Anna Petrovna of Russia
Encyclopedia
Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia, Tsesarevna of Russia (Anna Petrovna Romanova ; 27 January 1708, Moscow – 4 March 1728, Kiel
) was the elder daughter of Emperor Peter I of Russia
and Catherine I of Russia
. Her sister, Elizabeth of Russia, ruled as Empress between 1741 and 1762. Her son Peter
ruled as Emperor in 1762 as Elizabeth's heir. She was the Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp by marriage.
, a nephew of childless Charles XII of Sweden
.
On 17 March 1721, Karl Friedrich arrived in Imperial Russia to get acquainted with his future wife and father-in-law. He aspired to use the marriage in order to ensure Russia's support for his plans of retrieving Schleswig
from Denmark. He also entertained hopes of being backed up by Russia in his claims to the Swedish throne. Under the terms of the Treaty of Nystad
Russia promised not to interfere in the internal affairs of Sweden, so his hopes proved ill-founded.
Another possible candidate as a husband was a grandson of Louis XIV of France
and Madame de Montespan, Louis Duke of Orleans - the son of the Regent of France
for the infant Louis XV of France
. The marriage proposal was ignored due to a difference in style of address. Anne was addressed as Her Imperial Highness
and Louis was as His Serene Highness
.
A few months thereafter, by January 1725, Peter the Great fell mortally ill. As the story goes, on his deathbed he managed to spell the words: to give all..., but could not continue further and sent for Anna to dictate his last will to her. By the time the princess arrived, the Emperor could not pronounce a single word. Based on the story, some historians speculated that Peter's wish was to leave the throne to Anna, but this is not confirmed.
The Duke and Anna wed after Peter's death, on 21 May 1725, in Trinity Church, Saint Petersburg
. The couple had one child:
The Duke was admitted into the newly-established Supreme Secret Council and exerted a moderate influence on Russian politics. Catherine I's death in 1727 made his position precarious, as the power shifted to the hands of Alexander Menshikov, who aspired to marry the young emperor, Peter II
, to his own daughter. A quarrel between the Duke and Menshikov resulted in the former's withdrawing to Holstein
on 25 July 1727.
It was here that Anna died on 4 March 1728, within several days after giving birth to Peter
, the future Emperor of Russia and progenitor of all the 19th-century Romanovs. She had barely turned 20 years old. Before her death, Anna asked to be buried in Russia, near the tombs of her parents in the Peter and Paul Cathedral
. Her last will was executed on 12 November the same year.
According to contemporaries, Anna strikingly resembled her famous father. She was clever and beautiful, well-educated, was fluent in French, German, Italian and Swedish. It is also known that Anna was devoted to children and took care of her nephew, Pyotr Alekseevich
, when he was neglected during the reign of Catherine I.
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
) was the elder daughter of Emperor Peter I of Russia
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
and Catherine I of Russia
Catherine I of Russia
Catherine I , the second wife of Peter the Great, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1725 until her death.-Life as a peasant woman:The life of Catherine I was said by Voltaire to be nearly as extraordinary as that of Peter the Great himself. There are no documents that confirm her origins. Born on...
. Her sister, Elizabeth of Russia, ruled as Empress between 1741 and 1762. Her son Peter
Peter III of Russia
Peter III was Emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. He was very pro-Prussian, which made him an unpopular leader. He was supposedly assassinated as a result of a conspiracy led by his wife, who succeeded him to the throne as Catherine II.-Early life and character:Peter was born in Kiel, in...
ruled as Emperor in 1762 as Elizabeth's heir. She was the Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp by marriage.
Life
Anna was born out of wedlock and was legitimized on the wedding of her parents in 1712. Her perceived illegitimacy caused several projects of matrimonial alliances to be turned down. It was finally decided that Anna would marry Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-GottorpCharles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Duke Charles Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp was the son of Frederick IV of Holstein-Gottorp and his wife, Hedvig Sophia, daughter of King Charles XI of Sweden...
, a nephew of childless Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
.
On 17 March 1721, Karl Friedrich arrived in Imperial Russia to get acquainted with his future wife and father-in-law. He aspired to use the marriage in order to ensure Russia's support for his plans of retrieving Schleswig
Schleswig
Schleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark; the territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany...
from Denmark. He also entertained hopes of being backed up by Russia in his claims to the Swedish throne. Under the terms of the Treaty of Nystad
Treaty of Nystad
The Treaty of Nystad was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War. It was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and Swedish Empire on 30 August / 10 September 1721 in the then Swedish town of Nystad , after Sweden had settled with the other parties in Stockholm and Frederiksborg.During...
Russia promised not to interfere in the internal affairs of Sweden, so his hopes proved ill-founded.
Another possible candidate as a husband was a grandson of Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
and Madame de Montespan, Louis Duke of Orleans - the son of the Regent of France
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Philippe d'Orléans was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...
for the infant Louis XV of France
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
. The marriage proposal was ignored due to a difference in style of address. Anne was addressed as Her Imperial Highness
Imperial Highness
His/Her Imperial Highness is a style used by members of an imperial family to denote imperial - as opposed to royal - status to show that the holder in question is descended from an Emperor rather than a King .Today the style has mainly fallen from use with the exception of the Imperial Family of...
and Louis was as His Serene Highness
Serene Highness
His/Her Serene Highness is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein and Monaco. It also preceded the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties as well as some non-ruling but princely German noble families until 1918...
.
Marriage
On 22 November 1724, the marriage contract was signed. By this contract, Anna and Karl Friedrich renounced all rights and claims to the crown of the Russian Empire on behalf of themselves and their descendants. As a result of this clause, the Emperor secured the right to name any of his descendants as his successor on the Russian throne, while the Duke undertook to execute the imperial will without any preconditions.A few months thereafter, by January 1725, Peter the Great fell mortally ill. As the story goes, on his deathbed he managed to spell the words: to give all..., but could not continue further and sent for Anna to dictate his last will to her. By the time the princess arrived, the Emperor could not pronounce a single word. Based on the story, some historians speculated that Peter's wish was to leave the throne to Anna, but this is not confirmed.
The Duke and Anna wed after Peter's death, on 21 May 1725, in Trinity Church, Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. The couple had one child:
- Peter Feodorovich of Holstein-GottorpPeter III of RussiaPeter III was Emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. He was very pro-Prussian, which made him an unpopular leader. He was supposedly assassinated as a result of a conspiracy led by his wife, who succeeded him to the throne as Catherine II.-Early life and character:Peter was born in Kiel, in...
(21 February 1728 – 17 July 1762)- In 1739, Peter's father died, and he became Duke of Holstein-Gottorp as Karl Peter Ulrich. He could thus be considered the heir to both thrones (Russia and Sweden);
- Ruled over the Russian EmpireRussian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
as Peter III, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and was the husband of Catherine the Great of RussiaCatherine II of RussiaCatherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
The Duke was admitted into the newly-established Supreme Secret Council and exerted a moderate influence on Russian politics. Catherine I's death in 1727 made his position precarious, as the power shifted to the hands of Alexander Menshikov, who aspired to marry the young emperor, Peter II
Peter II of Russia
Pyotr II Alekseyevich was Emperor of Russia from 1727 until his death. He was the only son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, son of Peter I of Russia by his first wife Eudoxia Lopukhina, and Princess Charlotte, daughter of Duke Louis Rudolph of Brunswick-Lüneburg and sister-in-law of Charles VI,...
, to his own daughter. A quarrel between the Duke and Menshikov resulted in the former's withdrawing to Holstein
Holstein
Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
on 25 July 1727.
It was here that Anna died on 4 March 1728, within several days after giving birth to Peter
Peter III of Russia
Peter III was Emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. He was very pro-Prussian, which made him an unpopular leader. He was supposedly assassinated as a result of a conspiracy led by his wife, who succeeded him to the throne as Catherine II.-Early life and character:Peter was born in Kiel, in...
, the future Emperor of Russia and progenitor of all the 19th-century Romanovs. She had barely turned 20 years old. Before her death, Anna asked to be buried in Russia, near the tombs of her parents in the Peter and Paul Cathedral
Peter and Paul Cathedral
The Peter and Paul Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox cathedral located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is the first and oldest landmark in St. Petersburg, built between 1712 and 1733 on Zayachy Island along the Neva River. Both the cathedral and the fortress were...
. Her last will was executed on 12 November the same year.
According to contemporaries, Anna strikingly resembled her famous father. She was clever and beautiful, well-educated, was fluent in French, German, Italian and Swedish. It is also known that Anna was devoted to children and took care of her nephew, Pyotr Alekseevich
Peter II of Russia
Pyotr II Alekseyevich was Emperor of Russia from 1727 until his death. He was the only son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, son of Peter I of Russia by his first wife Eudoxia Lopukhina, and Princess Charlotte, daughter of Duke Louis Rudolph of Brunswick-Lüneburg and sister-in-law of Charles VI,...
, when he was neglected during the reign of Catherine I.
Legacy
- The Order of St. Anna (or "Order of Saint Ann"; Russian: Орден святой Анны) was a Holstein and then Russian order of chivalry established by Anna's Husband on 14 February 1735, in honour of Anna. The motto of the Order was "Amantibus Justitiam, Pietatem, Fidem" ("To those who love justice, piety, and fidelity"). Its festival day was 3 February.
- Through her son she is an ancestor of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia - a pretender to the throne of Russia via his mother Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia; and also of Nicholas Romanov, Prince of Russia.
Ancestry
See also
- Tsars of Russia family tree
- Order of Saint Anna