Princess Anna Petrovna Lopukhina (russian: Анна Петровна Лопухина) (8 November 1777 – 25 April 1805) was a

royal mistress A royal mistress is the historical position and sometimes unofficial title of the extramarital lover of a monarch or an heir apparent, who was expected to provide certain services, such as sexual or romantic intimacy, companionship, and advic ...

Emperor Paul Paul I (russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич ; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination. Officially, he was the only son of Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he was fathered by her l ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. In 1798, she replaced Catherine Nelidova as the chief mistress.

Family

She was the daughter of Prince Pyotr Vasilyevich Lopukhin, from the Lopukhin family, one of the oldest families of Russian

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

, which owed its distinction to

Eudoxia Lopukhina Tsarina Eudoxia Fyodorovna Lopukhina ( rus, Евдоки́я Фёдоровна Лопухина́, Yevdokíya Fyodorovna Lopukhiná; in Moscow – in Moscow) was a Russian Tsaritsa as the first wife of Peter I of Russia, and the last ethnic ...

's marriage to Peter the Great and of which the unfortunate

Natalia Lopukhina Natalia Fyodorovna Lopukhina (November 11 1699– March 11 1763) was a Russian noble, court official and alleged political conspirator. She was a daughter of Matryona Balk, who was sister of Anna Mons and Willem Mons. She is famous for the Lopu ...

was also a member. Her mother was Praskovia Ivanovna Levshina.

Royal mistress

Lopukhina met Emperor Paul during a ball in 1796. His tenderness towards her was noted by a court faction which hoped to use her as a remedy against the influence of the Empress Maria Feodorovna. The Emperor was told that the girl, hopelessly in love with him, was on the verge of killing herself on that account. When Paul ordered her family to be brought to

Saint 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 ...

, the Empress ineffectually attempted to interfere and sent an angry letter to Lopukhina pressing her to stay at home. The letter was intercepted and presented to the emperor in the most unfavourable light, thus sparking a quarrel between the spouses and ensuring Lopukhina's ascendance at court. After Anna was brought to the capital, the Emperor appointed her father General Procurator and made him

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

with the title of

His Serene Highness His/Her Serene Highness (abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Over the past 400 years, it has also used as a style for senior members ...

. Anna herself was showered with awards, including the

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

. On Paul's urging, the translation of her Hebrew name – "grace" – was given to warships and inscribed on the standards of the imperial guards. All things considered, Lopukhina's influence on the tsar's irascible character is reckoned to have been beneficial, although the Emperor's constant attention seemed to importune her so much that in 1799 she asked his permission to marry a childhood friend, Prince Pavel Gagarin. After the sovereign acquiesced, Gagarin was recalled from

Alexander Suvorov Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Rymnik, Count of the Holy ...

's army then fighting in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and the wedding took place on 11 January 1800. The marriage was also to protect her from public spite.

Later life and death

A year later, the Emperor was murdered and the Gagarins proceeded to

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

, where her husband Prince Gagarin was appointed ambassador. Theirs was a marriage of convenience, and he seems to have had little reason for grief when she died of

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

in 1805 at the age of 27. Anna's body was brought back to the Russian capital, where her tomb may be seen in the St Lazarus Church of the

Alexander Nevsky Lavra Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alex ...

References

External links

Biography on hronos.km.ru
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopukhina, Anna Russian nobility Mistresses of Paul of Russia 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis 1777 births 1805 deaths 18th-century people from the Russian Empire

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...

Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg) Tuberculosis deaths in Russia