Marie of Hesse

Princess Maximilienne Wilhelmine Marie of Hesse and the Rhine (8 August 1824-8 June 1880) was a princess of Grand Ducal Hesse and, as Marie Alexandrovna, Empress consort of Alexander II of Russia. She was born at Darmstadt, the capital of the Grand Duchy, and died at Saint Petersburg. File links The following pages link to this file: Marie of Hesse and by Rhine ... File links The following pages link to this file: Marie of Hesse and by Rhine ... August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt came into existence in 1568, as the portion of George, youngest of the four sons of Landgrave Philipp of Hesse. ... King George V of the United Kingdom and his consort, Queen Mary A queen consort is the wife and consort of a reigning king. ... Alexander II (1818-1881) Alexander (Aleksandr) II (Russian: Александр II Николаевич) (April 17, 1818–March 13, 1881) was the Emperor (tsar) of Russia from March 2, 1855 until his assassination. ... Map of Germany showing Darmstadt Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland (federal state) of Hesse in Germany. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland...

Early life

She was the youngest of seven children born to Wilhelmine of Baden, Grand Duchess of Hesse-Darmstadt (1788 - 1836), the younger four appearing to have been fathered by Baron Auguste Senarclens de Grancy. To avoid a scandal, Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine acknowledged Alexander and Marie as his own children; the other two had died young. Yet they still lived in a separate establishment in Heiligenberg while the Grand Duke lived in Darmstadt. 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1836 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine ( 26 December 1777 – 16 June 1848) ruled over the Grand Duchy of Hesse from 1830 until his death. ...

Marie of Hesse, her husband Tsar Alexander II, and son the future Alexander III

This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ...

Marriage

When in 1838, the Tsarevich Alexander Nikolayevich toured Europe to find a wife, he fell in love with the 14-year-old Marie. He married her on April 16, 1841, even though he was well aware of the "irregularity" of her birth. His mother Charlotte of Prussia objected, but Alexander insisted. 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Tsar, (Bulgarian цар�, Russian царь; often spelled Czar or Tzar in English), was the title used for the autocratic rulers of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires since 913, in Serbia in the middle of the 14th century, and in Russia from 1547 to 1917. ... Europe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... April 16 is the 106th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (107th in leap years). ... 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Princess Charlotte of Prussia (Frederica Louise Charlotte Wilhelmina, July 13, 1798-November 1, 1860) was, as Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress consort of Russia as the wife Nicholas I of Russia. ...

As she was very shy, she was regarded as stiff, austere, and with no taste in dress, no conversation, no charm. The damp climate of Saint Petersburg did not agree with the delicate chest Marie had inherited from her mother, so that she had a racking cough and recurring fever. Nevertheless, she became the mother of eight children. These pregnancies together with ill health kept her away from many Court festivities, which brought temptations to her husband. Fever, also known as pyrexia, is a medical symptom which describes an increase in internal body temperature to levels which are above normal (37 degrees Celsius, 98. ...

Although he always treated her well, Marie knew Alexander was unfaithful and had many lovers. He already had three children with his favorite mistress, Princess Catherine Dolgoruki, when he moved her and their children into the Imperial Palace. They entered into a morganatic marriage less than a month after Marie's death on July 6, 1880. Princess Catherine Dolgoruki (or Dolgoruky, or Dolgorukaya), also known as Princess Ekaterina Michielovna Dolgorukaya and Princess Catherine Yourievska, was the daughter of Prince Micheal Dolgorukij and Vera Visnevskaya and was Tsar Alexander II of Russias mistress and created Princess Yurievsky. ... A morganatic marriage is a type of marriage which can be contracted in certain countries, usually between persons of unequal social rank (unebenbürtig in German), which prevents the passage of the husbands titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage. ... July 6 is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 178 days remaining. ... 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Empress

In 1855 Alexander became Emperor, which forced her to attend more State functions whether she was ill or not. Although Alexander II always treated her well, she knew from 1858 onwards that his feelings were for someone else. In 1865, the death of her eldest and favourite son, the Tsarevich Nicholas, was a great blow. 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1858 is a common year starting on Friday. ... 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ...

Every now and again she was able to go to her brother Alexander who lived with his morganatic wife in Heiligenberg. There she met Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, daughter of Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, wife of her nephew Prince Ludwig. She resented Alice's suggestion of the marriage between her brother Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and her own daughter, but the marriage ultimately went through. When Alice died in 1878, Marie often invited the motherless children for visits to Heiligenberg. It was during these visits that Marie's son, Grand Duke Serge, first got to know his future wife, Alice's daughter Elisabeth. A morganatic marriage is a type of marriage which can be contracted in certain countries, usually between persons of unequal social rank (unebenbürtig in German), which prevents the passage of the husbands titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage. ... Her Royal Highness The Princess Alice (Alice Maud Mary), (25 April 1843 – 14 December 1878, was a member of the British Royal Family, the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria. ... Her Majesty Queen Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria von Wettin, née dEste) (24 May 1819 London – 22 January 1901 Isle of Wight) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and Empress of India from 1 January 1877 until her death. ... Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Francis Charles Augustus Albert Emmanuel, of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha branch of the House of Wettin) (26 August 1819 - 14 December 1861) was the husband and consort of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ... Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, K.G. (12 September 1837 in Bessungen, now Darmstadt - 13 March 1892 in Darmstadt), the ruler of the small German grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt (Hesse and by Rhine), was the husband of Princess Alice of Great Britain and Ireland, the... His Royal Highness Prince Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duke of Edinburgh (born 6 August 1844 and died 30 July 1900), was the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. ... 1878 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Children

Her children were

• Grand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna of Russia (30 August 1842 - 10 July 1849).
• Tsarevich Nikolai of Russia (20 September 1843 - 24 April 1865).
• Alexander III of Russia (10 March 1845 - 1 November 1894).
• Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia (22 April 1847 - 17 February 1909). He married Marie Alexandrine Elisabeth Eleonore von Mecklenburg-Schwerin, daughter of Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Augusta of Reuss-Köstritz. They were maternal grandparents of Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark.
• Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia (14 January 1850 - 14 November 1908). He married Countess Alexandra, Countess Zhukovskaja.
• Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia (17 October 1853 - 24 October 1920). Married Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
• Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia (10 May 1857 - 17 February 1905). Married Elizabeth Alexandra Louise Alice von Hessen, daughter of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom.
• Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia (3 October 1860 - 30 January 1919). Married first Princess Alexandra of Greece and secondly Olga Valerianovna Karnovich, Princess Palei.