Charlotte of Prussia

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Charlotte of Prussia: “A quiet melancholy” (Part five)

Read part four here. The Austrian diplomat Karl Ludwig von Ficquelmont and his wife, Dolli, were invited to the Peterhof. Dolli later wrote, “But there, too, was Sophie Urusova, this enigmatic figure, with her dazzling white and dispassionate beauty, at the sight of which the Empress’s friends’ hearts ached, and who occupied a place in [read more]
Charlotte of Prussia

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Charlotte of Prussia: “The ideal of the Russian Tsarina” (Part four)

Read part three here. Life changed forever in December 1825. Nicholas’s elder brother, Emperor Alexander I, died on 1 December in the arms of his once-estranged wife. He had fallen ill during a trip to Crimea. The news arrived in St Petersburg on 9 December. Charlotte’s mother-in-law, Empress Maria Feodorovna, fainted upon hearing the news [read more]
Charlotte of Prussia

The Year of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz – Charlotte of Prussia: “Her soul resonates with ours” (Part three)

Read part two here. On 12 June 1817, Charlotte left Berlin with her brother, William. Her entire entourage consisted of 12 carriages, and Charlotte’s carriage alone was being pulled by eight horses. She had been told that Nicholas would meet her at the border, but he surprised her at Memel. When they finally reached the [read more]
Wedding of the Heir Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna
Marie of Hesse and by Rhine

Royal Wedding Recollections – Marie of Hesse and by Rhine & the future Alexander II of Russia

In 1839, Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich, the future Alexander II of Russia, visited Darmstadt and was instantly attracted to the 14-year-old Princess Marie of Hesse. She was the daughter of Princess Wilhelmine of Baden and Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse, who had acknowledged her as his daughter; however, it was more likely that August von [read more]