biarritzbasquegirl: Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna: Beauty, Princess, Martyr, Saint (1864
biarritzbasquegirl: Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna: Beauty, Princess, Martyr, Saint (1864 - 1918) Part 2 of 3Russia received Ella with opened arms. She was nineteen years old when she married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich at the church in the Winter Palace, becoming “Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Yelizabeta Feodorovna.” She was not required to convert to the Orthodox faith and did not do so at the time of her marriage, although she did take the surname “Feodorovna.” Seven years later, Grand Duchess Elizabeth converted to Orthodoxy voluntarily. Although her husband had not asked her to convert, he was overjoyed. Her conversion was wholehearted, and she studied Orthodox doctrine seriously. At one point, Sergei, who was quite religious, worried about what he felt was Ella’s excessive absorption in her study of Orthodoxy.Ella studied the Russian language diligently and was relatively fluent within a year of her arrival in Russia. The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess had many social engagements because of their prominent positions, and Ella was always the “Belle of the Ball” (at one time, it was said that “the two most beautiful women in Europe were called Elizabeth: Empress Elizabeth “Sissy” of Austria and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov.”) Ella enjoyed designing her dresses and when she played hostess, she changed at least once during the night, at midnight. Sergei bought her matching jewels for each outfit. Charitable work was essential in the life of any woman in the House of Romanov. Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna fully and sincerely embraced this tradition. She organized and supervised over 150 charitable organizations. Being involved in good works was nothing new to her. She learned about charity and giving to others at her mother’s knee.Ella and Sergei had no children. Their marriage, as well as Sergei’s sexual proclivities, were the subject of relentless gossip through the years. Ella unfailingly “defended” Sergei and told everybody who would listen that her marriage was a very happy one (it has been said that perhaps she was too vigorous in proclaiming her marital bliss). Given the plentiful rumors, it is not unreasonable to conclude that the Grand Duke, being a very religious man, might have been homosexual and deeply conflicted about it (like his cousin, Konstantin Konstantinovich, although Kostya had nine children.) We will never know. Segei’s correspondence and diaries were destroyed after his death, as requested by him in his will; most of Ella’s papers, which were known to be at her convent, have disappeared and are thought to have been destroyed by the sisters to protect her privacy.) Sergei and Ella slept on the same bed through their entire marriage (more the exception than the rule among royal couples at the time,) but it is speculated that their union might not have been consummated. There is at least one source claiming that Sergei had tuberculosis of the bones and constant pain not only soured his character but prevented him from having sex. Ella and Sergei had a chance to channel their parental instincts. Sergei’s brother, Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, who had lost his wife during the birth of their second child, contracted a morganatic marriage and was banished from Russia by Tsar Nicholas II. When Pavel settled in Paris, Nicholas II did not allow him to take the children of his first marriage (Grand Duke Dmitry and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna) out of Russia. The emperor made them wards of Grand Duke Sergei and Grand Duchess Elizabeth. Sergei was elated and became a loving, if very strict parent, to his niece and nephew. According to Maria Pavlovna’s later recollections in her book “The Education of a Princess,” Ella was a cold, distant parent. Acquiring parental responsibilities later in her life (and not by choice) may not have been easy for Ella and if we believe the gossip about Serge, there were probably aspects of her relationship with him that made it difficult to incorporate others. Regardless, Sergei was never an effusive man; to suddenly share his precious attention with his niece and nephew was probably difficult for Elizabeth.Grand Duke Sergei was a favorite of his brother, Alexander III; both shared the same ultra-reactionary views. Sergei occupied prominent military positions under Alexander’s rule and served him well; Ella and her husband were very close to the seat of power during Alexander III’s reign; when her sister Alicky became Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, it was assumed that this privileged position would continue. Sergei’s premature death at the hand of terrorists and other factors, such as Nicholas and Alexandra’s progressive isolation from the rest of the Imperial Family, put increasing distance between the sisters. Eventually, their relationship would fracture beyond repair over disagreements about Rasputin.Photographs: 1. Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna in full Russian court dress (notice the emeralds); 2. Sergei and Ella; 3. Ella wearing a bejeweled kokoshnick and other magnificent jewelry (I wonder if the necklace she is wearing is one of the Russian fringe tiaras?); 4. Grand Dukes Pavel and Sergei and Grand Duchess Ella (for a long time, this trio was very close, and Pavel lived with Sergei and Ella on and off; Pavel and Ella got along extremely well and he was her frequent dancing partner at balls, etc.; there were even rumors about them; years later, when Pavel returned from exile with his morganatic wife, their relationship had changed drastically and they were not precisely friendly with each other; 5. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna at the consecration of the church of Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, 1888. It is after this visit to the Holy Land that Ella decides to convert to Orthodoxy; 6. Ella and Sergei with their young wards, Marie and Dmitry (Princess Zenaida Yusupova appears on the extreme right) 7. Ella and Sergei at the Fancy Dress Ball of 1903; 8. Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and Princess Zenaida Yusupova, two of the great beauties of their time (they were good friends); 9. The Hessian siblings (the sisters appear with their spouses): From left to right: Hereditary Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsar Nicholas II, Princess Henry of Prussia (nee Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine), Prince Henry of Prussia, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven (nee Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine), Prince Louis of Battenberg; 10. Ella posing with her favorite flowers, white lilies. -- source link