A Grand Duke Falls in Love at First Sight

---

It’s Valentine’s Day! Let’s celebrate by eavesdropping on a grand duke’s first meeting with his future wife.

---

File Under: Just for Fun

---

Rather watch a video than read? I’ve got you covered:

---

Our victim, so to speak, is Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, the second son of Tsar Nicholas I. He experienced it the first time he met his future wife and wrote every thought and every emotion in his diary, and now I’m going to share quotes from those entries with you in this super-short post.

In September of 1846, Konstantin made a special trip to meet the girl his father thought he should marry, Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg.

He saw her for the first time on the afternoon he arrived. In his diary, he wrote, “I didn’t know what was happening to me…I have never seen anything more perfect than her in my whole life. Everything – her mouth, her nose, her lips, her hands – was wonderfully beautiful! And her eyes shone like fire. Her voice is tender, wonderfully lovely. On top of that she is very lively and funny…My heart was pounding the whole time. No, without a doubt, I don’t want anyone else but her. She must be mine.”

“I have never seen anything more perfect than her in my whole life.”

Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich

Later that afternoon, when he had a brief chance to talk to her, he pushed her chair back and brushed her hand with his. He wrote, “A hot flame ran through me.”

That night, he confessed to his diary, “I don’t know what’s happening to me, but I’m a completely different person. I’m only moved by one thought, I only have one image in my mind: Always her, my angel, my star….Only a few hours, and already I’m head over heels in love because there’s an ineffable, incomprehensible magic around her.”

The next morning, he wrote, “I almost lost my breath when we entered the room and I saw her again.”

But his visit was only meant to be a short one. The very next day, he had to leave. Of his departure, he wrote, “At the station, I said goodbye with a sad heart and kissed her hand. Until the train started moving, I looked out of the carriage to see her one last time…I involuntarily burst into tears because I love her so much, with all my heart, with all my soul, and I don’t want to share my life with anyone else.”

“…I love her so much, with all my heart, with all my soul, and I don’t want to share my life with anyone else.”

Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich

He would return to her family’s home later that month, anxious for a second glimpse of the woman he now called his morning star.

Thank you so much for reading this post. This is my Valentine’s Day tribute to you and a big thank-you for all the support readers like you have given me. I’m so happy to share my love of royal history with you.

The End

Source

Barkowz, Olga, Fjodor Fedorow, and Alexandr Krylow. “Peterhof ist ein traum…”: Deutsche Prinzessinen in Russland. Berlin: Edition Q, 2001. (Amazon affiliate link)

Affiliate Disclaimer

I’m a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This content may contain affiliate links, particularly in the Sources section. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you choose to buy using my affiliate link, the seller will pay me a small additional amount at absolutely no cost to you. Thank you for supporting The Girl in the Tiara!

---

---

You Might Also Enjoy