve the Tsar's condition. However, by the time that they reached Crimea, they stayed at the Maly Palace in Livadia, as Alexander was too weak to travel any further. Recognizing that the Tsar's days were numbered, various imperial relatives began to descend on Livadia. Even the famed clergyman, John of Kronstadt, paid a visit and administered Communion to the Tsar. On 21 October, Alexander received Nicholas's fiancée, Princess Alix, who had come from her native Darmstadt to receive the Tsar's blessing. Despite being exceedingly weak, Alexander insisted on receiving Alix in full dress uniform, an event that left him exhausted. Soon after, his health began to rapidly deteriorate. He eventually died in the arms of his wife at Maly Palace in Livadia on the afternoon of 1 November 1894 at the age of forty-nine, and was succeeded by his eldest son Tsesarevich Nicholas, who took the throne as Nicholas II."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 9
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke and heir Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich in overcoat and cap.


"Nicholas Alexandrovich, Heir, Tsesarevich and Grand Duke of Russia (1843-1865) - (Russian: Цесаревич Николай Александрович, Наследник-Цесаревич и Великий Князь) was Tsesarevich—the heir apparent—of Imperial Russia from 2 March 1855 until his death in 1865.

In the summer of 1864, Nicholas became engaged to Princess Dagmar of Denmark. She was the second daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel and was a younger sister of Alexandra, Princess of Wales, wife of the heir-apparent to the British throne.

Until 1865, Nicholas was thought to have a strong constitution, but early in that year, during a tour in southern Europe, he contracted an ailment that was initially incorrectly diagnosed as rheumatism. Nicholas's symptoms at that time included back pain and a stiff neck, as well as sensitivity to noise and light. He thought little of his ailments, however, and continued his tour in Italy.

His health rapidly worsened, and he was sent to Southern France, but this move brought him no improvement. It was eventually determined that he was suffering from cerebro-spinal meningitis, and it was speculated that this illness of his was caused by a previous accident in a wrestling match, in which Nicholas participated and was thrown down. In the spring of 1865, Nicholas continued to decline, and he died on 24 April 1865, at the Villa Bermont in Nice, France.

It is believed that on his deathbed, Nicholas expressed the wish that his fiancée become the bride of his younger brother and successor as Tsesarevich, Alexander, and in 1866, the couple was married. Nicholas's death at the early age of 21 thoroughly devastated his mother, who was said to have pored obsessively over all aspects of Nicholas's life. Empress Maria never recovered from his death.

In 1867, construction was begun on a chapel named in his honor (fr:Chapelle du tsarévitch Nicolas Alexandrovitch) in Nice, on the exact place where Nicholas was said to have died, and in 1868, the chapel was inaugurated, with his brother Alexander and his wife, the re-christened Maria Feodorovna, in attendance."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 10
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Unknown.
The daughter of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, with a dog.


 
Old January 5th, 2017 #2
Alex Him
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/

(This link will be in every post. The Russian State Film and Photo Archive requires the observance of this condition)





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 11
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the daughter of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 12
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: [1860-1862]
Location: Russia.
Portrait of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich in military uniform.


"Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia (1847-1909) - (Влади́мир Александрович) was a son of Emperor Alexander II of Russia, a brother of Tsar Alexander III of Russia and the senior Grand Duke of the House of Romanov during the reign of his nephew, Tsar Nicholas II.

Grand Duke Vladimir followed a military career and occupied important military positions during the reigns of the last three Russian Emperors. Interested in artistic and intellectual pursuits; he was appointed President of the Academy of Fine Arts. He functioned as a patron of many artists and as a sponsor of the Imperial ballet.

During the reign of his father, Tsar Alexander II, he was made Adjutant-General, senator in 1868 and a member of the Council of State in 1872. His brother, Alexander III, also promoted his career. He became a member of the Council of Ministers, Commander of the Imperial Guards Corps and Military Governor of Saint Petersburg. He tried to exert some influence over his nephew Tsar Nicholas II, but had to content himself with holding a rival court with his wife Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna at his palace in Saint Petersburg. The events of Bloody Sunday in 1905, while he was Military Governor of St Petersburg, tarnished his reputation. During the last years of his life, the rift between his family and that of Nicholas II widened. He died after a stroke in 1909."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 13
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich.


"Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia (1850-1908) - (Russian: Алексей Александрович) was the fifth child and the fourth son of Alexander II of Russia and his first wife Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse). Chosen for a naval career, Alexei Alexandrovich started his military training at the age of 7. By the age of 20 he had been appointed lieutenant of the Imperial Russian Navy, and had visited all Russia's European military ports. In 1871, he was sent as a goodwill ambassador to the United States and Japan.

In 1883 he was appointed general-admiral. He had a significant contribution in the equipment of the Russian navy with new ships and in modernizing the naval ports. However, after the Russian defeat in the Battle of Tsushima in 1905, he was relieved of his command. He died in Paris in 1908.

Alexei was chosen for a naval career since his childhood. At the age of 7 he received the rank of midshipman. The next year Konstantin Nikolayevich Posyet was appointed as his tutor. While the winters were dedicated to theoretical studies, during the summers he trained on Russian warships of the Baltic fleet stationed in Saint Petersburg harbour. Training exposed him to various sailing ships:

in 1860 the yacht Shtandart on a cruise from Petergof to Livada
in 1861–1863 the yacht Zabava under the flag of Counter-Admiral Posyet in the Gulf of Finland and Gulf of Bothnia,
in 1864 the frigate Svetlana in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea
in 1866 the frigate Oslyabya during an extensive training cruise to the Azore Islands.

Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich in his youth, photo by Sergei Lvovich Levitsky
On 18 September 1866 Alexei was promoted to lieutenant. He continued his navy career serving as officer aboard the frigate Alexander Nevsky on a cruise in across the Mediterranean to Piraeus, where he attended the wedding of his cousin Olga Konstantinovna.

In 1868 he went on a trip to southern Russia traveling by train from Saint Petersburg to Nikolayevsk, continuing by ship down the Volga to Astrakhan. He then boarded a military ship for a cruise on the Caspian Sea to Baku, Petrovsk (now Makhachkala) and then to Iran. He then crossed the Caucasus and reached Poti where the Alexander Nevsky was moored. From there he sailed to Constantinople, Athens and the Azore Islands On the return voyage, the frigate was wrecked off the coast of Jutland during a storm on the North Sea. Though the ship was lost, the crew except five men was unhurt and could safely reach the shore.

In January 1870 Alexei Alexandrovich reached the age of majority according to Russian legislation. The event was marked by taking two oaths : the military one and the oath of allegiance of the Grand Dukes of the Russian Imperial House. In June 1870 Alexei started the last part of his training. This included inland navigation on a cutter with a steam engine, on the route from Saint Petersburg to Arkhangelsk through the Mariinsk Canal system and the Northern Dvina River. After visiting the schools and industrial facilities of Arkhangelsk, he started his navigation training in arctic conditions, aboard the corvette Varyag. This cruise took him to the Solovetsky Islands, continuing through the White Sea and Barents Sea to Novaya Zemlya. The route continued to Kola Bay and the city of Murmansk, the ports of northern Norway and Iceland. He returned to Cronstadt at the end of September.

In 1873, Alexei Alexandrovich was appointed head of the Imperial Naval Guards. He was also appointed member of the section for shipbuilding and naval artillery of the Russian Naval Technical Committee.

During the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) he was promoted to commander of the Russian Naval Forces on the Danube. On 9 January 1878 he was decorated with the Order of St. George – Fourth Degree for "tireless and successful management of the naval forces and equipment on 14 June 1877 for the construction and maintenance of the pontoon bridges and crossings at Zimnicea, Pietroşani and Nikopol and for the successful measures for protecting these crossing from destruction by enemy forces."

In 1880 he was promoted to general adjutant. In 1882 after the accession of his brother Alexander to the throne, Alexei was appointed head of the Naval Department, replacing Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaievich. In 1883 he was also appointed General-Admiral of the Russian Imperial Fleet. Though his control over the day-to-day affairs of the military was limited, Alexei was involved in naval and military planning. His influence over the Tsar gave him a powerful say in strategic decision-making.

Besides being the head of Russia's fleets, Alexei was also in command of the naval cadet corps, the Moscow guard regiment, the 37-th Ekaterinburg infantry regiment, the 77-th Tenginsk infantry regiment, and the 17-th Eastern Siberian infantry regiment.

As commander in chief of the navy, his main concern was the constant modernization of the fleet, taking into account the rapid technological progress. During his tenure he ensured a fivefold increase of the navy's budget. He was able to launch a series of pre-dreadnought battleships which were replacing the old ironclad ships. Thus he was instrumental in the equipment of the Russian navy with several battleships of various classes:

The Peresvet class, inspired by the British battleship HMS Centurion
The Borodino class, based on a French design by the shipyards in La Seyne-sur-Mer
The Petropavlovsk class designed at Galerniy Yard, St. Petersburg
The Navarin class, on the British Trafalgar-class battleship
He also had older ironclads of the Imperator Aleksandr II class reconstructed by the French La Seyne yard. He also put new cruisers in service (among them the Aurora).

Alexei was instrumental in the modernization of the Russian navy. He reconstructed and developed the military harbours of Sevastopol, Alexander III in Livada (now Liepāja, Latvia) and Port Arthur, increased the number of navy yards and extended the dry-docks in Kronstadt, Vladivostok and Sevastopol. He also reorganized the navy, defining the conditions for different naval qualifications, drafting rules for rewarding long-time service of first and second rank ship captains, restructuring the corps of mechanical engineers and naval engineers, increasing the number of officers and crew.

When tensions mounted in the Far East, he ordered the transfer of additional ships to Port Arthur, including the battleship Petropavlovsk.

Russian academician and naval engineer Alexei Nikolaevich Krylov shows that, despite these achievements, there were severe drawbacks in the Grand Duke's activity. There was no strategic planning and ships were not built based on their intended role within the fleet. There were too many ships of different types. Ships were designed mainly by copying the ones of foreign navies, and were therefore technologically 6–7 year old when they were launched. Their armour and equipment was often inadequate.

Alexei seems to have become aware of some these deficiencies. He decided to have more battleships of a single type and to have them designed abroad to meet the needs of the Russian navy. However, though he was an admirer of the British navy, the new battleships were conceived in France and had a poor design. The new Borodino-class battleships had tumblehome hulls and were unstable, having a high center of gravity. The drawbacks proved to be fatal for the Russian navy.

At the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the Russian First Pacific Squadron was able to resist the Japanese attack during the Battle of the Yellow Sea. However, the squadron was destroyed during the Battle of Port Arthur, and the Baltic Fleet, sent for reinforcement, was completely defeated in the Battle of Tsushima. On 2 June 1905, Alexei was relieved of his command and retired."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 14
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1859-1861
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the grandson of Emperor Nicholas I. Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich.


"Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich of Russia (1850–1918) was the first-born son of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia and Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna of Russia and a grandson of Nicholas I of Russia.

Born in St Petersburg in the middle of the nineteenth century into the Romanov family, he had a very privileged childhood. Most royal children were brought up by nannies and servants so by the time Nikolai had grown up he lived a very independent life having become a gifted military officer and an incorrigible womanizer. He had an affair with a notorious American lady Fanny Lear. This affair led him into a plot to betray his family, in which he stole three valuable diamonds from an icon that belonged to his mother. He was declared insane and he was banished to the far reaches of the Russian empire never to see home again.

He lived for many years under constant supervision in the area around Tashkent in the southeastern Russian Empire (now Uzbekistan) and made a great contribution to the city by using his personal fortune to help improve the local area. In 1890 he ordered the building of his own palace in Tashkent to house and show his large and very valuable collection of works of art and the collection is now the center of the state Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan. He was also famous in Tashkent as a competent engineer and irrigator, constructing two large canals, the Bukhar-aryk (which was poorly aligned and soon silted up) and the much more successful Khiva-Aryk, later extended to form the Emperor Nicholas I Canal, irrigating 12,000 desyatinas, 33,000 acres (134 km²) of land in the Hungry Steppe between Djizak and Tashkent.

Nikolai died of pneumonia on 26 January 1918."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 15
Photographer: Disderi.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: France, Paris.
The eldest daughter of Emperor Nicholas I. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna in marriage Duchess of Leuchtenberg with her son, George Maksimilianovich, Duke of Leuchtenberg, Prince Romanovsky.


"Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna of Russia (1819-1876) - (Russian: Мария Николаевна) was a daughter of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, sister of Alexander II and aunt of Alexander III. In 1839 she married Maximilian, Duke of Leuchtenberg. She was an art collector and President of the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg.

Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna was noted for her formidable personality, her wit and her strong character. Her sister Grand Duchess Olga, wrote in her girlhood diary that Maria was "hot tempered, attentive and generous towards the poor, sympathetic to good deeds, but could not bear pretense of coercion. She is a hundred times more virtuous than me, more dynamic than all seven of us; she lacks only a sense of duty".

Maria Nikolaievna was brave and inventive, appreciated novelty, and was almost indifferent to the opinion of high society. She was lively, energetic, talented and impulsive. In appearance and character she was like her father. She was Nicholas I’s favorite child and the one who resembled him most closely both in appearance and character. Like him she looked serious and severe. Her stare also brought to mind her father’s formidable gaze. The physical similarities with her father were marked in portraits and photographs that preferred to portray her in profile, the same as her father.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna worried about finding a suitable husband for her most gifted and emotional daughter. On her part, Maria Nikolaievna did not want to leave Russia upon her marriage or have to change her religion.

In 1837 King Ludwig I of Bavaria sent his nephew, Maximilian, Duke of Leuchtenberg, to take part in cavalry maneuvers in Russia. Maximilian was the only surviving son of Eugène de Beauharnais and grandson of Empress Josephine. He was handsome, well educated and interested in cultural pursuits. A year later, in October 1838, he made a second visit. With his good looks and manners he impressed Maria Nikolaievna, as noted by the Grand Duchess Olga in her diary: "In four days it has become quite clear that Max and Maria were made for each other."

It was not a desirable match for a daughter of a Russian Emperor. Maximilian was below the rank of royalty, only entitled to the style of Serene Highness as member of a secondary branch of the House of Bavaria. He was also Roman Catholic, not Orthodox, and his own family, his mother Princess Augusta of Bavaria in particular, was against this marriage. Maximilian was the last of the Leuchtenberg – Beauharnais family line and his mother feared that his descendants, brought up in the Orthodox faith, would be completely Russified. She said history would blame her son.

Furthermore, the Bonaparte family had been bitter enemies of Russia. Nevertheless, the Tsar granted his permission for the marriage on condition that his daughter did not leave Russia to live abroad. Since the Duke of Leuchtenberg was not a member of a reigning family, it was easy for him to take up residence in Saint Petersburg.

The couple remained in Russia, where their seven children grew up in the circle of the imperial family.

Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaievna and her husband had artistic inclinations and were active in charitable and artistic causes. Maria's husband became well known as a scientist throughout Russia. He took an interest in science and studied mining technology; he was a member of the academy of Science. In 1844 Nicholas I appointed him head of the Mining Engineering department. In 1843 he was appointed President of the Academy of Arts. Maria was proud of her husband's accomplishments,' calling him a scholar. However, by the late 1840s the couple drifted apart. They had separate lives and both had love affairs of their own. Maximilian became a well known womanizer while Maria started a long term relationship with Count Gregory Alexandrovich Strogonov. Court rumors attributed the paternity of her son George to her lover. The Duke of Leuchtenberg developed tuberculosis during mining expeditions in the Urals. Efforts to improve his health traveling to warmer climates abroad were unsuccessful and he died on 1 November 1852.

The Grand Duchess was an avid art collector, and after the death of her husband, she replaced him as President of the Academy of Arts. From then on, Maria Nikolaievana devoted herself to her collection with even greater ardor. She spent lavishly, and as a consequence, her finances declined, particularly after the death of her father. Alexander II, although close to his sister, kept her on a strict budget.

Maria Nikolaievna made a second marriage in 1854, to Count Grigori Stroganov (1824–1879). It was a morganatic union and was kept secret while her father lived. Officially the marriage did not take place until 16 November 1856, after Nicholas I's death. Anna Tyutcheva commented, "The former tsar would have sent Masha to a convent and exiled the count to the Caucasus", but her more gentle brother Tsar Alexander, as the new head of the family, preferred not to let on that he knew about the secret marriage. Her sister Olga described her as more talented than all her brothers and sisters put together, but lacking a sense of duty. Maria begged her brother to recognize her second marriage and permit them to live in Russia, but he did not dare permit it; instead, he suggested she continue to live abroad while he maintained ignorance of their marriage. Because he could not recognize her marriage, he paid special attention to her children by her first marriage, who lived in St. Petersburg without their mother.

Grand Duchess Maria probably suffered either from varicose veins or from some sort of bone disease, and by the end of her life she had become an invalid. She died on 21 February 1876 in Saint Petersburg at age 56."



"George Maximilianovich, 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg, also known as Prince Georgii Romanovsky or Georges de Beauharnais (1852–1912) was the youngest son of Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg and his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia.

On 12 May 1879, George married Duchess Therese Petrovna of Oldenburg, a daughter of Duke Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg and Princess Therese of Nassau-Weilburg. Therese's elder brother Duke Alexander Petrovich had been married to George's sister Princess Eugenia Maximilianovna since 1868. Therese's grandfather had married Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna, daughter of Paul I of Russia, and their descendants had been raised in Russia ever since and become completely "Russianized", much like George's own family. Thus, despite her German title, Duchess Therese, like her father before her, had grown up entirely in Russia. She was always considered a part of the Russian imperial family.

George and Theresa had one son: Alexander Georgievich, 7th Duke of Leuchtenberg (1881-1942).

Two Montenegrin princesses, Milica and Anastasia, were educated at a convent in St. Petersburg under the immediate protection of Empress Maria Feodorovna. They remained at the convent for a year after their educations were complete, and made themselves extremely popular by enjoying themselves in society. Both girls soon caught the eye of two members of the Russian royal family, Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich and George himself.

On 16 April 1889 at Sergeyevsko Estate, George married Princess Anastasia of Montenegro, six years after Therese's death.

They had two children: Sergei Georgievich, 8th Duke of Leuchtenberg (1890–1974);
Princess Elena Georgievna of Leuchtenberg (1892–1971); married Count Stefan Tyszkiewicz.

Their marriage was considered "tempestuous and stormy," with George reportedly "insult[ing] and outrag[ing] her from the very first day of their marriage". Anastasia was able to obtain a divorce from him several years into their marriage, on 15 November 1906. Various sources attribute George to have been good-looking but a "stupid and rather sorry individual", although these reports were most often in connection with his second wife, who, when arranging her divorce from George, was widely reported to want to do so because she could no longer live with a man of "intolerable stupidity". Anastasia later remarried to Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia, a grandson of Nicholas I of Russia (and on his mother's side a nephew of George's first wife Theresa). She and her sister became famous in Russian society as the "black peril" so called because of their home country of Montenegro, their dark complexions and their interest in occult.

George was the only one of his brothers to make a legitimate dynastic union. As both of his sons failed to produce legitimate issue, the title Duke of Leuchtenberg went extinct in 1974."

Texts by Wikipedia.





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 16
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich.

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Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 17
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1859-1861
Location: Russia.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexander in military uniform

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Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 18
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 19
Photographer: Шпаковский А.И.
Date: 1861-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke and heir Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich in military uniform.

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Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 20
Photographer: Шпаковский А.И.
Date: 1861-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke and heir Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich with his the adjutant O. B. Rihter.


Otto B. Richter (Demetrius Otto Carl Peter von Richter) (1830-1908) - General of Infantry and a member of the Caucasian campaigns and the Crimean War.


 
Old January 6th, 2017 #3
Alex Him
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 21
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Russia.
Two sons of the Emperor Alexander II with an unknown man.
Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich (left) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich with a dog in his arms - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 22
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Unknown.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich (left). And his cousin Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich (right).

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 23
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 24
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich.

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Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 25
Photographer: D. Alessandri Fres.
Date: 1862-1865
Location: Italy, Rome.
Portrait of the eldest daughter of Emperor Nicholas I. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna in marriage Duchess of Leuchtenberg.

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Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 26
Photographer: D. Alessandri Fres.
Date: 1862-1865
Location: Italy, Rome.
Portrait of the eldest daughter of Emperor Nicholas I. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna in marriage Duchess of Leuchtenberg.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 27
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1861-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke and heir Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich in military uniform with a sword.

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Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 28
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1861
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. Grand Duchess Alexandra losifovna with an umbrella in her hand.


"Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna of Russia (1830–1911), born Princess Alexandra Friederike Henriette of Saxe-Altenburg was the fifth daughter of Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and Amelie Theresa Luise, Duchess of Württemberg. She was the paternal great-grandmother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh through her elder daughter Olga.

In the summer of 1846, she met Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia when he visited Altenburg. He was the second son of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, née Princess Charlotte of Prussia.

Konstantin stayed for a few days at Alexandra’s father’s castle. His visit there had been arranged by Alexandra’s aunt, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, who had been born Princess Charlotte of Württemberg. Elena and Alexandra's mother were both descended from Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg. Elena was married to Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich, the younger brother of Tsar Nicholas I. Elena Pavlovna was therefore Konstantin’s aunt by marriage and Alexandra’s aunt by birth. Elena was a strong influence over Konstantin, who admired her intellect and progressive views. She had literary interests and was musical, founding the St Petersburg Conservatoire, and the young Konstantin often spent time at Elena's home and salon in St Petersburg.

Konstantin was intellectual and liberal, whereas Alexandra was conservative and rather high spirited. Although their temperaments differed, they both shared an interest in music, and enjoyed playing duets at the piano. Konstantin was captivated by Alexandra's youthful beauty: she being tall, slender and attractive. He quickly became besotted, and was eager to marry her "I don't know what is happening to me. It is as if I am a completely new person. Just one thought moves me, just one image fills my eyes: forever and only she, my angel, my universe. I really do think I’m in love. However, what can it mean? I've only know her just a few hours and I'm already up to my ears in Passion". She was only sixteen and Konstantin nineteen; they were engaged but had to wait two more years before they could finally marry.

Alexandra arrived in Russia on 12 October 1847, and was greeted by much fanfare and popular celebration, with jubilant crowds lining the streets and balconies.

In February 1848, Alexandra converted to Russian Orthodoxy, taking the name of Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, which reflected her father's name Joseph (unlike many princesses she took a patronymic, choosing to reflect her parentage rather than the usual religious or dynastic associations which was also possible because Iosif was a common name in Russia).

Alexandra and Konstantin were married in The Winter Palace in St Petersburg, on 11 September 1848. Konstantin received the Marble Palace in St Petersburg as a wedding gift from his parents. Strelna on the Gulf of Finland, which Konstantin inherited when aged four, was the wedded couple's country retreat. The lively Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna took a particular interest in the grounds at Strelna, establishing a free school of gardening, where she taught classes herself. There were also educational toys for the children: a wooden mast and trampoline for gymnastics, and the transplanted cabin of one of Konstantin’s frigates.

A year after their marriage Konstantin inherited the palace of Pavlovsk, situated 19 miles to the south of St Petersburg, from his uncle Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich. The public was admitted to the fine park in its grounds. The Grand-Ducal family supported an impressive concert hall situated at Pavlovsk station, which proved popular with the middle classes, and attracted names such as Johann Strauss II, Franz Liszt, and Hector Berlioz.

Alexandra and Konstantin later acquired the palace of Oreanda, located in the Crimea, which had originally been built by Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna and left to her second son for his retirement.

Konstantin and Alexandra had 6 children:

Nikolai Konstantinovich (1850-1918); married 1882, Nadedja Alexandrovna von Dreyer.

Olga Konstantinovna, Queen of the Hellenes (1851-1926); married 1867, George I of Greece and is a grandmother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Vera Konstantinovna (1854-1912); married 1874, Duke Eugen of Württemberg.

Konstantin Konstantinovich (1858-1915); married 1884, Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg.

Dmitry Konstantinovich (1860-1919); died unmarried.

Vyacheslav Konstantinovich (1862-1879); died unmarried.

In 1867, Alexandra's eldest daughter, Olga, married King George I of Greece. She was only sixteen, and Konstantin was initially reluctant for her to marry so young. In July 1868, Olga's first child was born and was named Konstantin after his grandfather. The beginning of their daughter's family coincided with the start of the breakdown of Alexandra and Konstantin's marriage.

Although he was only forty, Konstantin's struggles and travails of the previous decade— naval and judiciary reforms, the freeing of the serfs—had prematurely aged him. As his brother Tsar Alexander II turned away from the reform that had marked his first decade on the throne, Konstantin's influence began to wane and he began to focus more on his personal life. After twenty years of marriage he had drifted away from his wife. Konstantin's heavy workload, and the couple's divergent political views and interests had over the years slowly torn away at their relationship. Alexandra was as conservative as her husband was liberal, and she had learnt to concern herself with her own society and mysticism. Soon, Konstantin turned elsewhere for sexual intimacy.

In 1874, fresh scandal erupted when it was discovered that Alexandra and Konstantin's eldest son, Grand Duke Nikolay Konstantinovich, who had lived a dissipated life and had revolutionary ideas, had stolen three valuable diamonds from an icon in Alexandra's private bedroom, aided by his mistress, an American courtesan. Alexandra's twenty-four-year-old son was found guilty, declared insane, and banished for life to Central Asia. Alexandra suffered another bitter blow when in 1879, her youngest son, Vyacheslav, died unexpectedly from a brain haemorrhage.

In June 1889, Alexandra’s 18-year-old granddaughter, Princess Alexandra of Greece, returned to Russia to marry Grand Duke Paul, who was the younger brother of Tsar Alexander III. Towards the end of the wedding celebrations, Konstantin suffered a stroke. This was followed in August 1889 by a severe stroke, which left him unable to walk or speak.

For the remaining three years of his life Konstantin lived with his wife in her favourite palace Pavlovsk, having a wing of the building to himself.

When Konstantin died, in January 1892."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 29
Photographer: Шпаковский А.И.
Date: 1859-1861
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexander in military uniform.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 30
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1865-1870
Location: Germany, Darmstadt.
Portrait of the brother of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Prince [Karl] Hesse.


"Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine (1809-1877) was the second son of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and Wilhelmine of Baden.

In 1836, Charles married Princess Elisabeth of Prussia (1815-1885), daughter of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (brother of Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia) and Maria Anna of Hesse-Homburg. They were unhappy together as Charles preferred life in the military to spending time with his family.

On 19 March 1877, Queen Victoria received a telegram from her daughter Alice, wife of Charles' son Louis, saying that they "feared the worst". The following evening, news reached the Queen from Alice that Charles had "passed away quite peacefully after 6." The Queen appears to have been affected by Charles' death, referring to him in her journal upon his death as "dear excellent Prince Charles of Hesse", later repeating, "So grieved and feel deeply for poor Prince Charles."

Charles's eldest son, Louis, would become Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine upon the death of Charles's childless brother, Louis III, in 1877."

Text by Wikipedia.


 
Old January 6th, 2017 #4
Alex Him
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 31
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the niece of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Princess Marie of Battenberg.


"Princess Marie Caroline of Battenberg (1852-1923) - (German: Prinzessin Marie Karoline von Battenberg) was a Princess of Battenberg and, by marriage, The Princess of Erbach-Schönberg. She worked as a writer and translator.

Marie was the eldest child and only daughter of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine (1823–1888), founder of the House of Battenberg and his morganatic wife, the Countess Julia Hauke (1825–1895), daughter of the Polish Count John Maurice Hauke. As a result of a morganatic marriage, Marie and her siblings were excluded from the succession of the Grand Duchy of Hesse, and bore the title Princes of Battenberg. Marie was conceived six months before her parents married, which she always told people that her birthday was the 15 July and not in February. She was born the 15 February in Strasbourg and not the 15 July in Geneva.

Marie's brother, Alexander since 1879 was Prince of Bulgaria. Her memoir of a visit to him, My Trip to Bulgaria, was published in 1884.

Marie translated The Gate of Paradise and An Easter Dream of Edith Jacob, and A Trip to Siberia by Kate Marsden. She also published her memoirs, which plays her relationship with her mentally-unstable son Maximilian in an essential role.

The Princess married on 19 April 1871 in Darmstadt, Count Gustav Ernst of Erbach-Schönberg (1840–1908), who was elevated to the rank of Prince (German: Fürst) in 1903 because of family ties with the British Royal Family and the Russian Imperial Family.

They had four children:

Alexander, Prince of Erbach-Schönberg (1872–1944) he married Princess Elisabeth of Waldeck and Pyrmont on 3 May 1900. They have four children.

Count Maximilian of Erbach-Schönberg (1878–1892).

Prince Victor of Erbach-Schönberg (1880–1967) he married Countess Elisabeth Széchényi de Sarvar et Felsö-Vidék in 1909.

Princess Marie Elisabeth of Erbach-Schönberg (1883–1966) she married Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Stolberg-Wernigerode (Otto of Stolberg-Wernigerode is his paternal grandfather) on 19 January 1910. They have two children."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 32
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1859-1861
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexander in military uniform.

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Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 33
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1859-1861
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexander in military uniform.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 34
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1860-1870
Location: Germany.
Portrait of the wife of Prince Charles of Hesse. Nee Princess Elizabeth of Prussia.


"Princess Elisabeth of Prussia (1815–1885) was the second daughter of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg and a granddaughter of Frederick William II of Prussia. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is her great-great-grandson.

Elisabeth was born in Berlin to Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg. Through her father, she was a granddaughter of Frederick William II of Prussia. Through her mother, she was a granddaughter of Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg. She was the fifth of seven surviving children. One of her sisters, Marie, became Queen of Bavaria.

Elisabeth married Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine, second son of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse, on 22 October 1836 in Berlin. Elisabeth had good relationship with her daughter-in-law, Alice. In her later years, Elisabeth gained more weight and became obese. She lived to see her son ascend the throne as Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine on 13 June 1877 and to see Louis and Alice's two eldest daughters marry. Elisabeth and Charles' first great-grandchild, Princess Alice of Battenberg, was also born during her lifetime. She died in the borough of Darmstadt-Bessungen at the age of 69, outliving her husband by eight years."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 35
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the nephew of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Prince Louis of Battenberg.


"Admiral of the Fleet Louis Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven, GCB, GCVO, KCMG, PC (1854–1921), formerly Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg, was a British naval officer and German prince related to members of the British Royal Family.

Although born in Austria, and brought up in Italy and Germany, he enrolled in the United Kingdom's Royal Navy at the age of fourteen. Queen Victoria and her son King Edward VII, when Prince of Wales, occasionally intervened in his career: the Queen thought that there was "a belief that the Admiralty are afraid of promoting Officers who are Princes on account of the radical attacks of low papers and scurrilous ones". However, Louis welcomed assignments that provided opportunities for him to acquire the skills of war and to demonstrate to his superiors that he was serious about his naval career. Posts on royal yachts and tours arranged by the Queen and Edward actually impeded his progress, as his promotions were perceived as royal favours rather than deserved.

After a naval career lasting more than forty years, in 1912 he was appointed First Sea Lord, the professional head of the British naval service. With World War I looming, he took steps to ready the British fleet for combat, but his background as a German prince forced his retirement once the war began, when anti-German sentiment was running high. He changed his name and relinquished his German titles, at the behest of King George V, in 1917.

He married a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and was the father of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, who also served as First Sea Lord from 1954 to 1959. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, consort of Queen Elizabeth II, is his grandson.

Louis was born as Ludwig Alexander von Battenberg in Graz, Styria, the eldest son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine by his morganatic marriage to Countess Julia von Hauke. Because of his morganatic parentage, Louis was denied his father's rank in the Grand Duchy of Hesse; and, from birth, his style of Illustrious Highness and title of Count of Battenberg instead derived from the rank given to his mother at the time of her marriage. On 26 December 1858, he automatically became His Serene Highness Prince Louis of Battenberg when his mother was elevated to Princess of Battenberg with the style of Serene Highness, by decree of her husband's brother, Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse.

Shortly after Louis's birth, his father was stationed with the Austro-Hungarian Army of occupation in Northern Italy during the Second Italian War of Independence. Louis's early years were spent either in the north of Italy or at Prince Alexander's two houses in Hesse, the castle of Heiligenberg in Jugenheim, and the Alexander Palace in Darmstadt. Because his mother spoke French to him and he had an English governess, he grew up trilingual.

Among the visitors entertained at Heiligenberg were Prince Alexander's relations, the Russian imperial family, and his cousin, Prince Louis of Hesse. Influenced by his cousin's wife, Princess Alice, a daughter of Queen Victoria, and by Prince Alfred, another of Queen Victoria's children, Battenberg joined the Royal Navy on 3 October 1868 at the age of fourteen and thus became a naturalised British subject. He was admitted by the Board of Admiralty without the production of a medical certificate, which was contrary to the usual regulation. He was enlisted as a naval cadet aboard HMS Victory, Nelson's old flagship, then used as a permanently moored training ship.

In January of the following year, the Prince and Princess of Wales cruised the Mediterranean and Black Seas in the frigate HMS Ariadne; and the Prince of Wales requested that Louis be appointed to the vessel, before his training was complete. As part of the same tour, Louis accompanied them on a visit to Egypt, where they visited the construction site of the Suez Canal. As was traditional, the Khedive bestowed honours on the party, and Louis received the Medjidie (Fourth Class). In April, he received the Osmanie (Fourth Class) from the Ottoman Sultan.

In September 1883, Queen Victoria appointed him to her yacht, HMY Victoria and Albert. On 30 April 1884 at Darmstadt in the presence of the Queen, Prince Louis married her granddaughter, Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. His wife was the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria's second daughter Princess Alice by Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse. Through the Hesse family, Prince and Princess Louis of Battenberg were first cousins once removed. They had known each other since childhood, and invariably spoke English to each other. As wedding presents Louis received the British Order of the Bath and the Star and Chain of the Hessian Order of Louis.

Louis and Victoria had four children:

Alice (1885-1969) Married 1903, to Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark; had issue. Mother of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Louise (1889-1965) Married 1923, to King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden (making this his second marriage); one stillborn daughter.

George (1892-1938) Married 1916, to Countess Nadejda Mikhailovna de Torby; had issue.

Louis (1900-1979) Married 1922, to Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley; had issue.

During the war, two of Lord Milford Haven's sisters-in-law (Alexandra of Hesse and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna) were killed by the Bolsheviks in Russia. Eventually, in January 1921, after a long and convoluted journey, the body of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna was interred in Jerusalem in the presence of Milford Haven and his wife.

In 1919, the Milford Havens had to give up their home, Kent House, for financial reasons. He sold his collection of naval medals. All of his financial investments in Russia were seized by the Bolsheviks and his German property became valueless with the collapse of the mark. He sold Heiligenberg Castle, which he had inherited from his father, in 1920.

Milford Haven was appointed Military Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB), to add to the Civil one he already held, in recognition of his service to the Royal Navy in the 1921 New Year Honours, and was specially promoted by Order in Council to the rank of Admiral of the Fleet on the Retired List, dated 19 August. A few days later he joined HMS Repulse, the ship on which his son Louis was serving, for a week at the invitation of the captain Dudley Pound. It was his last voyage; he died at 42 Half Moon Street, Piccadilly, London in the annexe of the Naval and Military Club on 11 September 1921 of heart failure following influenza. After a funeral service at Westminster Abbey, his remains were buried at St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham, on the Isle of Wight.

The marquess's elder son, George Mountbatten, who had received the courtesy title Earl of Medina, succeeded him as 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven. Louis's younger son, styled Lord Louis Mountbatten after 1917, served in the Royal Navy, became First Sea Lord like his father, was the last Viceroy of India, and was created Earl Mountbatten of Burma in 1947."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 36
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1861-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke and heir Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich in military uniform.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 37
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1862-1865
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the wife of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich. Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna with a book in her hands.


"Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna of Russia (1839-1891) - (Russian: Ольга Фёдоровна), born Cäcilie Auguste, Princess and Margravine of Baden was the youngest daughter of Grand Duke Leopold of Baden and Sophie Wilhelmine of Sweden.

She received a strict education at the court of Baden in Karlsruhe, becoming a cultured woman. On 28 August 1857, she married Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich of Russia, the youngest son of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. Upon her marriage, she converted to the Russian Orthodox faith and took the name Olga Fyodorovna with the title of Grand Duchess of Russia. Unusually among the Romanovs of her generation, her marriage was a long and happy union. The couple remained devoted to each other. She raised their seven children with an iron hand.

Between 1862 and 1882, she lived with her husband and their children in the Caucasus in a palace in Tiflis. She was a strong supporter of her husband’s governmental activities as a viceroy of the region and she took an interest in charities, particularly in the field of female education. In 1882, the family moved back to the Imperial court in St Petersburg to a large palace on the bank of the Neva river. With a strong personality and a sharp tongue, Grand Duchess Olga Fyodorovna was not a popular member of the Romanov family. She spent the last years of her life traveling frequently, trying to find relief for her failing health. She died of a heart attack while traveling by train to Crimea.

Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna was born on 20 September 1839, in Karlsruhe as Cäcilie Auguste, Princess and Margravine of Baden. She was the youngest daughter among the seven children of Grand Duke Leopold of Baden and Princess Sophie Wilhelmine of Sweden. She was a descendant of King George II of England and the Russian dynasty Rurik Dynasty through Anne of Kiev, Queen of France and daughter of the Kievan Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise.

During Cäcilie's childhood, the 1848-49 revolution forced the Grand Ducal family to flee from Karlsruhe to Koblenz. Cäcilie was 12 years old at the death of her father in 1852. Princess Cäcilie received a Spartan upbringing. Her relationship with her parents was formal rather than affectionate. She would later apply these same principles raising her own children. She grew into a sharp-tongued girl, witty and well-educated. With high cheekbones and oblique eyes, she had striking Eurasian looks.

Princess Cäcilie was 17 years old when her family arranged her marriage to Grand Duke Michael Nikolaievich of Russia, the youngest son of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. The details of their courtship are not known, however, theirs was a love match. In 1856 her brother, Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden married Princess Louise of Prussia, a daughter of the reigning Crown Prince Wilhelm I of Prussia and therefore a first cousin of Grand Duke Michael.

When Olga came to Russia as Cäcilie, her husband did not like her birth name and chose for her the name Olga Fyodorovna, which she took upon her conversion to the Orthodox faith. The marriage took place on 28 August 1857 at the Chapel of the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg. Grand Duke Michael loved his wife deeply all his life and was under her strong influence, they were like polar opposites and this only seemed to cement their alliance. Mikhail Nikolayevich was a kind, calm, rather dull man who would have been completely happy to devote himself only to the artillery and his family, and he did not shine with exceptional intellect. On the other hand, Olga Fyodorovna was lively, sharp-tongued, witty society-lady, very fond of malicious tales and gossips – according to some of her contemporaries, gossip was her main raison d'être, or purpose for existing.

The couple remained close and theirs was a happy marriage. They lived in their own large residence in Saint Petersburg, the New Mikhailovsky Palace, which was built for them in 1861. They also had a summer residence, Mikhailovskoe on the Baltic in Peterhof, and Grushevska, a vast rural estate in southern Ukraine. The couple had seven children. Grand Duchess Olga, with a stronger personality than her husband, was the dominating force in the family. She raised her seven children with an iron hand.

Issue:

Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia (1859-1919). Unmarried. He was killed by the Bolsheviks during the Russian revolution; no issue.

Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (1860-1922). Married 1879 Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1851–1897); 1 son, 2 daughters.

Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia (1861 -1929). Married 1891 Sophie of Merenberg (1868–1927); 1 son, 2 daughters.

Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia (1863-1919). Married 1900 Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark (1876–1940); 2 daughters.
He was killed by the Bolsheviks during the Russian revolution.

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia (1866-1933). Married 1894 Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia (1875–1960); 1 daughter, 6 sons.

Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia (1869- 1918) Unmarried. He was killed by the Bolsheviks during the Russian revolution; no issue.

Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich of Russia (1875-1895) Unmarried; no issue.

In 1862 Grand Duke Michael Nikolayevich's brother, Tsar Alexander II of Russia, appointed him as governor of the Tsardom in the Caucasus, and Olga moved with her husband to Tiflis. The couple had already three children, four more were born there. For almost 20 years the family lived in the Caucasus. In addition to official duties as wife of the imperial governor, Olga provided support to her husband Grand Duke Michael Nikolayevich, who supervised the implementation of the liberal reforms of Alexander II in the region.

With the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881, the governorship ended in the Caucasus. During the reign of the new Tsar Alexander III of Russia, Grand Duke Michael Nikolayevich served as chairman of the Imperial Council and the family moved back permanently to Saint Petersburg. Alexander III, who did not like Olga, sometimes referred to her behind her back as “Auntie Haber”, hinting at her alleged Jewish heritage and illegitimacy. Such rumors of Jewish paternity followed Olga through her life. Her husband was protective of her. The Romanovs were anti-Semitic and Olga, who was not a popular member of the family, was mocked as "Frau Haber."

Olga, who was tradition-conscious and deeply devout, suffered a terrible blow when her second son, Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich contracted an unequal marriage in San Remo on 26 February 1891. The marriage was not only morganatic but also illegal under the statute of the Imperial Family and caused a great scandal at the Russian court. Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich was deprived of his military rank and of his position as adjutant at the Imperial Court and also forbidden to return to Russia for life. When Olga heard of her son’s morganatic marriage, she was deeply wounded and fell ill. Few days later, at the insistence of her doctors, the Grand Duchess traveled to her estate in Crimea, near the Cape of Ai-Todor, to recover her health.

Around noon on 9 April 1891, the express train in which Olga was riding passed through Kharkov in southern Ukraine. During the afternoon the Grand Duchess suffered a heart attack. As Kharkov was the largest nearby city, the train came back there at about 7 pm that evening. Several doctors in Kharkov were invited into her train compartment and they diagnosed her ailments as an inflammation of the lungs. She was taken into the tsar's waiting room in the station. She was surrounded by her attendance and doctors, but neither her husband nor any of her children were with her as she was traveling alone. A priest was called and she died there at the train station three days later on 12 April 1891 at the age of 51. She was buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 38
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: [1860]
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the daughter of Emperor Nicholas I. And the wife of (1846) Duke Charles of Württemberg, from 1864 King of Württemberg Karl I. Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna.


"Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia (1822–1892), later Queen Olga of Württemberg, was a member of the Russian imperial family who became Queen consort of Württemberg.

She was the second daughter of Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia. She was thus a sister of Alexander II of Russia. She married Charles I of Württemberg, with whom she had no children.

Olga grew up as part of a close family of eight sisters and brothers. She had two elder siblings: Emperor Alexander II of Russia and Grand Duchess Maria of Russia; and five younger siblings: Grand Duchess Alexandra of Russia, Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia (died in infancy), Grand Duke Constantine of Russia, Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia and Grand Duke Michael of Russia.

Attractive, cultured and intelligent, she was considered to be one of the most eligible princesses in Europe. She spoke several languages, and was fond of music and painting.

Olga met Crown Prince Charles of Württemberg in early 1846 in Palermo, Two Sicilies. Her parents wished that she make a dynastic marriage, especially since her siblings Alexander, Maria and Alexandra had married relatively insignificant royal partners. There had already been several marriages between members of the Russian Imperial Family and members of the Württemberg Royal Family (in addition to the marriage between Olga’s paternal grandparents): Olga’s future father-in-law, King William I of Württemberg, married Olga’s paternal aunt, Grand Duchess Catherine of Russia; Olga’s paternal uncle, Grand Duke Michael of Russia, married William I’s niece, Princess Charlotte of Württemberg.

Olga gave her consent to Charles' proposal of marriage after only a few meetings, on 18 January. The wedding was held in great splendor on 13 July 1846 at the Peterhof Palace, Russia. The couple came back from Russia to Württemberg on 23 September. They lived mostly in the Villa Berg in Stuttgart and in the Kloster Hofen in Friedrichshafen.

The couple had no children, probably because of Charles’ homosexuality. Olga’s husband became the object of scandal several times for his closeness with various men.

On 25 June 1864, after the death of his father, Charles acceded the throne and became the third king of Württemberg, making Olga the fourth queen of Württemberg. The new king was enthroned on 12 July 1864.

Olga dedicated her life to social causes. She was especially interested in the education of girls, and also supported wounded veterans and the handicapped. A children's hospital of Stuttgart, the Olgahospital, was named for her in 1849; and an order of Protestant nursing nuns of Stuttgart, the Olgaschwesternschaft, was named for her in 1872. These charitable enterprises made her very popular among her subjects, much more so than her husband.

In 1881, Olga wrote a memoir called Traum der Jugend goldener Stern (translated as The Golden Dream of My Youth) which described her childhood in the Russian court, her grief at the loss of her sister Alexandra, and her early adult life, ending with her wedding to Charles. It is dedicated to her nieces Grand Duchess Olga of Russia and Grand Duchess Vera of Russia.

When her husband died on 6 October 1891, Olga became Queen Dowager of Württemberg. She died one year later, on 30 October 1892 in Friedrichshafen, at 70. She was buried in the crypt of the Old Castle in Stuttgart."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 39
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1860-1864
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich (the Elder) in a hunting suit.


"Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1831-1891) - (Russian: Великий князь Николай Николаевич) was the third son and sixth child of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and Alexandra Feodorovna. He may also be referred to as Nicholas Nicolaievich the Elder to tell him apart from his son. Trained for the military, as a Field Marshal he commanded the Russian army of the Danube in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878.

Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich was born on 8 August 1831 at Tsarskoye Selo in St. Petersburg.

His father arranged for Nicholas Nikolaevich a career in the army. On the day he was born, he was appointed honorary colonel in the Life Guard Lancers and enlisted into the Life Guard Sappers battalion. A soldier most of his life, he first saw active service in the Crimea War, when he was in his early twenties, taking part in the battle of Inkerman (1854). Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaievich showed a special interest in military engineering. In 1856, he was appointed as general Inspector of engineers and in 1864, he became commander of the Imperial Guard. In 1873, he accompanied his brother, Alexander II, to Berlin at the meeting of the three emperors: Russia, Germany and Austria.

The epitome of his career was the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878, when Nicholas Nicolaievich was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Russian armies of the Danube, although his reputation as a strategist was very low. The Grand Duke had no particular distinction in early successes in the conflict and these were followed by terrible reverses of the armies under his orders. After the expulsion of the Russian troops from Rumelia and unsuccessful attacks at Plevna, Nicholas Nicolaievich was removed from actual command, although in theory he remained in his post. The victory of his subordinates allowed him to participate in the success at Adrianople and the Treaty of San Stefano, but after the war ended, he was criticized for not seizing Constantinople when his headquarters were already established in Adrianople. The Grand Duke also suffered the acute embarrassment of being charged with financial irregularities, of receiving bribes and embezzling money from the government.

His brother, Alexander II promoted Nicholas Nicolaievich's career and named him Commander of the St Petersburg military region. Eventually he received the ranks of Field Marshal-General, Inspector General of Cavalry and Inspector General of the Russian engineering forces. Nicholas Nicholaievich was an influential military figure; he also served on the State Council.

Tall, strong and with a long thin nose, Nicholas Nicolaievich was neither handsome nor very intelligent. An incredible womanizer, Nicholas “loved all women except for his wife” as a contemporary wrote. He enjoyed army life, hunting and was a well-known gourmet. He was also an expert on cattle, purebred dogs, horse breeding, fishing and hunting. In his luxurious residence in St Petersburg, the Nikolayevsky Palace, built between 1853–1861, horses were a favorite topic of conversation. The Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaievich took great interest in managing his estates, but he failed to inspire affection, even in those closest to him.

Nicholas Nicolaievich unwillingly married his second cousin Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna, formerly Princess Alexandra of Oldenburg (1838–1900), whose paternal grandmother was a daughter of Emperor Paul I. The wedding took place in St Petersburg on 6 February 1856. Alexandra was plain and unsophisticated and the couple soon found out that they had little in common. They had two children:

Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia the Younger (1856–1929).

Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (1864–1931).

The marriage was in trouble from the start and four years later, Nicholas developed a permanent relationship with Catherine Chislova, a dancer from the Krasnoye Selo Theater. Their affair was quite open and they had five children:

Olga Nikolaevna Nikolaeva (1868–1950) m. Prince Michael Cantacuzene.
Vladimir Nikolaevich Nikolaev (1873–1942).
Catherine Nikolaevna Nikolaeva (1874–1940).
Nicholas Nikolaevich Nikolaev (1875–1902).
Galina Nikolaevna Nikolaeva (1877–1878).

The Grand Duke arranged a change of class into the gentry for his mistress and the couple’s illegitimate children took the surname Nikolayev. Tsar Alexander II ignored his brother's affair but advised him to be discreet.

Nicholas Nicolaievich was in Cannes with his two sons when his brother Alexander II was assassinated, returning immediately to Russia in March 1881. The ascension to the Russian throne of his nephew, Alexander III, marked the beginning of the Grand Duke's steady decline. Alexander III did not have any special sympathy for his uncle and Nicholas Nicholaievich was resolutely deprived of all his influence. His authority suffered even further when he was involved in fraudulent military requisitions. When the Grand Duke tried to explain his actions to the Nouvelle Revue of Paris 1880, he indiscreetly attacked government officials and military commanders and eventually was removed from his post. Alexander III also criticized his uncle's extramarital affairs.

By then, Nicholas Nicholaievich was living openly with his mistress. His wife left him for good in 1881 and moved to Kiev, but the Grand Duchess refused to grant the divorce he would have wanted. The couple's adult sons took their mother’s side in the family break up, but continued to live at the palace and confronted Catherine once she was waiting for their father in the Palace he shared with his wife. Catherine Chislova nagged Nicholas to provide for her and their children, he soon became financially embarrassed and had to mortgage Nicholas Palace in St. Petersburg. In 1882, Nicholas Nicolaievich was put under supervision due to the squandering of his fortune; he lived as a private gentleman in a modest house.

Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaievich, unable to get a divorce, hoped to survive his wife and then marry his mistress, but it was Catherine Chislova who died unexpectedly in Crimea while Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna would survive him by nine years. Shortly after his mistress' death, Nicholas went mad; he had oral cancer that spread to his brain. Suffering from delusion, he was convinced that all women were in love with him. During one ballet performance, the Grand Duke even attacked a young male dancer that he took to be a woman. In 1890, Nicholas Nicolaievich was declared insane and kept locked indoors in Crimea. He died in Alupka, Crimea on 25 April 1891. The Grand Duke's reputation at the imperial court was low and his death was not deeply felt. He had squandered all his tremendous wealth and his palace was immediately sold to cancel his massive debts."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 40
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1860-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the wife of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich the Elder. Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna.


"Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna of Russia (1838-1900) - (Russian: Александра Петровна) was a great granddaughter of Emperor Paul I of Russia and the wife of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1831–1891), the elder.

Born Princess Alexandra of Oldenburg, she was the eldest daughter of Duke Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg and his wife Princess Therese of Nassau-Weilburg. She grew up in Russia in close proximity to the Romanovs as her father was a nephew of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. Alexandra’s parents were artistically gifted and passionate philanthropist. They provided a good education for her and inspired in Alexandra a life of service to those in need.

Alexandra married in 1856, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1831–1891), the elder, the third son of Tsar Nicholas I and her first cousin once removed. Alexandra, who had been raised in the Lutheran church, converted to the Orthodox faith, and took the name Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna of Russia. The couple had two children: Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1856–1929), the younger, and Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (1864–1931). The marriage, arranged by the Russian Imperial family in an attempt to control the Grand Duke’s excesses, was unhappy. They were a mismatch couple. She was plain, serious and like simplicity. Deeply religious and very involved in charity work, Alexandra founded a training institute for nurses in St Petersburg in 1865. The same year, her husband began an affair with a ballerina forming a second family with his mistress.

After the complete collapse of her marriage, Alexandra lived separated from her husband who expelled her from their household in 1879. A carriage accident left her almost completely paralyzed and, in November 1880, Alexandra went abroad to improve her health, compelled by her brother in law Tsar Alexander II. The following year, she asked her nephew, Tsar Alexander III, to allow her to return to Russia and she settled in Kiev. She recovered her mobility and, in 1889, she founded the Pokrov of Our Lady Monastery, a convent of nursing nuns with its own hospital, to provide free treatment for the poor. She dedicated the rest of her life to the work at the hospital. In 1889, she became an Orthodox nun under the name Anastasia. She died at the convent in 1900.

Alexandra Petrovna was born at her parents palace at Embarkment, 2 in St. Petersburg on 2 June 1838, as Duchess Alexandra Frederika Wilhelmina of Oldenburg. She was the eldest of the eight children of Duke Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg and his wife Princess Therese of Nassau-Weilburg, half-sister of Sofia of Nassau, queen consort of Oscar II of Sweden. Alexandra belonged to a German family but grew up in Russia, where her family was closely related to the Romanov dynasty.

Duke Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg, Alexandra's father, was the only surviving son of Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna, the fourth daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia. Peter of Oldenburg followed a military career in the Imperial Russian Army and was also a scholar, a music composer and philanthropist. Alexandra’s mother, Princess Therese of Nassau-Weilburg, was interested in painting and like her husband was deeply involved in charity work, so much that she was considered an eccentric. The couple had a happy marriage, preferring a quite family life rather than court life. They were devoted parents to their eight children providing a careful education for them.

The family spent the winter months in Peterhof and moved for the summer to their other residence Kamenoi-Ostroff. There, Alexandra and her siblings had a children’s farm where they grew vegetables and tended farm animals under the supervision of their Russian governess.

Alexandra and her sibling grew up surrounded by art and music. She learned Russian, German, English and French. Besides the usual school subjects, the children had to practice music, painting, dancing, riding and palace etiquette. Alexandra excelled at the arts and she was also interested in literature, Russian history and genealogy. Alexandra's education awoke in her an interest in medicine and in solving social problems of the poor.

In 1848, Alexandra’s parents took her and her younger brother, Nicholas, to visit their relatives in Germany. Their stayed with Alexandra’s maternal family in Wiesbaden and Alexandra’s paternal relatives in Oldenburg."

Text by Wikipedia.


 
Old January 6th, 2017 #5
Alex Him
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 41
Photographer: Sotthwell.
Date: 1861-1865
Location: England, London.
The son of Emperor Nicholas I. Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich.


"Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia (1832–1909) was the fourth son and seventh child of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia.

He was the first owner of the New Michael Palace on the Palace Quay in Saint Petersburg.

On 16 August 1857, he married Princess Cecily Auguste of Baden (1839–1891), daughter of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden and Sophie of Sweden. Cecily adopted the name Olga Fedorovna.

He served 20 years (1862–1882) as the Governor General of Caucasia, being seated in Tbilisi, the town which most of his children remembered as the home of their childhood. In the course of his life, four members of his family ruled as Emperors of Russia: his father, Nicholas I; his brother, Alexander II; his nephew, Alexander III; as well as his grand-nephew, Nicholas II, whose second daughter, Grand Duchess Tatiana, the Grand Duke was godfather to. He died in Cannes, France, on 18 December 1909. He was the last surviving legitimate grandchild of Paul I of Russia."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 42
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1862-1866
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Charles I, King of Württemberg. The husband of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna.


"Charles (1823-1891) - (German: Karl Friedrich Alexander, König von Württemberg) was King of Württemberg, from 25 June 1864 until his death in 1891.

He was born on 6 March 1823 in Stuttgart, as HRH Charles Frederick Alexander, Crown Prince of Württemberg, the son of William I, King of Württemberg (1781–1864) and his third wife (and first cousin) Pauline Therese of Württemberg (1800–1873).

He studied in Berlin and Tübingen.

On 13 July 1846 he married Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaievna of Russia, daughter of Tsar Nicholas I and Charlotte of Prussia. Charlotte was a daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She took the name Alexandra upon her marriage. Karl acceded to the throne upon his father's death in 1864.

The couple had no children, perhaps because of Karl's homosexuality.

He sided with Austria in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, but after the battle of Sadowa concluded a secret military treaty with Prussia, and took part on her side in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, joining the new German Empire at the close of 1870.

He died, childless, in Stuttgart on 6 October 1891, and was succeeded as King of Württemberg by his sister's son, William II. He is buried, together with his wife, in the Old Castle in Stuttgart."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 43
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1860-1861
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich with toy horses.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 44
Photographer: Левицкий С.Л.
Date: 1859-1861
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Children of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich (left) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1
and Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich (right) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2
at the table.







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 45
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Emperor Alexander II with his daughter Maria (left) and with his son Sergei on the his hands.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 46
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1860-1861
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Children of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich with toy horses in his hand.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 47
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
The daughter of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 48
Photographer: Левицкий С.Л.
Date: 1860
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Children of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich during a game with toy soldiers.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 49
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1863-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Emperor Alexander II in military uniform.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 50
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1860-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait the husband of Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna. Duke Georg August of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in military uniform.


Duke Georg August of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1824–1876), second son of Georg, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1779–1860) and Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel (1796–1880).


 
Old January 6th, 2017 #6
Alex Him
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 51
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1863-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Emperor Alexander II in military uniform.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 52
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1862-1870
Location: Germany.
Portrait of the wife of the Duke of Hesse Ludwig III. Princess Mathilde Caroline of Bavaria.


"Princess Mathilde Caroline of Bavaria (1813–1862) - (German: Mathilde Karoline Friederike Wilhelmine Charlotte von Bayern) was the second child and eldest daughter of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

On 26 December 1833 in Munich, Mathilde married The Hereditary Grand Duke Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine (1806–1877), eldest son of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and Wilhelmine of Baden. Ludwig succeeded his father as Grand Duke Ludwig III in 1848. The marriage was childless."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 53
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1863-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Emperor Alexander II in military uniform (sitting in a chair).






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 54
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1863-1868
Location: Unknown.
Portrait the wife of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by the Rhine. And the mother of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Princess Alice of the United Kingdom.


"Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (1843-1878) - (Alice Maud Mary; later Princess Louis of Hesse and Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine) was the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort. Alice was the first of Queen Victoria's nine children to die, and one of three to be outlived by their mother, who died in 1901.

Alice spent her early childhood in the company of her parents and siblings, travelling between the British royal residences. Her education was devised by Albert's close friend and adviser, Baron Stockmar, and included practical activities such as needlework and woodwork as well as French and German. When her father, Prince Albert, was diagnosed with typhoid fever in December 1861, Alice nursed him until his death on 14 December that year. Following his death, Queen Victoria entered a period of intense mourning and Alice spent the next six months acting as her mother's unofficial secretary. On 1 July 1862, while the court was still at the height of mourning, Alice married the minor German Prince Louis of Hesse, heir to the Grand Duchy of Hesse. The ceremony—conducted privately and with unrelieved gloom at Osborne House—was described by the Queen as "more of a funeral than a wedding". The Princess's life in Darmstadt was unhappy as a result of impoverishment, family tragedy, and worsening relations with her husband and mother.

Alice was a prolific patron of women's causes and showed an interest in nursing, especially the work of Florence Nightingale. When Hesse became involved in the Austro-Prussian War, Darmstadt filled with the injured; the heavily pregnant Alice devoted much of her time to the management of field hospitals. One of her organisations, the Princess Alice Women's Guild, took over much of the day-to-day running of the state's military hospitals. As a result of this activity, Queen Victoria became concerned about Alice's directness about medical and, in particular, gynaecological, matters. In 1871, she wrote to Alice's younger sister, Princess Louise, who had recently married: "Don't let Alice pump you. Be very silent and cautious about your 'interior'". In 1877, Alice became Grand Duchess upon the accession of her husband; her increased duties putting further strains on her health. In the latter months of 1878, diphtheria infected the Hessian court. Alice nursed her family for over a month before falling ill herself.

Princess Alice was the mother of Tsaritsa Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia (empress consort of Tsar Nicholas II), maternal grandmother of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, the last Viceroy of India, and maternal great-grandmother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, consort of Queen Elizabeth II. Another daughter, Elisabeth, who had married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia, was, like the tsaritsa and her family, killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

Tragedy befell Alice on 29 May 1873, when her youngest and favourite son, Friedrich, called "Frittie", died after falling 20 feet from a window. The child suffered from haemophilia, and although he regained consciousness, the internal bleeding could not be stopped. Alice never recovered from Frittie's death, writing to her mother two months later: "I am glad you have a little coloured picture of my darling. I feel lower and sadder than ever and miss him so much, so continually."

In November 1878, the Grand Ducal household fell ill with diphtheria. Alice's eldest daughter Victoria was the first to fall ill, complaining of a stiff neck in the evening of 5 November. Diphtheria was diagnosed the following morning, and soon the disease spread to Alice's children Alix, Marie, Irene, and Ernest. Her husband Louis became infected shortly thereafter. Elisabeth was the only child to not fall ill, having been sent away by Alice to the palace of the Princess Charles, her mother-in-law.

Marie became seriously ill on 15 November, and Alice was called to her bedside, but by the time she arrived, Marie had choked to death. A distraught Alice wrote to Queen Victoria that the "pain is beyond words". Alice kept the news of Marie's death secret from her children for several weeks, but she finally told Ernest in early December. His reaction was even worse than she had anticipated; at first he refused to believe it. As he sat up crying, Alice broke her rule about physical contact with the ill and gave him a kiss. At first, however, Alice did not fall ill. She met her sister Victoria as the latter was passing through Darmstadt on the way to England, and wrote to her mother with "a hint of resumed cheerfulness" on the same day.[64] However, by Saturday, 14 December, the anniversary of her father's death, she became seriously ill with the diphtheria caught from her son. Her last words were "dear Papa", and she fell unconscious at 2:30 am. Just after 8:30 am, she died. Alice was buried on 18 December 1878 at the Grand Ducal mausoleum at Rosenhöhe outside Darmstadt, with the Union Flag draped over her coffin. A special monument of Alice and her daughter Marie was erected there by Joseph Boehm."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 55
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1860-1863
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the nephew of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Prince Louis of Battenberg in a wig.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141472&postcount=4






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 56
Photographer: Backofen.
Date: 1862-1868
Location: Germany, Darmstadt.
Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and by the Rhine with his wife Princess Alice of the United Kingdom.


"Louis IV (Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Karl) - (1837–1892), was the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, reigning from 13 June 1877 until his death. Through his own and his children's marriages he was connected to the British Royal Family, to the Imperial House of Russia and to other reigning dynasties of Europe.

Louis was born at the Prinz-Karl-Palais in Darmstadt, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine in the German Confederation, the first son and child of Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine (1809–1877) and Princess Elisabeth of Prussia (1815–1885), granddaughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia. As his father's elder brother Louis III (1806-1877), the reigning Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, had been married to his first wife since 1833 without legitimate children and from 1868 was married morganatically, Prince Louis was the likely heir eventual to the grand ducal throne from childhood.

On 1 July 1862, Louis married Princess Alice, the third child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. On the day of the wedding, the Queen issued a royal warrant granting her new son-in-law the style of Royal Highness in the United Kingdom. The Queen also subsequently made Prince Louis a knight of the Order of the Garter.

Princess Alice's interest in social services, scientific development, hands-on child-rearing, charity and intellectual stimulation were not shared by Louis who, although dutiful and benevolent, was bluff in manner and conventional in his pursuits. The death of the younger of their two sons, Frittie, who was afflicted with hemophilia and suffered a fatal fall from a palace window before his third birthday in 1873, combined with the wearying war relief duties Alice had undertaken in 1870, evoked a crisis of spiritual faith for the princess in which her husband does not appear to have shared.

In 1866 the Austrians suffered defeat in the Austro-Prussian War and the Hessian grandduchy was in jeopardy of being awarded as the spoils of war to victorious Prussia, which annexed some of Austria's other allies (Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, Nassau), a fate from which Hesse-Darmstadt appears to have been spared only by a cession of territory and the close dynastic kinship between its ruler and the Emperor of Russia (Alexander II's consort, Empress Maria Alexandrovna, was the sister of Hesse's Grand Duke Louis III and of Prince Charles).

In the Franco-Prussian War provoked by Bismarck's manipulation of the Ems telegram in 1870, Hesse and by Rhine this time found itself a winning ally of Prussia's, and Prince Louis was credited with courageous military service, especially at the Battle of Gravelotte, which also afforded him the opportunity of mending the previous war's grievances with the House of Hohenzollern by fighting on the same side as his brother-in-law and future emperor, Prince Frederick of Prussia.

In March 1877, Louis became heir presumptive to the Hessian throne when his father died and, less than three months later, found himself reigning grand duke upon the demise of his uncle, Louis III.

A year and a half later, however, Grand Duke Louis was stricken with diphtheria along with most of his immediate family, from which he recovered but to which his four-year-old daughter Marie succumbed, along with his wife of 16 years. From then on, he reigned and raised his five surviving children alone.

The couple had seven children:

Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven (1863-1950) - (Victoria Alberta Elisabeth Mathilde Marie).

Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia (1864-1918) - (Elisabeth Alexandra Louise Alice).

Princess Irene of Prussia (1866-1953) - (Irene Louise Marie Anne).

Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (1868-1937) - (Ernest Louis Charles Albert William).

Prince Friedrich William Augustus Victor Leopold Louis of Hesse and by Rhine (1870–1873).

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia (1872-1918) - (Alix Victoria Helena Louise Beatrice).

Princess Marie Victoria Feodore Leopoldine of Hesse and by Rhine (1874–1878).


During the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Louis commanded the Hessian cavalry in support of the Austrian side. In the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War, Louis led the Hessian contingent of the armies of the North German Confederation.

Grand Duchess Alice having died in 1878, Louis IV contracted a morganatic marriage on 30 April 1884 in Darmstadt with Countess Alexandrina Hutten-Czapska (1854–1941), the former wife of Aleksander Kolemin, the Russian chargé d'affaires in Darmstadt. His second wife received the title Countess von Romrod. But the couple, facing objections from the Grand Duke's in-laws, separated within a week and the marriage was annulled within three months."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 57
Photographer: Sorgato A.N.
Date: 1865-1870
Location: Italy, Venice.
Portrait of the brother of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Prince Alexander of Hesse.


"Prince Alexander Ludwig Georg Friedrich Emil of Hesse, GCB (1823–1888) was the third son and fourth child of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse, and Wilhelmina of Baden.

Though Alexander is best known for the scandal caused by his marriage, his parentage also was the subject of scandal, as it was openly rumoured that his and his sister Marie's father was actually August Ludwig, Freiherr von Senarclens de Grancy, their mother's chamberlain. His mother, although consort of the grand duke, lived apart from her husband, who eventually divorced her but did not repudiate paternity of any of the four children born during the marriage. Thus, when the future emperor Alexander II of Russia, as tsarevich, chose the sixteen-year-old Marie as consort, his parents consented to the match. Because of her youth, Alexander escorted his sister to Russia for her wedding, remaining at the Russian court and joining the inner circle of his brother-in-law the tsarevich after Marie's entourage returned to Hesse.

This promising career was cut short by a scandal, as Alexander fell in love with Countess Julia Hauke, lady-in-waiting to his sister (known, since her conversion to Orthodoxy, as Maria Alexandrovna, ranking only after her mother-in-law Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna). The countess was an orphaned German-Polish ward of the tsar, and daughter of the tsar's former minister of war. At that time, Tsar Nicholas I was considering Alexander as a possible husband for his niece and, when he heard of Alexander's romance, he forbade the couple to marry.

Alexander left for England to contemplate his future, but then returned to Russia and eloped with Julia from St. Petersburg, being stricken by the tsar's orders from the roll of the Russian imperial army for insubordination. The two were married in Breslau in 1851.

Alexander's older brother Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse, allowed him to re-patriate to Hesse with his bride, although he did not recognize their marriage as dynastic. He granted her the new, hereditary title of Countess von Battenberg (Battenberg was a small town and ruined castle in the north of the grand duchy which, according to the memoirs of their eldest child Marie, the family visited once during her youth, although it never became their residence).

As a cadet of the Hessian grand ducal dynasty Prince Alexander had followed the martial tradition of his family by offering his sword to the military service of a Great Power while still a teenager, having accompanied his sister to St. Petersburg. He became a respected commander in the Russian army, with the prospect of a distinguished career. He had a regiment of lancers named after him and was awarded the Order of St. George 4th class. His elopement, in sending him abroad AWOL, terminated his military career and made him, initially, a fugitive from Russia.

But once his elder brother recognized his wife, he was able to obtain an appointment in the Austrian army, where he resumed his military career, although remaining sufficiently in disgrace never to be billeted in Vienna. Each of his children would be born in a different city, depending upon where in the Austro-Hungarian empire Prince Alexander was stationed.

After serving Austria with distinction in several battles, he was given a major command in Hesse's small army in its war, as an ally of Austria, with Prussia in 1866. By this time his wife and children had taken up their home at Alexander's small castle at Seeheim-Jugenheim in Hesse, to which he retired after Prussia defeated Austria and Hesse. Although the electorate of Hesse-Kassel, ruled by another branch of Alexander's family, was annexed by Prussia for adhering to the losing side, the fact that Hesse-Darmstadt's grand duke was the brother-in-law of the Russian tsar saved its independence, although not without loss of territory. Henceforth, Alexander and his family alternated between their castle in the grandducal capital of Darmstadt, and their country home a few hours away by carriage.

Alexander was often in attendance at his elder brother's court. But a shift occurred when his sister, now Empress of Russia, began to pay annual visits to her brother in the 1870s along with her husband, children, and a large entourage. Louis III, while benefitting from his kinship to the tsar, preferred to defer entertaining him to Alexander and Marie at Heiligenberg. These annual visits had the twofold effect of enhancing the international prestige of the grandduchy while socially rehabilitating Alexander's morganatic household.

Although Prince Alexander retained his own dynastic rights and appanage, his morganatic wife lived a quiet life. Their family lived primarily at Heiligenberg Castle, in southern Hesse. In 1858 Grand Duke Louis III raised his sister-in-law from "Countess" to "Princess" (Prinzessin) von Battenberg, her children sharing in the princely title, and accorded them the style of Serene Highness (Durchlaucht).

Alexander of Hesse and Julia of Battenberg had five children. The children were:

Princess Marie of Battenberg (1852-1923).

Prince Louis of Battenberg (1854-1921).

Prince Alexander of Battenberg (1857–1893).

Prince Henry of Battenberg (1858-1896).

Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg (1861-1924)."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 58
Photographer: Левицкий С.Л.
Date: 1860-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich.

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Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 59
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the niece of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Princess Marie of Battenberg in a wig.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141472&postcount=4






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 60
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1861-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke and heir Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich in military uniform.

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Old January 8th, 2017 #7
Alex Him
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Due to an error on the site of the Archive, "сн. 61" is duplicate of "сн. 60".



Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 62
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1860-1867
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Queen Olga of Württemberg with a book at the table.

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Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 63
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1861-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke and heir Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich in military uniform with a sword.

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Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 64
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1863-1865
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I. Maria Maksimilianovna in marriage Duchess of Baden, née Duchess of Leuchtenberg.


"Princess Maria Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg, also known as Princess Maria Romanovskya, Maria, Princess Romanovskaja, or Marie Maximiliane (1841-1914) was the eldest daughter of Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg and his wife Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia. She married Prince Wilhelm of Baden. The couple's son, Prince Maximilian of Baden, was Germany's last Imperial chancellor.

Maria's father Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg had traveled to St. Petersburg, eventually winning the hand of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, Nicholas I's eldest daughter. Maximilian was subsequently bestowed with the style Imperial Highness and given the title Prince Romanowsky.

As the daughter of a Russian grand duchess, Maria ("Marusya") and her siblings (Nicholas, Eugen, Eugenia, Sergei, and George) were always treated as grand dukes and duchesses, bearing the styles Imperial Highness. After their father's death in 1852, their mother morganatically remarried to Count Grigori Stroganov two years later. As this union was kept secret from her father Emperor Nicholas I (and her brother Emperor Alexander II could not permit the union, preferring instead to feign ignorance), Grand Duchess Maria was forced into exile abroad. Alexander felt sympathy for his sister however, and paid special attention to her children from her first marriage, who lived in St. Petersburg without their mother.

On 11 February 1863 in the Grand Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Maria married Prince Wilhelm of Baden. He was a younger son of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden and his wife Princess Sophie of Sweden.

They had two children:

Princess Marie of Baden (1865-1939); married Friedrich II, Duke of Anhalt.

Prince Maximilian of Baden (1867-1929); married Princess ''Marie Louise'' of Hanover (1879-1948); had issue. Maximilian became the heir apparent to the Grand Duchy of Baden on 28 September 1907.

After her marriage, Maria spent most of her time in Germany, paying only rare visits to Russia. As a new wife, Maria began her duties soon after marrying, for instance representing her husband's relative Grand Duchess Louise of Baden at the christening of the Prince of Leiningen's daughter.

During the Franco-Prussian War, Wilhelm served with the Prussian army under the command of Wilhelm I. On 29 July, Maria and her husband stayed with Crown Prince Frederick, and according to the prince's memoirs, "distracted us for the moment from the anxieties of the present".

Prince Wilhelm died on 27 April 1897. After his death, Maria founded a new organization, called the German Anti-Immorality Association. Its purpose was to suppress "vice among the upper classes". Maria, with the help of Grand Duchess Eleonore of Hesse and Queen Charlotte of Württemberg, set aside a fund meant to produce pamphlets persuading both female and male royal figures that their prominent roles in society meant they should be examples of moral purity. They also sent a missive to their family and friends asking them to "abstain from immortality" for one year.

Princess Maria remained widowed until her own death, on 16 February 1914 in St. Petersburg."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 65
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1863-1865
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I. Maria Maksimilianovna in marriage Duchess of Baden, née Duchess of Leuchtenberg.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 66
Photographer: Левицкий С.Л.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke and heir Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich in military uniform.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 67
Photographer: Старк.
Date: 1860-1861
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the grandson of Emperor Nicholas I. Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich.

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Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 68
Photographer: Шпаковский А.И.
Date: 1859-1861
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Younger.


"Grand Duke Nikolay Nikolayevich the Younger of Russia (1856-1929) - (Russian: Николай Николаевич Романов) was a Russian general in World War I. A grandson of Nicholas I of Russia, he was commander in chief of the Russian armies on the main front in the first year of the war, and was later a successful commander-in-chief in the Caucasus.

Nicholas, named after his paternal grandfather the emperor, was born as the eldest son to Grand Duke Nicholas Nicolaevich of Russia (1831–1891) and Alexandra Petrovna of Oldenburg (1838–1900) on 18 November 1856. His father was the sixth child and third son born to Nicholas I of Russia and his Empress consort Alexandra Fedorovna of Prussia (1798–1860). Alexandra Fedorovna was a daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Grand Duke Nicholas was educated at the school of military engineers and received his commission in 1873. During the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878, he was on the staff of his father who was commander in chief. He distinguished himself on two occasions in this war. He worked his way up through all the ranks until he was appointed commander of the Guard Hussar Regiment in 1884.

He had a reputation as a tough commander, yet one respected by his troops. His experience was more as a trainer of soldiers than a leader in battle. Nicholas was a very religious man, praying in the morning and at night as well as before and after meals. He was happiest in the country, hunting or caring for his estates.

By 1895, he was inspector-general of the cavalry, a post he held for 10 years. His tenure has been judged a success with reforms in training, cavalry schools, cavalry reserves and the remount services. He was not given an active command during the Russo-Japanese War, perhaps because the Tsar did not wish to hazard the prestige of the Romanovs and because he wanted a loyal general in command at home in case of domestic disturbances. Thus, Nicholas did not have the opportunity to gain experience in battlefield command.

Grand Duke Nicholas played a crucial role during the Revolution of 1905. With anarchy spreading and the future of the dynasty at stake, the Tsar had a choice of instituting the reforms suggested by Count Sergei Witte or imposing a military dictatorship. The only man with the prestige to keep the allegiance of the army in such a coup was the Grand Duke. The Tsar asked him to assume the role of a military dictator. In an emotional scene at the palace, Nicholas refused, drew his pistol and threatened to shoot himself on the spot if the Tsar did not endorse Witte's plan. This act was decisive in forcing Nicholas II to agree to the reforms.

From 1905 to the outbreak of World War I, he was commander-in-chief of the St. Petersburg Military District. He had the reputation there of appointing men of humble origins to positions of authority. The lessons of the Russo-Japanese War were drilled into his men.

On 29 April 1907, Nicholas married Princess Anastasia of Montenegro (1869–1935), the daughter of King Nicholas I, and sister of Princess Milica, who had married Nicholas's brother, Grand Duke Peter. They had no children. She had previously been married to George Maximilianovich, 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg, by whom she had two children, until their divorce in 1906. Since the Montenegrins were a fiercely Slavic, anti-Turkish people from the Balkans, Anastasia reinforced the Pan-Slavic tendencies of Nicholas.

Nicholas was a hunter. Ownership of borzoi hounds was restricted to members of the highest nobility, and Nicholas's packs were well-known. As the Russian dogs perished in the Revolution of 1917–1918, the borzoi of today are descended from gifts he made to European friends before World War I. In his lifetime, Nicholas and his dogs caught hundreds of wolves. A pair of borzoi were used, which caught the wolf, one on each side, while Nicholas dismounted and cut the wolf's throat with a knife. Hunting was his major recreation, and he traveled in his private train across Russia with his horses and dogs, hunting while on his rounds of inspection.

The Grand Duke had no part in the planning and preparations for World War I, that being the responsibility of General Vladimir Sukhomlinov and the general staff. On the eve of the outbreak of World War I, his first cousin once removed, the Emperor Nicholas II of Russia, yielded to the entreaties of his ministers and appointed Grand Duke Nicholas to the supreme command. He was 57 years old and had never commanded armies in the field before, although he had spent almost all of his life on active service. His appointment was popular in the army. He was given responsibility for the largest army ever put into the field up to that date.

Grand Duke Nicholas was responsible for all Russian forces fighting against Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey. He decided that their major effort must be in Poland, which thrust toward Germany like a salient, flanked by German East Prussia in the north, and Austro-Hungarian Galicia in the south. He planned to attend first to the flanks and when they were secure to invade German Silesia. In the north poor coordination of the two invading armies resulted in the disaster of Tannenberg. In the south they conquered much of Galicia. Their subsequent move toward Silesia was blocked by the Battle of the Vistula River and Battle of Łódź. The Grand Duke picked and chose from the various plans offered by his generals. The Grand Duke begged for the artillery and ammunition they desperately lacked, so he could not embark on a coherent plan for victory. On a personal level he was well liked by both officers and men. The Germans thought him a formidable opponent.

On the other hand, some regard Nicholas as more a bureaucrat than a military leader, lacking the broad strategic sense and the ruthless drive to command all the Russian armies. His headquarters had a curiously calm atmosphere, despite the many defeats and the millions of casualties. On 22 March 1915 he reсeived the Order of St. George 2nd degree for the successful Siege of Przemyśl.

After the great retreat of the Russian army, the Tsar replaced the Grand Duke as commander of the Russian armed forces on 21 August 1915.

Upon his dismissal, the Grand Duke was immediately appointed commander-in-chief and viceroy in the Caucasus. While the Grand Duke was officially in command, General Yudenich was the driving figure in the Russian Caucasus army, so the Grand Duke focused on the civil administration. Their opponent was the Ottoman Empire. While the Grand Duke was in command, the Russian army sent an expeditionary force through to Persia (now Iran) to link up with British troops. Also in 1916, the Russian army captured the Fortress of Erzerum, the port of Trebizond (now Trabzon) and the town of Erzincan. The Turks responded with an offensive of their own. Fighting around Lake Van swung back and forth, but ultimately proved inconclusive.

The February Revolution found Nicholas in the Caucasus. He was appointed by the Emperor, in his last official act, as the supreme commander in chief, and was wildly received as he journeyed to headquarters in Mogilev; however, within 24 hours of his arrival, the new premier, Prince Georgy Lvov, cancelled his appointment. Nicholas spent the next two years in the Crimean Peninsula, sometimes under house arrest, taking little part in politics. There appears to have been some sentiment to have him head the White Russian forces active in southern Russia at the time, but the leaders in charge, especially General Anton Denikin, were afraid that a strong monarchist figurehead would alienate the more left leaning constituents of the movement. He and his wife escaped just ahead of the Red Army in April 1919, aboard the British Battleship HMS Marlborough.

After a stay in Genoa as a guest of his brother-in-law, Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy, Nicholas and his wife took up residence in a small castle at Choigny, 20 miles outside of Paris. He was under the protection of the French secret police as well as by a small number of faithful Cossack retainers. He became the center of an anti-Soviet monarchist resistance group, and headed the Russian All Military Union alongside general Pyotr Wrangel.

Grand Duke Nicholas died on 5 January 1929 of natural causes on the French Riviera, where he had gone to escape the rigors of winter."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 69
Photographer: Шпаковский А.И.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the wife of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich the Elder. Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna.

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Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 70
Photographer: Старк.
Date: 1859-1860
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. Grand Duke Konstantin.


"Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia (1858-1915) - (Russian: Константи́н Константи́нович) was a grandson of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, and a poet and playwright of some renown. He wrote under the pen name "K.R.", initials of his given name and family name, Konstantin Romanov.

The fourth child of the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia and his wife Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg, KR was born in the Constantine Palace, Saint Petersburg. His eldest sister Grand Duchess Olga married King George I of the Hellenes in 1867.

From his early childhood KR was more interested in letters, art, and music than in the military upbringing required for Romanov boys. Nevertheless, the Grand Duke was sent to serve in the Imperial Russian Navy. KR was unsatisfied, and left the navy to join the elite Izmailovsky Regiment of the Imperial Guard, where he served with distinction.

KR was both a patron of Russian art and an artist in his own right. A talented pianist, the Grand Duke was Chairman of the Russian Musical Society, and counted Tchaikovsky among his closest friends. But KR was first and foremost a man of letters. He founded several Russian literary societies. He translated foreign works (including Schiller and Goethe) into Russian, and was particularly proud of his Russian translation of Hamlet. An accomplished poet and playwright, KR also took great interest in the direction of his plays. The Grand Duke actually appeared in his last play, "King of Judea," playing the role of Joseph of Arimathea.

The Grand Duke's artistic slavophilism and devotion to duty endeared him to both Alexander III and Nicholas II. The former appointed KR as President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and later as Chief of All Military Colleges. He was also made an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1902, with reference to his chairmanship of a Swedish-Russian surveying commission.

KR and his wife were among the relatively few Romanovs on intimate terms with Nicholas II and the Empress Alexandra, who found KR's devotion to his family a welcome respite from the playboy lifestyle of many of the other Grand Dukes.

He was also a close friend of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth and wrote a poem about her expressing his admiration when she first came to Russia to be married. He was also one of the few members of the Imperial Family to go to Moscow to attend the funeral of Elizabeth's husband, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, who was killed by a terrorist's bomb.

As exemplary and dedicated (and even conservative) as KR's public life was, his private turmoil was intense. Had it not been for the publication of KR's strikingly candid diaries long after his death, the world would have never known that this most prolific of Grand Dukes, the father of nine children, was bisexual.

KR married in 1884 in St Petersburg Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg, his second cousin. Upon her marriage, Elisabeth became the Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavrikievna. She was known within the family as "Mavra." KR was, by all accounts, devoted to his wife and children, and a loving father. He and his family made their home at Pavlovsk, a suburban palace of St. Petersburg, and a favorite residence of KR's great-grandfather, the Emperor Paul I.

The couple would have a total of nine children:

Prince John (1886–1918).

Prince Gabriel (1887–1955).

Princess Tatiana (1890–1979).

Prince Konstantin (1891–1918).

Prince Oleg (1892–1914).

Prince Igor (1894–1918).

Prince Georgy (1903–1938).

Princess Natalia (died at exactly two months, 1905).

Princess Vera (1906–2001).

Prince John married Princess Helen of Serbia (daughter of King Peter of Serbia) in 1911. Princess Tatiana married Prince Konstantin Bagration-Muhransky, a Georgian prince, that same year.

KR's children were the first to fall under the new Family Law promulgated by Emperor Alexander III. It stated that henceforth, only the children and male-line grandchildren of a Tsar would be styled Grand Duke or Grand Duchess with the style of Imperial Highness - great-grandchildren and their descendants would be styled either "Prince of Russia" or "Princess of Russia" with the style of Highness. The revised Family Law was intended to cut down on the number of persons entitled to salaries from the Imperial treasury.

The outbreak of World War I found KR and his wife in Germany, where they were taking the cure in Wildungen. Caught in enemy territory, the couple attempted a quick return to Russia. Their plans were disrupted by German authorities, who claimed the Grand Duke and his wife were political prisoners. Grand Duchess Elizaveta sent a message to the German Imperial couple asking for their help. Eventually KR and his entourage were allowed to depart Germany and transported to the first Russian station. The weakened KR had to proceed by foot across the front lines. By the time K.R. and Elizaveta arrived in St. Petersburg, now renamed Petrograd, the Grand Duke was in a dismal state of health.

The first year of the war took a cruel toll on his immediate family. Five of his six sons served in the Russian Army, and in October 1914, his fourth and most talented son, Prince Oleg, was mortally wounded fighting against the Germans. The following March, his son-in-law Prince Bagration-Muhransky was killed on the Caucasus front. KR's health and spirit were broken by these blows, and he died on 15 June 1915."

Text by Wikipedia.


 
Old January 8th, 2017 #8
Alex Him
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 71
Photographer: Старк.
Date: 1860-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Brothers the Dukes of Leuchtenberg, princes Romanovsky, dressed as monks.
Sergey Maksimilianovich (left)
and George Maksimilianovich (right) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2



"Duke Sergey Maximilianovich of Leuchtenberg (1849–1877).

Sergey Maximilianovich was the sixth child and third son in the family of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna and Duke Maximilian of Leuchtenberg.

He was registered in the life guard Preobrazhensky regiment at the his birth.

He served in the life guards Cavalry regiment. In the second half of the 1860s was one of the candidates for the Greek throne. After the refusal of the Princess Sergei Maximilianovich achieved sending on front.

At the beginning of the Russo-Turkish war Prince Romanovsky went to the front and participated in the battles for the liberation of Bulgaria. For the capture of Trnovo in 1877, promoted to major-General.

12 Oct 1877, during the investigation in Rumunska detachment near the town of Jovan-Ciftlik (the village of Ivanovo in Bulgaria), Sergey Maximilianovich was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head.

He was not married and did not leave offspring."

The text was translated from Russian Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 72
Photographer: Шпаковский А.И.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich the Elder with his wife and son - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141472&postcount=4
Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141472&postcount=4
Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Younger - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142114&postcount=7







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 73
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1861-1865
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. Grand Duchess Alexandra losifovna.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141444&postcount=3






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 74
Photographer: Левицкий С.Л.
Date: 1860-1864
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich in military uniform.



"Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia (1827-1892) - (Russian: Константи́н Никола́евич Рома́нов) was the second son of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia.

During the reign of his brother Alexander II, Konstantin was an admiral of the Russian fleet and reformed the Russian Navy. He was also an instrumental figure in the emancipation of the serfs. He was less fortunate as viceroy of Poland and had to be recalled to Russia where he was attacked for his liberalism.

After the assassination of his brother, Alexander II, Konstantin fell from favour. The new tsar, Alexander III, his nephew, opposed Konstantin's liberal ideas and gradually stripped him of all his governmental positions. His retirement was marked with personal turmoil and family setbacks. After suffering a stroke, he spent his last years as an invalid.

Konstantin was born in St. Petersburg, the second son and fifth child of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna. His parents were happy to have a second son after nine years of having only daughters.

Nicholas I intended that Konstantin would eventually become Admiral General of the Russian Fleet and with this in mind chose Fyodor Litke as tutor for his son. Litke, who had circumnavigated the globe at the age of twenty, was a brash and bold man, unafraid of controversy or offense, and he passed these qualities along to his student. He trained the boy in naval sciences and filled his head with tales of the sea, gaining the friendship of his pupil for life. Languages were an important part of Konstantin's education; he learned Russian, English, German and French. As he grew older, his lessons increased in length and complexity to encompass mathematics, science, statistics, and government administration. There were also early military lessons and drills. Konstantin also enjoyed music, learning to play the piano and cello. He loved drawing and had great appreciation for the arts. He also became an enthusiastic reader and his fascination with Homer led him to translate the Odyssey from German.

In 1835, Konstantin accompanied his parents to Germany and from age eight onwards was taught to keep a diary. When he was just eight years old, he was given a small yacht, which he would sail between Petergof and Kronstadt, spending his days at sea and returning home at night. In 1836, accompanied by Litke, he embarked on a lengthy sailing expedition and finally he was given command of the Russian frigate Hercules under Litke's direction. During his training Konstantin was treated like all other naval cadets, even to the point of his title of Grand Duke being dispensed with. He was placed on watch duty at midnight as well as in rain and storms. At the age of sixteen, Konstantin was promoted to the rank of captain and served as commander of the frigate Ulyses, visiting various ports along the Gulf of Finland and embarking on a southern tour that included the Mediterranean.

The encouragement and guidance of his aunt, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, was another important influence in Konstantin's education. Elena took him under her wing, broadening his taste in literature and music and introducing him to the latest scientific ideas. She was well known for her liberal bent and had a big influence in her nephew's political views. Under Litke's influence, Konstantin began his forays into official life, taking on patronage of the new Imperial Russian Geographical Society. The Geographical Society was subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was home to a conspicuous number of liberal bureaucrats including Nikolay Milyutin.

The male members of the Romanov family were famous for their good looks and their height, but Konstantin was rather short and ugly. He had a loud voice, imposing personality and brusque manners. With a quick temper, Konstantin was a difficult man and often unpleasant.

In 1846 Konstantin's sister, Grand Duchess Olga, married Crown Prince Charles of Württemberg. He went with her to Stuttgart then he continued to Altenburg to be introduced to Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg. His parents had arranged the meeting thinking that Alexandra might make a good match for Konstantin. Alexandra was strikingly beautiful, tall and slim and Konstantin was immediately eager to marry her.

Konstantin was nineteen and Alexandra three years younger; they were engaged but had to wait two more years to get married. On 12 October 1847, she arrived in Russia. In February she converted to Russian Orthodoxy, taking the name of Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna. They were married six months later on 11 September 1848 in the Winter Palace. Both were musical: he played the cello and she the piano. They seem to have been a good match. For the first years of their marriage, they were a devoted couple, starting their married life happily. In the following years, they had six children.

In 1849, as a young officer, Konstantin took part in a campaign assisting the Austrians to put down an uprising in Hungary. It was his first real taste of military conflict. He took part in three dangerous clashes, coming under enemy fire. For his bravery he received the St. George's Cross. During this campaign, he wrote to his father who maintained they were the best reports he received. A year later, Konstantin was appointed a member of the State Council.

In 1853, Konstantin's father Tsar Nicholas I made him General-Admiral of the Imperial Navy and head of the Department of the Imperial navy. In this position, he was in charge of reforming a navy that had largely remained unchanged since the time of Peter the Great. It fell upon Konstantin to not only preside over an archaic fleet but also to see it through the disaster of the Crimean War. In the midst of the conflict, his father died and Konstantin advised his brother to search for peace in a war already lost. In early 1856, he accompanied his brother Alexander II to the Crimea to view first-hand the devastation of the War. These early military experiences gave Konstantin a loathing of army life and the futility of war. From then on, he was a man of peace, despite his keen interest in the navy, and in political terms a progressive. There was a close working relationship between the two brothers, which was responsible for many reforms. Konstantin was also sent on a diplomatic mission to Napoleon III.

Plans for naval reform took Konstantin's attention at the start of his brother's reign. He visited England and France in 1857 to study modern navies. Knowing Russia was an inferior military power, Konstantin made concerted efforts to modernize the Russian fleet. Under his orders, old wooden frigates equipped with cannon were replaced with new iron and steel vessels outfitted with modern French and German artillery. Beginning in 1857, he supervised a comprehensive building program that completely transformed the Imperial Navy and made it into a world superpower. Under his plans, the Baltic fleet received eighteen battleships, twelve frigates, and one hundred cannon boats, while the Pacific Fleet was reinforced with twelve new armored vessels, nine transport ships, and four frigates. Only the Black Sea Fleet was largely neglected due to the restriction forced upon Russia after the Crimean War. Nevertheless, he added nineteen new vessels, the maximum allowed to the Empire.

Konstantin's spirit of reform had to confront an overstaffed bureaucracy which obstructed his every move. "I want shipwrights and sailors, no crowds of clerks", he said. He was energetic and determined. As he pushed forward his plans for the navy, he was involved in the reform of the naval and military colleges, as well as a thorough investigation of corruption in the army and the revision of the country's censorship laws. Abrupt, quick-tempered, and utterly contemptuous of anyone who opposed him, he could forge through problems that daunted his more sensitive elder brother.

As is usual with reformers, Konstantin was both praised and despised. One critic called him "the most intelligent and able of Alexander II's brothers", but declared that he was "too self-centered to take any real interest in the welfare of others". However, Konstantin's work had a lasting influence on the Russian Imperial Navy. Under his tenure, it was rebuilt and strengthened, with new armored, steam powered vessels replacing the old wooden frigates of his father's reign. He left Russia with the world's third largest sea power, a naval force recognized for its strength and feared for its disciplined approach.

In 1861, the Russian sector of Poland, partitioned since the previous century, was disturbed and under martial law. Alexander II needed a skillful governor for Poland and decided to appoint Constantin for the job. In early 1862, Konstantin arrived in Warsaw as the new Namiestnik of the Kingdom of Poland. On 4 July 1862, his second day as Governor-General, a tailor's apprentice and Polish nationalist named Jaroszyński saw him leaving a Warsaw theater, and shot him; the bullet grazed the Grand Duke in the shoulder, but left him otherwise unhurt.

Although the Tsar sent him a telegram ordering him to return to St. Petersburg at once, Konstantin preferred to stay, and his wife Grand Duchess Alexandra supported him. His assailant was tried and hanged and Konstantin publicly appealed to the citizens of Warsaw to end the violence. After this attack, he was always escorted by a contingent of Cossacks wherever he went.

In July 1862, Konstantin's wife gave birth to the couple's sixth and last child in Warsaw. As a compliment to the Poles, they decided to give their son a Polish name, Vacslav, but the Russians insisted that the true Russified form, Vyacheslav, should be used, a compromise which pleased neither nation. Alexander II's second son, Grand Duke Alexander, was sent to Warsaw to stand as a godfather to the child. A large, clumsy youth of seventeen, the future Alexander III spilt a decanter of red wine at the dinner table. Konstantin, with his abrupt manners, scolded his clumsy nephew, remarking "See what a pig they have sent us from St. Petersburg". The future Alexander III would never forget this insult and for the rest of his life he bore a grudge against his uncle.

Konstantin sympathized with the Poles and, ignoring the advice of his brother's generals, he ended martial law and embarked on a program of liberalization. Polish was reinstated as the official language, universities were opened and Konstantin appointed Poles to administrative positions, gathering a distinguished court of Poles and Russians around him. Konstantin did all he could to appease the Poles, but his well-meant reforms did not go far enough for the Polish nationalists who wanted nothing short of independence, by force if necessary.

Acting on the advice of the Emperor, Konstantin ordered a forcible conscription of certain young Poles. The move, announced on New Year's Day 1863, was designed not to reinforce the rolls of the Army, but to round up a number of dangerous young nationalist radicals. The measure backfired, marking the outbreak of the so-called January Uprising. National resistance turned to general rebellion that spread into the nine formerly Polish provinces known as Russia's western region, where powerful landlords and Catholic clergy were ready to give vent to their hatred of Russian domination.

Intense fighting, protest, strikes, and even political assassinations, all threatened to undermine the advances that Konstantin had pushed so strenuously. He then had to declare martial law and severely repressed the uprising. Although adept when it came to naval matters, Konstantin had little taste for political fights, and none for ruthlessly crushing revolts. In August 1863, he asked the emperor to relieve him of the post of Viceroy, and Alexander II, aware of how tormented his brother had become by the situation in Warsaw, accepted his resignation. The insurrection was finally quelled in May 1864, when the more conservative Count Frederik Vilhelm Rembert von Berg was sent to replace Konstantin as viceroy.

Back in St. Petersburg, Konstantin devoted all his attention to the navy. He spent seven years reforming the Naval Department, altering laws and reorganizing training of recruits, and successfully managed to transform the previous, often-grim conditions on board most vessels to meet modern standards and expectations. Corporal punishment was abolished in 1863 and the traditional system of naval recruitment was drastically altered.

Alexander II, who appreciated his brother's work, made Konstantin Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, where he presided over long sessions and recommended revolutionary measures to bring the laws of the Russian Empire in line with the other leading countries. In recognition of his services, Alexander II appointed him Chairman of the Council of Ministers in 1865. In all Konstantin was President of the Council of State for sixteen years. Though lacking in tact, he always had the Tsar's ear and defended the council's view. This also made him many enemies.

Konstantin presided over many Russian institutions; he was Chairman of the Russian Geographic Committee and president of several educational institutions, including the Russian Musical Society. A promoter of Slavic causes, he saw Russia's future in the East, nevertheless perceiving Russia's continued hold on Alaska as a burden to the Empire. He was instrumental in persuading his brother to sell it to the United States in 1867.

After twenty years of marriage he had drifted away from his wife, their divergent political views and interests slowly tearing away the foundations of their marriage. Alexandra Iosifovna was as conservative as her husband was liberal, self-absorbed with her own beauty and her mysticism. Soon, Konstantin turned elsewhere for comfort.

At the end of the 1860s, Konstantin embarked on an affair, having an illegitimate daughter, Marie Condousso. In the 1880s, Marie was sent to Greece, later serving as lady in waiting to her half sister, Queen Olga. Marie eventually married a Greek banker. Soon after the birth of Marie, Konstantin began a new liaison. Around 1868, Konstantin began to pursue a young dancer from the St. Petersburg Conservatoire. Anna Vasilyevna Kuznetsova was a talented ballerina and a mime. She was the illegitimate daughter of ballerina Tatyana Markyanovna Kuznetsova and actor Vasily Andreyevich Karatygin. Anna was twenty years younger than Konstantin and initially she resisted his advances, but in 1873 she gave birth to their first child. Four more would follow.

In 1874, scandal erupted when it was discovered that Konstantin's eldest son, Grand Duke Nikolay Konstantinovich, who had lived a dissipated life and had revolutionary ideas, had stolen three valuable diamonds from an icon in the bedroom of Alexandra Iosifovna in complicity with his mistress, an American courtesan. His twenty-four-year-old son was found guilty, declared insane, and banished for life to Central Asia. Konstantin suffered another bitter blow when in 1879, his youngest legitimate son, Vyacheslav, died unexpectedly from a brain hemorrhage.

Since 1865, Konstantin had been pushing for a constitution in Russia. As President of the Council of State, he helped to prepare the proposal for a limited elective assembly which Alexander II was due to approve on the very day he was assassinated. For Konstantin and his fellow reformers, hopes ended within months of the new Emperor's ascension to the throne. Alexander III destroyed the document and as he never had liked his uncle Konstantin, whom he regarded a 'liberal powerhouse', requested his uncle's resignation. Konstantin refused to resign, saying that his father had directed me to serve both my deceased brother, and his successors. In my capacity as chairman of the State Council, and as Admiral-General of the Imperial navy, I plan to serve Your Majesty with just as much faith and energy. By doing so, I will fulfill my beloved father's last wishes". This was not the answer Alexander III had anticipated and the second time he presented his uncle not with a suggestion but with an order. After sixteen years as chairman of the Council of ministers, Konstantin was stripped of the office and was replaced by his brother, the more pliable Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich; Alexander III also took away Konstantin's position as head of the Naval Department, handing it over to his own brother, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich. Konstantin was no longer welcome at court.

The dismissal fell heavily on the still vibrant, energetic Konstantin, leaving him adrift without any proper role. He was an enthusiastic chess player and his chess problems were published in international journals, but that was not a substitute for the position he once had at the center of affairs. He spent increasingly more time with his second family, further humiliating his legitimate wife. With nothing left to do, Konstantin retired to Pavlovsk, spending most of his time abroad or on his Crimean estate of Oreanda. In August 1881 a fire completely destroyed Oreanda. The palace was never rebuilt and Konstantin lived from then on in a wooden pavilion. Tragedy struck him again while living there. In April 1885, his two surviving illegitimate sons died days apart of scarlet fever. Of the five children Constantin had had with Kousnetzova, only the two daughters, Marina and Anna, thrived; Konstantin showered them with affection.

In 1886, Konstantin was furious when Alexander III restricted the title of Grand Duke to only children and grandchildren of Emperors, as this meant that Konstantin's grandchildren would merely be princes, but there was little he could do.

At the beginning of August 1889, Konstantin suffered a severe stroke that left his legs paralyzed and him unable to speak. The loss of his health struck the once vibrant Konstantin particularly hard. As an invalid, he depended from then on on the care of adjutants while confined in a bath chair. Konstantin was cared for by his wife, who gained a sort of revenge for his unfaithfulness and past humiliations. Alexandra Iosifovna did not expel Anna Kuznetsova and her children from the nearby house that Konstantin had provided for them, but she made sure that Konstantin's attendants never took him there.

Konstantin tried in vain to convince his attendants to take him to see his second family, but they were under strict orders not to do so and pretended not to understand the invalid's wishes. One day, brought home by his attendants, he grabbed his wife's hair and beat her with a stick before anyone could intervene.

Konstantin died at Pavlovsk on 25 January 1892. Before he died his wife invited his mistress and their two daughters to see him for a last time.

Konstantin and his wife Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna had six children:

Nicholas Konstantinovich (1850–1918).

Olga Konstantinovna, Queen of the Hellenes (1851–1926).

Vera Konstantinovna (1854–1912).

Konstantin Konstantinovich (1858–1915).

Grand Duke Dimitri Konstantinovich of Russia (1860–1919).

Vyacheslav Konstantinovich (1862–1879); died of brain hemorrhage."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 75
Photographer: Левицкий С.Л.
Date: 1860
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the grandson of Emperor Nicholas I. Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 76
Photographer: Левицкий С.Л.
Date: 1860
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich with his wife and son. Grand Duchess Alexandra losifovna. Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 77
Photographer: Левицкий С.Л.
Date: 1860
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duchess Alexandra losifovna with her son. Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 78
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1860-1861
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the children of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich.
Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna (left).
Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich (center).
Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna (right).



"Grand Duchess Vera Constantinovna of Russia (1854–1912) was a daughter of Grand Duke Konstantine Nicholaievich of Russia. She was a granddaughter of Tsar Nicholas I and first cousin of Tsar Alexander III of Russia.

She had a difficult childhood marked by illness and tantrums. In 1863, while his father was Viceroy of Poland, she was given away to be raised by her childless uncle and aunt, King Karl and Queen Olga of Württemberg. Vera's condition improved in their home and she outgrew her disruptive behavior. In 1871 she was legally adopted by Karl and Olga, who arranged her marriage in 1874 to Duke Eugen of Württemberg (1846–1877), a member of the Silesian ducal branch of the family. Her husband died suddenly three years later. Vera, only twenty-three years old, did not remarry, dedicating herself to her twin daughters. At the death of King Karl in 1891, Vera inherited a considerable fortune and she turned her home into a cultural gathering place. She was a popular figure in Württemberg, notable for her charitable work.

Grand Duchess Vera was known in royal circles as an eccentric both in appearance and behavior. Although she kept in touch with her Romanov relatives, visiting Russia many times, she identified more closely with her adopted country. In 1909 she abandoned Orthodox Christianity and converted to Lutheranism. She died two years later after a stroke.

Grand Duchess Vera Constantinovna of Russia was born in St. Petersburg on 16 February 1854, the fourth child and second daughter of the six children of Grand Duke Constantine Nicholaievich of Russia and his wife Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna (born Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg).

As a young woman, she was introspective, shy, but clever with an intellectual bent. She disliked ceremony. Her physical appearance, like her personality, was rather peculiar. She had thick, curly blonde hair, but was short, stumpy and extremely plain.

King Karl and Queen Olga legally adopted Grand Duchess Vera in 1871. They arranged her marriage to a member of the Silesian branch of their family, Duke Eugen of Württemberg (1846–1877), as in this way she would not have to leave the country after her marriage. The couple were distant cousin as Vera was a great-great granddaughter of Friedrich II Eugen, Duke of Württemberg twice over; on her father's side and on her mother's.

However, the Grand Duchess' married life was to be short-lived. Her husband, an officer in the Württemberg army, took charge of a command in Düsseldorf, where he died unexpectedly on 27 January 1877. The cause of death was officially given as, alternately, a fall from a horse, and a respiratory illness. However, many believed the Duke, a well-known bon vivant, had actually been killed in a duel, which was hushed up.

Bright and talkative, Grand Duchess Vera was popular in Württemberg, where she dedicated herself to charitable work. Refuges for fallen women, called "Vera's Homes"; the Benevolent Institution; the Olga Clinic in Stuttgart; the Nicholas nursing station for the blind, the Mariaberg Institute near Reutlingen, the dragoon regiment of her late husband, and a Russian regiment, were among the more than thirty institutions and organizations under her patronage. She was also involved in the construction of the Orthodox Church of St Nicholas in Stuttgart.

Grand Duchess Vera and her husband Duke Eugene of Württemberg had three children:

Charles-Eugen of Württemberg (8 April 1875 – 11 November 1875).

Elsa of Württemberg (1876–1936) m. 1897 Albrecht of Schaumburg-Lippe (1869–1942).

Olga of Württemberg (1876–1932) m. 1898 Maximilian of Schaumburg-Lippe (1871–1904)."



"Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia, later Queen Olga of the Hellenes (1851–1926), was the wife of King George I of Greece and, briefly in 1920, regent of Greece.

A member of the Romanov dynasty, she was the daughter of Grand Duke Constantine Nikolaievich and his wife, Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg. She spent her childhood in Saint Petersburg, Poland and the Crimea, and married King George I of Greece in 1867 at the age of sixteen. At first, she felt ill at ease in the Kingdom of Greece, but she quickly became involved in social and charitable work. She founded hospitals and help centers, but her attempt to promote a new, more accessible, Greek translation of the Gospels sparked riots by religious conservatives.

On the assassination of her husband in 1913, Olga returned to Russia. When the First World War broke out, she set up a military hospital in Pavlovsk Palace, which belonged to her brother. She was trapped in the palace after the Russian Revolution of 1917, until the Danish embassy intervened, allowing her to escape to Switzerland. Olga could not return to Greece as her son, King Constantine I, had been deposed.

In October 1920, she returned to Athens on the fatal illness of her grandson, King Alexander. After his death, she was appointed regent until the restoration of Constantine I the following month. After the defeat of the Greeks in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–22 the Greek royal family were again exiled and Olga spent the last years of her life in the United Kingdom, France and Italy.

She was the second child and elder daughter of Grand Duke Constantine Nikolaievich and his wife, Grand Duchess Alexandra, a former princess of Saxe-Altenburg.

Olga was particularly close to her older brother, Nicholas, and was one of the few members of the imperial family to keep in touch with him after he was banished to Tashkent.

As a child, Olga was described as a simple and chubby little girl with a broad face and big blue eyes. Unlike her younger sister, Vera, she had a calm temperament, but she was also extremely shy. For example, when interrogated by her tutors during lessons, she burst into tears and ran from the classroom.

The young King George I of Greece visited Russia in 1863 to thank Olga's uncle Tsar Alexander II for his support during George's election to the throne of Greece. Whilst there, George met the then twelve-year-old Olga for the first time.

Olga and George married at the chapel of the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg on 27 October 1867. After five days of festivities, they spent a brief honeymoon at Ropsha, south-west of Saint Petersburg. Over the following twenty years, they had eight children:

Konstantine (1868–1923), who was born ten months after the marriage of his parents; he married Princess Sophia of Prussia and succeeded his father as king.

George (1869–1957), High Commissioner of Crete from 1898 to 1906, married Princess Marie Bonaparte.

Alexandra (1870–1891), married Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia; their children included Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia, one of the assassins of Grigori Rasputin.

Nicholas (1872–1938), married Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia.

Marie (1876–1940), married firstly Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia and secondly Perikles Ioannidis.

Olga (7 April 1880 – 2 November 1880).

Andrew (1882–1944), father of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Christopher (1888–1940), father of Prince Michael of Greece."

Texts by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 79
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1860-1861
Location: Unknown.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexander in military uniform.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 80
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1859-1861
Location: Unknown.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexander in military uniform with a dog.


 
Old January 8th, 2017 #9
Alex Him
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 81
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1862
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke and heir Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich in military uniform.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 82
Photographer: Левицкий С.Л.
Date: 1862
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke and heir Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich in military uniform.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 83
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: [1860]
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich in military uniform.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 84
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: [1860]
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich in military uniform.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 85
Photographer: Старк.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. Grand Duchess Alexandra losifovna.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141444&postcount=3






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 86
Photographer: Старк.
Date: 1861
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. Grand Duchess Alexandra losifovna.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 87
Photographer: Левицкий С.Л.
Date: 1860
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich with his wife - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142158&postcount=8
Grand Duchess Alexandra losifovna.







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 88
Photographer: Старк.
Date: 1860-1861
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the children of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich.
Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna (left) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142158&postcount=8
Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich (2nd from left) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2
Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich (2nd from right) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142114&postcount=7
Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna (right) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142158&postcount=8







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 89
Photographer: Старк.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. Grand Duchess Alexandra losifovna.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 90
Photographer: Старк.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. Grand Duchess Alexandra losifovna.


 
Old January 8th, 2017 #10
Alex Him
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 91
Photographer: Backofen.
Date: 1865-1870
Location: Germany, Darmstadt.
Portrait of the brother of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Prince Alexander of Hesse in hunting costume with a gun in his hands.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141541&postcount=6






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 92
Photographer: Langerer.
Date: 1865-1870
Location: Austria, Vienna.
Portrait of the brother of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Prince Alexander of Hesse.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 93
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1861-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke and heir Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich in military uniform.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 94
Photographer: Старк.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the wife of Prince Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg. Princess Eugenia Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg, Princess Romanovsky in a fur coat and fur hat.


"Princess Eugenia Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg (1845-1925) - (Russian: Евгения Максимилиановна Лейхтенбергская) was a daughter of Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg and his wife Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia. Although she was a member of the French House of Beauharnais, she was born and raised in her mother's native country, Russia.

In 1868, she married her distant cousin, Duke Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg. Princess Eugenia and her husband were particularly noted for their extensive philanthropy throughout Russia.

Both of her parents were interested in artistic and scientific endeavors so Eugenia received a better education than most princesses of her time. She studied music, drawing, dancing and languages. As a girl she enjoyed horse-riding. Hunting with horses and riding became hobbies she enjoyed throughout her life..

On 19 January 1868, Eugenia married Duke Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg, a son of Duke Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg. Alexander's grandfather had married Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna, daughter of Paul I of Russia, and their descendants had been raised in Russia ever since and become completely "Russianized", much like Eugenia's own family. Thus despite his German title, Duke Alexander, like his father before him, had grown up entirely in Russia, serving his military service for the czars. He was always considered a part of the Russian imperial family.

The couple had one son, Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg (1868–1924). Eugenia had a long-standing friendship with Empress Maria Feodorovna, and the two helped arrange the marriage of Eugenia's son to Marie's daughter Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna.

Eugenia was considered by contemporary sources to be the "most cultured and amiable women that could be met with", while Alexander was celebrated as a man with "much intellect and character". As a very popular and educated princess, Eugenia hosted a salon that was the center of literary, philosophical, scientific activity in Russia. By 1907, she and her husband were widely known to devote "all their life and the greater portion of their wealth to philanthropy", according to one source. Their extensive donations helped fund and found technical schools, hospitals, orphanages, as well as other philanthropic institutions all over Russia. She was also instrumental in establishing the Red Cross in Russia. The Oldenburg Institute was one such organization founded by the couple; its purpose was to teach two thousand boys and girls trade and technical education, with more than half of them being lodged at the school at the prince and princess' expense. As she suffered from delicate health, Eugenia did not often venture out, instead preferring to quietly entertain in her house.

By 1914, Alexander was almost an "invalid", traveling with the help of a nurse for his care. Later that year, while driving just outside Wiesenthal in Baden with his valet and nurse, Alexander was in an auto wreck, sustaining very grave injuries. His gentleman-in-waiting and others who were traveling with the duke, either in his car or another driving behind them, were also injured in the crash, as it involved both vehicles. Alexander survived the wreck. Later in the year 1914, Alexander was chosen by Emperor Nicholas to be supreme chief of medical services to the military and naval forces of Imperial Russia.

In exile due to the Russian Revolution, Eugenia died on 4 May 1925 at Biarritz, France. Alexander would die seven years later, on 6 September 1932."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 95
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1860-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 96
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1862-1870
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the eldest daughter of Emperor Nicholas I. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna in marriage Duchess of Leuchtenberg.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 97
Photographer: Sorgato A.N.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Italy, Venice.
Portrait of the nephew of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Prince Louis of Battenberg.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141472&postcount=4






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 98
Photographer: Sorgato A.N.
Date: 1860-1861
Location: Italy, Venice.
Portrait of the nephew of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Prince [Henry] of Battenberg.


"Prince Henry of Battenberg KG PC (1858-1896) - (Henry Maurice; German: Heinrich Moritz) was a morganatic descendant of the Grand Ducal House of Hesse, later becoming a member of the British Royal Family, through his marriage to Princess Beatrice.

Henry was born on 5 October 1858 in Milan, Lombardy–Venetia. His father was Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, the third son and fourth child of Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and Wilhelmina of Baden. His mother was Countess Julia Hauke.

His parents' marriage was morganatic, as Julia was not considered a proper wife for a prince of a reigning dynasty, being only a countess. As such, at the time of his birth, Henry could not bear his father's title or name, and was styled His Illustrious Highness Count Henry (Heinrich) Maurice of Battenberg. When Henry's mother was raised to Princess von Battenberg and given the higher style of Her Serene Highness by Alexander's older brother, Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse, Henry and his siblings shared in their mother's new rank. He became His Serene Highness Prince Henry of Battenberg, although he remained ineligible to inherit the throne of Hesse or to receive a civil list stipend.

Prince Henry received a military education and took up a commission as a lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of the Rhenish Hussars in the Prussian Army. He served in the Prussian Garde du Corps and was also Honorary Colonel of the 1st Infantry Regiment of Bulgaria, where his brother Alexander was Prince.

Because of their close relationship to the Grand Ducal House of Hesse, the Battenbergs came into close contact with various ruling families of Europe, including the British Royal House. Henry's elder brother, Prince Louis of Battenberg, had married Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, his first cousin once-removed and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. In 1884, Prince Henry became engaged to Princess Beatrice, the fifth daughter and the youngest child of Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort. Queen Victoria agreed to the marriage on the condition that the couple should make their home with her. The Queen formally gave her consent to the marriage at a meeting of the Privy Council on 27 January 1885.

On 22 July 1885, the Queen made Prince Henry a Knight of the Garter, and granted him the style Royal Highness to give him equal rank with his wife. This style took effect in the United Kingdom, but not in the German Empire (where the Prince was still considered a Serene Highness).

Beatrice and Henry were married at St Mildred's Church at Whippingham, near Osborne, on 23 July 1885. On the same day, a bill to naturalise Prince Henry a British subject passed the House of Lords. The couple adopted the style, Their Royal Highnesses Prince and Princess Henry of Battenberg.

On 22 August 1885 he was made Honorary Colonel of the 5th (Isle of Wight, Princess Beatrice's) Volunteer Battalion, the Hampshire Regiment, In early 1886 it was announced in The Times that he would be made a Captain in the 1st Life Guards, but the Secretary of State for War denied knowledge of this in the House of Commons and the appointment did not take place.

Prince and Princess Henry of Battenberg had four children. By Royal Warrant of 13 December 1886, the Queen granted their children the style Highness, although not the title of Prince/Princess. This style took immediate effect in the United Kingdom and elsewhere except within the German Empire, where, as Princes and Princesses of Battenberg, they were only entitled to the style Serene Highness.

In 1889 Prince Henry was made Governor of Carisbrooke Castle and Captain-General and Governor of the Isle of Wight. He was made Lieutenant-Colonel in the Army on 21 June 1887, Colonel on 22 February 1893 and appointed to the Privy Council on 20 November 1894.

In November 1895, Prince Henry persuaded Queen Victoria to allow him to go to West Africa to fight in the Ashanti War. He served as the military secretary to the commander-in-chief of British forces, General Sir Francis Scott. He contracted malaria when the expedition reached Prahsu, about 30 miles (50 km) from Kumasi, and subsequently died aboard the cruiser HMS Blonde stationed off the coast of Sierra Leone. His body was repatriated by the cruiser HMS Blenheim from the Canary Islands and his funeral service took place on 5 February 1896, at the same St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham on the Isle of Wight where he had been married. Interment followed in what became known as the Battenberg Chapel."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 99
Photographer: Sorgato A.N.
Date: 1865-1870
Location: Italy, Venice.
Portrait of the brother of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Prince Alexander of Hesse with his wife. Countess Julia Hauke.


"Julia, Princess of Battenberg (1825–1895) was the wife of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, the mother of Alexander, Prince of Bulgaria, and ancestress to the current generations of the British and the Spanish royal families.

Julie (or Julia) Therese Salomea Hauke was born in Warsaw (Congress Poland), then ruled in personal union by the Tsar of Imperial Russia. She was the daughter of John Maurice Hauke, a German soldier, and his wife Sophie (née Lafontaine). Julie was rumored to be of Jewish descent.

Castle Heiligenberg, property of the Mountbattens until 1920, was sold for a pittance because of inflation in Germany.

Julia's father had fought in Napoleon's Polish Legions in Austria, Italy, Germany and the Peninsular War. After his service in the Polish army since 1790 and the army of the Duchy of Warsaw from 1809 to 1814, he entered the ranks of the army of Congress Poland, became a full-fledged general in 1828 and was awarded a Polish title of nobility. Recognizing his abilities, Tsar Nicholas I appointed him Deputy Minister of War of Congress Poland and elevated him and his family in 1829 to the rank of counts, automatically making Julia a countess. In the November Uprising of 1830 led by rebelling army cadets, Grand Duke Constantine, Poland's de facto viceroy, managed to escape, but Julia's father was shot dead by the cadets on a Warsaw street. Her mother died of shock shortly afterwards, and their children were made wards of the Tsar.

Julia served as lady-in-waiting to Tsesarevna Marie Alexandrovna, wife of the future Tsar Alexander II and sister of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine. She met Prince Alexander while performing her duties at court in St. Petersburg. The Tsar did not approve of any liaison between his son's brother-in-law and a parvenu, and so the two arranged to leave the St. Petersburg court. By the time Julia and Alexander were able to marry, she was six months pregnant with their first child, Marie. They were married on 28 October 1851 in Breslau in Prussian Silesia (present-day Wrocław, Republic of Poland).

Julia was considered to be of insufficient rank to have any of her children qualify for the succession to the throne of Hesse and by Rhine (Hesse-Darmstadt); hence the marriage was considered morganatic. Her husband's brother, Grand Duke Louis III of Hesse-Darmstadt, created her Countess of Battenberg in 1851, with the style of Illustrious Highness (Erlaucht), and in 1858 further elevated her to Princess of Battenberg with the style of Serene Highness (Durchlaucht). The children of Julia and Alexander were also elevated to princes and princesses and addressed as Serene Highness. Thus, Battenberg became the name of a morganatic branch of the Grand Ducal Family of Hesse. Julia converted from Roman Catholicism to Lutheranism on 12 May 1875. She died at Heiligenberg Castle, near Jugenheim, Hesse, aged sixty-nine, on 19 September 1895.

There were five children of the marriage, all princes and princesses of Battenberg:

Marie (1852–1923), married in 1871 Gustav, Count of Erbach-Schönberg (d. 1908), with issue.

Ludwig (Louis) (1854–1921), created first Marquess of Milford Haven in 1917, married in 1884 Princess Victoria of Hesse and the Rhine (1863–1950), with issue (including Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark, Queen Louise of Sweden, and the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma). In 1917, he and his children gave up their German titles and took the surname Mountbatten.

Alexander (1857–1893), created Reigning Prince of Bulgaria in 1879, abdicated in Bulgaria and created Count of Hartenau, married morganatically in 1889 Johanna Loisinger (1865–1951), with issue.

Heinrich (Henry) (1858–1896), married in 1885 Beatrice, Princess of Great Britain and Ireland (1857–1944), with issue (including Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg later Queen of Spain). His children resided in the UK and became lords and ladies with the surname Mountbatten in 1917. His eldest son was created the first Marquess of Carisbrooke in 1917.

Franz Joseph (1861–1924), married in 1897 Anna Princess Petrovich-Niegosh of Montenegro (1874–1971), with no issue.

Julia's eldest son, Ludwig (Louis) of Battenberg, became a British subject, and during World War I, due to anti-German sentiment prevalent at the time, anglicised his name to Mountbatten (a literal translation of the German Battenberg), as did his nephews, the sons of Prince Henry and Princess Beatrice. The members of this branch of the family also renounced all German titles and were granted peerages by their cousin King George V of the United Kingdom: Prince Louis became the 1st Marquess of Milford Haven, while Prince Alexander, Prince Henry's eldest son, became the 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 100
Photographer: Langerer.
Date: 1865-1870
Location: Austria, Vienna.
Portrait of the brother of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Prince Alexander of Hesse.


 
Old January 8th, 2017 #11
Alex Him
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 101
Photographer: Sorgato A.N.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Italy, Venice.
Portrait of the niece of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Princess Marie of Battenberg.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141472&postcount=4






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 102
Photographer: Sorgato A.N.
Date: 1860-1861
Location: Italy, Venice.
Portrait of the nephew of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Prince Alexander of Battenberg.


"Alexander Joseph GCB (1857-1893) - (Bulgarian: Александър I Батенберг), known as Alexander of Battenberg, was the first prince (knyaz) of modern Bulgaria from 1879 until his abdication in 1886.

Alexander was the second son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine by the latter's morganatic marriage with Countess Julia von Hauke.

In his boyhood and early youth Alexander frequently visited Saint Petersburg, and he accompanied his uncle, the Tsar, who was much attached to him, during the Bulgarian campaign of 1877. When, under the Treaty of Berlin (1878), Bulgaria became an autonomous principality under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire, the Tsar recommended his nephew to the Bulgarians as a candidate for the newly created throne, and the Grand National Assembly unanimously elected Prince Alexander as Prince of Bulgaria (29 April 1879). At that time he held a commission as a lieutenant in the Prussian life-guards at Potsdam. Before proceeding to Bulgaria, Prince Alexander paid visits to the Tsar at Livadia, to the courts of the great powers and to the sultan; a Russian warship then conveyed him to Varna, and after taking the oath to the new constitution at Turnovo (8 July 1879) he went to Sofia. The people everywhere en route greeted him with immense enthusiasm.

In 1881, a marriage began to be talked of between Alexander and Princess Viktoria of Prussia. While this plan was supported by the Crown Princess and her mother, Queen Victoria, and Princess Viktoria had fallen in love with him, it was strongly opposed by Kaiser Wilhelm I, his grandson, later Kaiser Wilhelm II and the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, who feared that a marriage would offend the Russians, most notably, Prince Alexander's cousin, Tsar Alexander III, who recently ascended the throne, and who, unlike his father, was far from kindly disposed to the prince.

After attempting to govern under these conditions for nearly two years, the prince, with the consent of the Russian tsar, Alexander assumed absolute power, having suspended the Constitution (9 May 1881). A specially convened assembly voted (13 July 1881) for suspension of the ultra-democratic constitution for a period of seven years. The experiment, however, proved unsuccessful; the monarchical coup infuriated Bulgarian Liberal and Radical politicians, and the real power passed to two Russian generals, Sobolev and Kaulbars, specially despatched from Saint Petersburg. The prince, after vainly endeavouring to obtain the recall of the generals, restored the constitution with the concurrence of all the Bulgarian political parties (19 September 1883). A serious breach with Russia followed, and the part which the prince subsequently played in encouraging the national aspirations of the Bulgarians widened that breach.

The revolution of Plovdiv (18 September 1885), which brought about the union of Eastern Rumelia with Bulgaria, took place with Alexander's consent, and he at once assumed the government of the province. In the year which followed, the prince gave evidence of considerable military and diplomatic ability. He rallied the Bulgarian army, now deprived of its Russian officers, to resist the Serbian invasion, and after a victory at Slivnitsa (19 November), which Alexander had little to do with, having arrived in Slivnitsa after the battle (incidentally initiated by a volunteer of the rank of private) was already over, pursued King Milan of Serbia into Serbian territory as far as Pirot, which he captured (27 November). Although the intervention of Austria protected Serbia from the consequences of defeat, Prince Alexander's success sealed the union with Eastern Rumelia, and after long negotiations the sultan Abdul Hamid II nominated the Prince of Bulgaria as governor-general of that province for five years (5 April 1886).

This arrangement, however, cost Alexander much of his popularity in Bulgaria, while discontent prevailed among a number of his officers, who considered themselves slighted in the distribution of rewards at the close of the campaign. A military plot formed, and on the night of 20 August 1886 the conspirators seized the prince in the palace at Sofia and compelled him to sign his abdication; they then hurried him to the Danube at Rakhovo, transported him on his yacht to Reni, and handed him over to the Russian authorities, who allowed him to proceed to Lemberg. However, he soon returned to Bulgaria as a result of the success of the counter-revolution led by Stefan Stambolov, which overthrew the provisional government set up by the Russian party at Sofia. His position, however, had become untenable, partly as a result of an ill-considered telegram which he addressed to Tsar Alexander III on his return. The attitude of Bismarck, who, in conjunction with the Russian and Austrian governments, forbade him to punish the leaders of the military conspiracy, also undermined Alexander's position. He therefore issued a manifesto resigning the throne, and left Bulgaria on 8 September 1886.

After his abdication from the Bulgarian throne, Alexander I claimed the title Prince of Tarnovo and used it until his death.

Alexander then retired into private life. A few years later he married Johanna Loisinger, an actress, and assumed the style of Count von Hartenau (6 February 1889). There were a son and a daughter from this marriage. The last years of his life he spent principally at Graz, where he held a local command in the Austrian army, and where he died on 23 October 1893. His remains, brought to Sofia, received a public funeral there, and were buried in a mausoleum erected to his memory.

Prince Alexander possessed much charm and amiability of manner; he was tall, dignified and strikingly handsome. Competent authorities have generally recognised his capabilities as a soldier. As a ruler he committed some errors, but his youth and inexperience and the extreme difficulty of his position account for much. He had some aptitude for diplomacy, and his intuitive insight and perception of character sometimes enabled him to outwit the crafty politicians who surrounded him. His principal fault remained a want of tenacity and resolution; his tendency to unguarded language undoubtedly increased the number of his enemies."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 103
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1863-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Emperor Alexander II in an overcoat with a fur collar and a gun in his hand.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 104
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1861-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich in hunting costume with a gun.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141507&postcount=5






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 105
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1863-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Emperor Alexander II in an overcoat with a fur collar and a gun in his hand and with a dog at his feet.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 106
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1861-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich in hunting costume with a gun.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 107
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1861-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich in hunting costume with a gun.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 108
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1861-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich in hunting costume with a gun.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 109
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1860-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder in a hunting costume with a gun.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141472&postcount=4






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 110
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1860-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder in a hunting costume with a gun.


 
Old January 8th, 2017 #12
Alex Him
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 111
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1860-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder in a hunting costume with a gun.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141472&postcount=4






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 112
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1860-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich in hunting costume with a gun.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142158&postcount=8






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 113
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1860-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder in a hunting costume with a gun.





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 114
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1860-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich in hunting costume with a gun.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 115
Photographer: Silvy (Bays Water).
Date: 1863-1868
Location: England.
Portrait the wife of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by the Rhine. And the mother of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Princess Alice of the United Kingdom sitting in a chair at the mirror.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141541&postcount=6






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 116
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1860-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich in hunting costume with a gun.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 117
Photographer: Silvy (Bays Water).
Date: 1863-1868
Location: England.
Portrait the wife of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by the Rhine. And the mother of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Princess Alice of the United Kingdom at the mirror.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 118
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1862-1865
Location:Unknown.
The eldest daughter of Emperor Nicholas I. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna in marriage Duchess of Leuchtenberg with her daughters (center) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2
Maria Maksimilianovna in marriage Duchess of Baden (left) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142114&postcount=7
Eugenia Maksimilianovna of Leuchtenberg (right) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142186&postcount=10







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 119
Photographer: Silvy (Bays Water).
Date: 1863-1868
Location: England.
Portrait the wife of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by the Rhine. And the mother of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Princess Alice of the United Kingdom at the mirror.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 120
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1860-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich in hunting costume with a gun.


 
Old January 8th, 2017 #13
Alex Him
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 121
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: 1862-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
The daughter of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 122
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: 1861
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich in a fur hat and a fur coat.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 123
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: 1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Children of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich.
And their teacher A.F. Tiutcheva (the daughter of poet F.I. Tiutchev).







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 124
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: 1861-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke and heir Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich in military uniform.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 125
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: 1862-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Children of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 126
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: [1863]
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 127
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1862-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Emperor Alexander II with his son. Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich.


"Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia (1860-1919) - (Russian: Павел Александрович) was the sixth son and youngest child of Tsar Alexander II of Russia by his first wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna.

He entered the Russian Army, was a general in the Calvary and adjutant general to his brother Tsar Alexander III, and a Knight of the Order of St Andrew. In 1889, he married Princess Alexandra of Greece, his paternal first cousin once removed. The couple had a daughter and a son, but Alexandra died during the birth of their second child. In his widowhood, Grand Duke Paul began a relationship with Olga Karnovitsch, a married woman with three children. After obtaining a divorce for Olga and in defiance of a strong family opposition, Grand Duke Paul married her in October 1902. As he contracted a morganatic marriage with a divorcée in defiance of the Tsar's prohibition, Grand Duke Paul was banished from living in Russia and deprived of his titles and privileges. Between 1902 and 1914, he lived in exile in Paris with his second wife who gave him three children. In the spring of 1914, he settled back in Russia with his second family.

With the outbreak of World War I, Grand Duke Paul was appointed in command of the first corps of the Imperial Guard. Afflicted with ill health, he served only intermittently. During the last days of the Tsarist period, he was one of the few members of the Romanov family who remained close to Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna. It fell upon Grand Duke Paul to informed Alexandra of Nicholas II's abdication.

After the fall of the Russian monarchy, Grand Duke Paul initially remained living at his Palace in Tsarskoe Selo during the period of the provisional government. With the Bolsheviks ascending to power, his palace was expropriated and eventually he was arrested and sent to prison. In declining health, he was shot by the Bolsheviks with other Romanov relatives in the courtyard of the Peter and Paul Fortress in January 1919 and his remains were thrown into a common grave.

Grand Duke Paul was born on 3 October 1860 at the Catherine Palace, in Tsarskoye Selo. He was the eight and youngest child of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and his first wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, née Duchess Maximilienne Wilhelmine of Hesse and by Rhine.

As the youngest child in a large family, he was much loved by his parents and siblings. His early years were spent with his two siblings closest in age: his sister Marie, and his brother Grand Duke Sergei from whom he was inseparable. By the time of Paul Alexandrovich birth, his mother was afflicted from tuberculosis and the doctors advised her no to have more children. Relations between Paul's parents ceased. The family was struck by tragedy with the death of Paul's eldest brother, Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich in 1865, when Paul was four years old. The following year his father, Alexander II, started an affair with Princess Catherine Dolgurokova, who gave him three children.

Grand Duke Paul early years were spent at Tsarskoye Selo and at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg with vacations at Livadia, the family’s Crimean retreat. As time passed and the Empress’ health dictated her to avoid the harsh Russian climate, the Tsarina spent long sojourns abroad with her three youngest children in Jugenheim outside Darmstadt and the winters in the South of France. Paul was a protected delicate child; he never had a robust constitution.

Grand Duke Paul was educated at home by private tutors. From the 1870s, Paul and his brother Sergei were kept in Russia by their studies. They were destined to follow a military career. From 1864 to 1885, their tutor was Admiral Dmitri Arsenyev (1832-1915) who encouraged his pupils to have a broad artistic education as well. Grand Duke Paul became a good amateur actor and an excellent dancer. He was widely liked due to his gentle character, very different from his boisterous eldest brothers.

He was from birth Guard cornet in an Infantry Regiment. However, his career advanced more slowly than that of his elder brothers. He became Lieutenant in January 1874, but as he was still too young, he was the only of Tsar Alexander II's sons not to take part in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78).

Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich was known as a gentle person, religious and accessible to people. In June 1880, he was afflicted by the death of his mother, whose slim figure and delicate health he inherited. Shortly after his father married his mistress Catherine Dolgorukova. Grand Duke Paul, overprotected by his brother Sergei, did not know of the affair. Emotional distraught by the news, he had to travel abroad to recuperate. Grand Duke Paul was in a trip to Italy with his brother Sergei when their father Alexander II was assassinated on 13 March 1881. Paul's eldest surviving brother Alexander III ascended to the Russian throne.

Since childhood Paul was very attached to his brother Sergei, their closeness remained even after Sergei engagement and later marriage to Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine (1864–1918). Paul accompanied the couple to England to meet Elisabeth's British grandmother Queen Victoria, who was favorably impressed by Paul. After Sergei's marriage Paul moved with his brother and his new sister in law who became also very close to him. The trio share the same household for some time and they made a trip together to Jerusalem in 1888. Grand Duke Paul suffered from weak lungs and spent periods abroad to recuperate. On medical advice he visited Greece in 1887.

During his visits to Greece, in the family atmosphere of his first cousin, Queen Olga of Greece, Grand Duke Paul grew closer with Olga's eldest daughter, Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark. Alexandra's father, King George I of Greece, was a brother of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, Paul's sister-in-law. During the silver wedding anniversary of king George and Queen Olga, Paul asked for Alexandra hand and he was accepted. Alexandra had come to Russia several times during visits to her maternal relatives. She was lively and mischievous while he was reserved. Their engagement was announced on 10 November 1888. The wedding took place on 17 June 1889, in St. Petersburg at the chapel of the Winter Palace. Grand Duke Paul was twenty-nine years old and his wife ten years younger.

Grand Duke Paul's marriage was happy, but brief. Alexandra, after a difficult first pregnancy, gave birth to a daughter on 18 April 1890, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (1890–1958). Alexandra was of a frail constitution and she was also homesick for her native Greece.

Although Grand Duke Sergei and his wife Elizabeth moved to Moscow in May 1891, the two couples remained very close. In the summer 1891, Paul and Alexandra decided to spent some time with them at Ilinskoie, Sergei's country estate outside Moscow. While there, Alexandra, seven months pregnant with her second child, carelessly stepped into a waiting boat, causing premature labor and the following day gave birth prematurely to a son, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia (1891–1942). Alexandra did not recover consciousness and died six days later on 24 September 1891.

In 1895, the young widower began an affair with a commoner, Olga Valerianovna Karnovich. Olga was married with three young children, a son and two daughters. Her husband, Eric von Pistohlkors, was an aide the champ of Paul's brother, Grand Duke Vladimir, and a captain in Paul's regiment. The affair initially remained secret, but it became public knowledge at court when Olga, during a court ball, wore a diamond necklace that had belonged to Paul's mother, Empress Maria Alexandrovna, and that he had given to Olga as a present. The Dowager Tsarina Maria Feodorvna recognized the jewels and had Olga removed from the ball. In the subsequent scandal, Paul was moved to a different regimental command and Eric von Pistohlkors was sent away, but it was already too late. Olga was pregnant with Paul's child. She gave birth to a son Vladimir, in January 1897 and Eric von Pistohlkors asked for divorce.

Grand Duke Paul wanted to recognize the child, who had been born legally as von Pistolkos son, and to marry Olga, but Tsar Nicholas II and Grand Duke Vladimir vehemently opposed their union. Grand Duke Paul turned his back on his family; lost interest on Maria and Dmitri and instead spent long periods abroad with his mistress. In 1900, he bought a mansion in Bois de Boulogne, that previously belonged to Princess Zenaida Ivanovna Yusupova, intending to settle there and marry Olga once she would obtain a divorce.

On 10 October 1902, Grand Duke Paul married Olga in a Greek Orthodox church in Livorno, Italy. Because he married morganatically and without the Tsar's permission, Grand Duke Paul was banished from Russia; he was dismissed of his military commissions; all his properties were seized, and his brother Grand Duke Sergei was appointed guardian of Maria and Dmitri.

In 1912, on the occasion of Dmitri reaching his majority, Tsar Nichola II, finally relented and pardoned his only surviving uncle, restoring Grand Duke Paul titles and privileges. He also recognized as valid Paul's second marriage. However, Grand Duke Paul decided to remained living in France."

Text by Wikipedia.







Due to an error on the site of the Archive, "сн. 128" is duplicate of "сн. 127".




Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 129
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: 1861-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke and heir Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich in military uniform.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 130
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
The sons of Emperor Alexander II.
Grand Duke and heir Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich (2nd from left).
Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich (right) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1
Adjutant O.B. Richter (2nd from right) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2



 
Old January 12th, 2017 #14
Alex Him
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 131
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: 1860-1861
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Emperor Alexander II with his son - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1
Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142246&postcount=13







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 132
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich in military uniform.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 133
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich in an overcoat.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 134
Photographer: Старк.
Date: 1861-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the wife of Prince Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg. Princess Eugenia Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg, Princess Romanovsky.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142186&postcount=10






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 135
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: 1860
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich in military uniform.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 136
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: 1862-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 137
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1863-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich in military uniform.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 138
Photographer: Деньер Г.
Date: 1862-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the wife of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich. Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141472&postcount=4






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 139
Photographer: Pesmaisons E.
Date: 1860-1861
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the wife of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich.
Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, née Princess of Württemberg.



"Princess Charlotte of Württemberg (1807–1873) was, as Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia, the wife of Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia. He was the youngest son of Tsar Paul I of Russia and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.

She was born in Stuttgart, as Princess Charlotte of Württemberg, eldest daughter of Prince Paul of Württemberg and Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen. As a child, Charlotte lived in Paris with her father and her younger sister Pauline. Their home was quite modest compared to royal standards. It was in Paris that Charlotte came under the tutelage of several intellectuals.

In 1822, she became engaged to Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia, her first cousin once removed (Mikhail's mother was her father's aunt). It was said that Charlotte was an exceptional girl, highly intelligent and mature for her age of 15. The Grand Duke was obviously impressed by her beauty and her poise, and during a reception held in her honor, she charmed all the guests with her conversations. On 17 December 1823, she was received into the Russian Orthodox Church and was given the name Elena Pavlovna. On 20 February 1824, the couple married in Saint Petersburg and settled in the Mikhailovsky Palace. When the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna died in 1828, the palace of Pavlovsk passed on to Mikhail and he and Elena visited it often. Their marriage was not a happy one: Mikhail's only passion was for the army and he neglected Elena. Nevertheless, he and Elena had five daughters:

Grand Duchess Maria Mikhailovna of Russia (1825–1846); died unmarried.

Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mikhailovna of Russia (1826–1845); married Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and died in childbirth.

Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna of Russia (1827–1894), married Duke Georg August of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Grand Duchess Alexandra Mikhailovna of Russia (1831–1832).

Grand Duchess Anna Mikhailovna of Russia (1834–1836).

Elena was a close friend of her brother-in-law, Alexander I of Russia and his wife the Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna. She was also quick to befriend the shy Maria Alexandrovna, the wife of the then Tsarevich Alexander. When Princess Charlotte's husband died, in 1849, she became a patron of several charitable organizations and the arts. She founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatoire as well as a group of nursing sisters which would eventually become the forerunners of the Red Cross in Russia.

As a patroness of the composer Anton Rubinstein, she commissioned his first three operas: Fomka the Fool (1853), The Siberian Hunters, and Vengeance.

Elena died in Stuttgart, at the age of 66."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 140
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1859-1870
Location: [Germany].
Two unidentified men in military uniform.


 
Old January 12th, 2017 #15
Alex Him
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 141
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1862-1865
Location: Germany.
The wife of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Friedrich Franz II. Née Princess Anna of Hesse, with her [a nephew].


"Princess Anna of Hesse and by Rhine (1843-1865) - (German: Prinzessin Anna von Hessen und bei Rhein) was the consort and second wife of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Princess Anna of Hesse and by Rhine, third child and only daughter of Prince Karl of Hesse and by Rhine, and his wife, Princess Elisabeth of Prussia, was born at Bessungen, Grand Duchy of Hesse. Her paternal grandfather was Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. Her mother was a granddaughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia.

Her eldest brother, Ludwig, married in 1862 to Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria.

As a young girl, Anna was considered as a possible bride for the future Edward VII (known as 'Bertie' to his family). While his mother, Victoria, was in favor of Anna, Bertie's elder sister was opposed to the match, as she believed Anna had a "disturbing twitch". As time went by however, Victoria grew increasingly impatient, and tried to ignore her daughter's hints that Anna was not suitable, declaring, "I am much pleased with the account of Princess Anna, (minus the twitching)". In the end, Alexandra of Denmark was chosen instead.

On 4 July 1864 in Darmstadt, Anna married Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin son of Paul Friedrich, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. (Friedrich Franz's first wife, Princess Augusta of Reuss-Köstritz, had died in 1862.) Together they had one daughter:

HH Duchess Anna Elisabeth Auguste Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1865–1882).

Anna died of puerperal fever a week later after giving birth to her only daughter. She was buried at the Schwerin Cathedral."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 142
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1859-1866
Location: Unknown.
Portrait of the wife of Prince Charles of Hesse. Nee Princess Elizabeth of Prussia.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141472&postcount=4






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 143
Photographer: Joubert F.
Date: 1860-1863
Location: England.
Portrait of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, since 1901 - King Edward VII.


"Edward VII (Albert Edward) - (1841–1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.

The eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Edward was related to royalty throughout Europe. Before his accession to the throne, he served as heir apparent and held the title of Prince of Wales for longer than any of his predecessors. During the long reign of his mother, he was largely excluded from political power, and came to personify the fashionable, leisured elite. He travelled throughout Britain performing ceremonial public duties, and represented Britain on visits abroad. His tours of North America in 1860 and the Indian subcontinent in 1875 were popular successes, but despite public approval his reputation as a playboy prince soured his relationship with his mother.

As king, Edward played a role in the modernisation of the British Home Fleet and the reorganisation of the British Army after the Second Boer War. He re-instituted traditional ceremonies as public displays and broadened the range of people with whom royalty socialised. He fostered good relations between Britain and other European countries, especially France, for which he was popularly called "Peacemaker", but his relationship with his nephew, Kaiser Wilhelm II, was poor. The Edwardian era, which covered Edward's reign and was named after him, coincided with the start of a new century and heralded significant changes in technology and society, including steam turbine propulsion and the rise of socialism. He died in 1910 in the midst of a constitutional crisis that was resolved the following year by the Parliament Act 1911, which restricted the power of the unelected House of Lords.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were determined that their eldest son should have an education that would prepare him to be a model constitutional monarch. At age seven, Edward embarked on a rigorous educational programme devised by Prince Albert, and supervised by several tutors. Unlike his elder sister Victoria, Edward did not excel in his studies. He tried to meet the expectations of his parents, but to no avail. Although Edward was not a diligent student—his true talents were those of charm, sociability and tact—Benjamin Disraeli described him as informed, intelligent and of sweet manner. After the completion of his secondary-level studies, his tutor was replaced by a personal governor, Robert Bruce.

After an educational trip to Rome, undertaken in the first few months of 1859, he spent the summer of that year studying at the University of Edinburgh under, among others, the chemist Lyon Playfair. In October, he matriculated as an undergraduate at Christ Church, Oxford. Now released from the educational strictures imposed by his parents, he enjoyed studying for the first time and performed satisfactorily in examinations. In 1861, he transferred to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was tutored in history by Charles Kingsley, Regius Professor of Modern History. Kingsley's efforts brought forth the best academic performances of Edward's life, and Edward actually looked forward to his lectures.

Edward had hoped to pursue a career in the British Army, but his mother vetoed an active military career. In September 1861, Edward was sent to Germany, supposedly to watch military manoeuvres, but actually in order to engineer a meeting between him and Princess Alexandra of Denmark, the eldest daughter of Prince Christian of Denmark and his wife Louise. They met at Speyer on 24 September the young Danish princess made a very favourable impression. Edward and Alexandra were friendly from the start; the meeting went well for both sides, and marriage plans advanced.

From this time, Edward gained a reputation as a playboy. Determined to get some army experience, Edward attended manoeuvres in Ireland, during which he spent three nights with an actress, Nellie Clifden, who was hidden in the camp by his fellow officers. Prince Albert, though ill, was appalled and visited Edward at Cambridge to issue a reprimand. Albert died in December 1861 just two weeks after the visit. Queen Victoria was inconsolable, wore mourning clothes for the rest of her life and blamed Edward for his father's death. At first, she regarded her son with distaste as frivolous, indiscreet and irresponsible.

Edward married Alexandra at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on 10 March 1863. He was 21; she was 18.

The couple established Marlborough House as their London residence and Sandringham House in Norfolk as their country retreat. They entertained on a lavish scale. Their marriage met with disapproval in certain circles because most of Queen Victoria's relations were German, and Denmark was at loggerheads with Germany over the territories of Schleswig and Holstein. When Alexandra's father inherited the throne of Denmark in November 1863, the German Confederation took the opportunity to invade and annex Schleswig-Holstein. Queen Victoria was of two minds whether it was a suitable match given the political climate. After the marriage, she expressed anxiety about their socialite lifestyle and attempted to dictate to them on various matters, including the names of their children.

Edward had mistresses throughout his married life.

In October 1875 Edward set off for India on an extensive eight-month tour of the sub-continent. His advisors remarked on his habit of treating all people the same, regardless of their social station or colour. In letters home, he complained of the treatment of the native Indians by the British officials: "Because a man has a black face and a different religion from our own, there is no reason why he should be treated as a brute." Consequently, Lord Salisbury, the Secretary of State for India, issued new guidance and at least one resident was removed from office. At the end of the tour, Queen Victoria was given the title Empress of India by Parliament, in part as a result of the tour's success.

Edward was a patron of the arts and sciences and helped found the Royal College of Music. He opened the college in 1883 with the words, "Class can no longer stand apart from class ... I claim for music that it produces that union of feeling which I much desire to promote." At the same time, he enjoyed gambling and country sports and was an enthusiastic hunter. He ordered all the clocks at Sandringham to run half an hour ahead to provide more daylight time for shooting. This so-called tradition of Sandringham Time continued until 1936, when it was abolished by Edward VIII. He also laid out a golf course at Windsor. By the 1870s the future king had taken a keen interest in horseracing and steeplechasing. In 1896, his horse Persimmon won both the Derby Stakes and the St Leger Stakes. In 1900, Persimmon's brother, Diamond Jubilee, won five races (Derby, St Leger, 2,000 Guineas Stakes, Newmarket Stakes and Eclipse Stakes) and another of Edward's horses, Ambush II, won the Grand National.

In late 1891 Edward's eldest son, Albert Victor, was engaged to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck. Just a few weeks later, in early 1892, Albert Victor died of pneumonia. Edward was grief-stricken. "To lose our eldest son", he wrote, "is one of those calamities one can never really get over". Edward told Queen Victoria, "[I would] have given my life for him, as I put no value on mine". Albert Victor was the second of Edward's children to die. In 1871, his youngest son, Alexander John, had died just 24 hours after being born. Edward had insisted on placing Alexander John in a coffin personally with "the tears rolling down his cheeks".

On his way to Denmark through Belgium on 4 April 1900 Edward was the victim of an attempted assassination, when fifteen-year-old Jean-Baptiste Sipido shot at him in protest over the Boer War. Sipido, though obviously guilty, was acquitted by a Belgian court because he was underage. The perceived laxity of the Belgian authorities, combined with British disgust at Belgian atrocities in the Congo, worsened the already poor relations between the United Kingdom and the Continent. However, in the next ten years, Edward's affability and popularity, as well as his use of family connections, assisted Britain in building European alliances.

When Queen Victoria died on 22 January 1901, Edward became King of the United Kingdom, Emperor of India and, in an innovation, King of the British Dominions. He chose to reign under the name Edward VII, instead of Albert Edward—the name his mother had intended for him to use[d]—declaring that he did not wish to "undervalue the name of Albert" and diminish the status of his father with whom the "name should stand alone". The numeral VII was occasionally omitted in Scotland, even by the national church, in deference to protests that the previous Edwards were English kings who had "been excluded from Scotland by battle".

He donated his parents' house, Osborne on the Isle of Wight, to the state and continued to live at Sandringham. He could afford to be magnanimous; his private secretary, Sir Francis Knollys, claimed that he was the first heir to succeed to the throne in credit. Edward's finances had been ably managed by Sir Dighton Probyn, Comptroller of the Household, and had benefited from advice from Edward's Jewish financier friends, such as Ernest Cassel, Maurice de Hirsch and the Rothschild family. At a time of widespread anti-Semitism, Edward attracted criticism for openly socialising with Jews.

Edward was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 9 August 1902 by the 80-year-old Archbishop of Canterbury, Frederick Temple, who died only four months later.

Edward refurbished the royal palaces, reintroduced the traditional ceremonies, such as the State Opening of Parliament, that his mother had forgone, and founded new honours, such as the Order of Merit, to recognise contributions to the arts and sciences. In 1902, the Shah of Persia, Mozzafar-al-Din, visited England expecting to receive the Order of the Garter. Edward refused to bestow the honour on the Shah because the order was meant to be in his personal gift and the Foreign Secretary, Lord Lansdowne, had promised it without his consent. Edward also objected to inducting a Muslim into a Christian order of chivalry. His refusal threatened to damage British attempts to gain influence in Persia, but Edward resented his ministers' attempts to reduce the King's traditional powers. Eventually, he relented and Britain sent a special embassy to the Shah with a full Order of the Garter the following year.

Edward involved himself heavily in discussions over army reform, the need for which had become apparent with the failings of the Boer War. He supported the redesign of army command, the creation of the Territorial Force, and the decision to provide an Expeditionary Force supporting France in the event of war with Germany. Reform of the Royal Navy was also suggested, partly due to the ever-increasing Naval Estimates, and because of the emergence of the Imperial German Navy as a new strategic threat. Ultimately a dispute arose between Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, who favoured increased spending and a broad deployment, and the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir John Fisher, who favoured efficiency savings, scrapping obsolete vessels, and a strategic realignment of the Royal Navy relying on torpedo craft for home defence backed by the new dreadnoughts.

The King lent support to Fisher, in part because he disliked Beresford, and eventually Beresford was dismissed. Beresford continued his campaign outside of the navy and Fisher ultimately announced his resignation in late 1909, although the bulk of his policies were retained.

Edward was rarely interested in politics, although his views on some issues were notably liberal for the time. During his reign he said use of the word nigger was "disgraceful" despite it then being in common parlance. In 1904, during an Anglo-German summit in Kiel between Wilhelm II and Edward, Wilhelm with the Russo-Japanese War in mind started to go on about the "Yellow Peril", which he called "the greatest peril menacing ... Christendom and European civilisation. If the Russians went on giving ground, the yellow race would, in twenty years time, be in Moscow and Posen". Wilhelm went on to attack his British guests for supporting Japan against Russia, suggesting that the British were committing "race treason". In response, Edward stated that he "could not see it. The Japanese were an intelligent, brave and chivalrous nation, quite as civilised as the Europeans, from whom they only differed by the pigmentation of their skin".

In the last year of his life, Edward became embroiled in a constitutional crisis when the Conservative majority in the House of Lords refused to pass the "People's Budget" proposed by the Liberal government of Prime Minister H. H. Asquith. The crisis eventually led – after Edward's death – to the removal of the Lords' right to veto legislation.

Edward habitually smoked twenty cigarettes and twelve cigars a day. In 1907, a rodent ulcer, a type of cancer affecting the skin next to his nose, was cured with radium. Towards the end of his life he increasingly suffered from bronchitis. He suffered a momentary loss of consciousness during a state visit to Berlin in February 1909. In March 1910, he was staying at Biarritz when he collapsed. He remained there to convalesce, while in London Asquith tried to get the Finance Bill passed. The King's continued ill health was unreported and he attracted criticism for staying in France while political tensions were so high. On 27 April he returned to Buckingham Palace, still suffering from severe bronchitis. Alexandra returned from visiting her brother, King George I of Greece, in Corfu a week later on 5 May.

The following day, the King suffered several heart attacks, but refused to go to bed, saying, "No, I shall not give in; I shall go on; I shall work to the end." Between moments of faintness, his son the Prince of Wales (shortly to be King George V) told him that his horse, Witch of the Air, had won at Kempton Park that afternoon. The King replied, "Yes, I have heard of it. I am very glad": his final words. At 11:30 p.m. he lost consciousness for the last time and was put to bed. He died 15 minutes later.

Issue:

Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (1864-1892) engaged 1891, to Princess Mary of Teck.

George V (1865-1936) married 1893, Princess Mary of Teck; had issue.

Louise, Princess Royal (1867-1931) married 1889, Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife; had issue.

Princess Victoria (1868-1935).

Maud, Queen of Norway (1869-1938) married 1896, King Haakon VII; had issue.

Prince Alexander John (6 April 1871 - 7 April 1871)"

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 144
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1862-1865
Location: Germany.
The wife of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Friedrich Franz II. Née Princess Anna of Hesse.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 145
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1862-1865
Location: Italy, Rome.
The eldest daughter of Emperor Nicholas I. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna in marriage Duchess of Leuchtenberg.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 146
Photographer: Старк.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the grandson of Emperor Nicholas I. Duke Evgeny Maximilianovich of Leuchtenberg, Prince Romanovsky in military uniform.


"Eugen Maximilianovich Romanowsky, 5th Duke of Leuchtenberg (1847-1901) was a son of Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia. He succeeded his brother Nicholas Maximilianovich as Duke of Leuchtenberg from 1891 until his death.

Eugen Maximilianovich was born in Saint Petersburg in 1847, as the second son and fifth child of Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia. After the death of his father in 1852, Eugen's older brother Nicolas became the fourth Duke of Leuchtenberg. When he died without an heir in 1891, Eugen became the fifth Duke, until his death in 1901. He was then succeeded by his younger brother George.

On 18 December 1852, after the death of their father, all the children of Duke Maximilian were allowed to wear the princely name and title of Romanowsky (or Romanowska for the female descendants), and were styled Imperial Highness.

In 1869, he married Daria Konstantinowa Opotschinina, the granddaughter of Mikhail Kutuzov: she was made Countess of Beauharnais (died 1870 in childbirth).


[Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov (1745-1813) - was a Field Marshal of the Russian Empire. He served as one of the finest military officers and diplomats of Russia under the reign of three Romanov Tsars: Catherine II, Paul I and Alexander I. His military career was closely associated with the rising period of Russia from the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 19th century. Kutuzov is considered to have been one of the best Russian generals.

Under Kutuzov's command, the Russian army faced the Grande Armée at the Battle of Borodino.]


Issue:

Daria, Countess de Beauharnais (1870-1937).
She married, firstly, Prince Leon Kotchoubey (1862-1927) in Baden-Baden, Karlsruhe, Baden-Wurttemberg on 7 September 1893; they divorced in 1911. Married, secondly, Waldemar, Baron von Graevenitz (1872-1916) in Saint Petersburg on 22 February 1911.
Married, thirdly, Victor Markezetti (d. 15 January 1938). She had one child with her first husband:

Prince Eugéne Kotchoubey de Beauharnais (1894-1951).


In 1878 he married Zeneïde Dmitrijewna Skobelew (also known as Zina) (died 1899), sister to the Russian general Mikhail Skobelev. Zina later had an open long-term affair with Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia.

In 1878 he married Zeneïde Dmitrijewna Skobelew (also known as Zina) (died 1899), sister to the Russian general Mikhail Skobelev. Zina later had an open long-term affair with Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia.

Eugen was a Division General in the Imperial Russian Army. In 1872-1873, he participated in the attack on Khiva and was awarded the Order of St. George, fourth degree. Between 1874 and 1877 he was commander of the Alexandria 5th Hussars. For his work in the Russo-Turkish War in 1877, he received the Order of St. Vladimir third class. He became a Lieutenant general in 1886, and was commander of the 37th Infantry Division from 1888 until 1893.

He died in 1901 in St. Petersburg, and is buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra."

Text by Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 147
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: [1865]
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the wife of Prince Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg. Princess Eugenia Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg, Princess Romanovsky.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142186&postcount=10






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 148
Photographer: Старк.
Date: 1860-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Nee Princess Eugenia Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg, in marriage Princess Oldenburg (left)
with her sister, Maria Maximilianovna in marriage Duchess of Baden (right) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142114&postcount=7
and an unknown girl (center).







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 149
Photographer: Unknown.
Date: 1859-1867
Location: Unknown.
The eldest daughter of Emperor Nicholas I. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna in marriage Duchess of Leuchtenberg.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 150
Photographer: Bergamasco Ch.
Date: 1863-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141507&postcount=5
and his wife Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141472&postcount=4
and their children:
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich,
Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna.



"Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia (1859-1919) - (Russian: Великий князь Никола́й Миха́йлович) was the eldest son of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia and a first cousin of Alexander III.

A scholar and an eminent historian, he made many valuable contributions to the study of Russian history in the reign of Tsar Alexander I. His works, published in Russian and French, include: diplomatic documents of Tsar Alexander I and Napoleon; a life of Tsar Alexander's close friend, Pavel Strogonov; and biographical studies of Alexander I and his wife Elizabeth Alexeievna.

A political liberal, he veered towards what he called "authoritarian republicanism". He fought tirelessly for reform from within the system. His reformist views made him an oddball within his own family, and contemporary recognition of his accomplishments came more from abroad than at home. He was a member of the French Academy, Honorary Doctor of History and Philosophy from the University of Berlin, Honorary Doctor of History from Moscow University, and President of the Imperial Russian Historical Society, the Society of Pomology and the Russian Geographic Society.

He fell from favour during the last part of the reign of Nicholas II, as Empress Alexandra disliked him for his liberal views. As the political situation in Russia worsened, he urged the Tsar to implement reforms, and he even participated in discussions of a palace coup. After the fall of the monarchy, he was exiled to Vologda. He was later imprisoned by the Bolsheviks in Petrograd and shot outside the St Peter and St Paul Fortress along with his brother Grand Duke George Mikhailovich and his cousins Grand Duke Dimitri Konstantinovich and Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich.


Known in the family as "Bimbo", he was three years old when in 1862 the family moved to Tiflis when his father was named Viceroy of the Caucasus.

Nicholas spent his childhood and youth in Georgia, where the family lived for twenty years. He received a Spartan upbringing. His father was preoccupied with governmental and military matters and remained a distant figure. His mother was a strict disciplinarian and the dominating figure in the family. Nicholas was his mother's favorite son; they had a close relationship as reflected in their surviving letters, which have Oedipal overtones. Growing up in the Caucasus, the Mikhailovichi, the junior branch of the Romanov dynasty, were raised in an atmosphere far removed from their cousins in the Imperial capital, and would later be regarded as more progressive and liberal minded than the other Romanovs.

The sons of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich were educated by private tutors and Nicholas, a gifted student, soaked up their instruction. From his youth he was interested in art, literature, architecture and scientific matters. However, as with all male members of his family, Nicholas was expected to follow a military career. In Tiflis, he commanded a battalion of the Caucasian Archers in 1877, and fought alongside them in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878. This experience was traumatic and made him a pacifist for the rest of his life. When his father was appointed President of the Council of the Empire in 1882, the whole family returned to Saint Petersburg. Nicholas was assigned to Marie Fyodorovna's Horse Guards Regiment.

In 1879, when Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich was 20 years old, he visited the court of his maternal uncle, Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden, and fell in love with his cousin, Princess Victoria of Baden. "She is charming and pleases one immediately", he wrote, adding, "She kisses you and makes you say a thousand things". The Russian Orthodox Church, which prohibited first cousins to marry, would not permit any thought of marriage. Nicholas nevertheless asked his uncle Alexander II to allow the wedding, threatening that if he were not allowed to marry Victoria of Baden, he would never marry. Permission was not granted; Princess Victoria eventually became Queen of Sweden.

Nicholas tried to find a royal bride for a second time in the 1880s. He was interested in Princess Amélie of Orléans, the eldest daughter of Prince Philippe, Count of Paris. Nicholas described her as "beautiful and large of stature, beautiful eyes, but not very pretty all the while a beautiful person". He asked his parents' permission to marry her, but she was Catholic and her family was unwilling to allow her to convert and they were also eager to marry her to King Carlos I of Portugal.

Nicholas Mikhailovich never came close to marriage again. Instead he channeled his energy into scholarly pursuits and the management of his several grand residences and estates, which gave employment and lodging to thousands. He was highly conscientious of his responsibility for the welfare of those who relied upon him for their livelihood. In his mature years little of his attention seems to have been directed toward women save that he mentions in a letter of 1910 that he had fallen in love again, as if by some miracle, "imagine that, in love at fifty one". But this one and only mention of anything of the kind in all of his correspondence suggests this flight of fancy did not go far, and that his feelings were unrequited. One of his greatest female friends was Princess Elena (Nelly) Mikhailovna Baryatinskaya. She was older than he was and was typical of the highly dignified and platonic relationships that were the norm among most of the Imperial family.

Nicholas Mikhailovich had no real military talent or inclination towards army life. He loved education and begged his father to allow him to enter the University, but Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich was firmly opposed. To please his father Nicholas entered the Academy of the General Staff (War College) where he excelled in his studies. Military life was not for him as he much preferred studying butterflies and historical research. Entering the military, as all Romanovs did, the grand duke eventually became hostile towards it and was in fact the only family member ever to formally leave military service.

From his youth in the Caucasus, Nicholas developed an interest in botany. He also gathered a highly regarded collection of rare butterflies, which he later gave to the Academy of Sciences, and at that same time published a ten-volume work entitled Discussions on the Lepidoptera.[6] Other natural scientific interest drew his attention, pomology in particular. He was named President of the Russian Society of Pomology and developed a seedless tangerine. During World War I, Nicholas Mikhailovich also published a book on hunting, demonstrating his scientific interest in geese and ducks.

Soon he became more interested in historical research. His first book, "The Princes Dolgoruki, Collaborators to Emperor Alexander I", appeared in 1890. Many other books would follow, including five volumes of Russian portraits from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It consist of portraits of figures from the reigns of Catherine the Great, Paul I, and Alexander I. This monumental work of original photographs from palaces, museums and galleries is an important source of information as many of the originals have been destroyed by war and revolution.

In 1905, Nicholas left the military and pursued his research interests full-time. Nicholas II happily granted him unlimited access to the Romanov Family Archives and Library. The grand duke soon published multi-volume works (over fifteen in all), in both Russian and French, on the reign of Tsar Alexander I. This important work brought him international recognition across Europe. His works include: diplomatic documents of Tsar Alexander I and Napoleon; a life of Tsar Alexander's close friend, Paul Strogonov and biographical studies of Alexander I and his wife Elizabeth Alexeievna.

In 1892 when the presidency of the Geographic Society fell vacant, Nicholas Mikhailovich became its president. He never published any scholarly works in this discipline. In 1909, he became president of the Historical Society; by then, he was already a well-regarded historian. He took this post seriously and his involvement was extensive even during the war years. In May 1914, Grand Duke Nicholas created an Archival Commission to coordinate and give assistance to local historical archives; but World War I intervened, and archival reorganization had to await Soviet efforts.

Nicholas Mikhailovich gathered an important collection of historical artifacts, mainly pictures and miniatures of prominent figures. He also collected French objets d'art and took a special interest in the works of Jacques-Louis David.

He loved children, and although he never married, according to his niece, Princess Nina, he fathered several illegitimate children. Moody and eccentric, he had an acerbic and cynical nature. He also had a sharp wit and a keen, sometimes childish, sense of humor. His pranks and jokes endeared him to his family.

He considered himself as a socialist, holding liberal political views. His behavior, along with his stubborn insisting on always speaking his mind, did not endear him to the Imperial family, and it was his charm and humor which often alleviated their anger toward his beliefs. This label of "liberal" was only further supported by his open and easy nature. The grand duke considered the men in his regiment to always be his equals, and addressed them as "my friends". He was uneasy about class pretensions and especially the idea of being "above" the men, yet his soldiers loved him deeply and praised him loudly. He would receive intellectuals from across the political spectrum and have long engaging discussions and correspondence with them.

Nicholas traveled extensively; he often visited Paris and the south of France where he reunited with his brother Michael and sister Anastasia. Nicholas was fond of gambling and lost large amounts at the casino in Monte Carlo. He was famous for his indiscretions, disclosing confidential information about politics in Russia to his friends or in conversation at reunions. These got him into trouble more than once. An ardent Francophile, he offended Germany during a visit to Paris when he expressed his anti-German political views, which caused a diplomatic protest. Upon his return to Russia, Alexander III exiled him for some months to Borjomi, his family's rural state.

Nicholas Mikhailovich was initially on good terms with Nicholas II, both when he was heir to the crown and later as an emperor. However, the Grand Duke's liberal political views placed him at odds with Empress Alexandra, who regarded him as her personal enemy. A pessimistic man, Grand Duke Nicholas became increasingly worried about the political situation, especially after the Russian defeat in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 and the subsequent unrest. He wrote to Tolstoy, with whom he had carried on a friendly correspondence, on 1 October 1905: "I suffer all the more from my silence because every one of the government's flaws is so blindingly clear to me and I see no remedy except in a radical change from everything that now exists. But my aged father is still alive and, out of respect for him, I must be careful not to offend him by my views or my behavior."

Stationed in Kiev in August 1914, he moved later to Rovno. He did not interfere with military matters but was assigned to make visits to hospitals. Within just a few days, at the end of August 1914, 6,000 wounded soldiers passed through Rovno alone. Nicholas was horrified by the slaughter "I have seen such suffering, such abnegation", he wrote, "that my heart has stopped, suffocated by the horrible spectacle of human suffering". His work with the army had a profound impact. "The suffering of the injured tears my heart," he wrote. Daily he visited the hospitals and "the masses of wounded". He remained in this position until his hospital visits became less necessary in 1915. However, this experience left him embittered: "there is every reason to become socialist after these massacres", he said. After the terrible Russian defeat in East Prussia in the Battle of Tannenberg, the Grande Duke prophetically wrote "in all Russian military disasters comes a gigantic uprising, which would bring to an end many monarchies and the triumph of international socialism".

Worried with what was happening in the Russian government, the grand duke sent a letter to Nicholas II begging him to deprive Empress Alexandra of power and a sixteen-page tract on the misdeeds of the prime minister, Stürmer. Horrified by the actions of the Government at this time, he publicly lambasted their actions. So much so that by the end of 1916 Nicholas II finally lost his patience with him and exiled Nicholas Mikhailovich to his rural estates."



"Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (1860-1922) - (Russian: Анастасия Михайловна) was a daughter of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a granddaughter of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia.

She was raised in the Caucasus, where she lived between 1862 and 1878 with her family. In 1879 she married Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, who in 1883 became the reigning Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The couple had three children, but her husband was plagued by ill health and they spent most of the year living abroad. The Grand Duchess never became used to her new country where she was unpopular. After the death of her husband in 1897, her visits to Schwerin were sparse.

A strong-willed, independent and unconventional woman, she caused a royal scandal when in 1902 she had a child fathered by her personal secretary. In her widowhood, she lived most of the year in the South of France. During World War I, she decided to settle in neutral Switzerland, living in Lausanne. She died after a stroke a few years later.

Known in the family as "Stassie", Anastasia Mikhailovna was the only daughter among seven children. She was the object of devotion not only as her father's favorite, but was spoiled by her six brothers. Her father was occupied with his militaristic and governmental activities, while her mother, a strict disciplinarian, showed little affection and raised the children with an iron hand. Anastasia's brothers found in her an outlet for love and tenderness that was so lacking in their parents. She was raised separately from her brothers most of the time, joining them only on Sundays when they were all allowed to take a walk together. She was particularly close to her eldest brother, Nicholas Michailovich, with whom she shared artistic interest. She grew up to be very independent, intelligent and strong-willed, with a warm and happy personality. Tall and slim, she had dark hair and green oriental eyes. Her education centered in languages; she learned French, German, and English besides her native Russian.

The marriage took place on 24 January 1879 in the Winter Palace, and she was given away by her uncle, Tsar Alexander II; there was first an Orthodox ceremony, and then a Protestant service. The wedding was a grand affair, and representatives of all the ruling houses of Europe attended.

On 8 February 1879, Anastasia and Friedrich arrived in Schwerin.[9] Her father-in-law Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was the reigning monarch of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and presided over a large family. The young couple settled in the Marienpalais, but Anastasia was not allowed to arrange her apartments according to her own taste. She was homesick and found a strict and old-fashioned court and an oppressive atmosphere. Although her own mother was German, Anastasia Mikhailovna never overcame her dislike for her adopted country.

Grand Duchess Anastasia brought up her children with simplicity and more freedom than she received from her parents, and would keep a close relationship with them. She spoke French to her husband and English with her children. She was a keen tennis player, with her own tennis court at the Villa Wenden. She loved Italian music, particularly the operas of Puccini, and the theater. Her extant letters reveal a warm, caring person, who always seems to have been happy about life. She frequented many other European royals who stayed at the Riviera; her parents and brothers were also frequent visitors. Her mother died of a heart attack in 1891, and Anastasia remained very close to her widower father and her brothers, particularly the two eldest Nicholas and Michael. Anastasia spent lavishly from the Grand Duke's income and her own dowry, for which she was widely criticized, but she loved to shock people who condemned her. She liked society and became a frequent visitor to the gambling tables of Monte Carlo, losing a large sum of money at the casino; but in spite of her extravagances, she never lost her husband's affection.

On April 10, while the family and household were at dinner, a coachman found Grand Duke Friedrich Franz unconscious at the bottom of the villa's 25-foot (7.6 m)-high retaining wall on the road below the rose-festooned parapet, which encircled the villa's garden. He had jumped in an attempt to end his life. He was carried back to the villa, where he finally died. The official report was that the sick grand duke, gasping for air, had gone to the balcony falling down over the railing accidentally.

She was resented by her family in law and was so unpopular in Schwerin that she was suspected of killing him. Anastasia seemed to have mourned her husband sincerely, telling her lady in waiting, "I have lost my best friend."

Anastasia started an affair with her personal secretary, Vladimir Alexandrovitch Paltov, and became pregnant by her lover. At first she pretended that her swelling was the result of a tumor. When the time came to deliver, she claimed she had contracted chicken pox for which she had to be quarantined. Her illegitimate son, Alexis Louis de Wenden, was born in Nice on 23 December 1902. The name de Wenden was granted by King Christian IX of Denmark after Anastasia's villa. She did bring up her illegitimate son herself. When later he was sent to study in a boarding school in Normandy, she wrote to him every day.

Anastasia's father Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia had a stroke years earlier, and moved to live near her in the South of France. Upon his death in 1909, she inherited immense wealth. In the first decade of the 20th century, the Grand Duchess occupied herself visiting her relatives, her children, growing number of grandchildren and her hobbies: reading, going to parties and the gambling tables in nearby Monte Carlo. Always the eccentric, one contemporary described her as “completely indifferent to anything but her own desires”.

The conflict split her family. Her son was a reigning prince in Germany and her younger daughter was the Kaiser's daughter in law. In the opposite side, her brothers in Russia were fighting to defeat the Central Powers. Anastasia sided with her native country. Technically a German princess, the grand duchess could neither remain in France, a country at war with Germany, nor could she return to Schwerin, now an enemy of her native Russia. Therefore, she decided to settle in neutral Switzerland. She spent the war years living at the Savoy Hotel in Lausanne, giving her villa in Cannes for use as a hospital for wounded officers of the Russian Expeditionary Force in France.

After the end of the war, Grand Duchess Anastasia decided to go back to France; she could not return as a German Princess, and with her Russian passport, she sneaked inside the country with the entourage of her cousin, Princess Catherine Yourievskaya, who was a refugee in Lausanne and was heading toward Nice. Once in France, Grand Duchess Anastasia created a charitable foundation to help Russian exiles who had emigrated to France, with Valdimir Paltov as its president. She settled at Villa Fantasia at Eze, near Cannes. There she spent her last years, taking up her old social life.


Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna and her husband, Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, had three children:

Duchess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1879–1952) she married King Christian X of Denmark on 26 April 1898. They had two sons.

Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg (1882–1945) he married Princess Alexandra of Hanover on 7 June 1904. They had five children.

Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1886–1954) she married Wilhelm, German Crown Prince on 6 June 1905. They have had six children.


Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna also had an illegitimate son with Vladimir Alexandrovich Paltov (1874–1944):

Count Alexis Louis de Wenden (1902–1976) he married Paulette Seux in 1929. They had two daughters:

Xénia Anastasie Germaine Louis de Wenden (1930) she married Alain Brulé.

Anastasie Alexandrine Paule Louis de Wenden (1935–1995)."

Texts by Wikipedia.


 
Old May 18th, 2017 #16
Alex Him
Senior Member
 
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 6,834
Blog Entries: 219
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 151
Photographer: Робиллард.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Two sons of the Emperor Alexander II in military uniform.
Grand Duke and heir Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1
Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich (right) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 152
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: [1863]
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. (He sits in a chair with a toy.)

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 153
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: 1862-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Children of Emperor Alexander II.
Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich with dolls in his hands.







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 154
Photographer: Старк.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. Grand Duchess Alexandra losifovna.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141444&postcount=3






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 154-а
Photographer: Старк.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. Grand Duchess Alexandra losifovna. She was photographed from the back.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 155
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: 1860
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Two sons of the Emperor Alexander II.
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich in military uniform (left) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 156
Photographer: Robillard.
Date: 1861-1864
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
The daughter of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 157
Photographer: Gessau.
Date: 1862-1863
Location: Germany, Koenigsberg.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich in military uniform with his cousin.
Princess Eugenia Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=...6&postcount=10







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 158
Photographer: Mayall.
Date: 1862-1868
Location: England.
Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and by the Rhine - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141541&postcount=6
with his wife Princess Alice of the United Kingdom - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141541&postcount=6







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 159
Photographer: Старк.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich (in the center) with his brother
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich (he is standing, second from the left).
With their cousins
Duke Sergey Maximilianovich of Leuchtenberg (left) - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142158&postcount=8
Duke George Maximilianovich of Leuchtenberg - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2



 
Old May 19th, 2017 #17
Alex Him
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 6,834
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/




Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 160
Photographer: Gessau.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Germany, Koenigsberg.
Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich (in the center) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1
with his brother
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich (he is standing, second from the left) - http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2
With their cousins
Duke Sergey Maximilianovich of Leuchtenberg (right) - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142158&postcount=8
Duke George Maximilianovich of Leuchtenberg - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 161
Photographer: Gessau.
Date: 1862-1863
Location: Germany, Koenigsberg.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich in military uniform with his cousin.
Princess Eugenia Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=...6&postcount=10







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 162
Photographer: Gessau.
Date: 1862-1863
Location: Germany, Koenigsberg.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich in military uniform with his cousin.
Princess Eugenia Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg.







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 163
Photographer: Backofen.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Germany, Darmstadt.
Portrait of the nephew of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Prince Alexander of Battenberg.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=...0&postcount=11






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 164
Photographer: Деньер.
Date: 1860-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the wife of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich the Elder. Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141472&postcount=4






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 165
Photographer: Backofen.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Germany, Darmstadt.
Princess Marie of Battenberg - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141472&postcount=4
with her brother
Prince Louis of Battenberg - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141472&postcount=4







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 166
Photographer: Photographie americaine.
Date: 1862-1863
Location: Russia, Moscow.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke and heir Crown Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich in military uniform.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 167
Photographer: Backofen.
Date: 1862-1868
Location: Germany, Darmstadt.
Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and by the Rhine - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141541&postcount=6
with his wife
Princess Alice of the United Kingdom - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141541&postcount=6







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 168
Photographer: Backofen.
Date: 1863-1868
Location: Germany, Darmstadt.
Portrait the wife of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by the Rhine. And the mother of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Princess Alice of the United Kingdom.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 169
Photographer: Fratelli Alinari.
Date: 1862-1870
Location: Italy, Florence.
The eldest daughter of Emperor Nicholas I. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna in marriage Duchess of Leuchtenberg. (She is sitting in a chair at the table).

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2


 
Old May 25th, 2017 #18
Alex Him
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 170
Photographer: Александровский.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 171
Photographer: Робиллард.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
The eldest daughter of Emperor Nicholas I. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna in marriage Duchess of Leuchtenberg - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2
with her sons,
George Maksimilianovich, Duke of Leuchtenberg, Prince Romanovsky (left) - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2
Sergey Maksimilianovich, Duke of Leuchtenberg, Prince Romanovsky - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142158&postcount=8







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 172
Photographer: Бейер Карл.
Date: 1862-1863
Location: Poland, Warsaw.
Portrait of Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna,
daughter of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna,
and granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142158&postcount=8






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 173
Photographer: Деньер.
Date: 1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
The son of Emperor Nicholas I. Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich in Caucasian Clothes.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141507&postcount=5






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 174
Photographer: Робиллард.
Date: 1862-1870
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
The eldest daughter of Emperor Nicholas I. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna in marriage Duchess of Leuchtenberg. She sits in an armchair with her needlework.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 175
Photographer: Бергнер Карл Август.
Date: 1861-1865
Location: Russia, Moscow.
Portrait of Emperor Alexander II in military uniform.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 176
Photographer: Бергнер Карл Август.
Date: 1863-1865
Location: Russia, Moscow.
Portrait of Emperor Alexander II in military uniform.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 177
Photographer: Photographie americaine.
Date: [1863]
Location: Russia, Moscow.
Portrait of Emperor Alexander II in military uniform.







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 178
Photographer: Photographie americaine.
Date: [1863]
Location: Russia, Moscow.
Portrait of Emperor Alexander II in his greatcoat. (He sits at a table with a dog at his feet).
Portrait was painted.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 179
Photographer: Фотография Давингова.
Date: 1861-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Emperor Alexander II in his greatcoat.


 
Old May 26th, 2017 #19
Alex Him
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 180
Photographer: Левицкий С.Л.
Date: 1865-1868
Location: Russia.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich in military uniform.

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 181
Photographer: Бейер Карл.
Date: 1862-1863
Location: Poland, Warsaw.
Portrait of Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna,
daughter of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna,
and granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I.
She is photographed in profile.


https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142158&postcount=8






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 182
Photographer: Бейер Карл.
Date: 1862-1863
Location: Poland, Warsaw.
Portrait of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142114&postcount=7






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 183
Photographer: Бейер Карл.
Date: 1861-1864
Location: Poland, Warsaw.
Portrait of the wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. Grand Duchess Alexandra losifovna in a fur coat and hat.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141444&postcount=3






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 184
Photographer: Бейер Карл.
Date: 1862-1863
Location: Poland, Warsaw.
Portrait of the daughters of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich.
Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna (left) - https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2142158&postcount=8
Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna (right).







Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 185
Photographer: Левицкий С.Л.
Date: 1865-1870
Location: Russia.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich in military uniform.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 186
Photographer: Бейер Карл.
Date: 1862-1863
Location: Poland, Warsaw.
Portrait of Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich.

"Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich of Russia (1860-1919) - (Russian: Димитрий Константинович) was a son of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich and a first cousin of Alexander III of Russia. He followed a military career. Although he never played any political role, as a relative of Tsar Nicholas II, he was executed by firing squad at the walls of Peter and Paul Fortress during the Russian Revolution.

Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich was born at Strelna on 13 June 1860, the third son and fifth child of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia and Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, born Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg. When Dmitry turned 7 his education was turned over to Alexei Zelenoy, an officer who had served under his father in the Imperial Navy.

His lessons followed the usual course: science, arithmetic, Russian and world history, composition, and geography alternating languages and the arts. He learned besides Russian, French, German and English. Like all the male members of the Romanov family, he was destined from birth to follow a military career. At his christening, Dmitry was named honorary colonel in Chief, a month later he was enrolled in the Guard Equipage, and in the Imperial family’s 4th Rifle Battalion Life Guards Infantry Regiment.

Dmitry's father, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, was Admiral General of the Russian Navy and hoped one of his sons would follow in his footsteps. With this in mind, Dmitry received lessons in naval warfare and tactics. His religious education left a big imprint on him. He would be a deeply religious man all his life. As both of his parents were musical, he received singing lesson and learned to play the piano and the violin. Dmitry was a diligent and good student, polite and attentive, capable and kind. He was also very shy and introverted, preferring quiet times reading to more usual pursuits of childhood.

At the age of 15, Dmitry, with his younger brother Vyacheslav, was enrolled as a cadet aboard the tender Kadetski. Together the two brothers underwent the rigors of life at sea. During their training cruises through the Gulf of Finland, they spent their time drilling, standing watch, and taking turns leading their fellow cadets.

Dmitry soon disappointed his father’s wishes when he decided to abandon his career in the Navy in favor of the Imperial Army. He used the interval of an illness to ask his father to allow him to join the army. It was a blow to Konstantin to see his third consecutive son to leave the navy, but Dmitry begged his father and with the intervention of Alexandra Iosifovna, he was eventually allowed to leave the Navy and join the Horse Guards regiment in 1879.

On 1 June 1880, Dmitry Konstantinovich was appointed to the suite of Alexander II and given the rank of Fligel-Adjutant. Six months later, after completing his initial infantry training, the grand duke was appointed lieutenant in the Horse Guards Regiment. He was to serve with the Horse Guards for twelve years as a junior officer, and finally as commander. After completing a training course with the General Staff Academy in 1880, Dmitry Konstantinovich was promoted to Ordnance Officer and scheduled to make his first official appearance, when he would deliver the report as an Imperial Adjutant in the Guards Sappers Cavalry Regiment. The date for his first appearance was Sunday, 1 March 1881. Two hours after the review, his uncle Alexander II, who had been present at the insistence of Alexandra Iosifovna, was assassinated.

In November 1881, Alexander III promoted Dmitry Konstantinovich to the position of Adjutant in the H. I. M. Retinue. Celebrating Dmitry's majority on 26 November of that year was delayed owing the assassination of Alexander II. The ceremony took place later and coincided with the Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich and Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich taking an oath to the Emperor. Through the 1880s, Dmitry Konstantinovich served with his regiment with unceasing energy and an eye toward correcting grievances from his men. He built himself a two-storied dacha at Krasnoye Selo, equipping the property with stables and exercise yard for the horses. Here he spent the summers with his regiment; in spring and fall, he invariably invited his regimental officers to his Palace, Strelna, which he inherited on the death of his father in 1892. Mornings were spent riding through the park in which, the grand duke put his men and their horses through intricate maneuvers; after lunch, he would lead the officers on walks through the exquisite gardens.

On 6 April 1889, the grand duke was promoted to the rank of captain and given command of the 2nd Squadron of the Horse Guards. Three years later, on 10 December 1892, he was promoted to the rank of colonel and owing to his distinguished service, he was given command of the House Guards Grenadiers Regiment by Alexander III. Dmitry was a popular commander, and a tough and demanding officer. He took pride in his soldiers, and was greatly concerned with their welfare.

Dmitry Konstantinovich was fair, with blond hair and blue eyes, and wore a small cavalry mustache. He was tall and lean with long legs and a long neck that increased his extraordinary height. In a family known for the height of its male members, Dmitry was among the tallest. Grand Duchess Militsa considered him “the nicest and best among the grand dukes”. He was proper, dignified and very refined in his manners.


Alexander Mosolov, head of Nicholas II’s Court Chancellery, described him as "full of good sense”, remarking that Dmitry Konstantinovich “was the one among all the grand dukes who was most deeply imbued with the sense of his duty as a Prince and a cousin of the Emperor”.

One day, the grand duke dispatched a hefty portion of his annual civil list income to support a struggling church. When Mosolov learnt of this he warned, " If you make gifts everywhere on this scale, your revenues will not last.” But Dmitry Konstantinovich replied that the stipend was “not intended to enable us to live as sybarites; this money is put into our hands in order that we may augment the prestige of the Imperial family".

The grand duke was a lifelong bachelor, never involved in scandals.

Under Nicholas II, the grand duke received further promotions. On 26 May 1896, he was raised to the rank of Major-General, and three months later, he was named General à la suite in the Imperial Entourage. On 19 December 1904, Dmitry Konstantinovich was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed Adjutant General to Nicholas II. Nicholas II also appointed the grand duke general director of the Imperial Stud in 1896. Despite his love of the military, it was this later post that struck the deepest chord in Dmitry Konstantinovich. On learning of his appointment, the grand duke — whom one courtier termed "timid beyond imagination" declared, " I should have eagerly accepted the appointment if it only meant looking after horses… I am afraid I shall never get on properly with officials."

Dmitry Konstantinovich was entranced with his new position, one of which demanded that he traveled across Russia and Europe, selecting the finest horses. Acting on his advice, the Imperial Stud purchased Galtee More, who had won the Derby in Great Britain, for an astronomical 200,000 rubles; as soon as he arrived in Russia, the thoroughbred was put to stud at Tsarskoye Selo. Dmitry Konstantinovich held the post until 1905, when he was replaced with Major-General Alexei Zdnovich. On 10 January 1904, Dmitry Konstantinovich relinquished command of the Horse Guard grenadiers Regiment. Although he would have been happy to remain in his post, his eyesight was failing rapidly, in detriment to his military career. Reluctantly he recognized that by remaining he was depriving another, more capable man of advancement. On leaving active service, the grand duke generously gave his dacha at Krasnoye Selo to the Horse Guards Regiment, to be used as an officer’s club.

The grand duke’s retirement allowed him to focus solely on his passion for horses. Dmitry Konstantinovich created a model equestrian center, the Dubrovsky Stud farm, outside the Village of Mirgord, in the Poltava province. In 1911, Dmitry became president of the Imperial Society of Horse Racing, and was named Honorary president of the Russian society of Care and Protection of Animals. In the autumn of 1913, he inaugurated the Russian Imperial Horse Exposition in Kiev, and the first Russian Sport Competition, a kind of Slavic Olympic Games.

With time, the grand duke frequently retreated to Crimea, where he enjoyed the last, carefree days of the Romanov dynasty along the Black Sea shores. In 1907 he purchased a small plot of land at Gaspara in the Crimea, the following year he commissioned the construction of Kichkine, from the Tartar word “tiny Jewel”. The villa was designed in Moorish style and built with local whitewashed stone. Here the grand duke and his guest spent many pleasant evenings watching the sunset over the Black Sea, unaware that the sun was also setting over their privileged way of life.


Dmitry had anticipated a clash with Germany for years and was not surprised at the outbreak of World War I. By then, he was almost blind which kept him from participating in the conflict, and he had to content himself with a job training the cavalry regiments away from the field of action.

Never meddling in politics, Dmitry Konstantinovich remained silent in the turmoil that preceded the fall of the Romanovs, believing it was not his place to offer unsolicited advice to Nicholas II.

The grand duke was in Petrograd when the revolution broke out in late February 1917. In spite of the uncertainty of the times, he had purchased a large mansion on Petrogradsky Quay in Petrograd. He was staying there when he learned of Nicholas II’s abdication and the declaration of the provisional government. After the fall of his family from power, he lived quietly, in obscurity, depending largely on Alexander Koronchentzov, his trusted Adjutant, for the necessities of daily life."

The text was taken from Wikipedia.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 187
Photographer: Photographie americaine.
Date: [1863]
Location: Russia, Moscow.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 188
Photographer: Photographie americaine.
Date: 1862-1865
Location: Russia, Moscow.
Portrait of the daughter of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 189
Photographer: Лоренс Альфред.
Date: 1863-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich in military uniform.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2


 
Old May 30th, 2017 #20
Alex Him
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Join Date: Aug 2015
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All of the photos was taken from the Russian State Film and Photo Archive - http://rgakfd.ru/





Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 190
Photographer: Робиллард.
Date: 1861-1863
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 191
Photographer: Photographie americaine.
Date: 1862-1865
Location: Russia, Moscow.
Portrait of the daughter of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 192
Photographer: Photographie americaine.
Date: [1863]
Location: Russia, Moscow.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 193
Photographer: Лоренс Альфред.
Date: 1863-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich in military uniform.

https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 194
Photographer: Лоренс Альфред.
Date: 1860-1862
Location: Russia.
The son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich in military uniform. (He is sitting on a chair).

http://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141290&postcount=1






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 195
Photographer: Buchner.
Date: 1860-1867
Location: Germany, Stuttgart.
Portrait of the daughter of Emperor Nicholas I. And the wife of (1846) Duke Charles of Württemberg, from 1864 King of Württemberg Karl I.
Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna in an armchair with a dog in her hands.


https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141472&postcount=4






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 196
Photographer: Backofen.
Date: 1865-1870
Location: Germany, Darmstadt.
Portrait of the brother of Empress Maria Alexandrovna.
Prince Alexander of Hesse.


https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141541&postcount=6






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 197
Photographer: Лоренс Альфред.
Date: 1863-1865
Location: Russia, Saint-Petersburg.
Portrait of the son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich in military uniform.






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 198
Photographer: Fratelli Alinari.
Date: 1862-1870
Location: Italy, Florence.
The eldest daughter of Emperor Nicholas I.
Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna in marriage Duchess of Leuchtenberg.
(She sits in an armchair at the table).


https://vnnforum.com/showpost.php?p=2141316&postcount=2






Сall number: Ал-323 сн. 199
Photographer: Backofen.
Date: 1862-1870
Location: Germany, Darmstadt.

In the rgakfd.ru it is written that he was "the prince [Wilhelm of Hesse] son of Grand Duke Ludwig III of Hesse“.
But in Russian Wikipedia it is written that the Grand Duke Ludwig III of Hesse did not have children.

Maybe he was Prince Wilhelm Ludwig Friedrich Georg Emil Philipp of Hesse and by Rhine (1845 -1900); married Baroness Josephine von Lichtenberg.
The son of Prince Charles of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Elisabeth of Prussia.


 
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