Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Encyclopedia
Princess Juliane Henriette Ulrike of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (Coburg
, 23 September 1781 – Elfenau, near Bern, Switzerland
, 15 August 1860), also known as Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia, was a German princess of the ducal house of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (after 1826, the house of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
) who became the wife of Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia
of Russia.
and Countess Augusta Caroline Reuss of Ebersdorf
. King Leopold I of the Belgians
was her younger brother, while Queen Victoria of United Kingdom was her niece and King Ferdinand II of Portugal
was her nephew.
and Antoinette, traveled to Saint Petersburg
at the request of Empress Catherine II of Russia, who wanted a bride for her second grandson, Grand Duke Constantine
. The young Grand Duke chose Juliane. This union, in connection with the wedding of her brother Leopold with Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales, made the little Duchy of Saxe-Coburg the dynastic heart of Europe. In addition, thanks to relations with the Russian Empire, Saxe-Coburg was relatively safe during the Napoleonic Wars
.
Juliane, who was not yet fifteen years of age, took the name of Anna Feodorovna in a Russian Orthodox
baptismal ceremony and married Constantine (who was only seventeen years old at the time) in St.Petersburg on 26 February 1796. The Empress died nine months later, on 6 November. By virtue of her wedding, she was awarded with the Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Saint Catherine and the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem.
The marriage was deeply unhappy. Constantine, known to be a violent boy, made his young wife intensely miserable. After three years, in 1799, Anna left her husband and returned to Coburg
.
Shortly thereafter, however, she returned to Russia in an unsuccessful attempt at reconciliation. In 1801, Anna, who had become involved in several frivolous intrigues, was sent home permanently to Coburg
.
, and assumed the surname von Löwenfels by decree on 10 January 1818.
Later, Anna moved to Bern, Switzerland
, and gave birth to a second illegitimate child in 1812, a daughter, named Louise Hilda Agnes d'Aubert. The father was Rodolphe Abraham de Schiferli, a Swiss surgeon, professor and chamberlain (French:Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, German:Oberhofmeister) of Anna's household from 1812 to 1837. In order to cover another scandal in Anna's life, the baby was adopted by Jean François Joseph d'Aubert, a French refugee.
Two years later, in 1814, Constantine, accompanied by her brother Leopold
, tried to get Anna to return to him but her firm opposition prevented this attempt from succeeding. That year, Anna acquired an estate on the banks of Aare River and gave it the name of Elfenau. She spent the rest of her life there, and, as a lover of music, made her home a center for domestic and foreign musical society of the era.
Finally, on 20 March 1820, after nineteen years of separation, her marriage with the Grand Duke Constantine was formally annulled. He remarried two months later and died on 27 June 1831. Anna survived her former husband by twenty-nine years.
Later, her son Eduard married his cousin Bertha von Schauenstein, an illegitimate daughter of the Duke Ernst I
, and descendants of that marriage are still alive today. Her daughter Louise married Jean Samuel Edouard Dapples
in 1834, but died three years later in 1837 at the age of twenty-five.
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
, 23 September 1781 – Elfenau, near Bern, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, 15 August 1860), also known as Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia, was a German princess of the ducal house of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (after 1826, the house of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha served as the collective name of two duchies, Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha, in Germany. They were located in what today are the states of Bavaria and Thuringia, respectively, and the two were in personal union between 1826 and 1918...
) who became the wife of Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia
Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia
Constantine Pavlovich was a grand duke of Russia and the second son of Emperor Paul I. He was the Tsesarevich of Russia throughout the reign of his elder brother Alexander I, but had secretly renounced his claim to the throne in 1823...
of Russia.
Family
She was the third daughter of Franz Frederick Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-SaalfeldFranz Frederick Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Franz Frederick Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld , was a duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. He is a patrilineal ancestor of Elizabeth II, Albert II of Belgium and Simeon B...
and Countess Augusta Caroline Reuss of Ebersdorf
Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf
Countess Augusta Caroline Reuss of Ebersdorf , was by marriage a duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She was born in Saalburg-Ebersdorf.-Family:...
. King Leopold I of the Belgians
Leopold I of Belgium
Leopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians, following Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
was her younger brother, while Queen Victoria of United Kingdom was her niece and King Ferdinand II of Portugal
Ferdinand II of Portugal
Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , named Prince Ferdinand Augustus Francis Anthony of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry, was King of Portugal as husband of Queen Maria II of Portugal from the birth of their son in 1837 to her death in 1853.In keeping with Portuguese law, only after the birth of his son in...
was her nephew.
Grand Duchess of Russia
Juliane, along with her two elder sisters, SophiePrincess Sophie of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Princess Sophie Fredericka Caroline Louise of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was a princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and the sister of Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and King Leopold I of Belgium, and aunt of Queen Victoria...
and Antoinette, traveled to 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...
at the request of Empress Catherine II of Russia, who wanted a bride for her second grandson, Grand Duke Constantine
Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia
Constantine Pavlovich was a grand duke of Russia and the second son of Emperor Paul I. He was the Tsesarevich of Russia throughout the reign of his elder brother Alexander I, but had secretly renounced his claim to the throne in 1823...
. The young Grand Duke chose Juliane. This union, in connection with the wedding of her brother Leopold with Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales, made the little Duchy of Saxe-Coburg the dynastic heart of Europe. In addition, thanks to relations with the Russian Empire, Saxe-Coburg was relatively safe during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
Juliane, who was not yet fifteen years of age, took the name of Anna Feodorovna in a 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...
baptismal ceremony and married Constantine (who was only seventeen years old at the time) in St.Petersburg on 26 February 1796. The Empress died nine months later, on 6 November. By virtue of her wedding, she was awarded with the Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Saint Catherine and the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem.
The marriage was deeply unhappy. Constantine, known to be a violent boy, made his young wife intensely miserable. After three years, in 1799, Anna left her husband and returned to Coburg
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
.
Shortly thereafter, however, she returned to Russia in an unsuccessful attempt at reconciliation. In 1801, Anna, who had become involved in several frivolous intrigues, was sent home permanently to Coburg
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
.
Life after separation
On 28 October 1808 Anna gave birth to an illegitimate son, named Eduard Edgar Schmidt-Löwe. The father of this child may have been Jules Gabriel Emile de Seigneux, a minor French nobleman. Eduard was ennobled by his mother's younger brother, Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and GothaErnst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, formerly Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and from 1826, the first sovereign duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha....
, and assumed the surname von Löwenfels by decree on 10 January 1818.
Later, Anna moved to Bern, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and gave birth to a second illegitimate child in 1812, a daughter, named Louise Hilda Agnes d'Aubert. The father was Rodolphe Abraham de Schiferli, a Swiss surgeon, professor and chamberlain (French:Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, German:Oberhofmeister) of Anna's household from 1812 to 1837. In order to cover another scandal in Anna's life, the baby was adopted by Jean François Joseph d'Aubert, a French refugee.
Two years later, in 1814, Constantine, accompanied by her brother Leopold
Leopold I of Belgium
Leopold I was from 21 July 1831 the first King of the Belgians, following Belgium's independence from the Netherlands. He was the founder of the Belgian line of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha...
, tried to get Anna to return to him but her firm opposition prevented this attempt from succeeding. That year, Anna acquired an estate on the banks of Aare River and gave it the name of Elfenau. She spent the rest of her life there, and, as a lover of music, made her home a center for domestic and foreign musical society of the era.
Finally, on 20 March 1820, after nineteen years of separation, her marriage with the Grand Duke Constantine was formally annulled. He remarried two months later and died on 27 June 1831. Anna survived her former husband by twenty-nine years.
Later, her son Eduard married his cousin Bertha von Schauenstein, an illegitimate daughter of the Duke Ernst I
Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, formerly Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was the duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and from 1826, the first sovereign duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha....
, and descendants of that marriage are still alive today. Her daughter Louise married Jean Samuel Edouard Dapples
Edouard Dapples
Edouard Dapples was a Swiss politician, syndic of Lausanne from 1843 to 1848 and from 1857 to 1867, member of the Swiss National Council from 1851 to 1854 and from 1857 to 1866, he presided this assembly in 1861.-References:...
in 1834, but died three years later in 1837 at the age of twenty-five.