Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

|

This article is about the daughter of Paul I of Russia. For information on Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, born Charlotte of Württemberg, see Princess Charlotte of Württemberg.

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming conventions, the patronymic is  Pavlovna.

Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna

Portrait by Vladimir Borovikovsky, 1796. Oil on canvas from the Gatchina Palace Museum, St Petersburg, Russia.

Born| (1784-12-24)24 December 1784
Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Died| 24 September 1803(1803-09-24) (aged 18)
Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Spouse| Frederick Louis, Hereditary Prince of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Issue| Paul Frederick, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg
Marie Louise, Duchess of Saxe-Altenburg
House| Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
Father| Paul I of Russia
Mother| Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg

Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia, Hereditary Princess of Mecklenburg (Russian: Великая Княжна Елена Павловна; 24 December 1784 [OS 13 December] – 24 September 1803) was a daughter of Grand Duke, later Tsar Paul I of Russia and his second wife Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. After marrying the son and heir of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin she ceased to use her Russian title.

## Contents

* 1 Life and Childhood
* 2 Marriage
* 2.1 Children
* 3 Life in Schwerin and death
* 4 Descendants
* 5 Archives
* 6 Ancestry
* 7 References
* 8 Bibliography

## Life and Childhood[edit]

Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna was born in Saint Petersburg, capital city of the Russian Empire. The arrival of a second daughter was happy news to her father, Tsarevich Paul Petrovich, who had lost his first wife Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt in childbirth, eight years before. She was also said to be very beautiful so her grandmother, the Empress Catherine, named her after Helen of Troy.

As a girl, Elena was educated privately at home, her first years' education being supervised by her paternal grandmother, the formidable Catherine II of Russia. As any other royal of her time, the Grand Duchess' education was focused mainly on art, literature and music. Her real purpose in life, eventually, would be to marry well and provide her husband-to-be with children. Out of all her siblings, Elena was closest to her older sister Alexandra, whose life was shaped practically the same as was Elena's.

## Marriage[edit]

Grand Duchesses Alexandra and Elena Pavlovna, by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun, ca. 1795-1797.

Elena's mother, Sophie Marie Dorothea of Württemberg (by now known as Maria Fyodorovna following her baptism in the Orthodox faith), turned out to be an excellent matchmaker. Although one of her daughters died as an infant, the rest married members of Europe's most important and prestigious royal houses.

In 1798 the situation in Europe was such that Russia decided for a closer military cooperation with Austria, supported by a consent to the marriage of Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna with Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary. At the same time, negotiations began on the marriage of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna with the heir of a small but politically profitable state, the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The negotiations went without any complications and ended successfully.

The day-of court records of 17 February 1799 wrote: arrived in St. Petersburg their Highnesses Princes Frederick and Carl of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. They received a set of rooms in the Marble Palace and where invited to the imperial table.

Hereditary Prince Friedrich Ludwig of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1778–1819), was the eldest son of Friedrich Franz I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. Count Rostopchin wrote: on Monday 25 February the court go to Pavlovsk, after the 24 will be decided the betrothal of Grand Duchess Elena with the Prince of Mecklenburg, a handsome man but essentially rustic and ignorant, although a good person.

The formal betrothal between Grand Duchess Elena and the Hereditary Prince of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was celebrated on 5 May 1799. It was customary for European princesses to travel to their husband's homelands to wed; Russian Grand Duchesses were always the exception, as they were all married at home following tradition. On 23 October 1799 Elena Pavlovna and Friedrich Ludwig were married at the palace of Gatchina. Her sister Alexandra followed her example and married her fiancé in the same place one week later.

### Children[edit]

Elena and Friedrich Ludwig had two children:

1. Paul Friedrich, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (15 September 1800 – 7 March 1842)
2. Marie Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (31 March 1803 – 26 October 1862); married Georg, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg

## Life in Schwerin and death[edit]

Elena, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schewrin, by Josef Grassi, 1802. Pavlovsk Palace.

Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna (now Hereditary Grand Duchess Elena) moved to Schwerin with her husband. There she was introduced to a whole new court, quite different from the opulence of Saint Petersburg. She was quite content with her married life and soon after the wedding she was with child. In September 1800 she gave birth to a son, Paul Friedrich, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1837 till 1842, who was named so after his grandfathers, the Tsar of Russia and the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The year 1801 had been especially hard for Elena, for she lost two close members of her family in just a few days. On 16 March her sister Alexandra died in Buda after giving birth to a daughter Alexandrine, who died a few days before. Just eight days later her father, the tsar, was assassinated. The following year Elena became pregnant again and in March 1803 produced a daughter whom they named Marie Louise after her grandmothers, the Dowager Tsarina and Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

In September 1803, Elena Pavlovna fell gravely ill and died suddenly on 24 September. She was buried with great sorrow in the Helena Paulovna Mausoleum in Ludwigslust which was named in her memory.[1] Several members of the Mecklenburg-Schwerin dynasty, including her husband's second and third wife, are buried there.

## Descendants[edit]

Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin's mausoleum

Her great-granddaughter, Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg, married Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia in 1884; another great-granddaughter, Princess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (known as Miechen) married Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia; her brother Franz Friedrich married Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna, daughter of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaievich of Russia. His daughter, Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was Crown Princess of Germany through marriage, and her older sister Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin became Queen consort of Christian X of Denmark.

Elena's widower, Friedrich Ludwig, remarried in 1810 to Princess Caroline Louise of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. They had a daughter, Princess Helene Luise Elisabeth (1814–1858), who married Ferdinand Philippe d’Orléans, Duke of Chartres (1810–1842), but Friedrich again became a widower in 1816. In 1818 he married Landgravine Auguste of Hesse-Homburg but he died the following year. He never became Grand Duke because his father outlived him, and he was succeeded by Elena Pavlovna's son, Paul Friedrich, in 1837.

## Archives[edit]

Elena's letters to her grandfather, Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg, (together with letters from her siblings) written between 1795 and 1797, are preserved in the State Archive of Stuttgart (Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart) in Stuttgart, Germany.[2]

## Ancestry[edit]

Ancestors of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8\. Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| 4\. Peter III of Russia|

|  |  |
| 9\. Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia

| 2\. Paul I of Russia|

|  |  |  |  |
| 10\. Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst

| 5\. Catherine II of Russia|

|  |  |
| 11\. Princess Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp

| 1\. Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 12\. Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg

| 6\. Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg|

|  |  |
| 13\. Princess Marie Auguste of Thurn and Taxis

| 3\. Duchess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg|

|  |  |  |  |
| 14\. Frederick William, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt

| 7\. Princess Friederike of Brandenburg-Schwedt|

|  |  |
| 15\. Princess Sophia Dorothea of Prussia

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## References[edit]

1. ^ Hans Kenzler: Kurze Lebenszeit edel ausgefüllt. Warum Ludwigslust ein Helenen-Paulownen-Mausoleum hat in: Mecklenburg-Magazin (2006), n° 37, p. 13.
2. ^ "Herzog Friedrich Eugen (1732-1797) - Briefwechsel des Herzogs mit dem kaiserlichen Hause von Russland, 1795-1797 - 3. Schreiben der jungen Großfürsten Alexander und Konstantin und Großfürstinnen Alexandrina, Anna, Katharina, Elisabeth, Helene, Maria". Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart. Retrieved 22 November 2021.

## Bibliography[edit]

* Alan Palmer: Alexander I.
* Zoé Oldenbourg: Katharina II.

* v
* t
* e

Grand Duchesses of Russia

1st generation|

* Anna Petrovna, Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp
* Empress Elizabeth
* Grand Duchess Natalia Petrovna
* Empress Anna

2nd generation|

* Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeevna

4th generation|

* Alexandra Pavlovna, Archduchess Joseph of Austria
* Elena Pavlovna, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
* Maria Pavlovna, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
* Catherine Pavlovna, Queen of Württemberg
* Grand Duchess Olga Pavlovna
* Anna Pavlovna, Queen of the Netherlands

5th generation|

* Maria Nikolaevna, Duchess of Leuchtenberg
* Olga Nikolaevna, Queen of Württemberg
* Alexandra Nikolaevna, Princess Frederick William of Hesse-Cassel
* Elizabeth Mikhailovna, Duchess of Nassau
* Catherine Mikhailovna, Duchess George Augustus of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
* Grand Duchess Alexandra Mikhailovna

6th generation|

* Grand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna
* Maria Alexandrovna, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
* Olga Konstantinovna, Queen of the Hellenes
* Vera Konstantinovna, Duchess Eugen of Württemberg
* Anastasia Mikhailovna, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

7th generation|

* Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna
* Olga Alexandrovna, Mrs. Nikolai Kulikovsky
* Elena Vladimirovna, Princess Nicholas of Greece and Denmark
* Maria Pavlovna, Princess Sergei Mikhailovich Putiatin

8th generation|

* Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna
* Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna
* Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna
* Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna
* Maria Kirillovna, Princess of Leiningen*
* Kira Kirillovna, Princess of Prussia*

9th generation|

* Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna**

* * title granted by Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich
* ** title granted by Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovich

Authority control

General|

* VIAF
* 1
* 2
* WorldCat

National libraries|

* Germany
* 2
* Italy

Biographical dictionaries|

* Germany
* 2

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template