Marriage
In 1878, when Anastasia was not yet eighteen, her mother and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, wife of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, arranged her marriage with Maria's eldest brother, Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He was 27 years-old and heir to the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in northern Germany. Their grandmothers, Princesses Alexandrine and Charlotte of Prussia, were sisters, and Friedrich Franz was also a direct descendant of Tsar Paul I of Russia.
In the spring of 1878, Prince Friedrich Franz arrived in Tiflis to ask for her hand. He was rich, the heir of a German Grand Duchy and good-hearted, but had delicate health, suffered from asthma, a rash and a weak heart. The engagement was resented by Anastasia's brothers, who did not want to be separated from her. Anastasia herself was not happy with her fiancé, appalled by his skin condition. He used to get periodic attacks of eczema on the face and body, which confined him into complete seclusion for long periods. As was often the case with dynastic marriages, she was given no choice by her parents, who wanted to secure a good position for her. Accordingly, the betrothal was announced on 4 May, and, in October, Anastasia and her family traveled to Saint Petersburg to prepare for the wedding. The marriage took place on 24 January 1879 in the Winter Palace, and she was given away by her uncle, Tsar Alexander II; there was first an Orthodox ceremony, and then a Protestant service. The marriage was a big affair, and representatives of all the ruling houses of Europe attended.
Read more about this topic: Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna Of Russia
Famous quotes containing the word marriage:
“A marriage based on full confidence, based on complete and unqualified frankness on both sides; they are not keeping anything back; there’s no deception underneath it all. If I might so put it, it’s an agreement for the mutual forgiveness of sin.”
—Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906)
“Yes, marriage is hateful, detestable. A kind of ineffable, sickening disgust seizes my mind when I think of this most despotic, most unrequited fetter which prejudice has forged to confine its energies.”
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822)
“The economic dependence of woman and her apparently indestructible illusion that marriage will release her from loneliness and work and worry are potent factors in immunizing her from common sense in dealing with men at work.”
—Mary Barnett Gilson (1877–?)