Natalya Alekseevna (Grand Duchess)

The eldest child of Tsarevich Alexei , Natalia for a long time remained as if on the “periphery” of the imperial family. Only in 1719 , after the death of the son of Peter I - Peter Petrovich , she and her brother Peter were settled in the Winter Palace and assigned them a staff of courtiers and servants. But the attitude to the emperor’s grandchildren, especially from Ekaterina Alekseevna and Alexander Menshikov , was more than cool. Everything changed in 1727, when her brother (not without the help of the same Prince Menshikov) became the heir to the throne (and in the will of Catherine I, the Great Princess called without a name is assigned to the heirs of the third stage - between the younger brother and her were the daughters of the Empress Anna and Elizabeth). Natalya also fell into the field of vision of the prince. He, in particular, requested to marry her son Alexander . But Menshikov’s plans were not destined to come true - soon the former associate of Peter the Great was exiled to Berezov .

According to the recall of the Spanish ambassador, the Duke de Liria, who personally knew the Grand Duchess, she was insidious by herself, although she was well built; but virtue replaced beauty in her: affable, attentive, generous, full of grace and meekness, she attracted everyone ^[2] . As an older sister, she exerted some beneficial influence on the inconspicuous Peter, but died, probably from consumption, 14 years old. Before his death, Peter II (who died at the same age in January 1730), according to legend, in delirium ordered to harness the sled and go to sister Natalia.

She was buried in the Ascension Cathedral of the Ascension Girl’s Monastery of the Moscow Kremlin , in the 1920s the monastery and the cathedral were destroyed, and the tombs of the tsars and princesses were transferred to the Archangel Cathedral .

On its tombstone (not preserved, the text is known in the transmission of the XIX century ) there was an epitaph:

“The Grand Duchess Grand Duchess, the sovereign Emperor Peter II, dear sister, Natalia Alekseevna elapsed a temporary infant life, fourteen years elapsed, by God's grace for a blessed and eternal premium, life from the birth of the firstborn from the dead in the summer of 1728 in the 22nd day of noonment. The damsel does not die, but sleeps (Matthew, chap. 9). "Light is in my sight, and the one to bear with me, is buried in this place."

When transferring her remains to the Archangel Cathedral in 1928, the opening of the tomb was carried out; it turned out that Natalia was resting in a well-preserved golden eye dress embroidered with gold, a skirt of brocade and silk knitted stockings, tightly gathered at the waist, as well as a diadem, star and ribbon of the Order of St. Catherine . Her coffin was studded with silver plinth and trimmed with gold lace. To decorate her burial, the silver dishes of the disgraced Menshikov were melted.

Her funeral attire is being investigated: “Despite the grave condition of the fabrics, it is undoubtedly a unique subject of the Kremlin collection of costume of the 18th century. there will be a dress from the burial place of Tsarevna Natalya Alekseevna - the daughter of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, the granddaughter of Peter I (she died in 1728 at the age of 14). The bodice of the dress has already been restored, as well as the order on the moire ribbon. Work continues on the skirt from the eyelet, covered with beautiful embroidery with gold thread. In the course of work on these subjects, the Institute of Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Russian Academy of Sciences conducted special research on threads (c.ch. O. B. Lantratova and c.i. O. V. Orfinsky) ” ^[3] .

The Spanish ambassador to the Russian court, the Duke of Lyria, talks about her in his notes ^[4] :

Grand Duchess Natalia, sister of Peter II, was adorned with all possible good qualities. She was not only not a beauty, but, on the contrary, was a wicked face, although she was well built; but virtue replaced beauty in her: she was amiable, generous, attentive, full of grace and meekness, so that she attracted everyone to herself. She perfectly spoke French and German, loved reading and patronized strangers. All this made me send prayers warm to heaven for her longevity, but the Almighty was pleased to recall her, after a long-term illness, on December 4, 1728 <year>, in the 15th year of her life. Both Russians and foreigners, noble and poor, mourned her death.

• Order of St. Catherine on November 20 ( December 1 ), 1726 ) ^{[5] [6]} .

• Nadezhda Druzhinina - “ Secrets of palace coups. Film 1. The Testament of the Emperor ”, 2000 , director - Svetlana Druzhinina .

• Bees E.V. Romanovs. The history of the dynasty - M .: OLMA-PRESS, 2002. - S. 106.
• Panova T.D. Kremlin tombs. - M.: Indrik, 2003. - Ss. 159, 199-200.