Prince Platon Alexandrovich Zubov, Lover of Catherine II (the Great) of Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Prince Platon Alexandrovich Zubov; Credit – Wikipedia

  • Patronymics: In Russian, a patronymic is the second name derived from the father’s first name: the suffix -vich means “son of” and the suffixes -eva, -evna, -ova, and -ovna mean “daughter of”.

Prince Platon Alexandrovich Zubov was the last lover of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia. There was a thirty-eight-year age difference between Platon and Catherine. He was also one of the conspirators in the assassination of Catherine II’s son and successor Paul I, Emperor of All Russia, and was one of the fourteen people present at Paul’s murder. Born on November 26, 1767, Platon was the fifth of the six children and the third of the four sons of Alexander Nikolaievich Zubov (1727 – 1795) and Elizabeth Vasilievna Voronova (1742 – 1813).

Platon Alexandrovich had four older siblings and one younger sibling:

  • Anna Alexandrovna Zubova (1760 – after 1787), married Osip Ivanovich Horvath, had two children
  • Nicholai Alexandrovich Zubov (1763 – 1805), married Natalia Alexandrovna Suvorov, had seven children
  • Dmitri Alexandrovich Zubov (1764 – 1836), married Praskovye Alexandrovna Vyazemskaya, had six children
  • Olga Alexandrovna Zubova (1765 – 1849), married Alexander Alexeivich Zherebtsov, had four children
  • Valerian Alexandrovich Zubov (1771 – 1804), unmarried

Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin; Credit – Wikipedia

The great love of Empress Catherine’s life was Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin who had a relationship with Catherine from 1774 until he died in 1791. After a period of exclusivity, Potemkin and Catherine worked out a new relationship that preserved their affection toward each other and their political collaborations but allowed each of them to choose other sexual partners. Besides being Catherine’s lover, Potemkin was Grand Admiral of the Black Sea Fleet, Field Marshal of the Russian Army, and Governor-General of New Russia. Potemkin served as a diplomat, was a member of the Imperial Council and was president of the War College. He built the Black Sea Fleet and founded the cities of Sevastopol and Kherson in Crimea. Potemkin’s achievements include the peaceful annexation of Crimea and the successful Russo-Turkish War.

In June 1789, Platon Alexandrovich Zubov was a 22-year-old officer in the Lifeguards Horse Regiment when Count Nikolai Ivanovich Saltykov introduced him to Empress Catherine in an effort to supplant his enemy Prince Grigory Potemkin from his various positions. Potemkin had approved of all Catherine’s other lovers from 1777 – 1789 but he vehemently disapproved of Platon. He saw Platon for what he was – poorly educated, vain, and greedy for wealth, estates, honors and titles for himself, his father and his three brothers. Although Potemkin died in 1791, he was proven correct. Platon would become the last of Catherine’s lovers, become a Count and a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and along with his father and three brothers who all became Counts, would accumulate enormous fortunes and would become widely reviled for corruption and cruelty.

Platon wearing his honors and a miniature of Catherine; Credit – Wikipedia

Upon Potemkin’s death, Platon succeeded him as the Governor-General of New Russia. In 1795, Count Fyodor Vasilyevich Rostopchin wrote to Count Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov: “Count Zubov is everything here. There is no other will but his. His power is greater than that of Potemkin. He is as reckless and incapable as before, although the Empress keeps repeating that he is the greatest genius the history of Russia has known”.

Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia, 1794; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1796, Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia died at the age of 67 and the 29-year-old Platon went mad with grief. For ten days, he isolated himself in his sister Olga’s home. On the eleventh day, he was visited by Catherine’s son and successor Paul I, Emperor of All Russia who drank to his health. Nevertheless, within a few days, Paul confiscated Platon’s estates, relieved him of all his posts, and strongly advised him to go abroad. Platon traveled for a few years in Poland and various regions of Germany. In 1800, he obtained permission to return to Russia and his confiscated estates were returned to him.

Back in Russia, Platon found dissatisfaction among the nobles with Emperor Paul’s reign. Paul agreed with the practices of autocracy and tried to prevent liberal ideas in the Russian Empire. He did not tolerate freedom of thought or resistance against autocracy. Because he overly taxed the nobility and limited their rights, the Russian nobles, by increasing numbers, were against him. Paul’s reign was becoming increasingly despotic. Eventually, the nobility reached their breaking point.

A conspiracy to assassinate Emperor Paul was organized, some months before it was executed, by Count Peter Ludwig von der Pahlen, Count Nikita Petrovich Panin, and Admiral José de Ribas, with the alleged support of the British ambassador in Saint Petersburg, Charles Whitworth, 1st Earl Whitworth who was the lover of Platon’s sister Olga. Platon was one of the conspirators along with his siblings Nikolai, Olga, and Valerian. The conspirators met and discussed their plans at Olga’s house. The total number of people involved in the conspiracy, according to various estimates, ranges from 180 to 300 people.

The assassination of Emperor Paul I, French engraving, 1880s; Credit – Wikipedia

Platon and his brother Nikolai were among the fourteen people present at Emperor Paul’s assassination. At 1:30 AM on March 23, 1801, a group of twelve men led by Platon’s brother Count Nikolai Alexandrovich Zubov and Levin August von Bennigsen, a German general in the service of the Russian Empire, broke into Paul’s bedroom at the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg and found Paul hiding behind some drapes in a corner. The conspirators pulled him out and forced him to a table so he could sign an abdication document. When Paul resisted, Platon’s brother Nikolai struck him with a sword and Platon said to Paul, “You are no longer Emperor. It is Alexander (Paul’s eldest son) who is our master.” Paul finally signed the abdication document after which the assassins strangled and trampled him to death.

Paul’s 23-year-old eldest son Alexander, who probably knew about the coup but not the murder plot, succeeded as Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia. Platon initially played a prominent role and enjoyed influence in Alexander’s early reign. However, Alexander I soon realized that he could not surround himself with those involved in the death of his father without compromising himself and Platon’s days of influence came to an end for good.

Tekla Ignatyevna Valentinović; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1814, Platon moved to his estates in Lithuania. In 1821, 54-year-old Platon fell madly in love with 19-year-old Tekla Ignatyevna Valentinović (1801-1873), the daughter of a Lithuanian nobleman of modest means. He had seen Tekla with her mother at a horse fair in Vilnius, Lithuania. Through an intermediary, Platon offered Tekla’s family a notable sum of money but his marriage proposal was rejected. Several months later Tekla and her mother arrived at Platon’s estate in Yanishki, Lithuania. Platon made an offer of one million rubles to marry Telka and her mother agreed.

The couple married in 1821 and had a daughter:

  • Alexandra Platonovna Zubova (1822 – 1824), died in early childhood

Rundāle Palace; Credit – By Jeroen Komen from Utrecht, Netherlands CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37637993

After the marriage of Platon and Tekla, they made their home at Rundāle Palace, originally built for the Dukes of Courland in what is now Latvia. After the Duchy of Courland was absorbed by the Russian Empire in 1795, Empress Catherine II presented the palace to Platon’s youngest brother Valerian Zubov. Platon inherited Rundāle Palace after the death in 1804 of his unmarried brother.

Platon’s burial site, photographed in the 1860w; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Platon Alexandrovich Zubov, aged 55, died on April 19, 1822, at Rundāle Palace, three weeks after the birth of his only child. He was buried in the Zubov family crypt at the Coastal Monastery of Saint Sergius in the coastal settlement of Strelna near St. Petersburg, Russia. Platon’s brothers Nikolai and Valerian were also buried in the same crypt. Their burial site was destroyed during the Soviet era.

Platon’s widow Tekla inherited a huge fortune upon his death. However, Platon’s relatives sued due to the lack of a will. The subsequent trial ended in favor of Tekla who made a second marriage in 1826 to Count Andrei Petrovich Shuvalov, who became a prominent figure at the courts of Emperor Nicholas I and Emperor Alexander II. Tekla and her husband had four children and her second marriage brought the vast Zubov estates and fortune into the Shuvalov family.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Platon Zubov. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platon_Zubov> [Accessed 19 July 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2020. Assassination Of Paul I, Emperor Of All Russia (1801). [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/assassination-of-paul-i-emperor-of-all-russia-1801/> [Accessed 19 July 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2018. Catherine II (The Great), Empress Of All Russia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/empress-catherine-ii-the-great-of-russia/> [Accessed 9 July 2020].
  • Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
  • Massie, Robert, (2016). Catherine the Great. London: Head of Zeus.
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2020. Валентинович, Текла Игнатьевна. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87,_%D0%A2%D0%B5%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%B0_%D0%98%D0%B3%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8C%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0> [Accessed 19 July 2020].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2020. Зубов, Александр Николаевич (1727). [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%97%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%B2,_%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80_%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87_(1727)> [Accessed 19 July 2020].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2020. Зубов, Платон Александрович. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%97%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%B2,_%D0%9F%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BD_%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87> [Accessed 19 July 2020].

Ntfombi Tfwala, Queen Mother and Joint Head of State of Eswatini, formerly Swaziland

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Credit – Wikipedia

Born on December 27, 1949, in Swaziland, now Eswatini, Queen Mother Ntfombi Tfwala of Eswatini was one of the 70 wives of King Sobhuza II of Swaziland and has been the joint head of state of Swaziland, called Eswatini since 2018, along with her son King Mswati III of Swaziland, from 1986 – present. Ntfombi Tfwala had one child with King Sobhuza II of Swaziland, a son Prince Makhosetive Dlamini, now King Mswati III of Swaziland.

A Swazi king cannot appoint his successor, nor is there a line of succession. A traditional council called the Liqoqo decides which of the wives shall be “Great Wife” and “Indlovukati” (She-Elephant / Queen Mother) after the death of a king. The “Great Wife” must be of good character and cannot be one of the first two wives (known as ritual wives) chosen for the king by the council. The son of this “Great Wife” will automatically become the next king.

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King Sobhuza II of Swaziland in 1976

However, King Sobhuza II did something a bit different. He designated another of his wives, Dzeliwe Shongwe, as the Indlovukati. Instead of recognizing one of Dzeliwe Shongwe’s sons as his heir apparent, he indicated to his council that he wanted Prince Makhosetive Dlamini, Ntfombi Tfwala’s 14-year-old son, to succeed him on the throne.

On August 21, 1982, King Sobhuza II died at the age of 83, having reigned for 82 years. Dzeliwe Shongwe was named by the council as the Queen Regent until Prince Makhosetive Dlamini, designated by King Sobhuza II as his successor, reached the age of eighteen. However, soon there were disagreements between members of the council and Queen Regent Dzeliwe Shongwe which ultimately led to her being replaced by Ntfombi Tfwala, the mother of Prince Makhosetive Dlamini. Ntfombi Tfwala served as Queen Regent until her son reached the age of eighteen.

Reigning Queens by Andy Warhol; Credit – Artnet

Queen Regent Ntfombi Tfwala immediately showed that she had the temperament to deal with the problems of the people and the modernization of Swaziland. In 1985, artist Andy Warhol made a series of silkscreen portraits of living Reigning Queens. Ntfombi Tfwala was included along with Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

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Coronation of King Mswati III

On April 25, 1986, 18-year-old Prince Makhosetive Dlamini was crowned King of Swaziland under the name Mswati III and Mswati named his mother Ntfombi Tfwala the Indlovukati (She-Elephant/Queen Mother). By tradition, the King of Swaziland reigns along with his mother, the Indlovukati and decisions are made jointly. The King is viewed as the administrative head of government and the Indlovukati is viewed as the spiritual and national head of state. Since 2006, the new constitution provides for the absolute power of the King and the Indlovukati. The parliament is a consultative body and there are no longer any political parties. Ntfombi Tfwala has her own residence, Ludzindzini Palace, in Lobamba, the traditional, spiritual, and legislative capital city of Eswatini, and the seat of the Parliament. Mswati III lives about 6 miles/10 kilometers away at the Lozitha Palace.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Eswatini. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eswatini> [Accessed 17 August 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Ntfombi Of Eswatini. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ntfombi_of_Eswatini> [Accessed 17 August 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2014. King Mswati III Of Eswatini (Formerly Swaziland). [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-mwsati-iii-of-swaziland/> [Accessed 17 August 2020].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2020. Ntfombi Dello Swaziland. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ntfombi_dello_Swaziland> [Accessed 17 August 2020].

King Sobhuza II of Swaziland

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Credit – By The National Archives UK, OGL v1.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68438657

King Sobhuza II of Swaziland was the Paramount Chief and King of Swaziland, from 1899 – 1982, for 82 years and 254 days. Because Swaziland was a British protectorate from 1906 to 1968 and not a sovereign state, Sobhuza is not on the list of internationally recognized monarchs of a sovereign state. He was an internationally recognized monarch of a sovereign state for fourteen years, from when Swaziland was granted independence in1968 until his death in 1982. However, he is number one on the list of longest reigning monarchs of dependent or constituent states.

Sobhuza (also known as Nkhotfotjeni) was born on July 22, 1899, at Zombodze Royal Residence in Zombodze, Swaziland, the son of King Ngwane V of Swaziland and Labotsibeni Mdluli, also known as Gwamile. On December 10, 1899, King Ngwane V died, aged 23, during the sacred incwala ceremony. His death, speculated to be caused by poisoning, was not announced until the ceremony was over. In Swaziland, called Eswatini since 2018, there is no heir to the throne. A special traditional council called the Liqoqo decides which of the king’s wives shall be “Great Wife” and “Indlovukazi” (She-Elephant / Queen Mother). The son of this “Great Wife” will automatically become the next king. The council then chose Ngwane’s wife Labotsibeni Mdluli and their four-month-old son Sobhuza to be Queen Mother and King. Labotsibeni Mdluli also served as regent until her son came of age.

Sobhuza was educated at the Swazi National School in Zombodze, Swaziland and the Lovedale Institution in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. In 1903, after the British victory in the Second Boer War, Swaziland became a British protectorate. Sobhuza’s title changed from King of Swaziland to Paramount Chief of the Swaziland Protectorate and would remain so until Swaziland received its independence from the United Kingdom. Sobhuza’s role during the period Swaziland was a British Protectorate was mostly ceremonial, but he still had major influence as a traditional head of the Swazi nation.

Embed from Getty Images 
Sobhuza, on the right, arrives in London in 1953 to attend the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

Sobhuza was quite influential in the events leading to Swaziland’s independence. He rejected the constitution proposed by the British government, in which he would become a constitutional monarch. Instead, Sobhuza formed the Imbokodvo National Movement, a political party, which contested and won all seats in the 1967 pre-independence elections. In 1967, when Swaziland was given direct rule, Sobhuza was once again recognized as King of Swaziland. Swaziland received complete independence from the United Kingdom on September 6, 1968. Following the elections of 1973, the constitution of Swaziland was suspended by King Sobhuza II who thereafter ruled the country by decree until he died in 1982.

Despite being an absolute monarch, Sobhuza was able to blend traditional tribal customs with strategies to manage economic and social change in Swaziland. In 1978, a new constitution was adopted which provided for a tribal mode of rule involving an electoral college of eighty members chosen by forty local tribal councils. Much of Swaziland’s and natural resources were originally owned by non-Swazi interests were brought under Swazi control during Sobhuza’s reign.

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King Sobhuza in 1976

Despite converting to Christianity, King Sobhuza continued to observe traditional customs, one of which was to take a new wife every year. This event took place at a ceremony called the Reed Dance where local young women dance in traditional costume, bare-breasted, for the king’s pleasure. As a result, King Sobhuza II married 70 wives, who gave him 210 children between 1920 and 1970. About 180 children survived infancy. At his death, he had more than 1,000 grandchildren. Sobhuza died on August 21, 1982, aged 83, in Mbabane, Swaziland.

The king’s body lay in state at the Royal Kraal, a traditional African village of huts, in Lobamba, Swaziland. The funeral was held near the Royal Kraal, in the Somhlolo Stadium. More than 20,000 people attended the funeral, including dignitaries from twenty-four countries. After the funeral, Sobhuza was entombed in the mountain cave burial grounds, the Royal Burial Ground in Nhlangano, Shiselweni, Eswatini, in a private ceremony attended only by court officials. Following Swazi custom, only three people knew the actual burial spot.

A Swazi king cannot appoint his successor, nor is there a line of succession. A traditional council called the Liqoqo decides which of the wives shall be “Great Wife” and “Indlovukati” (She-Elephant / Queen Mother) after the death of a king. The “Great Wife” must be of good character and cannot be one of the first two wives (known as ritual wives) chosen for the king by the national councilors. The son of this “Great Wife” will automatically become the next king. One of Sobhuza’s many sons, 14-year-old Mswati, was selected to be the next king reigning as King Mswati III.  From 1982-1986, two wives of the late King Sobhuza II, Queen Dzeliwe Shongwe, and Mswati’s mother, Queen Ntfombi Tfwala, served as regents.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Eswatini. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eswatini> [Accessed 17 August 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Sobhuza II. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sobhuza_II> [Accessed 17 August 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2014. King Mswati III Of Eswatini (Formerly Swaziland). [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-mwsati-iii-of-swaziland/> [Accessed 17 August 2020].
  • profile, V., 2015. The Funeral Of King Sobhuza. [online] Rosehiptrue.blogspot.com. Available at: <http://rosehiptrue.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-funeral-of-king-sobhuza.html> [Accessed 17 August 2020].
  • UPI. 1982. King Sobhuza II, The ‘Lion Of Swaziland,’ Was Entombed…. [online] Available at: <https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/08/23/King-Sobhuza-II-the-Lion-of-Swaziland-was-entombed/7971398923200/> [Accessed 17 August 2020].

Caroline Lacroix, Mistress of King Leopold II of the Belgians

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Caroline Lacroix was the royal mistress of King Leopold II of the Belgians from 1900 until his death in 1909. She was just sixteen years old when their relationship began, while the King was nearly fifty years her senior.

Caroline Lacroix – source: Wikipedia

Blanche Zélia Joséphine Delacroix – later known as Caroline Lacroix – was born in Bucharest, Romania on May 13, 1883, the 13th child of Jules Delacroix and Catherine Josephine Sebille. By the time she was in her mid-teens, she was the mistress of a former French army officer, Antoine-Emmanuel Durrieux, who often arranged for Caroline to provide ‘company’ to other wealthy men to support themselves. Through these encounters, Caroline caught the attention of King Leopold II of the Belgians.

King Leopold II. source: Wikipedia

King Leopold II sent a messenger to arrange a meeting with Caroline which went well enough that the King asked Caroline to accompany him on a trip to Austria. Just sixteen years old at the time, Caroline was far from discreet about her new relationship with the King. It quickly became public knowledge and was discussed widely in the Belgian media. She frequently accompanied Leopold on his travels, including accompanying him to London in 1901 for the funeral of Queen Victoria. Following the death of his wife, Queen Marie Henriette in 1902, Leopold arranged for Caroline to move into Villa Van der Borght, just outside the grounds of the Royal Palace of Laeken. He even had a footbridge built so he could easily visit her regularly.

The couple had two sons together:

  • Lucien Philippe Marie Antoine ( 1906 –1984), Duke of Tervuren
  • Philippe Henri Marie François (1907 – 1914), Count of Ravenstein

At the time of Lucien’s birth, Leopold granted Caroline the title Baroness de Vaughan, and both sons were given courtesy titles. However, the titles were never formally granted by royal decree, making them strictly honorary titles. Both sons’ births were registered in France with only Caroline’s name.

Caroline with her two sons, c1908. source: Wikipedia

During their relationship, King Leopold II lavished Caroline with gifts – including several residences. In addition to Villa Van der Borght in Laeken, he also purchased the Villa Les Cédres in Cap Ferrat 1904 for Caroline to use, and in 1908 he bought and gifted her the Château de Balincourt in northern France. In addition to these, she also had use of Villa Leopolda, a sprawling villa that Leopold had built on the French Riviera in 1902.

In addition to these various homes, Caroline received gifts of clothes and jewels and amassed a significant fortune. Caroline was known to boast about her newfound wealth, often claiming that her sons would be more wealthy than the richest men in England.

Sensing his impending death, on December 12, 1909, King Leopold II and Caroline were married in a religious ceremony at the Palace of Laeken. However, no civil ceremony was held – a requirement under Belgian law – and the marriage was not deemed legal. Five days later, King Leopold died, with Caroline and their two sons by his side.

Château de Balincourt. photo: by Chatsam – personal work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38501219

Knowing she would no longer be welcome within the Belgian royal family, Caroline quickly moved on with her life. Just seven months after Leopold’s death, she married her former lover, Antoine-Emmanuel Durrieux, who helped her negotiate through the financial arrangements left for her by King Leopold II. Durrieux adopted her two sons, but the marriage soon ended.

She then lived a quieter life, often in the company of her elder son, and spending time at her various homes around Europe. In 1937, she published her memoirs, and on February 12, 1948, she died in Cambo-les-Bains, France. She is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin, Lover of Catherine II (the Great) of Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Credit – Wikipedia

Patronymics

  • In Russian, a patronymic is the second name derived from the father’s first name: the suffix -vich means “son of” and the suffixes -eva, -evna, -ova, and -ovna mean “daughter of”.

The term “Potemkin Village” derives from Grigory Potemkin. It has come to mean, especially in a political context, any hollow or false construct, physical or figurative, meant to hide an undesirable or potentially damaging situation. The term comes from stories of a fake portable village built solely to impress Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia, by her former lover Grigory Potemkin, during her journey to the Crimea in 1787.

Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin was born in the village of Chizhovo near Smolensk, Russia on October 11, 1739. He was the youngest of the six children and the only son of Alexander Vasilyevich Potemkin and Daria Vasilyevna Kondyreva.

Grigory had five older sisters:

  • Elena Alexandrovna Potemkina (1724–1775), married Vasily Andreyevich Engelhardt, had two sons and six daughters, the famous Potemkin Nieces, who were court favorites during the reigns of Catherine II and her son Paul I
  • Marya Alexandrovna Potemkina, married Nikolai Borisovich Samoilov, had two children
  • Piełagieja Alexandrovna Potemkina, married Peter Egorovich Vysotsky, had four children
  • Daria Alexandrovna Potemkina, married Alexander Alexandrovich Likhachev, no children
  • Nadzieżda Alexandrovna Potemkina (1738–1757), unmarried

Grigory’s father, a decorated war veteran who served as a non-commissioned officer in the Russian Army, came from a family of middle-income noble landowners. After his father died in 1746, Grigory’s mother moved the family to Moscow to aid her only son in establishing a career. Seven-year-old Grigory attended the Johann Philipp Litke School, the first private boarding school in Moscow where he was taught in German. He then attended the University Gymnasium, a secondary school that was part of the Imperial Moscow University. Grigory entered Imperial Moscow University in 1755. In 1756, he was awarded a gold medal for his achievements in science, and in 1757, he was one of the top twelve students sent to St. Petersburg to be introduced to Elizabeth I, Empress of All Russia. Despite his achievements, Grigory was expelled from Imperial Moscow University in 1760 for laziness and non-attendance at classes.

Grigory had enlisted in the army in 1750 at age eleven, which was customary for noble children, with active service postponed until his education was completed. After being expelled from the university, Grigory began his service with the Imperial Guards Horse Regiment as a non-commissioned officer. In 1761, Grigory was promoted to vahmistra, the highest rank for non-commissioned officers. This rank was essentially a commander who assisted the squadron commander with drill training and organization. In March 1762, became an aide-de-camp to the Colonel of the Imperial Guards Horse Regiment, Field Marshal Prince George Ludwig of Holstein-Gottorp, the second cousin once removed of Peter III, Emperor of All Russia and uncle of Peter’s wife and Grigory’s future lover, the future Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia.

In 1762, Grigory’s regiment took part in the coup d’etat that overthrew Peter III and placed his wife on the Russian throne. Allegedly, as Catherine reviewed her troops in front of the Winter Palace before the coup d’etat, she lacked a sword knot, a tassel attached to the hilt of a sword, and Grigory quickly supplied her with one. Potemkin’s horse then refused to leave her side for several minutes before returning to the ranks. After the coup d’etat, Empress Catherine singled out Potemkin for reward and promoted him to second lieutenant. Catherine then gave him a position in her household as a gentleman of the bedchamber, with Grigory retaining his post in the Imperial Guards Horse Regiment.

Two of the five Orlov Brothers: Alexei and Catherine’s lover Grigory; Credit – Wikipedia

Catherine’s lover Grigory Orlov and his four brothers, who had organized the coup d’etat, dominated court life. However, Catherine encouraged Potemkin’s flirtatious behavior, including kissing her hand and declaring his love for her. For eleven years, from 1761 – 1772, Catherine had been faithful to Grigory Orlov. In 1772, Orlov’s enemies, led by Nikita Ivanovich Panin, a statesman and political mentor to Catherine, were attempting to break up the relationship between Orlov and Catherine. They informed Catherine that Grigory had been unfaithful to her.  A handsome young officer, Alexander Semyonovich Vasilchikov, was installed as Catherine’s new lover and Orlov was made to leave the court. However, Vasilchikov did not last long as he was replaced by Grigory Potemkin.

Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia, 1772; Credit – Wikipedia

Grigory and Catherine had known each other since 1762 but their sexual relationship began in the spring of 1774 when Grigory was 34 and Catherine was 44. There is some evidence that a secret wedding took place in the summer or fall of 1774, or in early January 1775, and that Grigory and Catherine had a daughter Elizaveta Grigorievna Temkina, born July 24, 1775. However, there is no documentation of a marriage or the birth of a daughter. By late 1775, their relationship was changing and in early 1776, Catherine took her official secretary Count Peter Vasilievich Zavadovsky as her lover as a buffer for her stormy relationship with Grigory.

In public, courtiers saw no change except now it was Zavadovsky who escorted Catherine to her private apartments each night instead of Grigory. Grigory remained at the Winter Palace, was always present when Catherine appeared, and they seem no less affectionate in public. However, Zavadovsky was jealous and demanded that Catherine give him exclusive intimacy. Grigory, who had initially approved of Zavadovsky, asked for his removal. To make his point, he stayed away from Catherine’s birthday celebrations. Eventually, Grigory got his way. In the summer of 1777, Zavadovsky was asked to leave the palace.

Grigory Potemkin in 1790; Credit – Wikipedia

Grigory and Catherine worked out a new relationship that preserved their affection toward each other and their political collaborations but allowed each of them to choose other sexual partners. That relationship lasted until Grigoryi died. He is considered Catherine’s great love. Catherine obtained for him the title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire and gave him the title of Prince of the Russian Empire. He was Grand Admiral of the Black Sea Fleet, Field Marshal of the Russian Army, and Governor-General of New Russia. Grigory served as a diplomat, was a member of the Imperial Council and president of the War College. He built the Black Sea Fleet and founded the cities of Sevastopol and Kherson in the Crimea. Grigoryi’s achievements include the peaceful annexation of the Crimea and the successful Russo-Turkish War.

While traveling from Russia to Jassy in Moldavia, now in Romania, to negotiate the Treaty of Jassy ending the Russo-Turkish War, Grigoryi became ill with a fever. He had contracted malaria in the Crimea in 1783 and his symptoms showed a reoccurrence of malaria. Grigory refused to take quinine or other medicines the doctor accompanying him prescribed. Like Catherine, Grigoryi believed his body would heal itself. When his entourage reached Jassy, his aides sent for his niece Countess Alexandra Branitskaya in Poland, hoping she could convince her uncle to follow the doctor’s advice. Catherine eagerly waited for messages about Grigoryi’s condition and ordered his niece to write to her every day.

Death of Potemkin, 1793 engraving; Credit – Wikipedia

Grigory was bothered by the humid air in Jassy and requested to be moved to Nikolaev in the southern part of Ukraine where he thought the cooler air would do him good. On the day he left Jassy, he dictated his last letter to Catherine: “Your most gracious Majesty. I have no more strength to endure my torments. My only remaining salvation is to leave this town and I have ordered myself to be taken to Nikolaev. I do not know what is to become of me.” Grigory was then carried to a carriage to begin the trip to Nikolaev. After traveling only a few miles, Grigory could not breathe. He was carried into a nearby house where he spent the night. In the morning, he requested that the journey continue. However, after only seven miles, Grigory ordered the carriage to stop. He said, “This will be enough. There is no point in going on. Take me out of the carriage. I want to die on the field! ” Grigory was taken from the carriage, laid on a Persian carpet, and died in the arms of his niece on October 16, 1791, at the age of 52.

Catherine received the news via courier a week later and collapsed saying, “Now I have no one left on whom I can rely. How can anyone replace Potemkin?” Days passed and the same report came from Catherine’s secretary, “Tears and despair, tears and more tears.”

Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin was buried at the Cathedral of St. Catherine in Kherson, now in Ukraine, the city he had founded in the Crimea on the Black Sea in 1778. In October 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces removed the remains of Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin from the Cathedral of St. Catherine. It is thought that the remains were transported to Russia.

Tomb of Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin at the Cathedral of St. Catherine in Kherson, now in Ukraine; Credit – By Alexey M. – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78690594

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Grigory Potemkin. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigory_Potemkin> [Accessed 19 July 2020].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2018. Catherine II (The Great), Empress Of All Russia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/empress-catherine-ii-the-great-of-russia/> [Accessed 9 July 2020].
  • Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
  • Massie, Robert, (2016). Catherine the Great. London: Head of Zeus.
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2020. Потёмкин, Григорий Александрович. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%91%D0%BC%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BD,_%D0%93%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87> [Accessed 19 July 2020].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2020. Свадьба Екатерины II И Потёмкина. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%B4%D1%8C%D0%B1%D0%B0_%D0%95%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%8B_II_%D0%B8_%D0%9F%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%91%D0%BC%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0> [Accessed 19 July 2020].

King Norodom Suramarit of Cambodia

by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Coronation of King Norodom Suramarit of Cambodia; Credit – Wikipedia

Note: In Cambodian naming practices, the surname comes first. The king’s surname is Norodom and his first name is Suramarit, so he will be referred to as Suramarit.

Norodom Suramarit, the father of King Norodom Sihanouk, reigned as King of Cambodia from 1955 -1960. Suramarit was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, then in the French Protectorate of Cambodia, on March 6, 1896. He was the son of half-siblings, Prince Norodom Sutharot of Cambodia (1872–1945) and Princess Norodom Phangangam of Cambodia (1874–1944), both children of King Norodom Prohmbarirak of Cambodia but by different mothers.

Suramarit had five younger siblings:

  • Princess Norodom Akasaniya (1892 – 1907), died by suicide
  • Princess Norodom Raksmey-Sophon (1895 – 1971)
  • Princess Norodom Phavarith (1896 – ?)
  • Princess Norodom Yinglek (1900 – ?)
  • Prince Norodom Rasspong (born 1909 – ?)

At the time of his birth, Suramarit’s grandfather Norodom Prohmbarirak was the King of Cambodia. When his grandfather died in 1904, his grandfather’s half-brother Sisowath Chamchakrapong became King of Cambodia and reigned until his death in 1941 when his son, Sisowath Monivong became King of Cambodia. Suramarit grew up at the court of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh and was educated at French schools in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Saigon, Vietnam, both in French Indochina.

Suramarit married three times. In 1920, he married Princess Sisowath Kossamak of Cambodia  (1904 – 1975), daughter of King Sisowath Monivong of Cambodia. They had one son:

Suramarit married Princess Maduratna Duong Mathuret but they had no children

Suramarit married Kim-An Yeap (Khun Devi Kanha Subiya Yeap) (1925 – 1995). They had three children:

  • Princess Norodom Vichara (1946 – 2013), married (1) Tep Sombana, no children, divorced (2) Yves Dumont, had one son
  • Prince Norodom Sirivudh (born 1951), married (1) Keo Kosey, had one son, divorced (2) Christine Angèle Alfsen, one son and two daughters, divorced (3) Princess Norodom Norodom Veasna Diva of Cambodia
  • Prince Norodom Preyasophon (born 1954), married Princess Vinayika Sisowath Vinak of Cambodia, had one son and one daughter

When King Sisowath Monivong died in 1941, the French originally wanted Suramarit to succeed him. However, Sisowath Monil, the son of King Sisowath Monivong, believed that he was the legal heir to the throne. The two royal families of Cambodia, the House of Norodom and the House of Sisowath, quarreled over the right to the throne. Finally, Jean Decoux, Governor-General of French Indochina, chose Suramarit’s 18-year-old son Norodom Sihanouk to be King of Cambodia because he was descended from both royal families.

Embed from Getty Images 
King Norodom Suramarit and Queen Sisowath Kossamak in the throne room of the Pnom Penh Royal Palace a few days before the official coronation on March 7, 1955

Suramarit’s son King Norodom Sihanouk decided to abdicate in 1955 so he could directly participate in politics. He reverted to the title of Prince and was succeeded by his father Suramarit as King of Cambodia. Sihanouk’s political party Sangkum won the general elections in 1955 and he became Prime Minister of Cambodia. The reign of King Suramarit was a peaceful one due to Prime Minister Norodom Sihanouk’s powerful political leadership and strict neutral policy.

After a long illness, King Norodom Suramarit died on April 3, 1960, aged 64, at Chaktomuk Hall, Khemarin Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Suramit’s ashes were buried in a stupa at Wat Preah Keo Morakot (Silver Pagoda) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Following Suramarit’s death in 1960, his son Norodom Sihanouk again became head of state although he did not formally regain the title of King of Cambodia until 1993, after periods of exile and other governments in power.

Stupa of King Norodom Suramarit; Credit – By Olaf Tausch – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46687777

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Norodom Suramarit. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norodom_Suramarit> [Accessed 16 August 2020].
  • Royalark.net. 2020. Cambodian Royal Genealogy. [online] Available at: <https://www.royalark.net/Cambodia/camboa14.htm> [Accessed 16 August 2020].
  • https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norodom_Suramarit
  • Zh.wikipedia.org. 2020. 诺罗敦·苏拉玛里特. [online] Available at: <https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%AF%BA%E7%BD%97%E6%95%A6%C2%B7%E8%8B%8F%E6%8B%89%E7%8E%9B%E9%87%8C%E7%89%B9> [Accessed 16 August 2020].

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Credit – Wikipedia

Norodom Sihanouk reigned as King of Cambodia during two periods, 1941 – 1955 and 1993 – 2004. During his lifetime, Cambodia was the French Protectorate of Cambodia (until 1953), the Kingdom of Cambodia (1953 – 1970), the Khmer Republic (1970 – 1975), Democratic Kampuchea (1975 – 1979), the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (1979 -1993), and again the Kingdom of Cambodia (from 1993). Norodom Sihanouk also served as Prime Minister of Cambodia eight times between 1945 – 1962, Chief of State of Cambodia (1960 – 1970 and in 1993), and as President of the State Presidium of Democratic Kampuchea (1975 – 1976).

Note: In Cambodian naming practices, the surname comes first. The king’s surname is Norodom and his first name is Sihanouk, so he will be referred to as Sihanouk for the rest of the article.

Norodom Sihanouk was born on October 31, 1922, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, then in French Indochina. He was the only child of Norodom Suramarit, King of Cambodia from 1955 – 1960 and Princess Sisowath Kossamak of Cambodia, daughter of King Sisowath Monivong of Cambodia and his wife Prince Norodom Kanviman Norleak Tevi.

Sihanouk had three half-siblings from his father’s third marriage to Kim-An Yeap (Khun Devi Kanha Subiya Yeap):

  • Princess Norodom Vichara (1946 – 2013), married (1) Tep Sombana, no children, divorced (2) Yves Dumont, had one son
  • Prince Norodom Sirivudh (born 1951), married (1) Keo Kosey, had one son, divorced (2) Christine Angèle Alfsen, one son and two daughters, divorced (3) Princess Norodom Norodom Veasna Diva of Cambodia
  • Prince Norodom Preyasophon (born 1954), married Princess Vinayika Sisowath Vinak of Cambodia, had one son and one daughter

Sihanouk received his primary education at François Baudoin School and Nuon Moniram School in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. In 1936, Sihanouk was sent to Saigon, French Indochina, now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for his secondary education at Lycée Chasseloup Laubat.

King Norodom Sihanouk in his coronation regalia; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 23, 1941, King Sisowath Monivong of Cambodia, Sihanouk’s maternal grandfather died. At the time, Cambodia was still a French protectorate and the French originally wanted Sihanouk’s father Norodom Suramarit to succeed him. However, Sisowath Monil, the son of King Sisowath Monivong, believed that he was the legal heir to the throne. The two royal families of Cambodia, the House of Norodom and the House of Sisowath, quarreled over the right to the throne. Finally, Jean Decoux, Governor-General of French Indochina, chose Suramarit’s 18-year-old son Norodom Sihanouk to be King of Cambodia because he was descended from both royal families. Sihanouk’s appointment as king was formalized by the Cambodian Crown Council and his coronation ceremony took place on May 13, 1941.

During World War II, Japan occupied Cambodia. After the end of the war, Sihanouk worked to gain Cambodia’s independence from France which was achieved in 1953. Sihanouk decided to abdicate in 1955 so he could directly participate in politics. He reverted to the title of Prince and was succeeded by his father Norodom Suramarit as King of Cambodia. Sihanouk’s political party Sangkum won the general elections in 1955 and he became Prime Minister of Cambodia.

Embed from Getty Images

Sihanouk was ousted by the Cambodian Coup of 1970. He fled to China and North Korea and formed a government-in-exile and resistance movement. He encouraged Cambodians to fight the new government and backed the Khmer Rouge during the Cambodian Civil War. Khmer Rouge was the name that was given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea. Kampuchea was name Cambodia was known from 1975 – 1990. The Khmer Rouge regime was highly autocratic, totalitarian, xenophobic, paranoid, and repressive. During the regime, hundreds of thousands of political opponents of the Khmer Rouge were murdered and its racist emphasis on national purity resulted in the genocide of Cambodian minorities. In 1975, after the Khmer Rouge’s victory, Sihanouk returned to Cambodia as a figurehead head of state. His relations with the new government declined and in 1976 he resigned. Sihanouk was placed under house arrest until the Vietnamese forces overthrew the Khmer Rouge in 1979 and the People’s Republic of Kampuchea was formed.

Sihanouk once again went into exile and founded the National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia, a royalist political party in Cambodia. After a long period of work and negotiations, the 1991 Paris Peace Accords were signed and the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) was established the following year. The UNTAC organized the 1993 Cambodian general elections, and a coalition government, jointly led by Sihanouk’s son Norodom Ranariddh and Hun Sen, was formed. A new constitution came into effect on September 24, 1993, and Sihanouk was reinstated as the King of Cambodia.

Embed from Getty Images
Norodom Sihanouk and his sixth wife Princess Monique in 1973

Sihanouk was married six times and had fourteen children. During the Khmer Rouge years, one of his wives, five of his children, and fourteen of his grandchildren disappeared. It is believed they were killed by the Khmer Rouge.

Wife 1: Phat Kanhol (1920 – 1969): A performer with the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, she married Sihanouk in 1941 and had one son and one daughter. Because of her background, the marriage was not recognized by the royal family. Under pressure from his grandfather, Sihanouk divorced Phat Kanhol in 1943. She remarried in 1944.

Wife 2: Princess Sisowath Pongsanmoni (1929 – 1974): The daughter of King Monivong, she married Sihanouk in 1941 and had four sons and three daughters. The marriage ended in divorce in 1951 and she remarried a lieutenant colonel.

  • Prince Norodom Yuvaneath (1943 – 2021), had two wives and six children
  • Norodom Ravivong (1944 – 1973), died from malaria
  • Prince Norodom Chakrapong (born 1945), had seven wives and thirteen children
  • Norodom Sorya Roeungsi (1947 – 1976), disappeared under Khmer Rouge regime
  • Norodom Kantha Bopha (1948 – 1952), died from leukemia
  • Norodom Khemanourak (1949 – 1975), disappeared under Khmer Rouge regime
  • Norodom Botum Bopha (1951 – 1975), disappeared under Khmer Rouge regime

Wife 3: Princess Sisowath Monikessan (1929 – 1946): The daughter of King Monivong, she married Sihanouk in 1944. After giving birth to a son in 1946, she died from childbirth complications

Wife 4: Mam Manivan Phanivong (1934 -1975): She met Sihanouk at a dance party in Vientiane, Laos and they married in 1949 and had two daughters. After the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh in 1975, Mam and her elder daughter disappeared and were most likely killed by the Khmer Rouge.

  • Princess Norodom Sujata (1953 – 1975), disappeared under Khmer Rouge regime
  • Princess Norodom Arunrasmy (born 1955), had two husbands and five children

Wife 5: Princess Norodom Thavet Norleak (1927 – 2019): Sihanouk’s aunt and cousin, she married him in 1955 and became the official First Lady of Cambodia. They had no children and divorced in 1968.

Queen Mother Norodom Monineath and her son King Norodom Sihamoni in 2013; Credit – Wikipedia

Wife: Norodom Monineath  (born 1936): She was born Paule-Monique Izzi, the daughter of a French banker and a Cambodian woman. Sihanouk privately married her in 1952 and an official marriage took place in 1955. First known as Princess Monique, she took the name Monineath after Sihanouk divorced Norodom Thavet Norleak in 1968. After the abdication of her husband in 2012 and the accession of her son as King of Cambodia, she was styled Queen Mother of Cambodia.

Citing his poor health, Sihanouk announced his second abdication in October 2004. Unlike most monarchies, the succession to the Cambodian throne is not hereditary. The monarch is elected for life by the Royal Council of the Throne, made up of members of the royal family, government officials, and religious figures. Upon his Sihanouk’s abdication, his son Norodom Sihamoni was unanimously elected as the next King of Cambodia on October 14, 2004. After his second abdication, Sihanouk became known as the King Father of Cambodia.

In August 2009, Sihanouk stated that he would stop posting messages on his website as he was getting old, making it difficult for him to keep up with his duties. From 2009 – 2011, Sihanouk spent most of his time in Beijing, China for treatment of colon cancer, diabetes, and hypertension. He returned to Cambodia in 2011 and made his last public appearance on October 30, 2011, celebrating his 89th birthday and the 20th anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords. Although Sihanouk intended to remain in Cambodia, he returned to Beijing in January 2012 on the advice of his Chinese doctors. A few months, later Sihanouk said he would not return to Cambodia for his 90th birthday. On October 15, 2012, Sihanouk died of a heart attack in Beijing, sixteen days before his 90th birthday.

Embed from Getty Images
King Norodom Sihamoni son of the late former King Norodom Sihanouk, and his mother, Queen Norodom Monineath grieve during the cremation ceremony on February 4, 2013

Sihanouk’s body was transported back to Cambodia on an Air China flight. 1.2 million people lined the streets of Phnom Penh between the airport and the palace. Sihanouk’s funeral and cremation were scheduled for February 2013. His body lay in state at the royal palace until February 1, 2013, when it was taken to the royal crematorium. Many foreign dignitaries gathered in Phnom Penh for the funeral and the cremation. On February 4, 2013, Sihanouk’s body was cremated. The next day, the royal family scattered some of Sihanouk’s ashes into the Tonlé Sap, a freshwater lake and an attached river that connects the lake to the Mekong River. The remainder of the ashes were kept in the palace’s throne room until July 2014, when Sihanouk’s ashes were interred in a stupa at the Silver Pagoda in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, next to the ashes of his daughter Princess Kantha Bopha who had died in 1952 when she was four-years-old from leukemia.

Stupa of Princess Kantha Bopha where the ashes of her father King Norodom Sihanouk were interred; Credit – By Engsamnang – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7582446

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Death And State Funeral Of Norodom Sihanouk. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_state_funeral_of_Norodom_Sihanouk> [Accessed 16 August 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Norodom Sihanouk. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norodom_Sihanouk> [Accessed 16 August 2020].
  • Royalark.net. 2020. Cambodian Royal Genealogy. [online] Available at: <https://www.royalark.net/Cambodia/camboa18.htm> [Accessed 16 August 2020].
  • Zh.wikipedia.org. 2020. 诺罗敦·西哈努克. [online] Available at: <https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%AF%BA%E7%BD%97%E6%95%A6%C2%B7%E8%A5%BF%E5%93%88%E5%8A%AA%E5%85%8B#%E5%AE%B6%E5%BA%AD> [Accessed 16 August 2020].

Arcadie Claret, Mistress of King Leopold I of the Belgians

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Arcadie Claret was the mistress of King Leopold I of the Belgians from around 1842 until the King’s death in 1865.

Arcadie Claret, Baroness von Eppinghoven. source: Wikipedia

Marie Anne Arcadie Eugénie Claret was born in Brussels on May 30, 1826, one of thirteen children of Major Charles-Joseph Claret and Henriette Neetesonne. Her father was a veteran of Napoleon’s army and the treasurer of the Ministry of War’s Fund for Widows and Orphans of the Belgian Army.

Leopold I of the Belgians. source: Wikipedia

Arcadie was just in her late teens when she became the mistress of King Leopold I. The King moved her into a grand house in Saint-Josse-ten-Node near Brussels, where he visited often. Because their relationship became publicly known and widely discussed in the press, Leopold arranged a marriage between Arcadie and Ferdinand Meyer, his Master of the Stable and friend. This marriage of convenience took place in 1845, and provided some relief from the intense speculation about Arcadie and her relationship with Leopold. Arcadie and Leopold had two sons together, although both were registered as the children of her husband, and given the surname Meyer:

Georg Meyer, Baron von Eppinghoven. source: Wikipedia

  • Georg Meyer, Baron von Eppinghoven (November 14, 1849-February 3, 1904) – born at the monastery of Saint-Joseph des Filles de la Croix in Liège, served as an officer in the Prussian Army. He and his wife, Anna Brust (a former chambermaid of his mother’s), had three children. They lived primarily at the family farm in Langenfeld before his death in Monheim in 1904.

Arthur Meyer, Baron von Eppinghoven. source: Wikipedia

  • Arthur Meyer, Baron von Eppinghoven (September 25, 1852 – November 9, 1940) – born at the Château de Stuyvenberg Laken, served as Grand Marshal of the Grand Ducal Court of Coburg. He and his wife, Anna Harris, had one daughter. After the fall of the German monarchies in 1918, he returned to Belgium, formally changing his surname to von Eppinghoven, and took Belgian citizenship. He received some financial support from his half-nephew, King Albert I of the Belgians, and is buried near the Royal Crypt in the cemetery of Laeken.

The subject of intense criticism following the birth of her first child, Arcadie left Belgium in late 1850, just days before King Leopold’s wife, Queen Louise Marie, died. After living for a year in Germany, Arcadie returned to Belgium in the fall of 1851, determined to maintain a much more discreet profile. With financial help from Leopold, she purchased the Château de Stuyvenberg for 80,000 francs, just steps from the Palace of Laeken. Over the next few years, she had the Château enlarged to provide a home for her mother and several siblings as well as her own family. Here, the King would often visit each day, enjoying a quiet family life with Arcadie and their sons.

In addition to purchasing Stuyvenberg, Arcadie also received a farmhouse in Monheim, Germany, from the King in 1851. A modest residence – originally an abbey farm named Eppinghoven – Arcadie soon had a more substantial castle built in its place. Following the King’s death, she would spend the remainder of her life there.

Château de Stuyvenberg. source: Wikipedia

In 1862, a year after Arcadie and her husband formally separated, the King sought to secure the future of their sons. His attempts to have them elevated to the Belgian nobility were denied by the government, so he instead asked his nephew, Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, to establish noble titles within the Coburg nobility. Both George and Arthur were created Baron von Eppinghoven in 1862, and the following year, Arcadie was also elevated to Baroness von Eppinghoven. And in 1870, Arcadie purchased a farm – the Langfort Domain – in Langenfeld for her sons – once again with the help of King Leopold and his generosity.

During the relationship, which lasted over 20 years, Arcadie and King Leopold were devoted to each other. She often accompanied him on his travels and visits abroad and maintained a very peaceful and quiet home for the King when in Belgium. Stuyvenberg became a refuge for him from the stresses of his role.

Following the King’s death in December 1865, Arcadie no longer found herself no longer welcome within the royal family. Within days of his death, she and her sons left Brussels and settled at her castle in Monheim. Despite leaving, she maintained ownership of Stuyvenberg for the next 24 years before finally selling it – through an intermediary – to King Leopold II who later transferred it to the Royal Trust.

Arcadie Claret Meyer, Baroness von Eppinghoven, lived a quiet and private life in Monheim for the next 31 years before passing away there on January 13, 1897.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

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Count Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov, Lover of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2020

Count Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov; Credit – Wikipedia

Patronymics

  • In Russian, a patronymic is the second name derived from the father’s first name: the suffix -vich means “son of” and the suffixes -eva, -evna, -ova, and -ovna mean “daughter of”.

Count Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov and his four brothers organized the coup d’etat that overthrew the husband of Catherine II the Great, Empress of All Russia, and gave her the throne of the Russian Empire.

Count Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov was the second of the five surviving sons of Grigory Ivanovich Orlov and Lukerya Ivanovna Zinovieva. He was born on October 17, 1734, at his father’s estate in the village of Lyutkino of the Bezhetsky Uyezd in the Tver Governorate in the European part of the Russian Empire. His father Grigory Ivanovich Orlov served in the Russian army and attained the rank of Major-General. After he retired from the army, Grigory Ivanovich was appointed Governor of Novgorod with the rank of State Councilor.

Grigory Grigoryevich had one older brother and four younger brothers, Collectively, they were known as the Orlov Brothers:

  • Ivan Grigorievich Orlov (1733-1791), married Elizaveta Fyodorovna Rtishcheva, no children
  • Alexei Grigorievich Orlov (1737-1808), married Evdokia Nikolaevna Lopukhina, had one son and one daughter
  • Fedor Grigorievich Orlov (1741-1796), unmarried but had six illegitimate six sons and two illegitimate daughters, who were later legitimized by Empress Catherine II
  • Mikhail Grigorievich Orlov (born1742), died in infancy
  • Vladimir Grigorievich Orlov (1743-1831), married Elizaveta Ivanovna Stackelberg, had two sons and four daughters

Grigory Grigoryevich was raised in Moscow where he was educated at home. In 1749, as a 15-year-old, he enlisted in the Semyonovsky Lifeguard Regiment. By 1757, he was an officer and took part in the Seven Years’ War. He refused to leave the battlefield at the Battle of Zorndorf after being wounded three times which gained much respect from his fellow soldiers. In 1759, he was transferred to St. Petersburg where he joined the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Grigory’s transfer to the Preobrazhensky Regiment increased his popularity in St. Petersburg society. His good looks and physical qualities attracted the attention of Grand Duchess Ekaterina (Catherine) Alexeievna.

Grand Duchess Ekaterina (Catherine) Alexeievna, born Princess Sophie Auguste Friederike of Anhalt-Zerbst; Credit – Wikipedia

Grand Duchess Ekaterina (Catherine) Alexeievna, born Princess Sophie Auguste Friederike of Anhalt-Zerbst, was the wife of Grand Duke Peter Feodorovich (the future Peter III, Emperor of All Russia), the heir to the Russian throne. Peter’s maternal aunt Elizabeth, Empress of All Russia, the daughter of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia, was unmarried. Peter had been born Prince Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp, the son of Karl Friedrich, reigning Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia, the elder of the two surviving daughters of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia. Peter’s mother died at the age of 20, three months after his birth. His father died when Peter was eleven-years-old and he became the reigning Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. Three years later, in 1742, Peter’s life dramatically changed when his unmarried maternal aunt, his mother’s younger sister, Elizabeth, Empress of All Russia, declared him her heir and brought him to St. Petersburg, Russia.

Peter and Catherine’s marriage was not happy, and both had lovers. In 1754, Catherine had given birth to a son, the future Paul I, Emperor of All Russia. However, it is quite possible that Paul’s father was not Peter but Catherine’s lover Sergei Saltykov. By 1759, Catherine and Grigory had become lovers but no one told Catherine’s husband Peter. In the summer of 1761, Catherine became pregnant with Grigory’s child and concealed her pregnancy from her husband.

Grigory and Catherine’s son Alexei Grigoryevich Bobrinsky; Credit – Wikipedia

During Catherine’s pregnancy, Empress Elizabeth suffered a massive stroke and died on January 5, 1762. Her nephew and Catherine’s husband became Peter III, Emperor of All Russia, and Catherine became the Empress Consort. Catherine gave birth to a son on April 22, 1762, at the Summer Palace in St. Petersburg. Immediately after the birth, the child, named Alexei Grigoryevich Bobrinsky was given to Catherine’s wardrobe master Vasily Grigorievich Shkurin to be raised with his family.

Catherine and Peter; Credit – Wikipedia

Peter was unpopular and few were looking forward to his reign. After he became Emperor of All Russia, Peter did little to win the support of Empress Elizabeth’s friends and courtiers. His foreign policy also did little to win supporters. The last straw for Peter may have been how he treated the Russian army. Peter abolished “the guard within the guard”, a group within the Preobrazhensky Regiment, created by Empress Elizabeth as her personal guard in remembrance for their support in the coup which brought her to the throne. He replaced “the guard within the guard” with his own Holstein guard and often spoke about their superiority over the Russian army.

A conspiracy to overthrow Peter and place Catherine on the throne was planned and centered around the five Orlov brothers, with Grigory, Catherine’s lover, and Alexei being the main conspirators. On July 9, 1762 (June 29 in Old Style, the feast day of St. Peter and Paul), at Peterhof, a celebration on the occasion of Peter’s name day was planned. It was no coincidence that the conspirators chose this time for their attack. The day before, Peter was to travel from Oranienbaum to Peterhof. The brothers Alexei Orlov and Grigory Orlov made preparations during the weeks before the planned celebration. With threats and bribes of vodka and money, the Orlov brothers set up the guards against Peter.

Alexei and Grigory Orlov in the 1770s; Credit – Wikipedia

Peter was late leaving Oranienbaum due to a hangover and his daily habit of reviewing his Holstein troops. He was to meet Catherine at Peterhof but she was not there when he arrived. Eventually, Peter and the few advisers he had with him began to suspect what was happening. Peter sent members of his entourage to St. Petersburg to find out what was happening but none returned. He learned that Catherine had proclaimed herself Catherine II, Empress of All Russia, and that the senior government officials, the clergy, and all the Guards supported her.

Peter ordered his Holstein guards to take up defensive positions at Peterhof. They did so but were afraid to tell Peter they had no cannonballs to fire. Peter thought about fleeing but was told that there were no horses available because his entourage had all arrived in carriages. Learning that Catherine and the Guards were approaching Peterhof, Peter made a desperate decision to sail Kronstadt, a fortress on an island. Upon arrival, Peter was refused admittance because all those in the fortress had sworn allegiance to Catherine. Peter rejected the advice of his advisors to go to the Prussian army and returned to Oranienbaum.

Peter and his Holstein guards were behind the gates at Oranienbaum when Alexei Orlov and his men surrounded Oranienbaum. Peter sent a message that he would renounce the throne if he, his mistress, and his favorite Russian general were allowed to go to Holstein. Catherine sent Grigori Orlov and a Russian general to Oranienbaum insisting that Peter must write out a formal announcement of abdication in his own handwriting. Grigori Orlov was to deal with the abdication and the general was to lure Peter out of Oranienbaum and back to Peterhof to prevent any bloodshed. Grigori Orlov rode back to Peterhof with the signed abdication announcement and the general convinced Peter to go to Peterhof and beg Catherine for mercy. Upon arrival at Peterhof, Peter was arrested and taken by Alexei Orlov to Ropsha Palace, a country estate outside of St. Petersburg.

Catherine had to deal with the same dilemma that Empress Elizabeth had to deal with regarding Ivan VI who she had deposed – keeping a former emperor around was a threat to her throne. Catherine intended to send Peter to Shlisselburg Fortress where Ivan VI, who had been deposed in 1741 as an infant, was still imprisoned. However, Catherine did not have to deal with a living deposed emperor for long.

One thing was certain – Peter was dead. He died at the age of 34 on July 17, 1762, at Ropsha Palace. What is uncertain is how he died. In the early afternoon of July 17, 1762, Peter was invited to dine with Alexei Orlov and Prince Feodor Baryatinsky, one of the officers of his guards. At 6:00 PM, a rider from Ropsha Palace reached St. Petersburg with a letter from Alexei Orlov for Catherine. Orlov wrote: “At dinner he [Peter] started quarreling and struggling with Prince Baryatinsky at the table. Before we could separate them, he was dead. We ourselves know not what we did. But we are equally guilty and deserve to die.”

Whether Peter’s death was planned or the result of an accidental drunken altercation is unknown. Catherine certainly benefitted from Peter’s death, which happened in the presence of Grigory Orlov, one of her key allies, and his men. The Orlov brothers and the officers guarding Peter hated him. They would have known that they were doing the new empress a favor. The official cause of Peter’s death was “a severe attack of hemorrhoidal colic.”

On the day of Catherine II’s accession to the throne, Captain Grigory Orlov was promoted to Major General, given the title of Acting Chamberlain, and received the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky and a sword richly decorated with diamonds. On October 3, 1762, the day of Catherine’s coronation, Major General Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed Catherine’s Adjutant General. In addition, Grigori and all his brothers and their descendants were given the title of Count of the Russian Empire.

Gatchina Palace; Credit – By Usadboved – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62884978

In 1765, Catherine purchased from Gatchina Manor, a small manor south of Saint Petersburg, and presented it to Grigory as gratitude for his role in the coup d’etat that brought Catherine to the throne. Catherine and Orlov commissioned a new palace to be designed by Antonio Rinaldi. Gatchina Palace was finally completed in 1781, almost 15 years after construction began, and Grigory died two years later in 1783. Catherine had taken a great liking to Gatchina Palace and so she bought it from Grigory’s heirs and presented it to her son Grand Duke Paul Petrovich, the future Emperor Paul I. Thereafter, Gatchina Palace remained popular with the Russian Imperial Family.

Grigory never distinguished himself as a statesman but acted as a private adviser during the early years of Catherine’s reign. He was particularly interested in improving the conditions of serfs and their partial emancipation. Meanwhile, Orlov’s enemies, led by Nikita Panin, a statesman and political mentor to Catherine, were attempting to break up the relationship between Orlov and Catherine. They informed Catherine that Grigory had been unfaithful to her.  A handsome young officer, Alexander Vasilchikov, was installed as Catherine’s new lover and Grigory was made to leave the court.

The Orlov Diamond in the Imperial Sceptre of Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

In an attempt to restore himself to Catherine’s affections, Grigory presented her with one of the greatest diamonds in the world, known ever since as the Orlov Diamond.  Catherine accepted the magnificent diamond and had it encrusted into the Imperial Sceptre of Russia. However, when Grigory returned to court and went, without permission, to his Marble Palace in Saint Petersburg, Orlov found another favorite, the younger Grigory Potemkin, had replaced him. Lacking a role at court, Grigori went to Switzerland for several years. In 1777, at the age of 43, Grigory married his 18-year-old second cousin Catherine Zinovyeva but they had no children. His young wife died of tuberculosis in 1781, at the age of 23, in Lausanne, Switzerland where she was buried.

Orthodox Church of St. George Monastery, the burial site of Grigory Orlov; Credit – Par Mysquarehead — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43159066

Count Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov died at Neskuchnoe, his estate near Moscow, on April 24, 1783, at the age of 48. He was buried at the Orthodox Church of St. George Monastery (link in French) in Velikiy Novgorod, Russia. Grigory’s immense fortune was left to his son with Catherine, Count Alexei Grigoryevich Bobrinsky, who had been created a Count by his half-brother Emperor Paul I.

In 1796, Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia died and her son succeeded to the throne as Paul I, Emperor of All Russia. Now as the Emperor of All Russia, Paul sought to seek revenge for the deposed and disgraced Peter III and for the coup d’etat of his mother Catherine II and the Orlov brothers.  On July 19, 1762, Peter had been buried without honors in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery in St. Petersburg. In 1796, immediately after the death of Catherine II, on the orders of her son and successor Paul I, Peter’s remains were transferred first to the church in the Winter Palace and then to the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the burial site of the Romanovs. 60-year-old Alexei Orlov was made to walk in the funeral cortege, holding the Imperial Crown as he walked in front of the coffin. Peter III was reburied in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg at the same time as the burial of his wife Catherine II. Peter III had never been crowned so at the time of his reburial, Paul I personally performed the ritual of coronation of his Peter’s remains.

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Works Cited

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  • Flantzer, Susan, 2018. Peter III, Emperor Of All Russia. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/emperor-peter-iii-of-russia/> [Accessed 9 July 2020].
  • Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
  • Massie, Robert, (2016). Catherine the Great. London: Head of Zeus.
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2020. Орлов, Григорий Григорьевич. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9E%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2,_%D0%93%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%93%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%8C%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87> [Accessed 10 July 2020].