Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia (: – ) was a daughter of Emperor Paul I of Russia and sister of emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I. She married Archduke Joseph of Austria, Palatine (Governor) of Hungary. Her marriage was the only Romanov-Habsburg marital alliance to date.
Birth
Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna was born in Tsarskoye Selo as the third child and eldest daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia and his second wife Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg (renamed Maria Feodorovna after her wedding). The gender of the child disappointed her paternal grandmother, Empress Catherine II. She wrote:
The Empress' secretary Alexander Khrapovitsky wrote that the Empress considered the newborn Grand Duchess Alexandra very ugly, especially compared with her older brothers. The comparison with her younger sister Elena, was also unfavorable to her: the Empress noted that the six-month-old Elena was much smarter and more charming than the two-year Alexandra. However, as a gift for the birth of Alexandra, Catherine II gave her son Gatchina Palace.
Gradually the Empress started to have better feelings about her granddaughter. On 12 March 1787, she wrote to her:
In turn, Alexandra was particularly attached to her grandmother. Catherine II noted:
Education
She received the usual education of Russian princesses and was taught French and German as well as music and drawing. Alexandra was very close to her younger sister Elena, and they were often painted together.
Alexandra's upbringing, as well as her sisters, was entrusted to Charlotte von Lieven, who acted as Governess.
The older Grand Duchess was a very diligent student. In 1787, her mother proudly wrote about her four-year-old daughter, that "she continues to be diligent, making notable advances and begins to translate from German". Alexandra was fascinated by drawing and "I think she has a great talent in this art", and the music and singing, and "in these arts has found remarkable abilities".
In 1790, in her letter to the Baron von Grimm, Catherine II gave a description of her granddaughter:
Gustav IV
In 1794, the Empress began to think about the future of the Grand Duchess. Alexandra Pavlovna was eleven years old, and "that summer a girl should be considered an adult." In the letters of those years Catherine II expresses the idea of bringing to Russia "landless princes", who after marrying her granddaughters would get the position and means for life in their new homeland.
But the fate of Alexandra turned out differently. In 1792, news arrived at the Russian court regarding the murder of King Gustav III of Sweden (who was the Empress' first-cousin) and the accession to the throne of his 14-year-old son Gustav IV Adolf. Reportedly, the desire of the late Swedish monarch was to make an alliance with the Russian Imperial family by marrying his only son to one of the granddaughters of the Empress; however, according to another version, the idea of marriage belonged to the Empress, and even became one of the secret conditions of the Treaty of Värälä. The idea of this alliance was supported by the Swedish regent, the new King's uncle Charles, Duke of Södermanland.
In October 1793, on the occasion of the marriage of the Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich with Princess Louise of Baden, Count Stenbock arrived in St. Petersburg with congratulations from the Swedish court, and started the official talks about marriage. Alexandra began to learn the Swedish language, as well as to prepare to think about her future husband.
Negotiations went with varying success. In January 1794, Catherine II wrote to her first-cousin, the Duke of Södermanland:
But on two issues the parties could not reach an agreement: The religion of the future Queen and the fate of Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt, member of the conspiracy against the Swedish regent, who took refuge in Russia. In retaliation, the regent began to negotiate a marriage between Gustav IV Adolf and Duchess Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Pretending to ignore the machinations of the Swedish regent, the Empress wrote in April 1795 to Baron von Grimm:
On 1 November 1795 the Swedish court officially announced the engagement between Gustav IV Adolf and Duchess Louise Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and the official church prayer in Sweden the intended bride began to be mentioned. Catherine II stood to protect her granddaughter: