Daria Konstantinovna Opochinina ( March 7, 1845 [1] or 1846 [2] - March 7, 1870 ) - the maid of honor, morganatic spouse of Eugene Maximilianovich, 5th Duke of Leuchtenberg ; since 1869 she bore the title of Countess Beauharnais .
| Daria Konstantinovna Opochinina, Countess Beauharnet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Opochinina |
| Date of Birth | March 7, 1845 |
| Place of Birth | St. Petersburg |
| Date of death | March 7, 1870 (25 years) |
| Place of death | St. Petersburg |
| A country | |
Biography
The eldest daughter of the adjutant Konstantin Fedorovich Opochinin (1808–1848) from his marriage with the court of honor of the court of Vera Ivanovna Skobeleva (1825–1897). Father was the great-granddaughter of Field Marshal M.I. Kutuzov , and mother was the granddaughter of military writer I. N. Skobeleva . The sister of the founder of the Myshkin Zemstvo Public Library, Fyodor Opochinin .
Born in St. Petersburg in the parental home on Gagarinskaya Embankment . After the death of her father, she and her mother lived abroad for a long time and since childhood she was close to the people of the imperial family. Being the maid of honor of the court of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna , she became close to her second son, Duke Yevgeny Leuchtenberg (1847-1901), and soon became his wife. The wedding took place on January 8, 1869 in Florence at the Villa Quatro [3] . Giving consent to this morganatic union, Emperor Alexander II said: [4]
I gave permission to marry Eugene, because I do not see any real obstacle. Leichtenbergs are not great princes, and we can not worry about the decline of their kind, which does not hurt our country.
Despite the protest of the French ambassador, immediately after the wedding, she received the title of Countess Beauharnais (for herself and posterity) (01/09/1869). Had a husband the most beneficial effect. According to contemporaries, after the marriage, Evgeny Leuchtenberg settled down, his insane spending and revels stopped [5] . The marriage was quite successful, but not for long. On the eve of the birth, Darya Konstantinovna returned to St. Petersburg and settled with her husband in the Mariinsky Palace .
On March 1, 1870, she safely gave birth to a daughter, but suddenly caught a cold, died a week after giving birth on her birthday, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, from childbirth fever [6] . On March 10, the coffin with its body, accompanied by members of the imperial family and many dignitaries, was taken to the station of the Peterhof railway, and from there by train to the Trinity-Sergius desert , where it is buried. On January 26, 1910, her remains were transferred to the Isidore Church of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery .
Marianna’s daughter received her name in memory of her mother — Daria (or Dolly; 1870–1937); she was married three times; in late September 1937, she was arrested on charges of spying for Austrian intelligence and shot on November 5, 1937.
Notes
- ↑ Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich. Petersburg Necropolis / Comp. V. Saitov. In 4 tons. - SPb., 1912-1913. - T. 1. - p. 236.
- ↑ World Illustration, vol. 3, No. 53-78 (January 1 - June 27). 1870. №64, p. 211.
- ↑ TsGIA SPb. f.19. op.123. 25. Metric books of Orthodox churches abroad.
- ↑ Tolstaya A. A. Notes of Maid of Honor. Sad episode from my life at court. - M .: Encyclopedia of Russian villages, 1996. - p. 89.
- ↑ Memoirs of Count S. D. Sheremetev / Federal Archival Service of Russia. - M .: Because of “Indrik”, 2001.
- ↑ Countess DK Beauharnais // World Illustration : Weekly illustrated magazine. - SPb .: The publication of Hermann Goppa, 1870. - January-June. - No. 12.