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 the family that no one could comprehend. Meanwhile, her presence evoked melancholy in the Empress, casting a shadow over her angelic and happy face. She endured her tenth pregnancy without her usual tranquillity.”¹ On 25 October 1832, Charlotte gave birth to her fourth son and final child, a son named Michael.

Charlotte was not well, although she continued to attend the court functions she could. Dolli wrote, “The Empress is not well, coughs, and from time to time her chest aches. […]But she, who has no other goal or aspiration than her love for her husband, doesn’t want to be separated from him at all and longs to participate in all the ceremonies with him, but her strength isn’t sufficient for this hectic life. She wears herself down, which causes her to age prematurely.”²

The years following her last birth were relatively calm. She had another miscarriage in 1836. In May 1837, Charlotte’s eldest son, Alexander, was sent on a seven-month educational trip through Russia. Charlotte found it hard to have him leave, and eagerly awaited every letter. However, it also inspired her own travels, and she finally made her way to Crimea, which she had always wanted to visit. In one guestbook she wrote, “With indelible impressions and memories, I depart from you, beautiful Alukpa! Will I ever see you again? This question weighs heavily on my mind and makes my farewell difficult.”³ In Orianda, she wrote to her brother, Frederick William, “It’s so beautiful here, among the rocks and mountains, crowned by the blue sea and divine vegetation, everywhere trees, shrubs and flowers that only grow in greenhouses in Berlin. What flattered my gardening heart the most was to revel among laurels, olives and pomegranates.”⁴

On 4 November 1838, Charlotte’s eldest daughter, Maria, became engaged to Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg. It seemed like a rather odd match, but Maria had planned to elope with him, and now had her way without the elopement. Nevertheless, Charlotte was happy for her daughter and wrote, “That Maria wanted to stay in the country and now will, transcends nationality; that she is adored by her fiance; that it is a union of mutual affection; that the Emperor and I are blessed to keep our child here – all this makes this event a happy family event for everyone.”⁵ Maximilian was the grandson of Empress Joséphine, and the couple would settle in Russia.

Their wedding took place on Charlotte’s 41st birthday in 1839. One attendee wrote, “The Empress has a very elegant figure, and despite her extreme thinness, I find an indefinable grace in her entire form. Her demeanour, far from being arrogant as I had been told, reflects the habituation to resignation in a proud soul. Upon entering the chapel, she was very agitated; she seemed deathly ill to me. A nervous twitching moved her features, something even causing her to shake her head. Her sunken, gentle blue eyes betray deep-seated suffering borne with angelic serenity; her soulful gaze is all the more powerful becauses she never even considers giving the slightest hint of it; destroyed before her time, she has no age, and one could not guess her years by looking at her; she is so frail that one might think she lacks what is necessary for life; she withers away, she will fade, she no longer belongs to this earth. This is a shadow.”⁶

About the year 1839, Charlotte herself wrote, “A quiet melancholy, even sadness, creeps over me when I see my family circle in the Winter Palace reduced by one member.”⁷ The following year, her eldest son became engaged to Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, and Maria gave birth to her first child, and Charlotte’s first grandchild. Maria’s daughter was named after her grandmother.

Charlotte was advised not to have any more children. She had been pregnant eleven times and had several miscarriages. Nicholas turned his attention to Varvara Nelidova (Varinka), who was made a lady-in-waiting to his wife. Charlotte had no choice but to accept it, but she was jealous. In 1841, she wrote in her diary that she had told her husband to be more discreet.⁸ Her health continued to suffer, and she began spending a lot of time at spas, much to her husband’s disappointment.

Charlotte’s father, too, had been ill. In early June 1840, Charlotte travelled to Berlin with her daughter Olga. Charlotte wrote in her diary, “So I travelled into dear old Berlin, this time in tears and with death in my heart. The closer I got to the palace, the more my sobbing increased.”⁹ Her father greeted her happily and did not mention his condition. Charlotte later wrote, “He had taken on a completely different appearance. His speech was so indistinct and weak that I had difficulty understanding him. But he was so concerned for my health and said many kind words in return for the emperor’s concern.”¹⁰

Charlotte and some of her siblings took turns at the dying King’s bedside. Charlotte’s husband rushed to be by her side and arrived just in time to see his dying father-in-law. King Frederick William exclaimed, “I am very unwell!” He died two and a half hours later. It was  7 June 1840.¹¹

Part six coming soon.

1. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.185
2. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.196-197
3. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.217
4. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.218
5. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.229
6. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.231-232
7. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.232
8. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.250
9. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.254
10. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.229
11. Die Preußin auf dem Zarenthron by Marianna Butenschön p.255