Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approxi ...

Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia (21 September 1827 – 25 January 1892) was the Emperor's

Viceroy of Poland The Namiestnik (or Viceroy) of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, namiestnik Królestwa Polskiego, russian: наместник Царства Польского) was the deputy of the Emperor of Russia who, under Congress Poland (1815–1874), styled himse ...

from 1862 to 1863.

Early life

Konstantin Nikolayevich was born as the second son of Nicholas I and his wife, Charlotte of Prussia, daughter of

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...

and his first wife,

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Luise Auguste Wilhelmine Amalie; 10 March 1776 – 19 July 1810) was Queen of Prussia as the wife of King Frederick William III. The couple's happy, though short-lived, marriage produced nine child ...

Biography

The Grand Duke was a supporter of the liberal (sometimes referred to as "enlightened") bureaucrats during the period of his brother Alexander II's great reforms. He served as chairman of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (founded in 1845). The Geographical Society was subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was home to a conspicuous number of , including Nikolai Miliutin. In addition to his support of and participation in the 1861 emancipation of the serfs, the Grand Duke also instituted reforms in the Imperial Russian Navy from 1854. Konstantin's brother, Alexander II of Russia was supposed to have said: "Let the Poles have their own court and intrigues." Though the Grand Duke tried to show a liberal attitude towards the Poles, his efforts came too late and he was recalled with the outbreak of the

January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

in 1863.

Marriage and issue

In the Winter Palace in

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, on 11 September 1848, Konstantin married Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg, daughter of Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and his wife, Duchess Amelia of Württemberg. They had six children: * Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich of Russia (1850–1918) * Olga Konstantinovna, Queen of the Hellenes (1851–1926) * Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinovna of Russia (1854–1912) * Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia (1858–1915) *

Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich of Russia Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich of Russia (russian: Дми́трий Константи́нович; 13 June 1860 – 28 January 1919) was a son of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich and a first cousin of Alexander III of Russia. He followed a ...

(1860–1919) *

Grand Duke Vyacheslav Konstantinovich of Russia Grand Duke Vyacheslav Konstantinovich of Russia, (13 July 1862 – 27 February 1879), was a Romanov grand duke and the youngest son of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia and his wife Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg. The English ...

(1862–1879); died of

brain hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

At the end of the 1860s, Konstantin embarked on an affair, having an illegitimate daughter, Marie Condousso. Konstantin had five illegitimate children with his mistress Anna

Kuznetsov Kuznetsov, Kuznyetsov, Kuznetsoff, or Kouznetsov (masculine, russian: Кузнецов) or Kuznetsova (feminine, russian: Кузнецова) is the third most common Russian surname, an equivalent of the English "Smith" (derived from a Russian word ...

a (1847–1922); they bore the last name Knyazev: *Sergey Konstantinovich Knyazev (1873–1873); died as an infant. *Marina Konstantinovna Knyazeva (8 December 1875 – 8 June 1941); married Alexander Pavlovich Erchov on 23 April 1894. They have nine children. *Anna Konstantinovna Knyazeva (16 March 1878 – 5 February 1920); married Nicholas Lialine on 17 April 1898. They have three children. *Izmail Konstantinovich Knyazev (2 August 1879 – 1885); died of

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...

. *Lev Konstantinovich Knyazev (April 1883 – 1885); died of scarlet fever. Konstantin was the paternal great-great-grandfather of King Charles III of the United Kingdom, since his daughter Olga married George I of Greece, whose son Andrew married Alice Battenberg, and they became the parents of

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

, Charles' father. Through

Constantine I of Greece Constantine I ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Αʹ, ''Konstantínos I''; – 11 January 1923) was King of Greece from 18 March 1913 to 11 June 1917 and from 19 December 1920 to 27 September 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army ...

, another son of Olga and George I, Konstantin is also the paternal great-great-grandfather of

Queen Sofía of Spain Sofía of Greece and Denmark ( el, Σοφία; born 2 November 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who was List of Spanish royal consorts, Queen of Spain from 1975 to 2014 as the wife of King Juan Carlos I. She is the first child of ...

, mother of King Felipe VI.

In Fiction

The Grand Duke is a central character in Act III of the novel ''Forty-Ninth'' by Boris Pronsky and Craig Britton. In the book, Konstantin is the brains behind the liberal reforms of his brother, Russian Emperor Alexander II, as well as the sale of Alaska to the United States.

Honours

;National orders and decorations * Knight of St. Andrew, ''1827'' * Knight of St. Alexander Nevsky, ''1827'' * Knight of the White Eagle, ''1827'' * Knight of St. Anna, 1st Class, ''1827'' * Knight of St. George, 4th Class, ''1849'' * Knight of St. Vladimir, 1st Class, ''1853'' * Knight of St. Stanislaus, 1st Class, ''1865'' ;Foreign orders and decorations

Ancestry

References

*Chavchavadze, David. ''The Grand Dukes''. Atlantic, 1989. *Ferrand, Jacques, ''Descendances naturelles des souverains et grands-ducs de Russie, de 1762 à 1910 : répertoire généalogique'',1995. *King, Greg, and Wilson, Penny. '' Gilded Prism''. Eurohistory, 2006. *Van Der Kiste, John. ''The Romanovs 1818–1959''. Sutton Publishing, 1999. . *Zeepvat, Charlotte. ''Romanov Autumn''. Sutton Publishing, 2000.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia, Grand Duke 1827 births 1892 deaths Russian grand dukes House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov Imperial Russian Navy admirals Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) 19th-century people from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Knights Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Knights Commander of the Military Order of William Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Children of Nicholas I of Russia Sons of emperors Burials at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg