Possible Brides for Nicholas II

[Benedict XVI]

Originally Posted by NGalitzine

Well there was something of a tradition of Grand Dukes taking ballerinas as mistresses and having love affairs, and no doubt they cared for each other. It did not hurt the dancers careers to have an Imperial patron. Mathilde receive lovely gifts of jewels and objets d'art. After Nicholas she became the joint mistress of Grand Dukes Serge and Andrei. After the revolution she married Andrei but I am not sure anyone was really positive on who the actual father of her son was. She resumed dancing/teaching in order to support her family when they lived in exile.

That is weird did they both know that the other was sleeping with the woman.

[genegirl99]

Originally Posted by XeniaCasaraghi

How about Nicholas married Alix, but he gives up his claim to the throne thus giving Michael the crown; maybe things would have gone better.

You're forgetting that there was Georgy between Nicky and Misha.

[NGalitzine]

Originally Posted by Benedict XVI

That is weird did they both know that the other was sleeping with the woman.

Of course, probably everyone in St Petersburg society would have known. The 2 Grand Dukes were cousins. Mathilde used to dance wearing the jewels given to her by her Imperial lovers.

[Benedict XVI]

Wouldn't that feel a little weird for to cousins to have the same mistress.

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Originally Posted by genegirl99

You're forgetting that there was Georgy between Nicky and Misha.

I'm aware of that but he is almost on his way out, i.e. he will be dying soon. Which leaves Michael.

Originally Posted by Benedict XVI

It is very possible that a lot of the stuff Nicholas did wouldn't have happened, but revolutionaries want only to kill not to better politics

True and there were always revolutionaries in Russia wanting to kill whoever was the head of the Imperial family. They murdered one of the most, if not the most, progressive and liberal tsars.

[genegirl99]

Originally Posted by XeniaCasaraghi

I'm aware of that but he is almost on his way out, i.e. he will be dying soon. Which leaves Michael.

He can still get married and hopefully father the next heir. He doesn't die until 1899. He's still an option even with his poor health.

[NGalitzine]

Originally Posted by Benedict XVI

Wouldn't that feel a little weird for to cousins to have the same mistress.

I don't know, I know 2 brothers who have shared the same mistress for more than 20 years. They, their wives, and the mistress all see quite happy. Its all a matter of proper scheduling.

[Benedict XVI]

Originally Posted by NGalitzine

I don't know, I know 2 brothers who have shared the same mistress for more than 20 years. They, their wives, and the mistress all see quite happy. Its all a matter of proper scheduling.

That is way funny.

[Bensgal]

Originally Posted by genegirl99

He can still get married and hopefully father the next heir. He doesn't die until 1899. He's still an option even with his poor health.

In every book I've read concerning the Imperial Family, a bride for George was not considered because of his extremely poor health. I think his parents' concern was focused more on keeping George in reasonably decent condition.

[Russophile]

Originally Posted by Benedict XVI

That is weird did they both know that the other was sleeping with the woman.

Of course they did.
Nobody really knew who Vova's father was though Andrew claimed him. Read "Dancing in St. Petersburg" for reference. It's a good read and an auto. bio. of Mathilda.

[Daria_S]

I remember reading in two books (one being 'A Lifelong Passion' and the other being Greg King's biography of Aleksandra Feodorovna) that Ella was very much for the match between her sister and Tsarevch Nikolai. Alix was very hesitant to become engaged to Nikolai because she wasn't comfortable with converting to Orthodoxy, and Ella was the one to basically say that converting wasn't a big deal, because she did it when marrying Sergei. In a way, the story of Nikolai and Alix is a rather doomed fairy tale. They meet when still children, and are drawn to each other (even writing their initials [or carving, I can't remember and too lazy to go and look it up in a book] their initials on a window (or pane, if they carved them in). Nikolai was so adamant on marrying Alix, that he threatened to become a monk. I think that pretty much sealed the deal for his parents, who knew that he needed to marry and father children (a son to be exact) in order to secure the dynasty.

[Russophile]

Exactly. It was Alix or nobody. And what with Alexander's failing health, Alix it was.

[branchg]

Nicholas' parents wanted him to marry Princess Helene of Orleans to help seal an alliance with France against Germany. But he refused to consider it.

[NGalitzine]

Also Helene's father would not have allowed the necessary conversion to Russian Orthodoxy.

[Russophile]

Originally Posted by branchg

Nicholas' parents wanted him to marry Princess Helene of Orleans to help seal an alliance with France against Germany. But he refused to consider it.

As Minnie hated Germany.

[AristoCat]

A lot of the Romanovs were prejudiced against Germans and it is a pity that Nicholas refused to listen to his parents. Helene would have ended up a good match and there were a lot of others.

[Vasillisos Markos]

In this case, due to the doomed marriage between Nicholas and Alexandra, it appears that his parents were right to oppose the match. It's a pity that Alexander's death brought it about or his early death did not allow the couple to be married for a period of time before ascending the throne.

[AristoCat]

Supposedly Nicholas was elated at how his father was weakening, because it meant that another 'obstacle' to their marriage was crumbling. His parents saw a lot of things that Nicholas didn't or refused to see and so did Queen Victoria, who was against the idea of such a match because she saw teh Russian throne as unstable. Go figure, everyone around them was right.

[fearghas]

Originally Posted by AristoCat

A lot of the Romanovs were prejudiced against Germans and it is a pity that Nicholas refused to listen to his parents. Helene would have ended up a good match and there were a lot of others.

Comsidering that most of them married germans, that can't be quite true

[AristoCat]

I just find it surprising that Nicholas was so vociferous about marrying Alix, despite the fact that Alix wasn't suited ot the role.