![Pushkinana](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Pushkinana.jpg)
Count of Merenberg (German: ''
Graf
(feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...
von Merenberg'') is a
hereditary title
Hereditary titles, in a general sense, are nobility titles, positions or styles that are hereditary and thus tend or are bound to remain in particular families.
Though both monarchs and nobles usually inherit their titles, the mechanisms often d ...
of nobility that was bestowed in 1868 by the
reign
A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Buddhism, N ...
ing Prince of
Waldeck and Pyrmont
The County of Waldeck (later the Principality of Waldeck and Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire and its successors from the late 12th century until 1929. In 1349 the county gained Imperial immediacy and in 1 ...
,
George Victor, upon the
morganatic
Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...
wife and
male-line descendants of
Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau
Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau (20 September 1832 – 17 September 1905), was the only son of William, Duke of Nassau by his second wife Princess Pauline of Württemberg.
Marriage and issue
He married morganatically in London on 1 July 1868 w ...
(1832–1905), who married Natalia Alexandrovna Pushkina (1836–1913), former wife of Russian
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Mikhail Leontievich von Dubelt.
Background
Nikolaus was a son of
William, Duke of Nassau
Wilhelm (Given names: ''Georg Wilhelm August Heinrich Belgicus''; 14 June 1792, Kirchheimbolanden – 20/30 August 1839, Bad Kissingen) was joint sovereign Duke of Nassau, along with his father's cousin Frederick Augustus, reigning from 1816 unt ...
, and his second wife,
Princess Pauline of Württemberg
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subst ...
. He was also a younger half-brother of
Adolphe
''Adolphe'' is a classic French novel by Benjamin Constant, first published in 1816. It tells the story of an alienated young man, Adolphe, who falls in love with an older woman, Ellénore, the Polish mistress of the Comte de P***. Their illicit ...
, who was
deposed
Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch.
ORB: The Online Reference for Med ...
by Prussia as
last reigning Duke of
Nassau
Nassau may refer to:
Places Bahamas
*Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence
Canada
*Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792
*Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
in 1866 but succeeded as
Grand Duke of Luxembourg
The Grand Duke of Luxembourg ( lb, Groussherzog vu Lëtzebuerg, french: Grand-duc de Luxembourg, german: Großherzog von Luxemburg) is the monarchical head of state of Luxembourg. Luxembourg has been a grand duchy since 15 March 1815, when it w ...
in 1890.
Natalia was a daughter of
Alexander Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
, the most renowned Russian writer. However, he ranked only as a ''
dvoryanin
The Russian nobility (russian: дворянство ''dvoryanstvo'') originated in the 14th century. In 1914 it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members (about 1.1% of the population) in the Russian Empire.
Up until the February Revolutio ...
'', an untitled member of the lower
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
. As such, she was not legally permitted to share her husband's princely title or rank, even though his family had ceased to be hereditary rulers when the
kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
annexed
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
Nassau. Therefore, Natalia was created ''Gräfin von Merenberg'' (Countess of Merenberg), a title without any territory. The name refers to the community of
Merenberg
Merenberg is a municipality in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Merenberg lies on the southern edge of the Westerwald between the district seat of Limburg and Weilburg.
Neighbouring communities
Merenberg borders in ...
in what is now
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
, Germany.
Through Pushkin, Natalia descended from
Peter the Great
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
's African ''protégé'',
Abram Petrovich Gannibal
Abram Petrovich Gannibal, also Hannibal or Ganibal, or Abram Hannibal or Abram Petrov ( ru , Абра́м Петро́вич Ганниба́л; c. 1696 – 14 May 1781), was a Russian military engineer, general-in-chief, and nobleman of Africa ...
. Through her mother, Natalia descended from the
Cossack
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
leader Prince
Petro Doroshenko
Petro Doroshenko ( uk, Петро Дорофійович Дорошенко, russian: Пётр Дорофе́евич Дороше́нко, pl, Piotr Doroszenko; 1627–1698) was a Cossack political and military leader, Hetman of Right-bank Ukr ...
.
Family members
Their surviving children were:
*
Countess Sophie von Merenberg (1868-1927). In 1891, she married
Grand Duke Michael Mihailovich of Russia
Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia (Russian: Михаил Михайлович; 16 October 1861 – 26 April 1929) was a son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a grandson of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia.
He was raised in the ...
(1861-1929). As this marriage was also deemed
morganatic
Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...
, she was not allowed to share her husband's titles and rank. Instead, she was created Countess de Torby by the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Her descendants include the current
Marquess of Milford Haven
Marquess of Milford Haven is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
History
The marquessate of Milford Haven was created in 1917 for Prince Louis of Battenberg, the former First Sea Lord, and a relation by marriage to the British Royal f ...
and
Duke of Westminster .
* Countess Alexandra von Merenberg (1869-1950). She married Máximo de Elía y Ramos Mexía (d. 1929).
* Georg Nikolaus, Count von Merenberg (1871-1948). He had two sons (of whom the elder died young) and one daughter from his first marriage (1895) with Princess
Olga Yurievskaya
Princess Olga Alexandrovna Yurievskaya (russian: О́льга Александровна Юрьевская; 7 November 187310 August 1925) was the natural daughter of Alexander II of Russia by his mistress (later his wife), Princess Catherine ...
(1874-1925), morganatic daughter of Emperor
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...
.
Georg Nikolaus' male line became extinct with the death of his son Georg Michael Alexander, Count von Merenberg (1897-1965). Georg Michael's only child,
Countess Clothilde von Merenberg (born 1941), who married Enno von
Rintelen, is the last surviving member of the Merenberg family and of the Nassau male line in total.
Luxembourg crown
When Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm died in 1905, his nephew
Grand Duke William IV of Luxembourg (or Guillaume IV) became the last
dynastic
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...
male of the
House of Nassau
The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau were originally titled "Count o ...
. If Nikolaus Wilhelm's children had been deemed dynastic, then his son Georg Nikolaus, Count of Merenberg would have succeeded as Head of the
House of Nassau
The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau were originally titled "Count o ...
upon William IV's death. Georg Nikolaus would have thus become the reigning
Grand Duke of Luxembourg
The Grand Duke of Luxembourg ( lb, Groussherzog vu Lëtzebuerg, french: Grand-duc de Luxembourg, german: Großherzog von Luxemburg) is the monarchical head of state of Luxembourg. Luxembourg has been a grand duchy since 15 March 1815, when it w ...
.
However, his morganatic birth was deemed insurmountable, despite the fact that he had married a daughter of Tsar
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...
. In 1907, William IV, obtained passage of a law in Luxembourg confirming the exclusion of the Merenbergs from succession to the grand ducal throne. Georg Nikolaus's protests against the Luxembourg
Diet
Diet may refer to:
Food
* Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group
* Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake
** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
's confirmation of the succession rights of William IV's daughter,
Princess Marie-Adélaïde, were expected to be taken up by the Netherlands and by the
Great Powers
A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power in ...
which had guaranteed Luxembourg's neutrality in 1867.
[New York Times. ''Count Merenberg Protests: Would Not Have a Woman Reign in Luxembourg''. 16 June 1907.] Nonetheless, Marie-Adélaïde did succeed her father, to become Luxembourg's first female monarch, in 1912. She, in turn, abdicated in favour of her sister
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
, whose descendants have reigned over Luxembourg since then.
The heads of the house of Merenberg after 1912 were:
* Georg Nikolaus (1912–48)
* Georg Michael Alexander (1948–65)
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merenberg, Count of
Counts of Merenberg
House of Nassau-Weilburg