Emperor Alexander and Princess Ekaterina Dolgoroukaya

[ashanti01]

I've never heard about that. She was alone during her last days and wasn't really concious...but if that was true, bless her heart becuase I don't think I could have done it.

[Belochka]

Just before she died didn't Maria Alexandrovna have AII bring his and Catherine's children to her room and she blessed them? I think I remember reading that somewhere.

Hi Angie_H,

The Empress Maria died alone in her sleep, without even the presence of her nurse.

[Maria_Pavlovna]

Does any have more pictures of Catherine and her children?   please!


Oh yeah one more thing! Does anyone know how Prince George and Princesses Olga & Catherine married?

I know Gogo married and had only one child 'Alexander'

Olga married a Count of Merenberg and had three children two sons and a daughter

Catherine married twice first marrage two Sons and second no children.

[Angie_H]

I found these 2 pics on the Agence Photographique de la Réunion des Musées Nationaux site.  But I don't think they are of Catherine. I think they are of her sister?

[AGRBear]

Good book - Alexandre Tarsaidze's
                  KATIA, Wife Before God
which was published in 1969.

It'll answer many of your questions you've asked and allow you to view "Katia" ["Katya"] from a different perspective plus there are some photographs not usually found in book about the Romanovs.

AGRBear

[AGRBear]

Book cover:

[AGRBear]

KATIA,  Wife Before God b  Alexandre Tarsaidze.

p. 90:

"In the fulfilment of his, "  [Alex. II's], "desire 'to be with her, " [Katia], " 'all of the time,' the Czar had actually the 'help and  guidence' of Katia's mother, the old Princess Vera Dolgorukov."  Despite all of this,  their relationship in the first year was not sexual.  

Katia writes:  "How was I able to resist him for so long?  How is it I did not love him sooner?  I think that it was only the fact of seeing him so sad and distressed one day that finally succumbed and our love triumphed."

AGRBear

[grandduchessella]

In letters to and from Vicky and QV:

Vicky to QV in June 1880:
'All you say about the Emperor of Russia is too true!....The impression...is that the Empress suffered cruelly from her husband's infidelity and that she never uttered a murmur, complaint or reproach...but died of a broken heart. Affie and Marie are convinced that she never knew of the existence of this lady or of the children but that the Emperor was most tender and kind to the last. Russians have told me the lady is impertinent to the Emperor before others and shows him a want of respect, which is very shocking and thta she is ugly, vulgar and very greedy and effrontee that the children live in the Winter Palace, etc. But one hears such contradictory accounts that they leave one the option of believing the best and mildest versions which one had so much rather believe out of affection for the Emperor.

QV to Vicky July 1880
'With regard to what you say...(which letter I have burned) [must've been an interim letter]. I told you already what I know but since then I have heard more from a perfectly reliable source for it comes from Darmstadt (which please don't mention). It is that (which you also told me) the immorality in the highest circles is 'unfathomable' that the feeling towards the Emperor is disloyal and that his conduct leads to this. That it is so open and that that woman and her children lived in the Winter Palace and in the Palace at Zarsko! That the Emperor took every spare moment to go to her--even during the funeral ceremonies. Is it not too horrible? How can the children endure this?...[She goes on to comment on the exemplary family life of Tsarevich Alexander] ...Up to a certain time the present Emperor was very well conducted adn the Emperor Nicholas much more so still. You say the youngest child wqs born at Livadia--that was last winter. But one was born there before! And one the very night the poor Grand Duchess Marie died. Is it not too disgusting? If I had been the Empress I would have refused to comply with such a request which is an insult--and would have left Russia. If such terrible things have to be done they ought to be hidden away out of sight--and the object be a person who could not pretend to appear.'

[Svetabel]

Amazing photo of Catherine n 1866



She doesn't look much pretty here

[hikaru]

Rotshschild's family passed to Russia at the end of 2001 to Russia
3450 letters from Alexandr To Ekaterina and about 1500 letters from Ekaterina to Alexandr. Her memories text and some personal belongings were included too.

They sounds so lovely and romantique.
It would be very good if it could be published.

I enjoyed our filme "Roman of Emperor" very much.
It was made in real Palaces . Main palace where the
film was made was the palace of Vladimir  - Now Dom Uchonikh (Scholar's House) They used only antique things (except the dresses) So, my highly recommendations.

[ashanti01]

Are you talking about
" Romance of the Emperor"?

I have heard of this film about Alexander II and Princess Dolgoruka but have never been able to find it.

[Lisa]

                

               

[Lisa]

Here she is very pretty:
                 

[ashanti01]

Just before she died didn't Maria Alexandrovna have AII bring his and Catherine's children to her room and she blessed them? I think I remember reading that somewhere. Here is a picture I found of Catherine on the web (a Russian site. At work I surf the net looking for sites on the family in other languages).

I'm reading " Katia: Wife before God" and indeed it does say that Alexander II brought his two children by Katia to meet the Empress who did kiss them and bless them!

" On the other hand, we know from the reminiscence of the maid Vera that the children, Gogo and Olga, went "once" to the Palace, where "Papa" took them to "Aunty" (the Empress), who kissed them and blessed them, " while Aunty and Papa cried."

This was confirmed by Katia's maid Vera.  If this indeed is true then I must give a whole lot more credit to Empress Maria's kind heart.

[ashanti01]

Another thing about I read in Katia: Wife before God, was the total lack of respect Katia had towards the Empress. Although the author notes that from his sources she is said to have been very loyal to Empress, I highly question this, when I read that upon the time for delivery of her third child, she insited she be taken to the Winter Palace.

She and Vera( her maid) went to the street to find a cab, only to not find one and had to walk several blocks as her labor pains became more and more intense until she finally cried out and asked Vera to carry her. Naturally the maid could not carry her, so she tried to support her the best she could until they finally reached a cab and went to the winter palace through a back door where she was taken to rest room of the Tsar. She delivered a son Boris, who was taken out of the Winter Palace and taken back to her home while Katia remained in the palace for nine days , while the Empress occupied the floors below!

Boris caught cold and within less than a week he was dead.

I cannot understand why she would have wanted to deliver in the Winter Palace when she was able to remain in her flat, have a midwife summond. It would have been a far less stressful delievery and would not have needed to expose her baby to cold by having him snuck out of the palace and taken back to her flat.  Overall a very sad story, as she was able to deliver her child in the palace but only to lose her son.