Anna Mons (russian: Áнна Монс, link=no; 1 January 1672,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

– 15 August 1714) 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 ...

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

Royal mistress

In 1691, during one of his visits to the

German Quarter German Quarter (russian: Неме́цкая слобода́, ''Nemetskaya sloboda''), also known as the Kukuy Quarter (), was a neighborhood in the northeast of Moscow, located on the right bank of the Yauza River east of Kukuy Creek (h ...

, young

Peter I of Russia Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from ...

became enamoured of Anna Mons, the daughter of Westfalian wine merchant Johan Mons. Her younger brother was

Willem Mons Willem () is a Dutch and West FrisianRienk de Haan, ''Fryske Foarnammen'', Leeuwarden, 2002 (Friese Pers Boekerij), , p. 158. masculine given name. The name is Germanic, and can be seen as the Dutch equivalent of the name William in English, Gu ...

(1688–1724), destined to be the Imperial Chamberlain to

Catherine I Catherine I ( rus, Екатери́на I Алексе́евна Миха́йлова, Yekaterína I Alekséyevna Mikháylova; born , ; – ) was the second wife and empress consort of Peter the Great, and Empress Regnant of Russia from 1725 un ...

and Matrena her sister who married Fedor Balk, Major General and Governor of Riga. Her niece was the infamous

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 Lopukh ...

(1699–1763) later victim of the so-called

Lopukhina Affair 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 ...

in 1742. As Peter's relations with the tsarina Eudoxia Lopukhina gradually worsened, Anna Mons took the place as his permanent and semi-official

. In the 1690s, he gave her 295 farms and a mansion near

. The relationship lasted for 12 years.

Later life and death

After Peter divorced Lopukhina, Anna had ambitions of marrying Peter herself, but by 1703 she feared he had lost interest in her and she took up a flirtation with the Prussian ambassador Keyserling in an effort to rekindle Peter's affections. Keyserling proposed marriage, provoking Peter to have Anna expelled from her estate and placed under house arrest along with her mother, sister and thirty friends. Peter later allowed the two of them to marry, which they did in 1711. Anna died three years later 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 ...

Aftermath

In 1707, Peter I married again, to Marta Helena Skowrońska, later to become

Catherine I of Russia Catherine I ( rus, Екатери́на I Алексе́евна Миха́йлова, Yekaterína I Alekséyevna Mikháylova; born , ; – ) was the second wife and empress consort of Peter the Great, and Empress Regnant of Russia from 1725 u ...

, who dyed her hair black so she would not resemble

flaxen hair Blond (male) or blonde (female), also referred to as fair hair, is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color ...

-ed Anna Mons. Anna's younger brother,

, became secretary and friend of Catherine. He was an old friend of Peter's, having taken part in the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava; russian: Полта́вская би́тва; uk, Полта́вська би́тва (8 July 1709) was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. A Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeat ...

. Willem was charged and executed for abusing his access to the Empress, along with his sister Matrena, who was beaten and exiled to

Tobolsk Tobolsk (russian: Тобо́льск) is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh rivers. Founded in 1590, Tobolsk is the second-oldest Russian settlement east of the Ural Mountains in Asian Russia, ...

, Siberia. Matrena's husband was given permission to remarry. The siblings were accepting bribes for their influence, according to the favour asked and position of the petitioner, despite having wealth and property bestowed upon them due to their positions. The night before the execution, Peter told Willem, although he was sorry to lose such a talented man, Willem's execution was imperative. Matrena was later restored to favour by Catherine after the death of Peter. Willem's head, preserved in alcohol, was displayed in a museum, originally the summer palace of the Tsar. It remains on display to the present day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mons, Anna 1672 births 1714 deaths People from Moscow People from the Russian Empire of German descent Mistresses of Peter the Great 17th-century Russian people 18th-century people from the Russian Empire 18th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Russia