Maria Alexandrovna Romanova
Grand Duchess Marija Alexandrovna of Russia , VA (* 5 October July / 17 October 1853 greg. In Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg ; † 24 October 1920 in Zurich ) was Princess of Great Britain and Ireland and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg by marriage and Gotha .
Life
origin
Grand Duchess Marija was born in Tsarskoje Selo , Russia, as the second daughter of the Russian heir to the throne Alexander and his first wife, Princess Marie of Hesse and near Rhine, the daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and near the Rhine. She was the aunt of Tsar Nicholas II , who was murdered in 1918. Her brother, Grand Duke Sergei , was murdered by Ivan Kaljajew in Moscow in 1905 , and another brother, Grand Duke Pavel , in 1919 in what was then Petrograd.
From 1893 until her death, Marija was also a Russian Grand Duchess by birth, a British royal duchess by marriage and the wife (and later widow) of a sovereign German duke. From her birth until her marriage to Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh , she was Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Marija Alexandrovna of Russia. From her wedding to her husband's successor as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, she was Her Imperial and Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh. Then she was Her Imperial and Royal Highness Duchess Maria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
marriage
On January 23, 1874, Grand Duchess Marija married HRH Prince Alfred of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Edinburgh, at the Winter Palace , St. Petersburg. The marriage was not a happy one, especially since Marija was unpopular in London society. The insistence of Tsar Alexander II that his daughter should be addressed as "Imperial Highness" and should have priority over her sister-in-law, the Princess of Wales and later Queen Alexandra of Great Britain and Ireland, angered Queen Victoria . The Queen insisted that the salutation "Royal Highness", which Grand Duchess Marija acquired through marriage, should take precedence over the salutation "Imperial Highness", which was Marija's salutation from birth. Grand Duchess Marija herself found it difficult to come to terms with the fact that, according to protocol, she, the daughter of a tsar, “only” had the daughter of the Danish king, compared to her sister-in-law, the Princess of Wales. After the marriage, Marija was referred to as "Royal Highness", "Royal and Imperial Highness" or "Imperial and Royal Highness".
progeny
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh had six children:
- Hereditary Prince Alfred "Young Affie" (born October 15, 1874 - † February 6, 1899)
- Princess Marie "Missy" (born October 29, 1875 - † July 18, 1938) ⚭ January 10, 1893 King Ferdinand I of Romania (1865–1927)
- Princess Victoria Melita "Ducky" (* November 25, 1876; † March 2, 1936) ⚭ April 19, 1894 (divorced December 21, 1901) her paternal cousin, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse and the Rhine (1868–1937); ⚭ October 8, 1905 her maternal cousin, Grand Duke Cyril of Russia (1876–1938)
- Princess Alexandra "Sandra" (September 1, 1878; † April 16, 1942) ⚭ April 20, 1896 Prince Ernst von Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1863–1950)
- a daughter who died in childbirth (* / † October 13, 1879)
- Princess Beatrice "Baby Bee" (April 20, 1884 - July 13, 1966) ⚭ July 15, 1909 Don Alfonso, Infante of Spain, 3rd Duque de Galliera (1886–1975)
Next life
After the death of his uncle, Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, on August 22, 1893, the duchy fell to the Duke of Edinburgh, as his older brother, the Prince of Wales and later King Edward VII , had his inheritance rights renounced. Prince Alfred gave up his pension of £ 15,000 a year and his seats in the House of Lords and Privy Council, but kept £ 10,000 in order to maintain his London residence, Clarence House . Marija became Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in addition to her other titles. As the wife of a sovereign German duke, according to protocol, she theoretically enjoyed priority over her sisters-in-law at Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee.
The couple's only son, Hereditary Prince Alfred, caused a scandal when he tried to shoot himself in January 1899. He survived, his parents sent him to Meran to recover, but he died two weeks later. The Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Edinburgh died on July 30, 1900 of throat cancer at Rosenau Castle , Coburg. The ducal throne went to his nephew, Duke Carl Eduard von Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha and Albany. The Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha continued to live in Rosenau Castle near Coburg.
She died in Zurich in October 1920 and was buried in the ducal mausoleum in Coburg.
Title from birth
- Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Marija Alexandrovna of Russia
- controversial title:
- Her Imperial and Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh
- Her Royal and Imperial Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh
- Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh
- Her Imperial and Royal Highness Duchess Marie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Web links
- Article in Brockhaus-Efron (Russian)
- Илья С. Семенов: Христианские династии Европы. ОЛМА-пресс, Москва 2002, ISBN 5-224-02516-8 , p. 134 , (Russian; Christian dynasties in Europe ).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Romanowa, Marija Alexandrovna |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Russia, Marie Alexandrovna von; Romanowa, Maria Alexandrovna |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Russian Grand Duchess |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 17, 1853 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tsarskoye Selo |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 24, 1920 |
| Place of death | Zurich |