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Draft:Mariya Dolgorukova

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Maria Dolgorukova
Portrait by Michele Gordigiani, 1871
Full name
Russian: Мария Михайловна Долгорукова
Born(1849-04-11)April 11, 1849
Moscow, Russia
DiedFebruary 12, 1907(1907-02-12) (aged 57)
Paris, France
BuriedRussian Orthodox Cemetery, Nice
Noble familyDolgorukov
Spouse(s)Emmanuel Nikolayevich Meshchersky
Georg Erik Rembert Berg
IssueLeonilla Emmanuilovna Meshcherskaya
Georgy Berg
Boris Berg
FatherPrince Michael Dolgorukov
MotherVera Vishnevskaya

Princess Maria Mikhailovna Dolgorukova (11 April 1849 – 12 February 1907), was a Russian princess and the younger sister of Catherine Dolgorukova, the mistress and wife of Tsar Alexander II.[1][2]

An Image of Maria Mikhailovna Dolgorukova, circa 1866

Early Life

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Dolgorukova was born on 11 April 1849[3] in Moscow, Russia. She was the youngest daughter of Mikhail Mikhailovich Dolgorukov and Vera Gavrilovna Vishnevskaya. She was raised alongside her elder sister, Catherine Dolgorukova in her parent's estate of Teplovka near Poltava. Her father had been living beyond his means and left no fortune to his children. After a fire at the estate, her mother requested that Maria and her sister, Catherine be sent to Saint Petersburg and attend the Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens in Saint Petersburg.[4]

The sister's appearance set them apart from the rest of the pupils, and Alexander II paid special attention to them. The emperor began to meet with Catherine in 1865, who later dropped out of the institute and moved in with her mother. Maria involuntarily acted as intermediary between the couple, passing their letters along.

After Maria completed her course at the institute, Alexander II proposed that Prince Leonid Dmitrievich Vyazemsky marry Maria, but he refused, which caused him to fall out of favour.[5]

On 1 January 1870, Maria was granted the position of maid of honour. She married Prince Emmanuel Nikolaevich Meshchersky on 29 April 1870 in Brussels. The Emperor gave the couple 1 million rubles as a gift.[4]

Having recieved a military appointment in Prussia in 1870, the couple lived abroad for several years. However, the union was not a happy one, and suffered as a result of Meshchersky's gambling addiction.[6] He would spend whole days sitting in the Yacht Club and once lost 600 thousand rubles in one evening.[7]

With the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War, Meshchersky was appointed commander of the 1st Battery of the 14th Artillery Brigade. In September 1877, during the defense of Shipka, he was killed by a bullet to the heart. His body was transported to Russia and buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In 1879, two monuments to Prince Meshchersky were erected in Bulgaria.

After her husband's death, Maria Mikhailovna lived with her daughter Lonilla in Saint Petersburg in her mansion on 46 English Embankment where she occupied the second-floor rooms and rented out the rest. Maria spent the summer in Tsarskoye Selo. Princess Mescherskaya's importance rose sharply after her sister's morganatic marriage to the Emperor in 1880.

On 16 April 1882, Maria Mikhailovna married again this time to Count Georgy Gustavovich Berg in Vyborg, nephew and heir of Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg.[1] She was happy in her second marriage and had two sons by Berg.

On February 12, 1907, Maria Mikhailovna died in Paris, from anemia.[8][9] She was buried in the Russian Cemetery in Nice, where her widowed husband erected a modest monument over her grave. In 1922, her sister Catherine was buried next to her.

Children

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Leonilla Emmanuilovna Meshcherskaya

By Prince Emmanuel Nikolaevich Meshchersky (1832 – 6 September 1877):

By Count Georgy Gustavovich Berg (1849-1920):

  • Count Georgy Berg (1883-1884)
  • Count Boris Berg (1884-1956), granted the rank of chamberlain by Nicholas II in 1915

References

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  1. ^ a b "1871 Maria Mikhailovna Dolgorukova, younger sister of Catherine Dolgorukova, by Michele Gordigiani". Grand Ladies. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
  2. ^ "Romanov 1". w.genealogy.euweb.cz. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
  3. ^ Previously it was erroneously stated that the princess was born on April 23, 1850. However, in the personal file of “Ekaterina and Maria Dolgorukov” from the archives of the Smolny Institute it is indicated that, according to metric data, Maria was born on April 11, 1849. The personal file is kept in the Central State Historical Archive.
  4. ^ a b Princess Stefania Dolgorukaya. Russia before the disaster. - M.: Zakharovo, 2014. - 208 p.
  5. ^ A. A. Polovtsov . Diary of the Secretary of State. In 2 volumes. - M.: Centerpoligraf, 2005. - V. 2. - P. 58.
  6. ^ AI Delvig. My memories. In 4 volumes. - M.: Publication of the Moscow and Public Rumyantsev Museum, 1913. - T. 4. - P. 566.
  7. ^ Princess Stefania Dolgorukaya. Russia before the catastrophe. - M.: Zakharovo, 2014. - 208 p.
  8. ^ TsGIA St. Petersburg. f.19. op.126. d. 1689. p. 95. Metric books of Orthodox churches abroad.
  9. ^ "Maria Mikhailovna Dolgorukaya Berg (1850-1907) -..." www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2024-05-19.