Princess Maria Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg
Encyclopedia
Princess Maria Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg, also known as Princess Maria Romanovskya, Maria, Princess Romanovskaja, or Marie Maximiliane (16 October 1841 - 16 February 1914) was the eldest daughter of Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg and his wife Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia.
's eldest daughter. Maximilian was subsequently bestowed with the style Imperial Highness and given the title Prince Romanowsky.
As the daughter of a Russian grand duchess, Maria ("Marusya") and her siblings (Nicholas, Eugen, Eugenia
, Sergei, and George
) were always treated as grand dukes and duchesses, bearing the styles Imperial Highness. After their father's death in 1852, their mother morganatic
ally remarried to Count Grigori Stroganov two years later. As this union was kept secret from her father Emperor Nicholas I
(and her brother Emperor Alexander II
could not permit the union, preferring instead to feign ignorance), Grand Duchess Maria was forced into exile abroad. Alexander felt sympathy for his sister however, and paid special attention to her children from her first marriage, who lived in St. Petersburg without their mother.
, a friend of Emperor Alexander II, dared to court his niece, only to be reprimanded most severely.
On 11 February 1863 at the Winter Palace
in St. Petersburg, Maria married Prince Wilhelm of Baden
. He was a younger son of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden
and his wife Princess Sophie of Sweden. Upon learning of the marriage, United States President
Abraham Lincoln
sent a letter to Wilhelm's elder brother Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden in which Lincoln stated: "I participate in the satisfaction afforded by this happy event and pray Your Royal Highness to accept my sincere congratulations upon the occasion together with the assurances of my highest consideration".
They had two children:
at the christening
of the Prince of Leiningen
's daughter.
During the Franco-Prussian War
, Wilhelm served with the Prussian army under the command of Wilhelm I. On 29 July, Maria and her husband stayed with Crown Prince Frederick
, and according to the prince's memoirs, "distracted us for the moment from the anxieties of the present".
Prince Wilhelm died on 27 April 1897. After his death, Maria founded a new organization, called the German Anti-Immorality Association. Its purpose was to suppress "vice among the upper classes". Maria, with the help of Grand Duchess Eleonore of Hesse
and Queen Charlotte of Württemberg
, set aside a fund meant to produce pamphlets persuading both female and male royal figures that their prominent roles in society meant they should be examples of moral purity. They also sent a missive to their family and friends asking them to "abstain from immortality" for one year.
Princess Maria remained widowed until her own death, on 16 February 1914 in St. Petersburg. As with the court of St. Petersburg, Maria's death cast the Berlin court into mourning, disrupting planned court festivities.
Family and early life
Maria's father Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg had traveled to St. Petersburg, eventually winning the hand of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, Nicholas INicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
's eldest daughter. Maximilian was subsequently bestowed with the style Imperial Highness and given the title Prince Romanowsky.
As the daughter of a Russian grand duchess, Maria ("Marusya") and her siblings (Nicholas, Eugen, Eugenia
Princess Eugenia Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg
Princess Eugenia Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg, also known as Princess Evgenia Romanovskya, or Eugenia, Princess Romanovskaja was a member of the French House of Beauharnais, though she was born and raised in her mother's native country, Russia...
, Sergei, and George
George Maximilianovich, 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg
George Maximilianovich, 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg, also known as Prince Georgii Romanovsky or Georges de Beauharnais was the youngest son of Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg and his wife Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia.-Family and early life:George's father Maximilian de...
) were always treated as grand dukes and duchesses, bearing the styles Imperial Highness. After their father's death in 1852, their mother morganatic
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
ally remarried to Count Grigori Stroganov two years later. As this union was kept secret from her father Emperor Nicholas I
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
(and her brother Emperor 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...
could not permit the union, preferring instead to feign ignorance), Grand Duchess Maria was forced into exile abroad. Alexander felt sympathy for his sister however, and paid special attention to her children from her first marriage, who lived in St. Petersburg without their mother.
1866 assassination attempt
On 4 April 1866, Maria and her brother Nicholas were accompanying their uncle Alexander in St. Petersburg, when an assassination was attempted. Alexander stopped to put on an overcoat before climbing into his carriage, when a man quickly aimed a pistol at him; only the swift action of a man named Komissaroff, who knocked the man's hand up in the air, saved the emperor's life.Marriage
There were various suitors for Maria's hand in marriage. Pyotr Andreyevich ShuvalovPyotr Andreyevich Shuvalov
Count Pyotr Andreyevich Shuvalov was an influential Russian statesman and a counselor to Tsar Alexander II...
, a friend of Emperor Alexander II, dared to court his niece, only to be reprimanded most severely.
On 11 February 1863 at 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...
in St. Petersburg, Maria married Prince Wilhelm of Baden
Prince Wilhelm of Baden (1829–1897)
Prince Louis William Augustus of Baden was a Prussian general and politician. He was the father of Prince Maximilian of Baden, the last Minister President of the Kingdom of Prussia and last Chancellor of the German Empire...
. He was a younger son of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden
Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden
Leopold I, Grand Duke of Baden succeeded in 1830 as the fourth Grand Duke of Baden....
and his wife Princess Sophie of Sweden. Upon learning of the marriage, United States President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
sent a letter to Wilhelm's elder brother Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden in which Lincoln stated: "I participate in the satisfaction afforded by this happy event and pray Your Royal Highness to accept my sincere congratulations upon the occasion together with the assurances of my highest consideration".
They had two children:
- HGDH Grand-Ducal Princess and Margravine Sophie Marie Luise Amelie Josephine of Baden (Baden 26 July 1865 - Baden 29 November 1939); married Friedrich II, Duke of Anhalt.
- HRH Prince Maximilian Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm of BadenPrince Maximilian of BadenMaximilian of Baden was a German prince and politician...
(born HGDH Grand-Ducal Prince and Margrave Maximilian Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm of Baden) (Baden 10 July 1867 - Konstanz 6 November 1929); married HRH Princess Marie Louise of Hanover (Gmunden am Traunsee 11 October 1879 - Schloß Salem 31 January 1948); had issue. Maximilian became the heir apparentHeir apparentAn 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....
to the Grand Duchy of BadenGrand Duchy of BadenThe Grand Duchy of Baden was a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918.-History:...
on 28 September 1907.
Later life
After her marriage, Maria spent most of her time in Germany, paying only rare visits to Russia. As a new wife, Maria began her duties soon after marrying, for instance representing her husband's relative Grand Duchess Louise of BadenPrincess Louise of Prussia
Princess Louise of Prussia was the second child and only daughter of German Emperor Wilhelm I and Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. She was the younger sister of Frederick III of Germany and aunt of Wilhelm II of Germany...
at the christening
Christening
Christening is a naming ceremony associated with:*Baptism*Infant baptism*Ship naming and launching...
of the Prince of Leiningen
Ernst Leopold, 4th Prince of Leiningen
Ernst Leopold, 4th Prince of Leiningen was a German nobleman.-Biography:He was the elder son of Carl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen and Countess Maria Klebelsberg. His father was the maternal half-brother of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Ernst Leopold joined the Royal Navy in 1849...
's daughter.
During the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
, Wilhelm served with the Prussian army under the command of Wilhelm I. On 29 July, Maria and her husband stayed with Crown Prince Frederick
Frederick III, German Emperor
Frederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl known informally as Fritz, was the only son of Emperor William I and was raised in his family's tradition of military service...
, and according to the prince's memoirs, "distracted us for the moment from the anxieties of the present".
Prince Wilhelm died on 27 April 1897. After his death, Maria founded a new organization, called the German Anti-Immorality Association. Its purpose was to suppress "vice among the upper classes". Maria, with the help of Grand Duchess Eleonore of Hesse
Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich
Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich , was the second wife of Ernst-Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and the mother of his two sons.-Family:...
and Queen Charlotte of Württemberg
Charlotte of Schaumburg-Lippe
Princess Charlotte of Schaumburg-Lippe was the daughter of Prince Wilhelm Karl August of Schaumburg-Lippe, and his wife, Princess Bathildis of Anhalt-Dessau. As the second wife of King William II of Württemberg she became Queen Charlotte of Württemberg...
, set aside a fund meant to produce pamphlets persuading both female and male royal figures that their prominent roles in society meant they should be examples of moral purity. They also sent a missive to their family and friends asking them to "abstain from immortality" for one year.
Princess Maria remained widowed until her own death, on 16 February 1914 in St. Petersburg. As with the court of St. Petersburg, Maria's death cast the Berlin court into mourning, disrupting planned court festivities.
Titles and styles
- 16 October 1841 – 11 February 1863: Her Imperial Highness Princess Maria Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg, Princess Romanovskaya
- 11 February 1863 – 16 February 1914: Her Imperial Highness Princess Maria of Baden
Ancestry
External links
- Imperial Russian court dress: Designed by Charles Frederick WorthCharles Frederick WorthCharles Frederick Worth , widely considered the Father of Haute couture, was an English fashion designer of the 19th century, whose works were produced in Paris.-Career:...
and owned by Maria Maximilianova Romanovska currently in the collection of the Indianapolis Museum of ArtIndianapolis Museum of ArtThe Indianapolis Museum of Art is an encyclopedic art museum located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The museum, which underwent a $74 million expansion in 2005, is located on a campus on the near northwest area outside downtown Indianapolis, northwest of Crown Hill Cemetery.The...
.