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65-500: The first Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace was built on Nevsky Prospekt in 1747 for Prince Mikhail Andreevich Beloselsky (1702–1755) during the reign of Elizabeth of Russia ; the building, far smaller than it is today, was designed in the French style with a large private garden and a launch onto the canal, stuccoed and painted in imitation of Parisian limestone. Inherited by his son - Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Beloselsky (1752–1809) - it

130-468: A "well used, half worn out, blasé young man." Marie was outraged by Empress Alexandra's abrupt refusal. In 1909, Marie's husband died. She was devastated by his death and wore mourning clothes for the rest of her life. During World War I , Marie whole-heartedly supported Russia. Born a German princess, she was troubled by the outbreak of WW I but decided that she was now a Russian. She reflected: "Neither in my heart nor my mind have I found anything which

195-471: A Russian Grand Duke needed to convert to Russian Orthodoxy before Marie, so Marie's decision was shocking and unprecedented. Lord Augustus Loftus noted, "It is a matter of surprise here for a Foreign Princess married to a Grand Duke to retain her own religion but it is a process to which they will have to accustom themselves or they will find no wives for the Russian Grand Dukes. I think it is

260-419: A Russian-based story. She told Glyn: "Everyone always writes books about our peasants. Come and write one about how real people live." Glyn produced a piece of fiction called His Hour, which she dedicated to Marie, saying "her kind appreciation of the finished work is a source of the deepest gratification to me." Glyn modeled one of the characters, Princess Ardacheff, after Marie. Like her husband, Marie loved

325-465: A better Emperor than Maria Feodorovna's husband, Alexander III of Russia . After the Borki train disaster in which Alexander III, Maria Feodorovna, and their children narrowly escaped death, Marie allegedly said, "We shall never have such a chance again." Marie had an antagonistic relationship with Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra , because of her ambitions for her own sons. On 14 June 1897,

390-414: A commoner, which led Emperor Nicholas to strip him of his military command, imperial honors, and right as the heir presumptive to serve as regent for Tsesarevich Alexei should Emperor Nicholas die prematurely. According to the laws of the succession, Marie's oldest son Kirill, the heir presumptive now that Grand Duke Michael was ineligible and his own father, Vladimir, was dead, would become regent should

455-479: A daughter-in-law of Alexander II of Russia . The present palace is said to look similar to the nearby Rastrelliesque Stroganov Palace which is further up the Nevsky Prospect, on the corner of Moika canal. David Jensen was asked to produce a replica of it. After their major renovations in 1847–48, the palace — complete with piano nobile , concert hall, Van Loo paintings, and palace church — acquired

520-565: A dazzling Rococo appearance. When the son of Princess Elena Pavlovna, Prince Konstantin Esperovich Beloselsky-Belozersky gained his majority he inherited the palace and lived there with his wife (née Nadezhda Dimitrievna Skobeleva) and their many children. More often living at their estate on Krestovsky Island (Krestovsky Ostrov), where they had renovated a grand manorial home to a small palace and where they could enjoy country living inside of St. Petersburg and as

585-522: A healthy practice and it will do them good." In a letter to Hamilton Fish , Eugene Schuyler wrote “The Grand Duchess will retain the Lutheran religion. This is worthy of note, as hitherto the Russian laws have required the wives of all grand dukes to adopt the orthodox Russian faith.” Marie set the precedent for brides who did not have to convert to Russian Orthodoxy to marry Russian Grand Dukes. At

650-528: A letter to the late Empress Maria's brother, Louis III, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine : “The Tsar has commanded us as his subjects to be friendly with this wife; if not he would force us to it. You can imagine the internal conflict that agitates us all, and the perpetual struggle between feelings, duty, and external pressure.” Marie had a distant relationship with her sister-in-law, Maria Feodorovna . Maria Feodorovna disliked Marie because of her German origins. Marie openly declared that her husband would make

715-773: A paper showing that the Grand Duchess had given up her Protestant religion and had embraced the Orthodox." Marie lived at the Vladimir Palace situated on the Palace Embankment on the Neva River . Marie was famous for being one of the best hostesses in the capital. During the reign of her nephew Emperor Nicholas II , her Grand Ducal court was the most cosmopolitan and popular one in the capital. The painter Henry Jones Thaddeus recalled that she

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780-516: A regional Soviet until 1991, when it was designated a municipal cultural centre. the Rococo interiors of the palace sustained considerable damage during World War II ; they were restored to their original state in 1954 and now host chamber concerts for small audiences. It now also hosts a large wax works exhibition. Fire broke out inside the palace's roof early on 28 February 2012. Russian news media, television and sightseers reported this. Apparently,

845-459: A slight tendency to pugginess." At the coronation of her brother-in-law Alexander III , her niece, Marie of Edinburgh , noted that "she is not thin enough for classical lines but she wears her clothes better than any other woman present; her shoulders are superb and as white as cream; there is a smartness about her that no one else can attain." In 1910, author Elinor Glyn wrote that Marie was "a most stately, magnificent looking princess." Marie

910-583: A voluntary British Red Cross hospital set up to treat Russian soldiers. It was staffed by British doctors and nurses, and led by Lady Muriel Paget and Lady Sybil Grey (they also established field hospitals in Volhynia, Bukovina and the Carpathians, in today's Ukraine). Grand Duke Dmitry sold it on the eve of the Russian Revolution ; two years later it was nationalised and went on to house

975-499: Is from this point on in time the family is known as the Beloselsky-Belozersky Белосельский-Белозерский . The Rurikid princely double name Beloselsky-Belozersky is also given to their palace. Alexander Mikhailovich' second wife, Anna Grigorievna (born Kozitskaya; her father was Secretary of State to Catherine II, Gregory Vasilievich Kozitsky ; he was also rector of Moscow University. Anna Grigorievna's portrait by

1040-603: Is not utterly devoted to my Russian fatherland... it is my forty years’ residence in Russia— all the happiness I have known here, all the dreams that have come to me, all the affection and kindness I have received— which has given me a wholly Russian soul.” She hated Wilhelm II, German Emperor and denounced him in the strongest terms: "I am only a Mecklenburger on one point: in my hatred for the Emperor William. He represents what I have been taught from my childhood to detest

1105-598: The Krestovsky island as well as further additions to the Beloselsky-Belozersky palace. The palace passed down the family line to Esper Alexandrovich Beloselsky-Belozersky (son of Alexander Mikhailovitch) who died at a young age. His widow, Princess Elena Pavlovna Beloselskaya-Belozerskaya (née Bibikova) was the owner of the palace until the majority of Konstantin Esperovich Beloselsky-Belozersky (the only son of Esper Alexandrovich and Elena Pavlovna). It

1170-707: The Russian Orthodox Church . Vladimir's mother, Empress Maria Alexandrovna was disappointed by Marie's refusal to convert: She herself had converted from Lutheranism to Russian Orthodoxy, and she thought that the Russian Orthodox church was “quite good enough for any daughter-in-law of hers.” She told Vladimir that she hoped that Marie would "become Russian in body and soul," indicating her hope that Marie would convert. Emperor Alexander II finally agreed to let Vladimir marry Marie without insisting on her conversion to Orthodoxy. Every bride of

1235-617: The Boston Daily Globe reported that she had "consulted a gypsy fortune teller, who had predicted that one of her sons would sit on the throne of Russia." At this time, Empress Alexandra had given birth to her third daughter Grand Duchess Maria . As girls were ineligible for the Imperial Throne, Emperor Nicholas' heirs were his two unmarried, childless brothers and his uncle Vladimir, Marie's husband. In 1912, Emperor Nicholas's only living brother Grand Duke Michael married

1300-736: The Elder , was the eldest daughter of Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin by his first wife, Princess Augusta Reuss of Köstritz . A prominent hostess in Saint Petersburg following her marriage in 1874 to the Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia , she was known by many as the "grandest of the grand duchesses". Marie was noted for her attractiveness and sense of style. When Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn visited Germany in search of brides, Queen Victoria noted that Marie

1365-553: The Emperor and the palace was the only private commission of Stackenscheider in the city. The princess remarried to Prince Vasili Viktorovich Kochubey, son of Viktor Kochubey , and grandson of the first Prince Kotchubey, Viktor Pavlovich (See: Elena Pavlovna Kotchubey\Princess Kotschubey as painted by Franz Xavier Winterhalter, 1805–1875, located in The Walters Art Museum Baltimore, Maryland USA). Upon

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1430-574: The Emperor die before Alexei turned 21. However, Emperor Nicholas overruled the existing law and nominated his oldest daughter Grand Duchess Olga as regent with his wife Empress Alexandra as guardian during Alexei's minority. Marie was furious, but Emperor Nicholas refused to change his mind. In 1916, Marie approached Empress Alexandra about a potential marriage between Grand Duchess Olga and her second son Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich . Empress Alexandra refused Marie's proposal, claiming that she could not let "a pure, fresh girl, 18 years his junior" marry

1495-468: The Grand Duchess was the centre of the animated and brilliant conversation. She was talking to persons whom she had never before met; and she did not make a single mistake.” Author Elinor Glyn reflected that Marie "had a very highly cultivated and far-seeing mind, with a delightful sense of humour, and was adored by everyone." Marie was interested in literature. In late 1909, she invited the popular British novelist Elinor Glyn to come to Russia to write

1560-696: The Hotel La Souveraine), she died on 6 September 1920, aged 66, surrounded by her family at Contrexéville . Marie had a passion for jewels, and her collection was renowned. It included a 100 carat emerald once owned by her great-great-great-grandmother, Empress Catherine the Great and the 5 carat ruby of Josephine de Beauharnais . In 1899, she and Vladimir received a number of jewels for their silver wedding anniversary. Nicholas II of Russia and Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse) gave them “an aigrette and diadem composed of magnificent diamonds." It

1625-404: The Imperial Throne, Nicholas agreed to reinstate Cyril's Imperial titles, and the latter's wife was acknowledged as HIH Grand Duchess Viktoria Fedorovna. Marie was a doting grandmother. At least once a year, her daughter Elena would bring her children to visit. Marie's favorite was Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark . Meriel Buchanan heard Marie say "Marina is the cleverest one," "Marina has

1690-412: The Orthodox religion.” However, some believed that the ambitious Marie acted to improve the chances of her own sons ascending the throne. After Emperor Nicholas II's sickly son Tsesarevich Alexei and unmarried, childless brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia , Marie's husband and her sons were in line for the throne. In 1916, Vladimir Purishkevich wrote in his diary: "I shall never forget

1755-695: The Revolution. They were sold on behalf of the Vladimir heirs; some of the proceeds were used to restore the Grand Duchess's tomb in Contrexéville. Marie's eldest surviving son, Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich of Russia married, in 1905, his first cousin Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , daughter of Vladimir's sister the Duchess of Edinburgh and of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . Other than

1820-740: The Romanov policies. Sergei Alexandrovich was assassinated by a terrorist bomb at the Kremlin on February 17, 1905. The palace was then the property of his widow who became a nun in 1909. She went to live at the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent and willed the palace to her ward Grand Duke Dmitri. During the First World War, from January 1916 until January 1918, the palace was the base of the Anglo-Russian Hospital ,

1885-530: The Russian Emperor's daughter-in-law, Marie took on a new style Her Imperial Highness . Marie and Vladimir had four sons and one daughter. Upon her marriage she took the Russian name of Maria Pavlovna. She was Emperor Paul I of Russia 's great-great-granddaughter, and she wished to emphasize her exalted ancestry with the patronymic "Pavlovna." For three years, Marie and Vladimir could not marry, because Marie refused to convert from Lutheranism to

1950-650: The Tsar's abdication and replacement by his son Tsesarevich Alexei, and her son, Grand Duke Kirill or Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich , as regent. There is no documentary evidence to support this, though the Duma president Mikhail Rodzianko famously reported that she said that the Empress must be "annihilated". Marie was the last of the Romanovs to escape Revolutionary Russia and the first to die in exile. She remained in

2015-544: The United Kingdom purchased a Bolin tiara of diamond loops with pearl drops, later worn by Queen Elizabeth II , although the original gold frame has been replaced by Garrard with one of platinum; Her niece by marriage, Queen Marie, Queen Consort of Romania purchased a sapphire kokoshnik-style tiara by Cartier and Nancy Leeds (later Princess Christopher of Greece) , the ruby parure. Some of her emeralds were purchased by Barbara Hutton . It had been rumored that some of

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2080-532: The Winter Palace explosion of February 1880. Revolutionaries had planted 125 pounds of dynamite in the dining room, and the Imperial family narrowly avoided death only because Alexander II had unusually gone to dinner late. She told painter Henry Jones Thaddeus about her experience. She explained that she was late for dinner because one of her children was ill. At the palace, Alexander II delayed going to

2145-456: The arts. After her husband's death, Marie succeeded him as president of the Academy of Fine Arts. Marie was addicted to gambling. The painter Henry Jones Thaddeus attended one of Marie's parties, where she insisted that her guests play roulette. When she and her husband traveled abroad, she liked to frequent the casinos of Monte Carlo. During Nicholas II's reign, she defied a prohibition on

2210-532: The chapel of the Winter Palace . It was not as lavish as the wedding of Vladimir's sister Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia to the Duke of Edinburgh . Lord Augustus Loftus noted, "Every thing went off very well; although the marriage was not so resplendent as that of the Duke of Edinburgh . At this season of the year this town is a desert and therefore only those came who were obliged to come." As

2275-418: The charity with state money and money from her personal wealth. Like many other Romanovs, Marie feared that Empress Alexandra would "be the sole ruler of Russia" after Nicholas took supreme command of the Russian armies on 23 August 1915 (O.S.), hoping this would lift morale. It was widely speculated that along with her sons, she contemplated a coup against the Emperor in the winter of 1916–17, that would force

2340-1003: The damage was contained and the only damage was to the attic and the main areas of the palace were untouched. Concerts and special events still take place in the palace, as has been the case since the building became the property of the city of St. Petersburg. Nevsky Prospekt Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.237 via cp1104 cp1104, Varnish XID 213713447 Upstream caches: cp1104 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:55:37 GMT Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , later Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, Grand Duchess Vladimir "Miechen" of Russia ( Russian : Мари́я Па́вловна; 14 May [ O.S. 2 May] 1854 – 6 September 1920), also known as Maria Pavlovna

2405-465: The dining room to ask about her child. She recalled that, "At this moment the most awful explosion rents the air. The dining-room vanished from our view, and we were plunged into impenetrable darkness. A poisonous gas filled the room, suffocating us, as well as adding to our horror." She reflected that "It really seemed as if the hand of Providence had delayed the Czar’s arrival; otherwise we should have shared

2470-462: The fact that first cousin marriages were not allowed, she was also the former wife of Ernst Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse, the brother of the Empress. This marriage was not approved by Nicholas II and Cyril was stripped of his imperial titles. The treatment of her son created strife between her husband and the Emperor. However, after several deaths in the family put Cyril third in the line of succession to

2535-526: The foster parents of Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna , Sergei's niece and nephew through his younger brother. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was a radical conservative and his policies made him a polarizing figure. As the governor of Moscow he became victim of the violence of the 1905 uprisings in Moscow, one of the earliest concerted efforts by revolutionaries and leftist organizations fomenting unrest and uprising against

2600-552: The founder of the same above noted Urals' fortune and originator of the Tverdychev-Myasnikov's family partnership). She decided to update and reconstruct the palace to suit her taste. She had the old building knocked down and had a new palace built (1846–48) designed by Andreas Stackensneider the court architect of Nicholas I of Russia . In order to do this, the princess had to petition Emperor Nicholas I for permission to commission his services. She got permission from

2665-504: The illusion of dewdrops shaken from a stem” whenever they were moved, a ruby tiara, a kokoshnik tiara with a 137-carat sapphire in the center, and a large stomacher with a 162-carat sapphire. Following the Revolution, a family friend Albert Stopford rescued the jewels from her Palace safe and smuggled them out of Russia. After the Duchess's death, they were sold by her children to support their lives in exile. Queen Mary, Queen Consort of

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2730-541: The indignity of delousing. She finally agreed to leave when the general of the White Army warned her that his side was losing the civil war. Maria, her son Andrei, Andrei's mistress Mathilde Kschessinska , and Andrei and Mathilde's son Vladimir, boarded an Italian ship headed to Venice on 13 February 1920. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia encountered Maria at the port of Novorossiysk in early 1920: "Disregarding peril and hardship, she stubbornly kept to all

2795-481: The most—the tyranny of the Hohenzollerns. Yes, it is the Hohenzollerns who have perverted, demoralized, degraded and humiliated Germany and gradually destroyed in her all elements of idealism and generosity, refinement and charity.” The French ambassador Maurice Paléologue was impressed by Marie's “long diatribe which made me feel all the sentiments of inveterate hatred, of mute and tenacious detestation which

2860-550: The playing of roulette and baccarat in private homes, and she was temporarily banned from Court. Marie Alexandrine Elisabeth Eleonore was born a duchess of the Grand Ducal House of Mecklenburg to Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin - the then Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and his first wife, Princess Augusta Reuss of Köstritz (1822–1862) - in the Schloss Ludwigslust . She

2925-667: The reconstruction and opening of their famous palace to the public, the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace gained a reputation as being one of the most lavish palaces in Russia and also as being the venue of the most lavish balls and concerts in St. Petersburg. Elena Pavlovna also gained the reputation as the best hostess in St Petersburg - a role which would later be taken on by Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia ,

2990-503: The same fate [as the dining room]." Marie was close to her father-in-law, Alexander II. She recalled that he was "devoted to her" and "kindness itself." However, she incurred his anger by refusing to accept his second wife, Catherine Dolgorukov . She privately criticized Alexander II for his obsession with Catherine: "The creature... seems to have him bound as in a spell, to make him deaf and blind." She resented him for forcing his family to accept Catherine, and she expressed her anger in

3055-495: The small and once independent states of Germany have for the despotic house of Prussia.” Marie supervised many projects for the Russian army. She oversaw hospital trains for the troops. Albert Stopford admired Marie's efficiency and skill in organizing, claiming that Marie "spar[ed] herself no trouble" and was "quite thorough." She developed a charity to give complete outfits and money to disabled Russian soldiers who were sent home. Granted permission from Emperor Nicholas, she ran

3120-675: The stones in Elizabeth Taylor's Bulgari Emerald necklace were from the Vladimir collection but this has been disproved by jeweler historian Vincent Meylan. In 2008 a collection of cufflinks , cigarette cases and other small jewellery items belonging to the Vladimir family were discovered in the archives of the Swedish foreign ministry, having presumably been deposited at the Swedish Embassy in St Petersburg following

3185-494: The story of Ivan Grigorevich Scheglovitov, former Minister of Justice. He said that one day Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich asked him whether the descendants of the Vladimir line have any legal rights to the throne and if not, why not? Scheglovitov . . . told him that the Grand Dukes had no rights whatsoever because their mother continued in the Lutheran faith even after marriage. Boris left him but came back sometime later with

3250-454: The sweetest nature," and "Marina is the most affectionate." Marie gave her granddaughters "dresses, dolls, prams, bicycles, a pony and carriage and jewellery suitable for their ages, such as silver muff-chains, watches, strings of pearls and diamonds and turquoise pendants.” She despised Kate Fox, the nurse to Elena's children. When Kate spanked her grandchildren, she was furious and complained that "that dreadful woman knocks them about." During

3315-498: The time of Marie's marriage, Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine wrote to her mother, Queen Victoria , "My mother-in-law tells me that since Miechen has been allowed to retain her religion, this right will of course be conceded to all Princesses in the future.” Many years later, Alice's daughter Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine would use Marie's precedent to retain her Lutheran faith and marry Marie's brother-in-law, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia . Marie

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3380-462: The trimmings of bygone splendour and glory. And somehow she carried it off... When even generals found themselves lucky to find a horse cart and an old nag to bring them to safety, Aunt Miechen made a long journey in her own train. It was battered all right--but it was hers. For the first time in my life I found it a pleasure to kiss her..." She made her way from Venice to Switzerland and then to France, where her health failed. Staying at her villa (now

3445-517: The vast Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace was a huge drain on the family resources, they decided to sell their Nevsky Prospect palace. The palace was put up for sale around the time of the engagement of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia to Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and the Rhine in 1883. The couple, who needed a suitable residence in the city, found the building and it was made their principal residence after its purchase by Sergei Alexandrovich. It

3510-568: The war-torn Caucasus with her two younger sons throughout 1917 and 1918, still hoping to make her eldest son Kirill Vladimirovich the Tsar. As the Bolsheviks approached, the group finally escaped aboard a fishing boat to Anapa in 1918. Maria spent fourteen months in Anapa, refusing to join her son Boris in leaving Russia. When opportunities for escape via Constantinople presented themselves she refused to leave for fear she would be subjected to

3575-661: The well-known French and Russian court portrait painter Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun is in Washington DC's National Museum of Women in the Arts ) was an heiress of a great fortune through her mother, Ekaterina Ivanovna Myasnikova (major south Urals area metals and mining heiress from the Myasnikov-Tverdychev families, e.g. Yuryuzan , Ust-Katav , Katav-Ivanovsk , Nizhnyi Tagil , Beloretsk ). This allowed further purchases of land in St. Petersburg, including

3640-403: Was "said to be very pretty." When they first met, her future husband Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia admired her "wonderfully expressive eyes." At her wedding, Thomas W. Knox observed that "Vladimir's bride is good-looking, solid, well-formed, with plump and finely rounded shoulders; a neck neither long nor short; regularly formed features, with the exception of the nose, which has

3705-614: Was eight years old when her mother died in 1862. Her father married twice more. She studied singing with Gustav Graben-Hoffmann . Marie married Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia , the third son of Alexander II of Russia . She was one of the very few Royals with Slavic patriline to ever marry a male dynast of the House of Romanov . Previously, she had been engaged to George Albert I, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt , but broke it off as soon as she met Vladimir. Marie and Vladimir married on 28 August 1874. The wedding took place in

3770-471: Was famous for her wittiness and sociability. Meriel Buchanan attended one of Marie's dinner parties at Vladimir Palace, and she wrote that Marie "know[s] exactly what to say to each individual person, an inimitable gift which royalties do not always possess, but which she had at her command in the fullest sense.” When she visited Sofia , Bulgaria , she impressed A.A. Mossolov, head of the court Chancellery, with her wit and vivacity. He wrote: "For three hours,

3835-476: Was from Elena Pavlovna that the palace gained its present lavish appearance. In addition to the Beloselsky-Belozersky wealth, stemming from their south Urals metal works, Elena Pavlovna also inherited a fortune from her own family, the Bibikovs (and from her father's mother, born Tatiana Jakovna Tverdychev, whose father was the brother of the original Urals mining and metals entrepreneur Ivan Borisovich Tverdychev,

3900-405: Was furious when her sister-in-law Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia converted to Russian Orthodoxy after her marriage. Grand Duchess Elizabeth predicted Marie's response, and she asked her father Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine : "Please do not yet tell anybody at Darmstadt until I write again when Miechen [Marie] knows." In 1908, Marie converted to Orthodoxy. The decision

3965-544: Was he that bought a plot of land in 1800 which allowed the building to be greatly extended. Prince Alexander Mikhailovich was a close friend, supporter and devoted servant of Paul I of Russia . Through his Ukaze (Decree) in year 1800, Paul I assured the revival of the ancient title of Princes of Belozersk by authorizing Alexander Mikhailovich Beloselsky to use and add the Belozersky title and name to him and his descendants (other branches of Belozersk Princes had died out). It

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4030-443: Was he who gave the palace its present red exterior. Under the ownership of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the palace had yet another extensive remodelling and the interior was redone. The redecorating included adding a vast library and a Slavic revival chapel. The couple never had children of their own, but their Il’yinskoye estate was usually filled with parties that Elizabeth organized especially for children. They eventually became

4095-460: Was reported that "the three stones of the aigrette alone are worth a fortune.” Each grand duke and grand duchess gave them a golden plate, which formed a collection of 36 plates, “the most magnificent service that can be imagined.” Marie was a major client of Cartier , and she bought many jewels from them. These jewels included an aigrette tiara with "three curving aigrette bundles, set with Indian-cut briolettes like cascades of blossom" that "evoked

4160-426: Was the "ideal hostess" and that "Her Imperial Highness was the life and soul of the company, the most brilliant contributor to the general discussion." Meriel Buchanan attended Marie's dinner party at Vladimir Palace, and she wrote, "Here one always met only the prettiest and smartest women, the most distinguished men, the most entertaining members of the diplomatic body." During Alexander II's reign, Marie survived

4225-666: Was unexpected because she had been Lutheran for 35 years. Meriel Buchanan , daughter of a British ambassador to Russia, defended Marie's conversion as sincere: “For some time past the Grand Duchess had turned more and more to the colour and ceremonial of the Russian Church. She had prayed to the Virgin for the safety of her son [Kirill] when he was injured [during the Russo-Japanese War ], and seeing in his escape from death an answer to these prayers, she finally adopted

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