Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Encyclopedia
Charlotte Christine Sophie also known as Sophie Charlotte or simply Charlotte (28 August 1694, Wolfenbüttel
– 2 November 1715, Saint Petersburg
), was the wife of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich of Russia
. She was the daughter of Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
and Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen
. She was also the great aunt of Marie Antoinette
.
, whose consort Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
was her distant kinswoman and also her godmother. She received a good education for that time period. In late 1709, Tsar Peter I of Russia sent his son Alexei to Dresden
to finish his education. There, he met Charlotte for the first time. She seemed a good match to Tsar Peter for his son because her elder sister Elizabeth Christine
was married to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI
, and the support of Austria in the upcoming fight with the Turks was appreciated by Russian diplomats.
On 25 October 1711 at Torgau
, Charlotte Christine married Tsarevich Alexei, eldest son and heir
of Peter I of Russia
by his first wife Eudoxia Lopukhina
. She was allowed to keep her Lutheran faith, but any children would be raised as Russian Orthodox
. This marriage was the first to break the old tradition of the Russian imperial family of only marrying women from the Russian nobility. Thus Charlotte was the first member of the Russian imperial family who came from a foreign European dynasty since Zoe Palaiologina. In 1713, Charlotte received from the Russian Emperor the title of Crown Princess of Russia. In the same year, she arrived in Russia.
Charlotte enjoyed the favour of Tsar Peter the Great, but lived an isolated life with her own court, which was composed almost entirely by foreigners. In the beginning her marriage to Alexei was happy, but his drunkenness soon began to strain their relationship. He also had an open affair with Yefrosinya Fedorov which started during Charlotte's lifetime and continued after her death. Charlotte found some consolation in the birth of a daughter, Natalia
, and a son, later Peter II of Russia
. She died a few days after the birth of her son. Both her daughter and son died without issue.
, where she married a French officer named d'Auban, with whom she later moved to Paris
, France
. Later they moved to the island of Bourbon, and when d'Auban died, Charlotte returned to Europe, living in Paris
and Brussels
, Belgium
, with a pension from her niece, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. Heinrich Zschokke
developed this legend into a novella
, titled "Die Prinzessin von Wolfenbüttel"; Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer
wrote a libretto
about it and Duke Ernest of Saxe-Coburg wrote an opera, "Santa Chiara", on the subject.
Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, located on the Oker river about 13 kilometres south of Brunswick. It is the seat of the District of Wolfenbüttel and of the bishop of the Protestant Lutheran State Church of Brunswick...
– 2 November 1715, Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
), was the wife of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich of Russia
Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich of Russia
Alexei Petrovich Romanov , was a Russian Tsarevich. He was born in Moscow, the son of Tsar Peter I and his first wife Eudoxia Lopukhina.-Childhood:...
. She was the daughter of Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg ruled over the Wolfenbüttel subdivision of the duchy from 1731 until his death....
and Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen
Princess Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen
Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen was Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg and the maternal grandmother of Empress Maria Theresa, Queen Elisabeth Christine of Prussia, Queen Juliane Marie of Denmark and Tsar Peter II of Russia...
. She was also the great aunt of Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
.
Biography
Charlotte Christine was brought up at the court of the Polish King August IIAugustus II the Strong
Frederick Augustus I or Augustus II the Strong was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania ....
, whose consort Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth was Electress of Saxony from 1694 to 1727 and titular Queen of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1697 to 1727 as the wife of Augustus II the Strong. Not once throughout the whole of her thirty-year queenship did she set foot in Poland, instead...
was her distant kinswoman and also her godmother. She received a good education for that time period. In late 1709, Tsar Peter I of Russia sent his son Alexei to Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
to finish his education. There, he met Charlotte for the first time. She seemed a good match to Tsar Peter for his son because her elder sister Elizabeth Christine
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary; and Archduchess of Austria by her marriage to Emperor Charles VI. She was renowned for her delicate beauty and also for being the mother of Empress...
was married to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
, and the support of Austria in the upcoming fight with the Turks was appreciated by Russian diplomats.
On 25 October 1711 at Torgau
Torgau
Torgau is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen.Outside Germany, the town is most well known as the place where during the Second World War, United States Army forces coming from the west met with forces of the Soviet Union...
, Charlotte Christine married Tsarevich Alexei, eldest son and heir
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
of Peter I of Russia
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
by his first wife Eudoxia Lopukhina
Eudoxia Lopukhina
Tsarina Evdokiya Feodorovna Lopukhina was the first wife of Peter I of Russia. They married in 1689 but divorced in 1698...
. She was allowed to keep her Lutheran faith, but any children would be raised as Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
. This marriage was the first to break the old tradition of the Russian imperial family of only marrying women from the Russian nobility. Thus Charlotte was the first member of the Russian imperial family who came from a foreign European dynasty since Zoe Palaiologina. In 1713, Charlotte received from the Russian Emperor the title of Crown Princess of Russia. In the same year, she arrived in Russia.
Charlotte enjoyed the favour of Tsar Peter the Great, but lived an isolated life with her own court, which was composed almost entirely by foreigners. In the beginning her marriage to Alexei was happy, but his drunkenness soon began to strain their relationship. He also had an open affair with Yefrosinya Fedorov which started during Charlotte's lifetime and continued after her death. Charlotte found some consolation in the birth of a daughter, Natalia
Grand Duchess Natalya Alexeyevna of Russia (1714–1728)
Natalya Alexeyevna of Russia was a Russian Grand Duchess.She was the daughter of Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia and Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg, grandchild of Peter the Great and the sibling of Tsar Peter II. She and her brother were moved to the Russian court in 1719. Her...
, and a son, later Peter II of Russia
Peter II of Russia
Pyotr II Alekseyevich was Emperor of Russia from 1727 until his death. He was the only son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, son of Peter I of Russia by his first wife Eudoxia Lopukhina, and Princess Charlotte, daughter of Duke Louis Rudolph of Brunswick-Lüneburg and sister-in-law of Charles VI,...
. She died a few days after the birth of her son. Both her daughter and son died without issue.
Fiction
Some fifty years after her death, a legend developed, according to which Charlotte did not die in 1715 and, instead of her corpse, a wooden doll was put in her coffin. According to this, she fled to LouisianaLouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, where she married a French officer named d'Auban, with whom she later moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Later they moved to the island of Bourbon, and when d'Auban died, Charlotte returned to Europe, living in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, with a pension from her niece, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. Heinrich Zschokke
Heinrich Zschokke
Johann Heinrich Daniel Zschokke was a German author and reformer. Most of his life was spent, and most of his reputation earned, in Switzerland...
developed this legend into a novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
, titled "Die Prinzessin von Wolfenbüttel"; Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer
Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer
Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer was a German actress and writer.She was the daughter of an estate agent named Pfeiffer. She received her early training at the Munich court theatre, and in 1818 began to play leading tragic roles at various theatres...
wrote a libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
about it and Duke Ernest of Saxe-Coburg wrote an opera, "Santa Chiara", on the subject.