Varvara Vasilievna Golitsyna (née von Engelhardt; 1757–1815), was a Russian Empire lady-in-waiting and

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

. She was the niece and lover of

Grigory Potyomkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (, also , ;, rus, Князь Григо́рий Алекса́ндрович Потёмкин-Таври́ческий, Knjaz' Grigórij Aleksándrovich Potjómkin-Tavrícheskij, ɡrʲɪˈɡ ...

, and the favored

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

. Alongside her sisters, she was given a favored position at the Russian Imperial court during the reign of Catherine, where they were described as "Almost Grand Duchesses", the jewels of the court and honorary members of the Imperial family.

Biography

She was the daughter of Vasily von Engelhardt and his spouse Yelena Marfa Potemkina, and thus the niece of

. She was introduced to the Russian court with her five sisters (and her brother) in 1775. They were initially uneducated and ignorant, but was soon given a sophisticated polish and made to be the most favored women at the Russian court; they were treated almost as if they were a part of the Imperial family, and were to be known as : "almost

Grand Duchess 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 ...

es" and as the " jewels" and ornaments of the Russian court. Potemkin gave them large dowries and had Catherine appoint them ladies-in-waiting. They were alleged to be the lovers of their uncle, which was one of the most known gossip subjects and scandals of the age. Her relationship with Potemkin took place in 1777-1779 and ended after her marriage to prince Sergey Golitsyn in 1779. It was possibly ended on her initiative, after she had fallen in love with Golitsyn. It is possible that her firstborn was fathered by her uncle. Her grandmother, Darja Potemkina, is known to have protested to her son against their affair. After their affair ended, her uncle Potemkin had an affair with her sister,

Aleksandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

. She is described as a beautiful, charming and temperamental blonde.Simon Sebag Montefiore (2006). Potemkin och Katarina den stora – en kejserliga förbindelse otemkin and Catherine the Great – en Emperial comittment(in Swedish). prisma. .

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Golitsyna, Varvara Nobility from the Russian Empire Ladies-in-waiting from the Russian Empire 1752 births 18th-century people from the Russian Empire Socialites from the Russian Empire 1815 deaths Engelhardt family Varvara Russian princesses by marriage