Elżbieta Szydłowska, married surname ''Grabowska'' (1748 – 1 June 1810), was a member of the Polish nobility, a

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...

and possibly the morganatic wife of the last King of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski.

Biography

Elżbieta Szydłowska was a daughter of Polish nobleman Teodor Kajetan Szydłowski, voivode of Płock, Lubicz coat of arms (1714–1792), and his wife, Teresa Witkowska,

Nowina coat of arms Nowina () is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by several '' szlachta'' families in the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The original clan consisted of only 24 families. History Nowina is one of the oldest Polish heraldic marks w ...

(1722–1778). In 1768 she married a

Polish noble The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...

, General Jan Jerzy Grabowski (died 1789). Some of the children of this marriage are thought to have actually been children of the last Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth king, Stanisław August Poniatowski. In 1789, she became a widow and possibly entered into a secret, morganatic marriage with the King, remaining known at court as his ''

maîtresse-en-titre ''maîtresse-en-titre'' () was the chief royal mistress of the King of France. The title came into use during the reign of Henry IV and continued through the reign of Louis XV. It was a semi-official position which came with its own apartme ...

''. However,

Wirydianna Fiszerowa Wirydianna Fiszerowa (born Wirydianna Radolińska, using the Leszczyc coat of arms, later Wirydianna Kwilecka) (1761 in Wyszyny - 1826 in Działyń) was a Polish noblewoman best known for her memoirs, which mention her life in pre- and post-pa ...

, a contemporary who knew her, reported that tales of this marriage only circulated after Poniatowski's death, and were spread about by Elżbieta herself, but were not generally believed. She was thought to have exercised some influence on the king during his reign perceived as negative, which made her unpopular. In 1795, King Stanisław abdicated following the Third Partition of Poland, and lived in Grodno under Russian watch until, in 1796, Paul I of Russia invited him to Saint Petersburg. Elżbieta, with her two sons, Stanisław and Michał, took the king to Saint Petersburg to care for him there, and she lived with him until his sudden death in 1798. Afterwards, she returned to Warsaw, then under

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n rule following the Partitions, where she became a patroness of the '' Tableau vivant'' there. She died in Warsaw on 1 June 1810, survived by four of her children. She had three sons and two daughters with the king, and their second son,

Michał Grabowski Michał Grabowski of the Oksza coat of arms (1773 – 17 August 1812) was a brigadier general of the Army of Duchy of Warsaw. Early life He was the natural son of the King of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski and Elizabeth Grabowska ...

, distinguished himself in combat, eventually becoming a general in the army of the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, durin ...

Issue

Her children were: * Stanisław * Michał * Casimir * Aleksandra (13 April 1771 – 12 May 1789), who married Franciszek Salezy

Krasicki Krasicki (plural: Krasiccy, feminine form: Krasicka) was a Polish noble family first mentioned in the 15th century. Many Krasiccy were magnates in the First Republic of Poland. History The family originated from Masovia. Their family nest was ...

in 1787 * Izabela Grabowska (1776–1858), who married Walenty Faustyn Sobolewski in 1795 * Constance

References

* H. P Kosk generalicja polska t. 1 Oficyna Wydawnicza "Ajaks" Pruszków 1998. {{DEFAULTSORT:Szydlowska, Elzbieta Mistresses of Stanisław August Poniatowski 19th-century Polish nobility 1748 births 1810 deaths 18th-century Polish nobility Morganatic spouses Szydłowski family