Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich

Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia (russian: Михаи́л Па́влович; ''Mikhail Pavlovich'') (8 February 1798 S 28 January– 9 September 1849 S 28 August was a Russian grand duke, the tenth child and fourth son of Paul I of Russia and his second wife, Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg, who took the name Maria Feodorovna. He was the younger brother of two Tsars, Alexander I and Nicholas I, and the disputed Tsar Konstantin I.

Life

Mikhail was the only one of his siblings to be ' born in the purple', that is born whilst his father was Tsar. As a child he was tutored by General I. M. Lamzdorf, but was primarily taught by his mother. Maria Feodorovna who taught her sons science in an attempt to persuade them from building military careers. Ultimately, this would be of no use, as at the age of sixteen, Michael took part in the campaign against Napoleon. In 1825, he took part in repressing the Decembrist revolt.Between 1826 and 1828, he fought in the Russo-Turkish War as Commander of the Guards Corps and in the November Uprising. As a result of his assult on Warsaw, he was awarded the rank of Adjutant general.

Mikhail never played a serious role in state affairs much to the chargrin of his wife Elena.

Marriage and issue

In St. Petersburg on 19 February 1824, Michael married his first cousin once removed, Princess Charlotte of Württemberg (1807–1873), the daughter of Prince Paul of Württemberg and Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen, thus was his first-cousin-once-removed as the daughter of his mother's cousin.

Charlotte took the name Elena Pavlovna upon converting to Orthodoxy. They had five daughters, four of whom predeceased them:

* Grand Duchess Maria Mikhailovna of Russia (9 March 1825, Moscow – 19 November 1846, Vienna); died unmarried.
* Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mikhailovna of Russia (26 May 1826, Moscow – 28 January, 1845 Wiesbaden); married Adolf, Duke of Nassau and died in childbirth.
* Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna of Russia (28 August 1827 – 12 May 1894), married Duke Georg August of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
* Grand Duchess Alexandra Mikhailovna of Russia (28 January 1831, Moscow – 27 March 1832, Moscow), died in infancy.
* Grand Duchess Anna Mikhailovna of Russia (27 October 1834, Moscow – 22 March 1836, Saint Petersburg), died in infancy.
Mikhail had a child with a mistress, named Nadezhda Mikhailovna Yunina (1 December 1843  - 9 July 1908TsGIA SPb. f. 19. op.127. file 2194. Metric books of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Narva.) who was adopted by Alexander von Stieglitz and his wife. Nadezhda married Alexander Polovtsov and had issue.

The marriage was not known to be a happy one. Mikhail's devotion to the army often resulted in the neglect of his wife. Mikhail's treatment towards his wife may have been influenced by his older brother Konstatin's anti-german views following his own disastrous marriage with Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

Mikhailovsky Palace was built by Carlo Rossi for Grand Duke Michael between 1819–1825, where the family lived. The Palace now holds the Russian Museum. Upon the death of Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, the Pavlovsk Palace was bequeathed to Mikhail. He and his wife visited the palace often.

Mikhail died in Warsaw, aged 51.

Through his daughter Ekaterina, Mikhail the great-great-great-grandfather of Duke Georg Borwin of Mecklenburg who is the current head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Ancestry

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michael Pavlovich Of Russia, Grand Duke
1798 births
1849 deaths
18th-century people from the Russian Empire
People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd
House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
Russian grand dukes
Members of the State Council (Russian Empire)
Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain
Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree
Knights Grand Cross of the Military Order of William
Russian people of the November Uprising
Children of Paul I of Russia
Sons of emperors
Burials at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg