#elizabeta feodorovna

[la-belle-histoire]

Queen Victoria with her granddaughters, Princesses Irene, Victoria, Elisabeth, and Alix of Hesse and by Rhine. 1880s.

#aesthetic #art #art history #fashion #historical fashion #historical art #women in art #women #victorian #victorian aesthetic #Queen Victoria #German royals #grand duchy of Hesse and by Rhine #alix of hesse #Alexandra Feodorovna #Irene of Hesse #Victoria of Hesse #Elisabeth of Hesse #elizabeta feodorovna #Russian royals #Romanov #British royals #Hanover #vintage photography #black and white photography

[loiladadiani]

Romanov Family Group: From left to right: 1. Grand Duchess Elizabeta Mavrikievna, wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich; 2. Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg (Olga Alexandrovna's first husband); 3. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna; 4. In front, with a cigar and white sideburns: Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich; 5. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna; 6. Emperor Nicholas II; Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich; 7. (with hand over the head of one of Konstantin Konstantinovich's children) I do not recognize him; 8 and 9 are the two elder sons of Konstantin Konstantinovich, Prince John (in back) and Prince Gavril (in front) and 10. This could be Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich, but I am not 100% sure.

The Importance of Family

The Romanov dynasty went on for as long as the different branches of the Romanov family stayed together and interacted with each other. Whoever was Tzar at the time would act as the head of the family politically and personally and would act as the referee in the inevitable family squabbles.

After the assassination of Tsar Alexander II, security measures around the Romanovs tightened; Alexander III's life took place away from his people, but the Romanov's family life seemed to go on somehow, and even if Alexander III was not a social animal, his wife Minnie was. We still have photographs from his hunting trips, the trips to Finland, and the reunions with Minnie's family, and we still see Mikhailovichi, Konstantinovichi, and Vladimirovichi in those photos. There were frequent outings to opera and ballet during the season, and there were balls. Minnie danced away (one of her favorite partners was Alexis, Sacha's brother.)

When Nicholas II succeeded to the throne, security around him became even tighter as political unrest grew. Alexandra and Nicholas were deeply private individuals who preferred spending time with each other and their children; the combination of factors not only alienated the Tzar further from his people but also pushed him away from the rambunctious members of his extended family. Without the Tzar and Tzarina at the center, court life ceased to exist. An "alternate court" emerged around Grand Duke Vladimir and his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Elder (Miechen), which caused more harm than good. We still see family photos, but during Nicholas' reign they are mostly of the children, the Imperial Couple, and a few very close court associates and staff.

Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich, the younger son of Nicholas I and the only one left alive by the time Nicholas became Tzar, was considered a patriarchal figure of respect in the family. Once he died, the get-togethers among the different branches of the Romanov dwindled to a minimum. There was one morganatic marriage after another, resignations from important positions, etc. The dynasty was falling apart at an accelerated pace at the worse possible moment.

#russian history #imperial russia #nicholas ii #Empress Alexandra Feodorovna #Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich #Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich #Grand Duchess Elizabeta Mavrikievna #Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna #Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg #Prince Gavriil Konstantinovich #Prince John Konstantintinovich

[la-belle-histoire]

Elizabeth Feodorovna, Friedrich August von Kaulbach. 1903.

#aesthetic #art #Romanov #Elizabeta feodorovna #russian imperial family #Elisabeth of Hesse #Russia #Russian art #imperial Russia #the Romanovs #1900s #1900s fashion #Edwardian #Edwardian aesthetic #Edwardian fashion #grand duchess #imperial russian fashion #sketch #graphite art

[loiladadiani]

Cousins

I am posting this picture because I find the combination of characters and their expressions interesting.

In the back row sit the women: From left to right: Grand Duchess Elizabeta Mavrikievna (Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich's wife); I am going to identify the woman to Mavra's right as Princess Louise of Sweden who would later become Queen of Denmark, but I may be wrong; the next woman is Princess Heinrich (Alexandra's sister Princess Irene of Hesse) and the next is Empress Alexandra.

The men from left to right are Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, Prince Heinrich of Prussia (the Keiser's brother and Irene's husband), and Nicholas II. You can easily notice the family resemblance among the men.

#russian history #romanov dynasty #nicholas ii #Empress Alexandra Feodorovna #Grand Duchess Elizabeta Mavrikievna #Princess Louise of Sweden #Princess Heinrich #Princess Irene of Hesse

[loiladadiani]

Imperial Weddings during the Romanov Reign

The bridal ensemble of a Romanov imperial bride was always the same. It could not deviate from the regulations estipulated by the imperial code. They wore dresses made of cloth of silver or gold, with jeweled buttons down the skirt, topped by a velvet and ermine mantle. 

Their diamond accessories included the grand tiara made for Empress Elizabeth, which featured the Paul I Pink Diamond, as well as the Nuptial Crown, the Cherry Earrings, the Diamond Necklace, the Diamond Bracelet, and the Cloak Clasp, which had been made for Catherine the Great.  A royal wedding outfit weighed 25-30 kg. Standing still in it all day was difficult, let alone moving around! Sometimes the exhausted brides had to be carried.

According to tradition, brides in the Romanov family donated their wedding dresses to the church afterward. However, Alexandra Feodorovna, the last empress of Russia, decided to keep hers. That is why her wedding dress has survived to this day (it is on exhibition in the Hermitage.) This was considered an omen of bad luck.

Since Queen Victoria could not attend the wedding of her beloved granddaughter Alix in Russia, her other granddaughter, Alexandra's sister, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, sketched Alix’s wedding dress without the jewels and the velvet cloak and sent the sketch to their grandmother with a letter. In the letter, she discusses the lace veil worn by Alix as her bridal veil. It was the same lace wedding veil worn by her mother, Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, and her sisters, Princess Victoria, Grand Duchess Ella, and Princess Irene. See the sketches below.

Towards the end of the Romanov tenure as rulers of Russia, regulations relaxed somewhat. Nicholas II's sister Olga, who was notoriously rebellious regarding protocol, did not conduct her first wedding according to the imperial code and wore a regular wedding dress and none of the jewels. Her second wedding years later was even more casual. Prince Marie of Greece and Denmark (to become Grand Duchess Marie Georgevna by marriage) refused to get married in Russia or wear the wedding regalia, although she wore Russian court dress. The tradition had been for all imperial women to marry at the chapel in the Winter Palace, and it was not broken even for Queen Victoria, who could not travel so far by the time her second son, Prince Alfred Ernest, married Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, the daughter of Emperor Alexander II.

#Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna #Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna #Empress Alexandra Feodorovna #Grand Duchess Marie Georgievna #Grand Duchess Maria Palvolvna the Younger #Grand Duchess Helena Vladimirovna #Grand Duchess Elizabeta Mavrikievna #Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna #imperial art #imperial weddings #russian history #imperial russia #Romanov family #Romanov wedding jewels

[loiladadiani]

The Romanov Imperial Court: Two of the most beautiful women of their time

Zenaida Yusupov, was the sole heir of one of the wealthiest princely families in Russia and a legendary beauty (also the mother of Felix Yusupov, who married the only niece of Tsar Nicholas II, Irina Alexandrovna; Felix was also the man who killed Rasputin.) Here Zenaida, who had prematurely white hair, is already a mature beauty. Next to her is the no less beautiful friend, Princess Elizabeth of Hesse and By Rhine, sister of Empress Alexandra, who became a Russian Grand Duchess (Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna) through marriage to Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich, a younger brother of Alexander III; after his death, Elizabeth became a nun and eventually a saint and martyr.

These women were not only physically beautiful but they had beautiful and generous souls as well. And amazingly, they did not ware makeup...that would come one or two generations later.

Zenaida Yousupova, very young, wearing Russian court dress. The color of her attire (crimson) and the blue bow on the right with the initial "M" in diamonds indicate that she was a "Maid of Honor" or "Freylina" (for "Fraulein") to the Tzarina, Maria Feodorovna.

Grand Duchess Elizabeta Feodorovna, dressed in Russian court dress and "dripping" with emeralds. Grand Duchesses could choose the color of their court dress. There was all manner of requirements for the complex embroidery on these very expensive gowns. It took six months to finish one of them.

#Grand Duchess Elizabeta Feodorovna #Princess Elizabeth of Hesse #Princess Zenaida Yusupova #Romanov history #Russian history #Russian court dress

[loiladadiani]

Photograph of Alix of Hesse and By Rhine (Empress Alexandra Feodorovna,) her husband Emperor Nicholas II, and her sisters with their spouses (her brother Ernest Louis appears alone.)

From left to right, Grand Duke Ernest Louis, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Emperor Nicholas II, Irene, Princess Heinrich of Prussia, Prince Heinrich of Prussia, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven and Louis Mountbatten, first Marquess of Milford Haven

#romanov #russian history #european history #Grand Duke Ernest Louis #Empress Alexandra Feodorovna #Alix of Hesse #Irene of Hesse and By Rhine #Irene Princess Heinrich of Prussia #Prince Heinrich of Prussia #Grand Duchess Elizabeta Feodorovna #Elizabeth of Hesse and By Rhine #Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich #Victoria of Hesse and By Rhine #Victoria Marchioness of Milford Heaven #Louis Mountbatten #Louis Mountbatten First Marquess of Milford Heaven