Josephine Friedrichs , nee Mercier ( 1778 - April 5, 1824 ) - favorite of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich , with whom in 1806-1820. consisted of cohabitation . Since 1816, after the award of the Russian nobility, it was called Ulyana Mikhailovna Alexandrova . Mother of the son of the Grand Duke, Pavel Alexandrov (1808-1857).
| Josephine Friedrichs | |
|---|---|
| Ulyana Mikhailovna Alexandrova | |
 | |
| Birth name | Mercier |
| Date of Birth | 1778 |
| Place of Birth | Paris |
| Date of death | April 5, 1824 |
| A place of death | Nice |
| Children | son Paul |
Content
Youth
Josephine's life was full of romance adventures. She was born in 1778 in Paris in the family of a craftsman Mercier. The very young Josephine entered the service in the fashionable Parisian shop of Madame Bouday de Terrei . Agile and quick-witted “Zhuzhu”, as everyone called her, at the age of 14 she was able to seduce an elderly Englishman, who decided to educate her according to his views, and then marry her [1] . He persuaded Josephine's parents to allow their daughter to go with him to England. Parents, having received a large sum of money in confirmation of the seriousness of their daughter’s future intentions, entrusted him with a daughter. After spending four years in one of the London guesthouses, the next two years, Josephine lived among the wealth of her patron, who then suddenly died without a will, never marrying her. Relatives of the deceased took all the property and money to themselves. So at the age of 20, Josephine found herself on the street, spoiled, weaned from work, accustomed to luxury.
Marriage
Josephine, left to herself, first wanted to return to her parents in France . But then, longing to find a husband, she met in London a German who had come from Russia and called himself Colonel Baron Alexander von Friedrichs , a wealthy landowner from the Baltic region (in fact - Eustathius Ivanovich Friederichs (c. 1772 - after 1834), son of a Revelsk tradesman) [2] . He made her an offer. Having married, the young did not live long together; husband rushed to Russia, temporarily leaving his wife in London, promising immediately upon arrival in Petersburg send her money for the journey.
However, not receiving long news from her husband, Josephine decided to go to Russia. In London, she had absolutely nothing to do, she did not want to go to her parents. She sold her jewelry, bought a ticket for the ship, and in 1805 came to Petersburg. Here she learned that there was no baron, Colonel Friedrichs, but that there was a simple courier bearing the same name, who had recently traveled to England with dispatches from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Having found the headquarters of the courier’s corps, Josephine found out that her husband had no means, all his property was a soldier’s bed, and he was also away on duty in the Caucasus.
Josephine's position was difficult, but she was lucky. She was sheltered by an old acquaintance, Madame Bude de Terrei [3] , who now lived in Petersburg and had a fashion store. She went to her manager’s store. Soon, Alexander Friedrichs returned from the Caucasus and persuaded Josephine to return to him. But the husband turned out to be a rude and ignorant person. After living with him for two years in poverty, in a rented small apartment, not finding family happiness, she decided to divorce him. This happened after Josephine met the Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich .
Favorite
It is not known exactly where their first meeting took place. Perhaps in one of the masquerades, where Josephine approached Konstantin Pavlovich with a complaint about her husband’s ill-treatment or in the store where she served as a manager. According to the memoirs [4] of a contemporary KP Kolzakov [comm. 1] , Josephine was charming:
| ... of medium height, with dark blond, almost black hair, combed with small curls on her forehead, she was not what is called a beauty; she had a wrong face, a small nose, slightly upturned, her lips were thin, always smiling, her complexion was clean, slightly ruddy, but her main charm was her eyes, large, brown, with an expression of extraordinary kindness and overshadowed by long, black eyelashes; she spoke with a tongue twister, bursting slightly, and in a friendly conversation was a very cheerful disposition. |
In Cesarevich, Josephine found herself a lover, friend and patron: in 1807 she divorced her husband and settled in the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna , and in 1808 she had a son named Pavel Konstantinovich Alexandrov . On April 27, 1812, he was elevated to noble dignity and received a coat of arms. True, many doubted the paternity of Konstantin Pavlovich.
Interesting details were left in the memoirs by the famous hussar Denis Davydov [5] :
| ... Although the prince could not have children because of physical disabilities, but Mrs. Friedrichs, whose husband had elevated himself from the courier to the rank of mayor, first in Lutsk and then in Dubno, as if he had given birth to a son from him, named Pavel Konstantinovich Alexandrov. Although his imperial highness could know better than anyone that this was not his son or even the son of Mrs. Friedrichs, who hoped by this means to bind the prince forever to himself, he loved this boy very much; the physician who was with him, being favored by his highness and tormented by remorse, considered it necessary to reveal the truth to the prince, who reassured him by announcing that he had already known about this circumstance. It is necessary to give justice that Ms. Friedrichs, not appearing anywhere with the Grand Duke, behaved very modestly; during the location of the guard in the vicinity of Vilna before the Patriotic War itself, she appeared at the festivities, accompanied by some obliging headquarters officer. |
Konstantin Pavlovich was very attached to Josephine and his son: he missed them and in 1813 wrote to Count V.F. Vasiliev from a campaign:
| ... Tell them that I love them very much ... I would be happy if I were with my family in Strelna! .. |
Josephine herself came to the Cesarevich in the army, and he reported:
| ... Mrs. Friedrichs is with me, and I am very happy to have found a home with her. |
In 1815, Josephine followed with her 8-year-old son Cesarevich to Warsaw , where she lived with him in the same house. Josephine hoped for a promise to her that their relationship would end in a legal marriage. Constantine repeatedly made attempts to marry her, but did not receive the highest permission.
On September 9, 1816, Josephine received the nobility and became known as Ulyana Mikhailovna Alexandrova. In Warsaw, many were able to appreciate her merits, her kindness, compassion for the unfortunate, she did not interfere in the state affairs of her patron, however, she had an influence with which she could tame the outbursts of the turbulent passions of Cesarevich.
But at this time, changes occurred in the intimate life of Konstantin Pavlovich, he fell in love with the young Polish countess Jeanette Grudzinskaya (1795-1831) and for four years sought her reciprocity. Countess Anna Potocka wrote in her memoirs [6] :
| ... Jeannette, as the least beautiful, at first attracted little attention. Well-built, albeit of small stature, with blond curls, with pale blue eyes framed by eyelashes brighter than hair, and a meek face, she resembled a portrait made by pastel. She was unusually graceful, especially in dancing, resembling a nymph who "glided on the ground without touching her." The wits said that, dancing gavotte, she slipped into the heart of the Grand Duke. Madame Friedrichs, being well aware of everything that happens in secular society forever closed to her, became grouchy and jealous. Scenes began, and then Konstantin began to hide his new hobby, which became more and more serious every day. The prince took care of her for several years, but the proud Pole did not agree to become his mistress. In the end, Konstantin got a divorce from his first wife, Anna Fedorovna, who left him 20 years ago, and married Zhannet. |
Ms. Weiss
Shortly before his marriage (May 27, 1820), Konstantin Pavlovich took care of the fate of Josephine. On March 22, 1820, she married his adjutant, Colonel of the Life Guards of the Ulan Regiment, Alexander Sergeevich Weiss [comm. 2]
Prince Vyazemsky wrote the same day to A. Ya. Bulgakov [7] :
| ... Sweetheart Alexandrova is married to Weiss, the brother of Princess Trubetskoy, and, as they say, everything remains as before, that is, in the old position, for there was no state for a long time. Frankly, for a long time no one wanted to believe it: We knew Weiss for a good little, but no one guessed in him such courage and determination. On all sides, he is stupid: if he did it by monetary calculations, then there is a mistake. She is a woman on her mind and stingy like hell. When she managed to pick up NN in her hands, she would squeeze it like cranberries. |
The day after his wedding, Konstantin Pavlovich was tactless to present his old affection to his young wife; Moreover, Josephine continued her morning visits to the prince, insulting his wife, who suffered terribly. According to the countess Potocki [6] :
| ... Society took the side of a legitimate wife ... Emperor, wanting to please his sister-in-law [comm. 3] and seeing that she did not have a clavichord, he sent her the best instrument that was found in Warsaw. On one of the morning visits, which the Grand Duke especially loved, Madame Weiss, managing to penetrate the princess's boudoir, not without surprise noticed a magnificent clavichord. Imagining that this gift was made by none other than the Grand Duke himself, she gave him a scene of jealousy and, wanting to show her strength to the Grand Duchess, whom she constantly insulted, had the audacity to demand this clavichord to herself. The princess answered proudly. A stormy scene occurred, but after an energetic rebuff, which turned out to be a complete surprise for Konstantin, the princess nevertheless lost, and from that day on, a wonderful instrument became the decoration of Madame Weiss's salon. |
This story became known to Alexander I , he hardly agreed to the divorce of Konstantin with his first wife and his second marriage with Jeannette, but he gave in, thinking that would make him happy. The emperor no longer doubted the reasons for the discord between the spouses and ordered the expulsion of Josephine Weiss from Warsaw. After her departure, complete agreement was established in the family of Konstantin.
Josephine with her husband left for France, her health required a milder climate. The couple settled in Nice, where Josephine died on April 5, 1824 .
Her son Pavel Konstantinovich Aleksandrov, rose to the rank of Adjutant General, was married to maid of honor Princess Anna Alexandrovna Shcherbatova .
Comments
- ↑ Konstantin Pavlovich Kolzakov (1818-1905) - the grandson of Madame Terrey, the eldest son of Admiral P.A. Kolzakov , was born in Warsaw. His mother, Anna Josephine Elizabeth Louise Bude de Terrei (1793-1832), lived in Russia from the age of eight; since 1815 - in Warsaw, where her stepfather, a wealthy merchant R.N. Mitton, served under Tsarevich Konstantin Pavlovich.
- ↑ Alexander Sergeevich Weiss (1782-1845) - Vilnius police chief, since 1818 adjutant Konstantin Pavlovich, captain, later colonel, major general, was a member of the Masonic Lodge "Temple of Constancy"; The 2nd marriage was married to Baroness Anna Elizabeth Wrangel.
- ↑ Inaccuracy: the sister-in-law is the wife’s sister, while the wife of Konstantin Pavlovich was Alexander I’s daughter-in-law (or, using an outdated version of the name, yatrovka ). Perhaps a mistake was made by the translator.
Notes
- ↑ Russian portraits of 18-19 centuries. T.2. Issue 2. Number 41.
- ↑
- Friedrichs, Josephine at the Rodovod . Tree of ancestors and descendants
- ↑ After the French Revolution, Ms. Terrey’s affairs went badly, and, after selling the store, she left for St. Petersburg, where French emigrants were treated very well. Ms. Terrey opened a fashion store in St. Petersburg and began to flourish again .
- ↑ Kolzakov K.P. Memoirs. 1815-1831.
- ↑ Memoirs of Tsarevich Konstantin Pavlovich
- ↑ 1 2 Pototskaya A. Memoirs of Countess Pototskaya, 1794-1820. - M .: Zhukovsky: Kuchkovo Field, 2005 .-- 304 p. - ISBN 5-86090-097-X
- ↑ Russian Archive for 1868, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1888, 1900-1903. (Vyazemsky's letters to A. Bulgakov)