The brightest favorites and mistresses of Russian emperors I - id77 - LiveJournal. Alexander the First and his women Children of Maria Naryshkina and Alexander
The Grand Duke and Emperor Alexander I (1777–1825) on September 23, 1793, with the blessing of Catherine II, was legally married to Princess Louise-Maria-August of Baden, who received at baptism in Orthodox Church name is Elizaveta Alekseevna. According to the unanimous reviews of contemporaries, she was a very beautiful, educated, impeccably educated and benevolent woman. She fascinated not only with her beauty, but with her delicate treatment and attentiveness to the people around her. In court circles, when they wanted to praise some girl or woman, they said: "She is charming and flawless, like Grand Duchess Elizabeth Alekseevna." Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich was also handsome, and in the first years of their life together with Elizaveta Alekseevna, they were an unusually harmonious married couple. But to the misfortune of Elizabeth Alekseevna, Alexander I was very fond of beautiful women and therefore, rather quickly cooled towards his wife, he often began to start love affairs on the side. Many ladies of the imperial entourage enjoyed his attention, and this was no secret to anyone. But the future emperor, quickly igniting a feeling for some lady, very quickly cooled towards her, already ignited towards another.
Once, at a ball during Maslenitsa (it was in February 1801), Tsarevich Alexander Pavlovich drew attention to a very beautiful court lady from his wife's retinue. It was Maria Antonovna Naryshkina, spouse of Dmitry Lvovich Naryshkin, Chief Jägermeister of the Imperial Court.
Maria Antonovna Naryshkina (1779–1854), born Princess Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya, daughter of Prince Anton Svyatopolk-Chetvertinsky, was born in Moscow and brought up in a family where her aunt, Princess Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya, and her two cousins, Princess Trubetskaya and Princess Shakhovskaya, were famous for their charity, the construction of widows' houses in Lefortovo, which have survived to this day, dear readers, and the creation of the society of sisters of mercy "Satisfy my sorrows", in the building of which medicine still reigns. Maria Antonovna was not deprived of such a civic sense of duty to the poor and the suffering. But to a greater extent, she, a zealous Polka, was concerned about the fate of her homeland divided between three states, and therefore gathered Polish patriots around her. There were rumors that the adoption of the Polish constitution by the Polish Sejm was not without the participation of Maria Antonovna.
The salon of Maria Antonovna was the only place in St. Petersburg where one could speak freely, even about Arakcheev himself, whom, by the way, Maria Antonovna simply hated.
But at the time when he drew attention to her Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, she shone with her beauty and grace at the court balls of Emperor Paul I. Less than a month after the ball, so memorable for the Grand Duke and Maria Antonovna, Emperor Paul was killed by conspirators, and a new period began in the life of Alexander Pavlovich: he became Emperor All-Russian.
Despite all these difficult, and at the same time joyful events for many, Emperor Alexander I did not forget Maria Antonovna, and for the next almost fourteen years she was his favorite. Although this was not proclaimed loudly and officially at court, but as the everyday writer Vigel once said: “I would not allow myself to talk about her mutual love with Emperor Alexander if it remained a secret for someone.”
The laws of favoritism in force at the court did not allow Maria Antonovna’s husband, Dmitry Lvovich Naryshkin, to somehow clearly react to his wife’s betrayal, and the personality of the lover forced her husband to bow before him in excess. The same laws forced Empress Elizabeth Alekseevna to suffer secretly from everyone, including her husband, and to find a comforter for her suffering, a secret lover. for Maria Antonovna, sent on long and distant business trips, and not only to European countries, but also in the opposite direction.
In 1805, Russia took part in the war with the Napoleonic army as part of the anti-French coalition, which consisted of England, Turkey and Austria. First, the Russian troops won victories: Kutuzov at Krems, then in the battle of Shengraben. But on November 20, 1805, the Russians were defeated at Austerlitz, about which we have an almost visual representation through the novel by L. N. Tolstoy "War and Peace" and his hero Andrei Bolkonsky.
This period of time in the life of Maria Antonovna Naryshkina was noted in his novel "Alexander I" by D. S. Merezhkovsky:
“Shortly after Austerlitz, news from St. Petersburg appeared in foreign newspapers: “Mrs. Naryshkina defeated all her rivals. The sovereign was with her on the very first day after his return from the army. Hitherto the connection had been a secret; now Naryshkina exposes her, and everyone is on their knees in front of her. This open connection torments the empress.
Once, at a court ball, the empress asked Maria Antonovna about her health.
Not very well, - she answered, - I think I'm pregnant.
Both knew from whom.
“Your husband’s behavior is outrageous, especially small dinners with this creature, in his own office, next to you,” the Grand Duchess of Baden wrote to her daughter, the Russian Empress. There was talk of divorce.
But in twenty years everyone got used to it, and no one was surprised anymore. Marya Antonovna was so good-looking that she did not have the heart to condemn her lover.
“Opening my mouth, I stood in the theater in front of her box and in a stupid way marveled at her beauty, so perfect that it seemed unnatural, impossible,” recalled many years later one of Princess Naryshkina’s admirers.
“Tell her that she is an angel,” Kutuzov wrote about Maria Antonovna to his wife, “and that if I idolize women, then only because she is of this sex; and if she were a man, then all women would be indifferent to me.
“All Aspasia is dearer
Black eyes with lights
With his lush chest ...
She feels, sighs,
A tender soul is visible;
And she doesn't know it
Than everyone is more good, ”-
old man Derzhavin sang about her.
No one was surprised that Marya Antonovna's husband, Dmitry Lvovich Naryshkin, had two positions: an explicit one - chief chamberlain and a secret one - "indulgent husband", or, as jokers said, "great master of the Masonic lodge of cuckolds."
The virtuous Empress Maria Feodorovna wrote to her “virtuous wife” Maria Antonovna: “Your husband gives me pleasure, speaking of you with feelings of such love, which, I believe, few wives, like you, can boast of.”
The lover, however, was no less indulgent than her husband. Once he took Marya Antonovna by surprise with his adjutant Ozharovsky. But she managed to convince the sovereign that nothing had happened, and he believed her more than his own eyes. But others followed, countless of her admirers, mostly from the young aide-de-camp.
In July 1713, Maria Antonovna was relieved of her burden by her son, who was named Emmanuel. and had no other direct heir, did not dare to such an act. (Perhaps he was not completely sure that this was his son.) However, a month after the birth of his son, on August 30, 1713, he sent a rescript written by his own hand to Dmitry Lvovich Naryshkin, which said: “Taking sincere participation in the well-being of your family, I, in accordance with your desire, I suppose to make the following order: 1) all movable and immovable property that will remain after your death, to be divided between brother Emmanuel and his sisters, Marina and Sophia, on a legal basis; 2) in this way, evaluate the estate that Emmanuel and Sophia inherited with the fact that the amount due for it will be paid to your daughter Marina from my Cabinet. For your upcoming need for money, you will receive 300 thousand rubles. This amount must in due time be subtracted from that which is above this appointed for the benefit of older sister Marina. If during my lifetime I could not lead to the fulfillment of this decree, I entrust my heirs to fulfill with all their might and with all accuracy this duty so close to my heart ”(D. S. Merezhkovsky).
The text of this rescript does not give the impression of a spiritual breadth of a benefactor, it is permeated with a desire to envelop a charitable act with a secret accessible only to a few. It is clear from it that Emmanuel and Sophia are his children, and Marina is the daughter of Dmitry Lvovich Naryshkin, Alexander I not only did not support his son Emmanuel attention and care, but already in the next year, 1814, he stopped all relations with Maria Antonovna.
Recall that this was the period when the lot of Alexander I fell Patriotic War 1812, and then the Foreign Campaign of 1813-1814 and the international congress of Napoleon's victors in 1814. During these two years he was with the army almost all the time and rarely visited St. Petersburg.
In the world they said that Maria Antonovna Naryshkina "she herself broke that connection that she did not know how to appreciate." We do not know whether such a judgment was correct. One can only assume that a woman whose husband received such a rescript should experience not only shame, but also such a deep disappointment in her lover that there could no longer be any talk of love.
With direct heirs, Alexander I was unfavorable: two daughters, born to Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna, died in infancy. The first daughter of Alexander Pavlovich from Maria Antonovna also died. The second, Sophia, whom the emperor considered indisputably his own, survived, but from childhood she was predisposed to tuberculosis, or, as they said then, "was weak in the chest." Alexander loved Sofochka very much, he constantly visited her, especially when she was sick. But Sophia, sick with consumption, despite all efforts to cure her, died quite young, on the eve of her wedding.
In 1825, Alexander I, who broke with his favorite and reconciled with his wife, Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna, died in Taganrog under mysterious circumstances and was buried (he or his double?) in the Peter and Paul Fortress. His most striking and long-term favorite-mistress, Maria Antonovna Naryshkina, from the family of princes Svyatopolk-Chetvertinsky, died at the age of 75 much later than the emperor - on September 6, 1854.
| | Until 1799, one of the palaces of the Vorontsovs stood on this site, then Countess Irina Ivanovna Vorontsova sold it to Maria Antonovna Naryshkina (nee Chetvertinskaya). Maria Naryshkina came from a Polish princely family, who stood for rapprochement with Russia. When the Kosciuszko uprising began in Warsaw, the insurgents hanged her father in the center of the city as a traitor. The widow and three children (Boris, Maria and Jeannette) were generously rewarded by Catherine II for their father's loyalty to Russian interests. The girls became ladies-in-waiting, the boy was sent to Corps of Pages. At 16, Maria Chetvertinskaya marries 37-year-old Prince Dmitry Naryshkin. The princes Naryshkins are relatives of the emperors: Natalia Naryshkina is the mother of Peter I. Dmitry Naryshkin, one of the richest people Russia, never held high government positions, only courtiers; collected, gave balls, kept the largest horn music orchestra in Russia - in a word, he led the life of an enlightened nobleman "of the times of Ochakov and the conquest of the Crimea." His young wife was striking in her beauty: in the words of Derzhavin - "With black eyes with fires, with her magnificent breasts she feels, sighs, a tender soul is visible, and she herself does not know what is the most good of all."
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| Naryshkina Maria Antonovna |
The marriages of Russian emperors were always made by agreement and calculation, but this does not mean that the persons of royal blood did not know what real feelings were.
The favorites of the kings had influence in society that helped them improve their financial situation. Of course, many mistresses experienced real feelings, as evidenced by numerous love letters that have survived to this day.
1. Ekaterina Dolgorukova (favorite of Alexander II)
Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova came from a princely family and was a true aristocrat. Emperor Alexander II was very friendly with her family, so he often visited them on the estate. When he met Catherine, she was only 12 years old. After the death of Mikhail Dolgorukov, the emperor provided assistance to his family: in particular, he educated all his children, including Catherine herself. When the girl was 16 years old, the emperor met her again. He fell in love, and the feeling was mutual. However, Catherine refused to become another of the many mistresses of the king.
After the wife of Alexander II, Maria Alexandrovna, fell ill with tuberculosis, doctors prescribed her celibacy. Then Catherine, knowing what advantages her relationship with the tsar would bring to her family, nevertheless agreed to become his mistress. The emperor even made her a lady-in-waiting to be constantly by her side.
The favorite bore Alexander four children. She even wanted to put one of her children on the imperial throne, bypassing the legitimate heirs. After the death of his wife, Alexander married Catherine.
The royal family never accepted the mistress. After a successful assassination attempt by anarchists on Alexander II, she was not allowed into the church for the funeral. After the death of the emperor, she emigrated with her children to France.
2. Maria Naryshkina (lover of Alexander I)
Born a Polish princess, at the age of 16, Maria married Dmitry Naryshkin. The girl attracted attention at all balls not only with her beautiful appearance, but also with her incredible taste in clothes and jewelry.
There is nothing surprising in the fact that Emperor Alexander I fell in love with her at first sight. With the blessing of her husband, Maria became the emperor's mistress in 1799. Alexander and Mary even appeared together at balls and various ceremonies, despite the fact that the emperor had a legal wife, Elizabeth.
Naryshkin was adored both by the yard and royal family. She even planned to force the emperor to divorce his wife and marry her. Everything favored her: the emperor demonstrated their relationship for all to see as if he was not married at all. However, these plans were not destined to come true: for unknown reasons, Alexander refused to divorce his wife. In 1814, their stormy romance ended unexpectedly. During this relationship, Mary gave birth to five children, of which at least four were from the king. However, Naryshkin recognized all five and gave them his last name.
3. Anna Lopukhina (favorite of Paul I)
Like everyone else famous mistresses Russian tsars Born into a noble family, Lopukhina struck Emperor Paul I in the heart when she was 19 years old. Seeing her at the ball, the emperor ordered her family to move to St. Petersburg, he gave high ranks at court to many family members. So after the move, Anna's father received the title of the Most Serene Prince and the position of Prosecutor General.
Despite her small stature and not particularly attractiveness, Anna won the heart of Paul, and for her sake he performed almost chivalrous feats worthy of a love story. Painting the walls of the Mikhailovsky Palace the color of Anna's gloves or the way ships are named after her are just some of his gestures. In 1799, unable to withstand pressure from society because of her connection with the emperor, Lopukhina ended her relationship with Pavel and married another person. The emperor did not interfere with her marriage to her childhood friend, Prince Gagarin, but in his heart he hoped that her beloved would return to him. However, his dream was not destined to come true, because two years after their break he was killed.
4. Matilda Kshesinskaya (mistress of Nicholas II)
A prima ballerina of Polish origin, Matilda met Nikolai at one of her performances when she was 17 years old. Falling in love with her at first sight, Nicholas II bought her a luxurious mansion in St. Petersburg, where they met for 4 years while their relationship lasted. Known for her ruthless and ambitious nature, Matilda often used her relationship with the emperor to earn fame and influence in the imperial theatre. She was not only a very gifted dancer, but also a capricious, stubborn woman, ready to do anything to destroy her rivals. Despite the great passion and affection for Matilda, Nikolai broke up with her in 1894, when his father died, and he was to marry the future Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
Later, Matilda had romances with two grand dukes from the Romanov family: cousins Sergei Mikhailovich and Andrei Vladimirovich. In 1902, she gave birth to a son and admitted that she had no idea which of the two was his father. Later she married Andrei Vladimirovich and after October revolution moved with him to Paris. There she opened a prestigious ballet school attended by such legendary ballerinas as Margot Fontaine and Tatyana Ryabushinsky. In 1971, Matilda died, just 8 months before her 100th birthday.
He became famous not only for his military exploits - he is called one of the most loving Russian rulers. He had a beautiful wife, who drove poets and courtiers crazy, and several favorites. His romance with Maria Naryshkina was the longest and most serious - they spent 15 years together, Maria gave birth to Alexander I of three children. In some sources, she is described as a modest silent beauty, in others - as a self-confident and impudent femme fatale. What was actually the most brilliant mistress of Alexander I?
Alexander I was the grandson of Catherine II and the eldest son of Paul I. Catherine II was engaged in the upbringing of the future emperor, she also chose a wife for him - Louise-Maria-Augusta of Baden, after baptism in the Orthodox Church - Elizaveta Alekseevna. She was meek, delicate, impeccably educated, and also very beautiful. But her virtues were appreciated by everyone except Alexander I.
Maria Naryshkina was not the first favorite of the emperor, but many people call her the only strong passion of Alexander I. All his previous novels were short-lived, but this one lasted 15 years. How was Maria Naryshkina able to subdue the emperor?
Maria was a Pole, she came from the princely family of Svyatopolk-Chetvertinsky. At the age of 15 she became a maid of honor at the Russian court, at 16 she was married to Prince Naryshkin. Many wrote about her beauty, G. Derzhavin compared her with the famous hetero Aspasia, the wife of Pericles:
Aspasia is dearer to all:
Black eyes with lights
With your foamy chest
Amazing Athens,
Surpasses all;
Orly eyes, lion souls
It burns like the sun with beauty.
The English envoy F. Vigel wrote that “her beauty was so perfect that it seemed impossible, unnatural. The ideal features of the face and the impeccability of the figure were even brighter with the usual simplicity of her outfit. We cannot fully judge the beauty of the famous favorite - unfortunately, only a few portraits of Maria Antonovna have come down to us.
ABOUT moral character Naryshkina there were various rumors. According to some contemporaries, she was silent, calm, restrained, kind and tactful. In other sources, she is characterized as a self-confident and impudent young lady. Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna was outraged by her behavior once at a ball and complained in a letter to her mother: “For such an act, one must have shamelessness, which I could not even imagine. It happened at the ball. I spoke to her, as with everyone else, asked about her health, she complained of being unwell: “I think I’m pregnant” ... She knew very well that I didn’t know who she could be pregnant from.
Maria Naryshkina had 6 children, 3 of them died in infancy. Officially, all were considered the children of her lawful spouse, although it was no secret to anyone that the emperor was the father of three of them. In 1824, at the age of 16, the daughter of Maria and Alexander I, Sophia, died, a year later they parted. In 1825, the emperor died of typhoid fever (according to another version, he became a hermit and lived in Siberia under the name of Elder Fyodor).
Maria Naryshkina lived until the age of 75, according to some sources, there were still a lot of things in her life love adventures, according to others - she spent almost a year among the novices of the monastery. Obviously, only the fact of her rare beauty and the emperor’s love for her, in whose life she left a noticeable mark, will remain indisputable for us.
Maria Antonovna Naryshkina - born Princess Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya - wife of Chief Jägermeister D. L. Naryshkin, favorite of Emperor Alexander I
(1779 Warsaw - 1854 Munich)
Maria Naryshkina came from a Polish princely family, who stood for rapprochement with Russia. Daughter of Prince Anthony-Stanislav Svyatopolk - Chetvertinsky (from his first marriage to the girl Kopengauz).
Portrait of Maria Antonovna Naryshkina
She was born on February 2, 1779. When the Kosciuszko uprising began in Warsaw, the insurgents hanged her father in the city center as a traitor. The widow and three children (Boris, Maria and Jeannette) were generously rewarded by Catherine II for their father's loyalty to Russian interests.
Gifted by nature with a remarkably beautiful appearance, Maria was already a maid of honor at the age of 15. The sister also became a maid of honor, the boy was sent to the Corps of Pages.
At 16, Maria Chetvertinskaya marries 37-year-old Prince Dmitry Naryshkin. The princes Naryshkins are relatives of the emperors: Natalya Naryshkina is the mother of Peter I.
WHO IS OUR HUSBAND?
Naryshkin Dmitry Lvovich (May 30, 1758 - March 31, 1838) - the son of the chief horseman Naryshkin L.A. from marriage with the niece of Count Razumovsky A.G. Marina Osipovna Zakrevskaya. Enjoyed the location of Empress Catherine II.
From a young age he served at the court, enjoyed the favor of Emperor Alexander I.
On August 6, 1798, he received the court position of chamberlain, and in 1804 he became chief chasseurmeister (or, according to other sources, chief chamberlain).
Ludwig Guttenbrunn Portrait of Dmitry Lvovich Naryshkin early 19th century
In 1795 he married Princess Maria Antonovna Chetvertinskaya, who occupied a special position in St. Petersburg secular society due to the passion for her of Emperor Alexander I. According to Vigel F.V., Naryshkin D.L. "belonged to a small remnant of the court nobles of the past; with everyone he was naturally courteous, noble in heart and manners, but just like almost all of them, voluptuous, luxurious, wasteful, with a mind and character not very firm."
Dmitry Naryshkin, one of the richest people in Russia, never held high government positions, only courtiers; collected, gave balls, kept the largest horn music orchestra in Russia - in a word, he led the life of an enlightened nobleman "of the times of Ochakov and the conquest of the Crimea."
Naryshkin D.L. was known for his exquisite hospitality; an aristocratic society gathered at his dacha on Kamenny Island.
After the death of his father, Dmitry owned 25 thousand peasants and vast lands in various provinces. During the war of 1812, Dmitry Lvovich contributed 20 thousand rubles to the treasury for military needs.
So, in 1795, Maria Naryshkina married a wealthy nobleman D.L. Naryshkin.
In St. Petersburg, he built a beautiful house, which was known to all the inhabitants of the capital.
The Naryshkins celebrated their wedding and housewarming at the same time.
On this occasion, Dmitry Lvovich ordered the poet Derzhavin the poem "Housewarming of the Young":
Please accept gratitude
Diligent to you your children!
This holiday, feast and housewarming -
You are all, you are all for us in this life.
Chorus.
Dear guests, honorable,
Tender mother and father.
See the souls are raptured
Tender children, delight of hearts;
Behold their happiness creators.
Portrait of M.A. Naryshkina
On the portraits that have come down to us, Naryshkin shines with bright beauty.
Contemporaries testify that Maria Antonovna was really a dazzling beauty.
“Aspasia is dearer to everyone,” Derzhavin sang in praise of her.
And further:
“With black eyes with fires, with her magnificent chest, she feels, sighs, a tender soul is visible, and she herself does not know what is the best of all.”
Kutuzov, in a joking manner, but, apparently, sincerely admiring her, said that women are worth loving, since there is one like Maria Antonovna among them.
The English envoy F. F. Vigel wrote that "her beauty was so perfect that it seemed impossible, unnatural."
"Ideal facial features," Vigel wrote, "and the impeccability of the figure were even brighter with the usual simplicity of her outfit."
Possessing remarkable beauty and occupying a prominent position in the highest metropolitan society, she aroused the deep heartfelt affection of Emperor Alexander Pavlovich.
V.Borovikovsky Portrait of Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich 1799
English envoy Vigel F.F. wrote: "I would not allow myself to talk about her mutual love with Emperor Alexander if it remained a secret for someone." Silent, calm, knowing that it is enough for her to appear to hear a whisper of admiration. Her qualities harmoniously complemented the unbalanced nature of Alexander Pavlovich: she brought him exactly what he lacked most of all.
According to Ekaterina Naryshkina's husband, Count Golovkin:
“Naryshkina's husband was indulgent, and the beauty of his charming wife did not touch him at all. However, her charms were attractive enough to captivate a powerful monarch, even when she was adorned only with a simple white crepe dress and a garland of those blue flowers which are called forget-me-nots”.
In the words of the same Vigel, whom I often quote here:
“A young couple, of the same age, of equal beauty, submitted to the power of omnipotent love, passion, although with fear of public censure. But who could resist the captivating Alexander and the charming Mary?!”.
Maria Antonovna from Naryshkin had a daughter, Marina Dmitrievna (1803 (according to other sources - 1798) -1871), the only one whom the official father recognized as his child. True, again there are rumors that Naryshkina had this child from the last favorite of Catherine II - Platon Zubov, with whom she had an affair before the emperor.
The result of Naryshkina's connection with Alexander I was three children (according to other sources, five): three who died in infancy -
Elizabeth (d.1803), Elizabeth (d.1804) and Zinaida (d.1810),
as well as daughter Sophia (1808–1824). She was often ill, suffering from tuberculosis since childhood.
The son of Emmanuel (1813–1902) is also mentioned, but apparently this is an erroneous opinion, because if Emmanuel was, albeit illegitimate, but the son of Emperor Alexander I, then in historical documents and memoirs would mention him more often. And so I took this information on one of the sites, but I put it here, since we are talking about a male child.
P.E. Strolli Portrait of Maria Antonovna Naryshkina 1801
The children were all called Naryshkins, despite the fact that Maria Antonovna's husband knew perfectly well that he was not their father. Dmitry Lvovich treated his fate calmly, with dignity and apparent indifference: Pushkin called him "the majestic cuckold."
They say that one fine day, when the emperor was in a good mood, he appointed Naryshkin as Chief Jägermeister with the words addressed to the wife of the deceived husband: "Since I put horns on him, let him now be in charge of deer."
Alexander left Dmitry Lvovich 300,000 rubles to provide for his children.
In my memories of Congress of Vienna Count Delagarde wrote that Dmitry Naryshkin himself answered Emperor Alexander to his question:
"How is your daughter Sophia?"
- "But, Your Majesty, she is not my daughter at all, but yours..."
On another occasion, the king asked his favorite about his wife and his children. Naryshkin cynically replied: "What kind of children is your Imperial Majesty coping? About mine or about yours?
With her charming appearance, Maria Antonovna possessed high qualities of mind and heart: "her kindness was reflected not only in her eyes, but also in her voice and her every reception."
This was greatly facilitated by her tact and ability to keep herself in the world, and the young Emperor, deeply attached to her, for his part, carefully avoided showing his feelings by such outward signs of distinction and honor that could give food to unnecessary rumors.
True, there are other opinions.
“Alexander did not hide his connection with Maria Naryshkina, but she behaved directly defiantly. Say, in 1804, she approached the Empress at a ball and announced her pregnancy. It was a frank insult: the pregnancy was two months old, it was difficult to notice it.
On June 10, 1804, Elizaveta Alekseevna wrote to her mother:
"Did I tell you that the first time she shamelessly told me about her pregnancy, which was still at the beginning, so I could perfectly ignore her. I find that it takes incredible impudence to do this, it was at a ball, and her position was not as visible as it is now. I spoke to her, as to everyone else, and inquired about her health. She replied that she did not feel very well, "because I seem to be pregnant. I knew very well from whom she could have been pregnant. I don’t know what will happen next and how it will all end; I only know that I will not spoil my character and health for the sake of a person who is not worth it, but patience can sometimes surpass human strength.
Alien to any ambition, Maria Antonovna did not interfere in state affairs, although at one time many hopes were placed on her both by her compatriots, who dreamed of the revival of Poland, and by a strong court party, which sought to reject the Sovereign from an alliance with Napoleon. The influence of Maria Antonovna showed itself most of all in the little things, in the requests and petitions for various people who used her kindness and accessibility. Naryshkina did not interfere in state affairs.
Toward the end, Maria Antonovna apparently began to be weary of her exceptional position; she, as Countess Edeling says, "she herself broke off those relationships that she did not know how to value." The time spent by Maria Antonovna in St. Petersburg until 1813 was the most brilliant in her life. The Naryshkins lived in the winter in their house on the Fontanka (now Count Shuvalova), and in the summer at the dacha "Ma Folie" on Krestovsky. They lived with extreme luxury, very openly, hosted the whole city and court, gave brilliant holidays and balls.
In the theater, the emperor's beloved occupied the central box. She had a sophisticated society. Everyone who was accepted by M.A. Naryshkina, had access to all the houses of the capital. Her outfits served as a model and were the envy of all the noble ladies of St. Petersburg.
The illness of her youngest daughter, Sophia, prompted Maria Antonovna to undertake a journey in 1811 to the south of Russia, to Odessa, where she spent the summer and traveled around the Crimea in the fall.
In 1813, Naryshkina went abroad and for the health of her daughter spent a long time in foreign lands, living in France, Switzerland, Germany and London. She returned to Russia only occasionally and not for a long time, and in 1818 in St. Petersburg she married her eldest daughter, Marina, to Count Guryev.
In 1824, her 16-year-old daughter Sofia died in St. Petersburg, in the bloom of youth and beauty, being the bride of Count A.P. Shuvalov. Alexander Pavlovich sent a note to the Empress: “She died. I am punished for all my sins." Her brother, Emmanuil Dmitrievich, lived a long, respectable life; served, like his stepfather, in the court service, charitable.
Meanwhile, again, according to Internet sources, after the death of the emperor, Maria Antonovna went into all serious trouble. She broke the heart of her daughter Sophia's fiancé, Pavel Shuvalov, then entangled her husband's nephew, Lev Naryshkin, with her charms, then got along with a certain Brozin.
In 1833, M. A. Naryshkina settled with her husband in Odessa. Last years of her life, Maria Antonovna lived mostly abroad, occasionally only coming to Odessa. She died in 1854 on the shores of Lake Starenberg and was buried in Munich, at the Sudlicher Friedhof cemetery.
Biographies are taken from websites.
