As it was sung in the famous hit of the 70s, no king can marry for love. However, there are exceptions to every rule. These include the marriage concluded between the niece of Nicholas I and the Grand Duke of Luxembourg Adolf of Nassau. Romanova Elizaveta Mikhailovna lived a very short life. Her memory was immortalized not only by her husband, but also by her mother and uncle, who decided to express their love for the young beauty who passed away prematurely by building an Orthodox church, a hospital and an orphanage.
Parents
Elizaveta Mikhailovna was the second daughter of Frederica of Württemberg (the first-born in the family of the youngest son of King Frederick I) and Grand Duke Michael - the last of the children of Emperor Paul the First. The girl's parents did not have tender feelings for each other, and their barque could hardly be called happy. As a result, Elena Pavlovna (the Orthodox name of Princess Frederica), gave all her love to 5 daughters who were distinguished by curiosity and, according to reviewscontemporaries were real beauties.
Biography
The daughter of Prince Mikhail Pavlovich was born in Moscow on May 14 (26), 1826. She was named after the wife of Alexander the First, Elizabeth Alekseevna, who was a close friend of her mother and died 10 days before her birth.
Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, deprived of her husband's attention, devoted her whole life to the education of her daughters. As for their father, Mikhail Pavlovich insisted on introducing military subjects into their training program, arguing that the girls were honorary commanders of cavalry regiments. The Grand Duke began to acquaint Elizabeth, Mary and Catherine with infantry and cavalry signals on the drum and bugle. It is said that sometimes he brought to the palace officers who made mistakes at military reviews or exercises. Then he invited the girls and ordered the bugler to play the signals. Usually the Grand Duchesses unmistakably named their meanings, and the triumphant father shamed the officers and sent them to the guardhouse.
Matrimonial plans of the imperial family
Nikolai the First and Mikhail Pavlovich were extremely friendly since childhood. Their good relationship continued into adulthood. However, in 1843, a black cat almost ran between the families of the brothers. The reason was the matchmaking of Adolf of Nassau.
The fact is that Elena Pavlovna dreamed of marrying Princess Maria Mikhailovna to the Prince of Baden. She also had plans for Elizabeth, whom she wanted to marry Duke Adolf.
The Nassau dynasty dates back to the 12th century, one of its branches still rules the Netherlands to this day. In addition, Adolf of Nassau himself was a young man worthy in every respect. That is why Emperor Nicholas I and his wife Alexandra Fedorovna wanted to see him as the husband of his daughter Olga.
Matchmaking
Emperor Nicholas the First did not want a split in his family. Therefore, he declared that he would not exert any influence on the Duke of Nassau, giving him the right to choose for himself which of the two cousins he wanted to see as his wife. At the same time, Elena Pavlovna understood that Grand Duchess Olga, being the daughter of the emperor, had more chances than Lily, although the latter was no less charming.
Soon the groom arrived in Kronstadt with his brother, Prince Maurice. They asked for an audience with Nicholas I. They were informed that the emperor was ready to meet them in Ropsha, where he was observing military exercises. When the young people came to the tent of the king, Duke Adolf, without delay, asked permission to take Elizabeth Mikhailovna as his wife. Despite the disappointment, Nicholas the First did not object, and the enamored duke went to Karlsbad, where Elena Pavlovna and her daughters were resting.
Wedding
The Grand Duchess was delighted and did not stint on organizing wedding celebrations on the occasion of her daughter's marriage. Elizaveta Mikhailovna and the Duke of Nassau were married in St. Petersburg on January 31, 1844. For twoweeks before, the wedding of Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna and Prince Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel took place. Both of these festivities gathered in the Russian capital the entire color of the European aristocracy. According to eyewitnesses, in a series of solemn balls and dinners, the most luxurious was the reception organized by Elena Pavlovna, who spent on it a fabulous sum of 200 thousand rubles at that time.
Death
It would seem that a happy family life awaited Elizabeth Mikhailovna, as she adored her husband, and his love for her was so great that for her sake he refused the honor of becoming the son-in-law of the Russian emperor. However, fate decreed in its own way, and exactly a year after the wedding, Elizaveta Mikhailovna died during a difficult birth. Her baby did not survive either. Thus ended the life of a young beauty. By an inexplicable accident, the happiness of her cousin Alexandra Nikolaevna, who had died a few months earlier, did not last long either.
Memory
In memory of his niece, Nicholas the First ordered the name of a clinical hospital for young children, which was founded in the Northern capital in 1844.
After Grand Duchess Maria Mikhailovna died in November 1846, her mother, Princess Elena Pavlovna, decided to found a charitable institution. So in St. Petersburg and Pavlovsk, "shelters of Elizabeth and Mary" appeared.
Duke Adolf also decided to perpetuate the memory of his wife. He ordered the construction of the Orthodox Church of St. Elizabeth in Wiesbaden. He donated money for the construction, which wasallocated to the Grand Duchess as a dowry. Upon completion of work in the crypt of the temple, the young duchess and her newborn daughter were reburied.
