Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia
Encyclopedia
Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia was a daughter of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia
; she married Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. A strong-willed, independent and unconventional woman, her life was no stranger to scandals.
and his wife Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna
(born Princess Cecilie of Baden). She was only two years old when her father was appointed Viceroy of the Caucasus
and the family moved to Georgia
. Anastasia Mikhailovna grew up in her father's palace in Tiflis amidst the wild and austere atmosphere of the Caucasus. The family lived in a huge palace and also owned a rural estate near Borjomi
, a summer residence, the Mikhailovskoe, near Saint Petersburg
and a residence on the Black Sea
.
Called in the family "Stassie", Anastasia Mikhailovna was the only daughter among seven children. She was the object of devotion not only as her father's favorite, but was spoiled by her six brothers. Her father was occupied with his militaristic and governmental activities, while her mother, a strict disciplinarian, showed little affection and raised the children with an iron hand. Her brothers found in Anastasia an outlet for love and tenderness that was so lacking with their parents. She was raised separately from her brothers most of the time, joining them only on Sundays when they were all allowed to take a walk together. She was particularly close to her eldest brother, Nicholas Michailovich
, with whom she shared artistic interest. She grew up to be very independent, intelligent and strong-willed, with a warm and happy personality. Tall and slim, she had dark hair and green oriental eyes. Her education centered in languages; she learned French, German and English besides her native Russian.
, wife of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich
, arranged her marriage with Maria's eldest brother Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
. He was 27 years old and heir to the grand duchy
of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in northern Germany. Their grandmothers, Princesses Alexandrine
and Charlotte of Prussia
, were sisters, and Friedrich Franz was also a direct descendant of Tsar Paul I of Russia
.
In the spring of 1878, Prince Friedrich Franz arrived in Tiflis to ask for her hand. He was rich, the heir of a German Grand Duchy and good-hearted, but had delicate health, suffered from asthma
, a rash and a weak heart. The engagement was resented by Anastasia's brothers, who did not want to be separated from her. Anastasia herself was not happy with her fiancé, appalled by his skin condition. He used to get periodic attacks of eczema
on the face and body, which confined him into complete seclusion for long periods. As was often the case with dynastic marriages, she was given no choice by her parents, who wanted to secure a good position for her. Accordingly, the betrothal was announced on 4 May and in October Anastasia and her family traveled to Saint Petersburg to prepare for the wedding. The marriage took place on 24 January 1879 in the Winter Palace
, and she was given away by her uncle Tsar Alexander II
; there was first an Orthodox
ceremony and then a Protestant service. The marriage was a big affair, and representatives of all the ruling houses of Europe attended.
. Her father-in-law Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was the reigning monarch of the duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
and presided over a large family. The young couple settled in the Marienpalais, but Anastasia was not allowed to arrange her apartments according to her own taste. She was homesick and found a strict and old-fashioned court and an oppressive atmosphere. Although her own mother was German, Anastasia Mikhailovna never overcame her dislike for her adopted country.
She was soon pregnant and her first child, Alexandrine
, was born in the first year of her marriage. Her husband's ill health allowed her the perfect excuse to spend as little time as possible in Schwerin. She traveled frequently visiting her family in Russia and spending long sojourns abroad, looking for a warm climate for her husband's ailments, in southern Italy and France.
They were living in Palermo
, when in 1882 a second child, Friederich Franz, was born. The death of her father-in-law on 15 April 1883, and the ascension of her husband as Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, forced them to return to Schwerin, where she was resented for her frequent absences. At first, she enjoyed her new position as the wife of the reigning Grand Duke and took residence in sumptuous apartments in Schwerin Castle
. However, soon after she wanted to return to Italy or France. The population of Mecklenburg-Schwerin did not want their sovereign living somewhere else, and Anastasia was heavily criticized. A compromise was reached, and the Grand Duke and his wife would live in Schwerin for five months and could stay wherever they wanted for the rest of the year on condition that their children were to be born in Schwerin
.
After her youngest daughter, Cecile
, was born in 1886, Anastasia moved to Cannes
where they used to spend most of the year. Between 1887 and 1889, her husband had constructed for her the Villa Weden, a large Italian-style palace situated on the side of a mountain that dominated the bay of Cannes. They lived there every year from November until May, stopping in Paris on their way back to Germany.
Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna spent as little time as possible in Schwerin Castle
in the summer, preferring her residence in Gelbensande, a hunting lodge built in 1886 in the style of an English cottage near the Baltic Sea
. She brought up her children with simplicity and more freedom than she received from her parents, and would keep a close relationship with them. She spoke French to her husband and English with her children. She was a keen tennis
player, with her own tennis court at the Villa Wenden. She loved Italian music, particularly the operas of Puccini
and the theater. Her extant letters reveal a warm, caring person, who always seems to have been happy about life. She frequented many other European royals who stayed at the Riviera
; her parents and brothers were also frequent visitors. Her mother died of a heart attack in 1891, and Anastasia remained very close to her widower father and her brothers, particularly the two eldest Nicholas
and Michael. Anastasia spent lavishly from the Grand Duke's income and her own dowry, for which she was widely criticized, but she loved to shock people who condemned her. She liked society and became a frequent visitor to the gambling tables of Monte Carlo
, losing a large sum of money at the casino; but in spite of her extravagances, she never lost her husband's affection.
He was carried back to the villa, where he finally died. The night before, Anastasia had thrown a party at which her husband did not want to appear due to his bad health. Anastasia was so unpopular in Schwerin that she was suspected of killing him. Her husband's death was ruled an accident, but he had probably committed suicide. Anastasia seemed to have mourned her husband sincerely, telling her lady in waiting "I have lost my best friend."
At her husband's death Anastasia inherited all his private property; the Villa Wenden and Gelbensande, even though this palace should have been passed to her 15-year-old son, who became Friedrich Franz IV under the regency of his uncle Duke Johann Albrecht until 1901 when he came of age. From then on, Anastasia rarely visited Schwerin, always staying at Gelbensande
. She preferred to live in the Riviera or to travel to Saint Petersburg, Paris or England. In 1898 her eldest daughter, Alexandrine
, married the heir of the Danish Crown, who later became King Christian X of Denmark
.
Only thirty-six years old when she became a widow, Anastasia's life was again moved by scandal. While remaining very attached to her family, her thirst for living, strong personality and spirit of independence caused in its medium a lot to talk about. The Grand Duchess kept a small apartment in Paris, where she led the life of the rich and beautiful, going to parties looking wildly for distractions. She also gambled heavily at Monte Carlo. Fascinated by her, the croupiers would roll the ball intentionally into her favorite section of the roulette wheel, to increase her chances of winning. She started an affair with her personal secretary, Vladimir Alexandrovitch Paltov, and became pregnant by her lover. At first she pretended that her swelling was the result of a tumor. When the time came to deliver, she claimed she had contracted chicken pox for which she had to be quarantined. Her illegitimate son, Alexis Louis de Wenden, was born in Nice on 23 December 1902. The name de Wenden was granted by King Christian IX of Denmark
after Anastasia's villa. She did bring up her illegitimate son herself. When later he was sent to study in a boarding school in Normandy
, she wrote to him every day.
In the following years, Anastasia's children got married, her son Friedrich Franz IV in 1904 to Princess Alexandra of Hanover. Grand Duchess Anastasia was very unpopular in Germany, due to her French sympathies. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany particularly disliked her, and when in June 1905 Anastasia's youngest daughter Cecile
married Wilhelm's eldest son, Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Anastasia was allowed to come to the court of Berlin only twice, first for the wedding and later when the first son of this marriage was born. She was advised never to live near her daughter.
Anastasia's father Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia
had a stroke
years earlier, and moved to live near her in the South of France. Upon his death in 1909, she inherited immense wealth. In the first decade of the 20th century, the Grand Duchess occupied herself visiting her relatives, her children, growing number of grandchildren and her hobbies: reading, going to parties and the gambling tables in nearby Monte Carlo. Always the eccentric, one contemporary described her as “completely indifferent to anything but her own desires”. Prince Felix Yussupov, who married her niece, Princess Irina of Russia
, met Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikahilovna in Paris in 1913 describing her in his memoirs:
wrote on 14 October 1913, "Although she is fifty-three, she lives openly with an Argentinian blackguard, dances at Magic City
with all comers till two in the morning and associates with the scum of the aerodromes."
broke out, Grand Duchess Anastasia visited her brother Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia and his family in England. When many eagerly greeted the outbreak of war, after the Austrian
ultimatum, she wrote to Tsar Nicholas II
, "I hope that the war will not happen and that we even can say ‘perhaps in a few days, we’ll all be together again'".
The conflict put her in a terrible situation. Two of her children sided with Germany
, while her brothers in Russia were fighting to defeat the Central Powers
. Technically a German princess, Anastasia could neither remain in France, a country at war against Germany, nor return to Schwerin, now an enemy of her native Russia. Therefore, she decided to settle in neutral Switzerland. She spent the war years living at the Savoy Hotel in Lausanne
, giving her villa in Cannes for use as a hospital for wounded officers of the Russian Expeditionary Force in France.
During the war, she managed to obtain news of her daughter Cecile and her son Friedrich Franz through her daughter, Alexandrine
, Queen in neutral Denmark. The Bolshevik
s killed three of her brothers, Grand Dukes Nicholas, George
and Serge, during the Russian Revolution
. The fall of the German monarchy after the war resulted in the loss of the crown for both her son in Schwerin, and her daughter Cecile in Germany.
After the end of the war, Grand Duchess Anastasia decided to go back to France; she could not return as a German Princess, and with her Russian passport, she sneaked inside the country with the entourage of her cousin Princess Catherine Yourievskaya, who was a refugee in Lausanne and was heading toward Nice
. Once in France, Grand Duchess Anastasia moved to the Villa Fantasia at Eze
, near Cannes. There she spent her last years, taking up her old social life. In the first week of March 1922, shortly after attending a party given by her nephew Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich in Cap-d'Ail
, she felt ill. She suffered a stroke and died on 11 March 1922 in Èze
. She was 61 years old.
With her death, her children were reunited for the first time since 1914. Her natural son, Alexis Louis de Wenden, remained in France. She was buried beside her husband in Ludwigslust. Among her direct descendants are Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
and Prince George Frederick of Prussia, head of the house of Hohenzollern
. The male line of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin died out with her grandson Hereditary Grand Duke Friedrich Franz
in 2001.
Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna also had an illegitimate son with Vladimir Alexandrovich Paltov (1874 – 1944):
Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia
Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia was the fourth son and seventh child of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia...
; she married Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. A strong-willed, independent and unconventional woman, her life was no stranger to scandals.
Early life
Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna was born at the Petergof palace on 28 July 1860, the second of the seven children of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of RussiaGrand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia
Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia was the fourth son and seventh child of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia...
and his wife Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna
Olga Feodorovna of Baden
Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna of Russia , was the wife of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaievich of Russia, the youngest son of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia...
(born Princess Cecilie of Baden). She was only two years old when her father was appointed Viceroy of the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
and the family moved to Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
. Anastasia Mikhailovna grew up in her father's palace in Tiflis amidst the wild and austere atmosphere of the Caucasus. The family lived in a huge palace and also owned a rural estate near Borjomi
Borjomi
Borjomi is a resort town in south-central Georgia with a population estimated at 14,445. It is one of the districts of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region and is situated in the northwestern part of the region in the picturesque Borjomi Gorge on the eastern edge of the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park...
, a summer residence, the Mikhailovskoe, near 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...
and a residence on the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
.
Called in the family "Stassie", Anastasia Mikhailovna was the only daughter among seven children. She was the object of devotion not only as her father's favorite, but was spoiled by her six brothers. Her father was occupied with his militaristic and governmental activities, while her mother, a strict disciplinarian, showed little affection and raised the children with an iron hand. Her brothers found in Anastasia an outlet for love and tenderness that was so lacking with their parents. She was raised separately from her brothers most of the time, joining them only on Sundays when they were all allowed to take a walk together. She was particularly close to her eldest brother, Nicholas Michailovich
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia , 26 April 1859 – 28 January 1919 was the eldest son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a first cousin of Alexander III....
, with whom she shared artistic interest. She grew up to be very independent, intelligent and strong-willed, with a warm and happy personality. Tall and slim, she had dark hair and green oriental eyes. Her education centered in languages; she learned French, German and English besides her native Russian.
Marriage
In 1878, when Anastasia was not yet eighteen, her mother and Grand Duchess Maria PavlovnaMarie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Maria Pavlovna of Russia)
Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was born Marie Alexandrine Elisabeth Eleonore of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, daughter of Grand Duke Frederick Francis II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Augusta of Reuss-Köstritz...
, wife of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia ) was a son of Emperor Alexander II of Russia...
, arranged her marriage with Maria's eldest brother Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1348, when Albert II of Mecklenburg and his younger brother John were raised to Dukes of Mecklenburg by King Charles IV...
. He was 27 years old and heir to the grand duchy
Grand duchy
A grand duchy, sometimes referred to as a grand dukedom, is a territory whose head of state is a monarch, either a grand duke or grand duchess.Today Luxembourg is the only remaining grand duchy...
of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in northern Germany. Their grandmothers, Princesses Alexandrine
Princess Alexandrine of Prussia
Alexandrine, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was the wife and consort to Paul Frederick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin as well as the daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.-Family:Alexandrine was the seventh child and fourth daughter of Frederick...
and Charlotte of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
, were sisters, and Friedrich Franz was also a direct descendant of Tsar Paul I of Russia
Paul I of Russia
Paul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:...
.
In the spring of 1878, Prince Friedrich Franz arrived in Tiflis to ask for her hand. He was rich, the heir of a German Grand Duchy and good-hearted, but had delicate health, suffered from asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
, a rash and a weak heart. The engagement was resented by Anastasia's brothers, who did not want to be separated from her. Anastasia herself was not happy with her fiancé, appalled by his skin condition. He used to get periodic attacks of eczema
Eczema
Eczema is a form of dermatitis, or inflammation of the epidermis . In England, an estimated 5.7 million or about one in every nine people have been diagnosed with the disease by a clinician at some point in their lives.The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions...
on the face and body, which confined him into complete seclusion for long periods. As was often the case with dynastic marriages, she was given no choice by her parents, who wanted to secure a good position for her. Accordingly, the betrothal was announced on 4 May and in October Anastasia and her family traveled to Saint Petersburg to prepare for the wedding. The marriage took place on 24 January 1879 in the Winter Palace
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and...
, and she was given away by her uncle Tsar Alexander II
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
; there was first an 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...
ceremony and then a Protestant service. The marriage was a big affair, and representatives of all the ruling houses of Europe attended.
Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
On 8 February 1879, Anastasia and Friedrich arrived in SchwerinSchwerin
Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...
. Her father-in-law Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was the reigning monarch of the duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1348, when Albert II of Mecklenburg and his younger brother John were raised to Dukes of Mecklenburg by King Charles IV...
and presided over a large family. The young couple settled in the Marienpalais, but Anastasia was not allowed to arrange her apartments according to her own taste. She was homesick and found a strict and old-fashioned court and an oppressive atmosphere. Although her own mother was German, Anastasia Mikhailovna never overcame her dislike for her adopted country.
She was soon pregnant and her first child, Alexandrine
Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Alexandrine Auguste of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was the queen consort of King Christian X of Denmark.-Family:She was born a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, in the city of Schwerin...
, was born in the first year of her marriage. Her husband's ill health allowed her the perfect excuse to spend as little time as possible in Schwerin. She traveled frequently visiting her family in Russia and spending long sojourns abroad, looking for a warm climate for her husband's ailments, in southern Italy and France.
They were living in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, when in 1882 a second child, Friederich Franz, was born. The death of her father-in-law on 15 April 1883, and the ascension of her husband as Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, forced them to return to Schwerin, where she was resented for her frequent absences. At first, she enjoyed her new position as the wife of the reigning Grand Duke and took residence in sumptuous apartments in Schwerin Castle
Schwerin Castle
Schwerin Castle is a castle located in the city of Schwerin, the capital of the Bundesland of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. For centuries it was the home of the dukes and grand dukes of Mecklenburg and later Mecklenburg-Schwerin. It currently serves as the seat of the state...
. However, soon after she wanted to return to Italy or France. The population of Mecklenburg-Schwerin did not want their sovereign living somewhere else, and Anastasia was heavily criticized. A compromise was reached, and the Grand Duke and his wife would live in Schwerin for five months and could stay wherever they wanted for the rest of the year on condition that their children were to be born in Schwerin
Schwerin
Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...
.
After her youngest daughter, Cecile
Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a Crown Princess of Germany and Prussia as the wife of German Crown Prince William, the son of German Emperor William II...
, was born in 1886, Anastasia moved to Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
where they used to spend most of the year. Between 1887 and 1889, her husband had constructed for her the Villa Weden, a large Italian-style palace situated on the side of a mountain that dominated the bay of Cannes. They lived there every year from November until May, stopping in Paris on their way back to Germany.
Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna spent as little time as possible in Schwerin Castle
Schwerin Castle
Schwerin Castle is a castle located in the city of Schwerin, the capital of the Bundesland of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. For centuries it was the home of the dukes and grand dukes of Mecklenburg and later Mecklenburg-Schwerin. It currently serves as the seat of the state...
in the summer, preferring her residence in Gelbensande, a hunting lodge built in 1886 in the style of an English cottage near the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. She brought up her children with simplicity and more freedom than she received from her parents, and would keep a close relationship with them. She spoke French to her husband and English with her children. She was a keen tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player, with her own tennis court at the Villa Wenden. She loved Italian music, particularly the operas of Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
and the theater. Her extant letters reveal a warm, caring person, who always seems to have been happy about life. She frequented many other European royals who stayed at the Riviera
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
; her parents and brothers were also frequent visitors. Her mother died of a heart attack in 1891, and Anastasia remained very close to her widower father and her brothers, particularly the two eldest Nicholas
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia , 26 April 1859 – 28 January 1919 was the eldest son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a first cousin of Alexander III....
and Michael. Anastasia spent lavishly from the Grand Duke's income and her own dowry, for which she was widely criticized, but she loved to shock people who condemned her. She liked society and became a frequent visitor to the gambling tables of Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, losing a large sum of money at the casino; but in spite of her extravagances, she never lost her husband's affection.
Royal scandal
Through the years, the health of her husband only got worse, but his sudden death became a royal scandal. In the early hours of 10 April 1897, Grand Duke Friedrich Franz was found unconscious at the bottom of the villa's 25 feet (7.6 m)-high retaining wall by his coachman on the road below the rose-festooned parapet, which encircled the villa's garden. The Grand Duke had obviously jumped in an attempt to end his life.He was carried back to the villa, where he finally died. The night before, Anastasia had thrown a party at which her husband did not want to appear due to his bad health. Anastasia was so unpopular in Schwerin that she was suspected of killing him. Her husband's death was ruled an accident, but he had probably committed suicide. Anastasia seemed to have mourned her husband sincerely, telling her lady in waiting "I have lost my best friend."
At her husband's death Anastasia inherited all his private property; the Villa Wenden and Gelbensande, even though this palace should have been passed to her 15-year-old son, who became Friedrich Franz IV under the regency of his uncle Duke Johann Albrecht until 1901 when he came of age. From then on, Anastasia rarely visited Schwerin, always staying at Gelbensande
Gelbensande
Gelbensande is a municipality in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It is located in the Rostock district, near Rostock, Ribnitz-Damgarten and Stralsund. Four other villages are part of Gelbensande.Gelbensande is about from the Baltic Sea coast...
. She preferred to live in the Riviera or to travel to Saint Petersburg, Paris or England. In 1898 her eldest daughter, Alexandrine
Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Alexandrine Auguste of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was the queen consort of King Christian X of Denmark.-Family:She was born a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, in the city of Schwerin...
, married the heir of the Danish Crown, who later became King Christian X of Denmark
Christian X of Denmark
Christian X was King of Denmark from 1912 to 1947 and the only King of Iceland between 1918 and 1944....
.
Only thirty-six years old when she became a widow, Anastasia's life was again moved by scandal. While remaining very attached to her family, her thirst for living, strong personality and spirit of independence caused in its medium a lot to talk about. The Grand Duchess kept a small apartment in Paris, where she led the life of the rich and beautiful, going to parties looking wildly for distractions. She also gambled heavily at Monte Carlo. Fascinated by her, the croupiers would roll the ball intentionally into her favorite section of the roulette wheel, to increase her chances of winning. She started an affair with her personal secretary, Vladimir Alexandrovitch Paltov, and became pregnant by her lover. At first she pretended that her swelling was the result of a tumor. When the time came to deliver, she claimed she had contracted chicken pox for which she had to be quarantined. Her illegitimate son, Alexis Louis de Wenden, was born in Nice on 23 December 1902. The name de Wenden was granted by King Christian IX of Denmark
Christian IX of Denmark
Christian IX was King of Denmark from 16 November 1863 to 29 January 1906.Growing up as a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the House of Oldenburg which had ruled Denmark since 1448, Christian was originally not in the immediate line of succession to the Danish...
after Anastasia's villa. She did bring up her illegitimate son herself. When later he was sent to study in a boarding school in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, she wrote to him every day.
In the following years, Anastasia's children got married, her son Friedrich Franz IV in 1904 to Princess Alexandra of Hanover. Grand Duchess Anastasia was very unpopular in Germany, due to her French sympathies. Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany particularly disliked her, and when in June 1905 Anastasia's youngest daughter Cecile
Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a Crown Princess of Germany and Prussia as the wife of German Crown Prince William, the son of German Emperor William II...
married Wilhelm's eldest son, Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Anastasia was allowed to come to the court of Berlin only twice, first for the wedding and later when the first son of this marriage was born. She was advised never to live near her daughter.
Anastasia's father Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia
Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia
Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia was the fourth son and seventh child of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia...
had a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
years earlier, and moved to live near her in the South of France. Upon his death in 1909, she inherited immense wealth. In the first decade of the 20th century, the Grand Duchess occupied herself visiting her relatives, her children, growing number of grandchildren and her hobbies: reading, going to parties and the gambling tables in nearby Monte Carlo. Always the eccentric, one contemporary described her as “completely indifferent to anything but her own desires”. Prince Felix Yussupov, who married her niece, Princess Irina of Russia
Princess Irina of Russia
Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia was the only daughter of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia...
, met Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikahilovna in Paris in 1913 describing her in his memoirs:
“Although she was well over forty, she had lost none of her high spirits; she was kind and affectionate, but her eccentric and despotic nature made her rather formidable. When she heard that I was going to marry her niece, she took me in hand. From that day my life was no longer my own. She was an early riser and she used to telephone me at eight in the morning. Sometimes she came to the Hotel du Rhin, where I was staying, and sat reading the papers in my room while I dressed. If I happened to be out, she sent her servants all over Paris to look for me and sometimes took part in the search herself. I never had a moment's peace. I had to lunch, dine, go to the theater and supper with her almost every day. She usually slept through the first act of a play, and then woke up with a start to declare that the performance was stupid and that she wished to go somewhere else. We often changed theaters two or three times in one evening. As she felt the cold, she made her footman sit on a chair at the door of her box, holding a small traveling bag filled with shawls, scarves and furs. All these objects were numbered. If by chance, she was awake and felt a draft, she would ask me to bring her such or such a number. I could have put up with all this but unfortunately she had a passion for dancing. At midnight, now wide awake, she would drag me to a night club where she danced till dawn.”The diplomat Maurice Paléologue
Maurice Paléologue
Maurice Paléologue was a French diplomat, historian, and essayist.-Biography:Paléologue was born in Paris as the son of Alexandru Paleologu, a Wallachian Romanian revolutionary who had fled to France after attempting to assassinate Prince Gheorghe Bibescu during the 1848 Wallachian revolution;...
wrote on 14 October 1913, "Although she is fifty-three, she lives openly with an Argentinian blackguard, dances at Magic City
Magic-City
Magic-City was a large dance hall at 188 rue de l'Université in Paris, two blocks east of the Eiffel Tower, that was known for its "drag balls."The emblematic event of homosexual life in Paris in the inter-war years was a series of masked balls held annually during Carnival on Mardi Gras and...
with all comers till two in the morning and associates with the scum of the aerodromes."
Last years
In the summer of 1914, just before World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out, Grand Duchess Anastasia visited her brother Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia and his family in England. When many eagerly greeted the outbreak of war, after the Austrian
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
ultimatum, she wrote to Tsar Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
, "I hope that the war will not happen and that we even can say ‘perhaps in a few days, we’ll all be together again'".
The conflict put her in a terrible situation. Two of her children sided with Germany
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, while her brothers in Russia were fighting to defeat the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
. Technically a German princess, Anastasia could neither remain in France, a country at war against Germany, nor return to Schwerin, now an enemy of her native Russia. Therefore, she decided to settle in neutral Switzerland. She spent the war years living at the Savoy Hotel in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, giving her villa in Cannes for use as a hospital for wounded officers of the Russian Expeditionary Force in France.
During the war, she managed to obtain news of her daughter Cecile and her son Friedrich Franz through her daughter, Alexandrine
Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Alexandrine Auguste of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was the queen consort of King Christian X of Denmark.-Family:She was born a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, in the city of Schwerin...
, Queen in neutral Denmark. The Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s killed three of her brothers, Grand Dukes Nicholas, George
Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia (1863-1919)
Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia was a son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a first cousin of Emperor Alexander III. He was a General in the Russian army in World War I...
and Serge, during the Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
. The fall of the German monarchy after the war resulted in the loss of the crown for both her son in Schwerin, and her daughter Cecile in Germany.
After the end of the war, Grand Duchess Anastasia decided to go back to France; she could not return as a German Princess, and with her Russian passport, she sneaked inside the country with the entourage of her cousin Princess Catherine Yourievskaya, who was a refugee in Lausanne and was heading toward Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
. Once in France, Grand Duchess Anastasia moved to the Villa Fantasia at Eze
Eze
Eze is an Igbo word which means King; with further implied meaning of chieftain of the tribe or kingdom. Such words as Igwe and Obi plus others are used by Igbo people as titles of respect and homage to the Eze...
, near Cannes. There she spent her last years, taking up her old social life. In the first week of March 1922, shortly after attending a party given by her nephew Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich in Cap-d'Ail
Cap-d'Ail
Cap-d'Ail , Italian: Capodaglio, is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.It borders the district of La Colle in the Principality of Monaco....
, she felt ill. She suffered a stroke and died on 11 March 1922 in Èze
Èze
Èze is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes département in southeastern France, not far from the city of Nice.-History:The area surrounding Èze was first populated around 2000 BC as a commune situated near Mount Bastide. The earliest occurrence of the name "Èze" can be found in the maritime books of...
. She was 61 years old.
With her death, her children were reunited for the first time since 1914. Her natural son, Alexis Louis de Wenden, remained in France. She was buried beside her husband in Ludwigslust. Among her direct descendants are Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1972 she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margaret I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375-1412 during the Kalmar Union.-Early life:...
and Prince George Frederick of Prussia, head of the house of Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
. The male line of the House of Mecklenburg-Schwerin died out with her grandson Hereditary Grand Duke Friedrich Franz
Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was the heir apparent to the throne of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and a member of the SS...
in 2001.
Children
Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna and her husband Grand Duke Friedrich Franz III of Mecklenburg-Schwerin had three children:- AlexandrineAlexandrine of Mecklenburg-SchwerinAlexandrine Auguste of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was the queen consort of King Christian X of Denmark.-Family:She was born a Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, in the city of Schwerin...
(1879 – 1952) married King Christian X of DenmarkChristian X of DenmarkChristian X was King of Denmark from 1912 to 1947 and the only King of Iceland between 1918 and 1944....
and had two sons. - Friedrich Franz IV (1882 – 1945) married Princess Alexandra of Hanover and had five children.
- CecileDuchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-SchwerinCecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a Crown Princess of Germany and Prussia as the wife of German Crown Prince William, the son of German Emperor William II...
(1886 – 1954) married Wilhelm, German Crown Prince and had six children.
Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna also had an illegitimate son with Vladimir Alexandrovich Paltov (1874 – 1944):
- Alexis Louis de Wenden (1902 – 1976), married Paulette Seux (1908 – 1975) in 1929 and had 2 daughters.
Titles and styles
- 28 July 1860 – 24 January 1879: Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia
- 24 January 1879 – 15 April 1883: Her Imperial & Royal Highness The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
- 15 April 1883 – 10 April 1897: Her Imperial & Royal Highness The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
- 10 April 1897 – 11 March 1922: Her Imperial & Royal Highness The Dowager Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin