Alexandra Zhukovskaya

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Countess Alexandra Vasilievna
Born	(1842-11-11)11 November 1842 Düsseldorf, Rhine Province, Prussia
Died	26 August 1899(1899-08-26) (aged 56) Wendischbora, German Empire
Spouse	(?) Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia Baron Christian Heinrich von Wermann
Issue	Alexei Alexeevich
Father	Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky
Mother	Elizabeth von Reutern

Alexandra Vasilievna Zhukovskaya (11 November 1842 in Düsseldorf – 26 August 1899 in Wendischbora, Germany), was a Russian noble and lady in waiting.

Life[]

She was the daughter of Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky and Elizabeth von Reutern. Her father was the illegitimate son of a landowner named Afanasi Bunin and his Turkish housekeeper Salkha.^[1][2]

She was made lady-in-waiting at the Russian Imperial court.

At the age of twenty, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, the 4th son of Alexander II, according to the generally accepted opinion, secretly married Zhukovskaya (there is no exact information when and where: according to some sources in Italy, according to others – 9/21 September 1868 in Russian Orthodox Church in Geneva), but the marriage was not approved by the emperor and dissolved by the Synod, since Alexandra was no match for him.^[3] According to other sources, the relationship between Alexandra Vasilyevna and the Grand Duke remained only an extramarital affair (although in letters he called her "wife"  ). At the time of the beginning of the novel, he was 19, and she was 27 years old.

In the memoirs of E.P. Letkova-Sultanova, the story, about which "all Petersburg" spoke at one time, was recorded from the words of Pavel Zhukovsky and contains an interesting detail: upon learning that his sister was pregnant, he came to the Grand Duke, demanded a duel, and when Alexander II forbade his son to accept the challenge, Zhukovsky openly protested against the emperor's decision. The Grand Duke wanted to marry, but Alexander II did not allow him and sent him on a voyage around the world for two years; Zhukovskaya was exiled abroad, followed by her brother. The State Archives of the Russian Federation has preserved a diary-collection of letters from the Grand Duke, which he kept in separation.

On 20 August 1871, Alexei Alexandrovich was sent on a round-the-world voyage, and on 26 November of the same year, Alexandra gave birth to a son in Salzburg from the Grand Duke, named after her father Alexei. The Grand Duke was at sea for 2 years, during which time Zhukovskaya was subjected to strong pressure from the imperial family and relations were interrupted on her initiative.

Alexandra and Alexei had one child, a son, Count Alexei Alexandrovich Belevsky-Zhukovsky (1871–1931), He received the title Count Belevsky on 21 March 1884 from his uncle, Emperor Alexander III. In 1901 he added his name of his grandfather on his mother's side.

The Grand Duke tried to get a title for her and her son. However, the Emperor, his father refused. He was however able to secure her a title by the Republic of San Marino. She was made on 24 March 1875 Baroness of Seggiano (Baronessa di Seggiano).

The same year, on 14 December 1875 she married Baron Christian-Henrich von Wohrmann in Munich/Bavaria. This marriage seem to prove that she did not marry the Grand Duke before. No proof of a divorce exists.

References[]

1. Hall, Coryne (1999). Little Mother of Russia: A Biography of Empress Marie Fedorovna, 1847-1928. Holmes & Meier. ISBN 9780841914216.

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