Empress Maria Alexandrovna,wife of Alexander II - discussion and pictures

Dolgurukaya was not the first women Alexander II took to his bed.  Like most of the Romanovs, their sling of mistresses were endless.
Alexander III was the 1st Romanov Tsar to actually stay faithful to his wife.
Furthermore, the doctors had told the Tsar early on that the Empress could not engage in her marital duties, so the Tsar was, in some ways, "allowed" by both the doctors and the Empress, to officially let his eye wander off....

she could not?! but they had so many children! and the distance between the oldest and the youngest was pretty big....

As far as my knowledge goes, it was Nicholas I's wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, that had a heart condition in which the doctors forbade her to fullfill her marital duties as a spouse, and thus Nicholas I took mistresses for sexual purposes, although husband and wife loved each other dearly despite the goings on on the sideline...

she could not?! but they had so many children! and the distance between the oldest and the youngest was pretty big....

All those births, coupled with Russia's damp weather, brought on her sickness.  By 1860, the year of their last child's birth, the Drs. told the Empress that future marital relations was impossible.

Their last child was born in 1860, AII started his affair with Princess Catherine around 1867.

Regards

As far as my knowledge goes, it was Nicholas I's wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, that had a heart condition in which the doctors forbade her to fullfill her marital duties as a spouse, and thus Nicholas I took mistresses for sexual purposes, although husband and wife loved each other dearly despite the goings on on the sideline...

this is also true for Maria Feodorovna, Paul's wife.  After the birth of her 10th child (mikhail), the doctors forbade her from having more children.  then paul took a mistress!

I'm sure it hurt Marie Alexandrovna, not only because her husband was being involved in, as one of my teachers put it, "extra-cirricular activities", but also because she couldn't fulfill Tsar Alexander's probable wish to have more children.

I'm sure it hurt Marie Alexandrovna, not only because her husband was being involved in, as one of my teachers put it, "extra-cirricular activities", but also because she couldn't fulfill Tsar Alexander's probable wish to have more children.

Oh, he wanted even more children?! Not bad!

Alexander II enjoyed playing with little children.  But they had 8 children together!  I mean even if her health wasn't weak, that would've caused a lot of harm to her body.

how many children did he want?!

this is also true for Maria Feodorovna, Paul's wife.  After the birth of her 10th child (mikhail), the doctors forbade her from having more children.  then paul took a mistress!

In fact Pavel took a mistress a decade earlier! Her name was Ekaterina Nelidova.

In fact Pavel took a mistress a decade earlier! Her name was Ekaterina Nelidova.

You are right.  He had a mistress before the birth of Mikhail.  But after his birth and the doctors forbade the Empress of having any more sexual relations, Paul took a teenager called Anna Lopukhina.

You are right.  He had a mistress before the birth of Mikhail.  But after his birth and the doctors forbade the Empress of having any more sexual relations, Paul took a teenager called Anna Lopukhina.

She was not a teenager at all. They said that Pavel loved her more platonically...somewhat of a late love for a man in his fifties.

Maria Alexandrowna

how many children did he want?!

From the many books I've read about the Romanovs, I haven't seen an exact number given for how many children Alexander II wanted. But even so, he did have quite a few if you count the four with Ekaterina:

with Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt:

1. Nikolai b. 1843
2. Aleksandr III b. 1845
3. Vladimir b. 1847 (He married Miechen)
4. Aleksei b. 1850
5. Maria b. 1853 (She married Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh)
6. Sergei b. 1857 (He married Alix's sister Ella of Hesse)
7. Pavel b. 1860 (He was father to Maria and Dimitri)

With Ekaterina Dolgorukaya:

1. George b. 1872
2. Olga b. 1873
3. Boris b. 1876 (He died the same year)
4. Ekaterina b. 1878

So in total, Aleksandr II had eleven children. Not as many as George III of England (He and his wife Charlotte had FIFTEEN!) but that's still alot...

It's never been proven that Czarina Marie Feodorovna (consort of AII) was an illegitimate child of the Grand duke of Hesse.  There have always been rumors but nothing substantative proven.  The empress Alexandra (Mouffy) didn't want Sasha (AII) to marry marie b/c she being a hohenzollern (high and mighty) believed that the Hesse's were too far below the Romanovs and the Hohenzollerns.  I am sorry but I believe it tacky to slander the late empress's life by repeating slander about her parternity.  No proof = keep it to yourself