In European ruling families, men were allowed to cheat. Their wives were to put up with this silently and invent their own ways of dealing with marital infidelity.
Europe's greatest playboy was King Edward VII of England (1841-1910), the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Although his wife, Aleksandra (1844-1925), née Danish princess, was one of the most beautiful women of that period - Edward in the family, known as Bertie, could not help but pick on other women. The choice of the wife for her son and heir was made by Queen Victoria herself, who wanted her entertaining son to settle down alongside a kind and well-mannered girl.
Edward VII and Queen Alexander in coronation dresses
The obligation to find the future daughter-in-law fell on Edward's older sister - Crown Princess Victoria, the wife of the Prussian heir to the throne, who, due to her position at the court in Berlin, often visited other German states (it is interesting that the person was not informed about this search). After receiving the assignment, the Crown Princess looked at the successive candidates and sent her mother descriptions of their appearance and character. The Queen liked neither of them.
Burying your head in the sand
At first, Alexander was not considered. Her candidacy was proposed by the lady of the court of Princess Victoria and provided a photo of the young Dunki. Everyone was charmed by Alexandra and Queen Victoria announced to Edward that his "spontaneous" meeting with his future wife would soon take place.
Bertie liked the beautiful princess, but was far from falling in love. But his imperious mother was determined:the son must marry Alexandra! Edward obediently proposed to the princess who said yes. Their wedding took place in March 1863.
Edward started cheating on his young wife very soon. He and his friends visited men's clubs where erotic entertainment was offered. He was a client of Parisian brothels. He also had permanent mistresses, among them Alice Keppel, whose great-great-granddaughter is Camilla Parker-Bowles, now wife of the British Prince Charles.
Aleksandra pretended not to know about her husband's infidelity. In order not to think about her unhappy marriage, the woman devoted all her attention to the children. She demanded unconditional love from them and made sure that they were emotionally dependent on her. She did everything to keep them with her as long as possible and not let them enter adulthood.
Olga Konstantinovna Romanova turned a blind eye to her husband's infidelity
The tactic of pretending was also adopted by the Greek Queen Olga (1851-1926), née a Russian Grand Duchess. Her marriage to King George I was made out of love (and at first sight!) And was considered happy. But over time, the royal spouse craved for diversity and began to visit Parisian brothels. He did not disdain the charms of French servants either. The humiliated queen never raised the subject of his betrayals with her husband.
Olga and Jerzy's son - Crown Prince Konstanty - was not faithful to his wife Sophia (1870-1932). What's more, he not only had fleeting love affairs, but even longer relationships. Desperate, Zofia asked her father-in-law how she should deal with her husband's betrayals, he replied: "I don't know, ask my wife about it."
Friendship of wife and mistress
The Austrian Empress Elizabeth, better known as Sisi, did not like to have sex. The reason for this was the disgust with which she was filled with physicality - both her own and someone else's. In addition, the woman did not want to have more children after giving birth to three daughters and a son, because the pregnancies deprived her of her beauty. Therefore, during their over 40-year marriage, Sissi and Franz Josef lived like brother and sister. As the emperor was a man in the prime of life and had a great temperament, there were women in his life whom Elizabeth did not blame.
Katarina Schratt and Franz Josef
In the 1880s, Sissi began to spend almost all her life traveling. She was tormented by remorse that her husband felt lonely because of her departures. In 1885, the empress began searching for ... a permanent friend for Franz Joseph. As Maria von Wallersee, Queen of Elizabeth's Court recalled, one day her superior asked, "Do you know any trustworthy woman who could spend time with the Emperor without influencing him?" Von Wallersee listed several nominations, but Sissy rejected them. One day Elizabeth remembered Katarina Schratt, an actress at the Imperial Theater in Vienna. Immediately, a supposedly accidental meeting of Franz Józef and his potential friend was organized and they liked each other. Sissi was able to leave Vienna calm about her husband's mental state.
Elizabeth was grateful to Katrina for caring for Franz Joseph, so she gave her gifts and called her "dear friend." When she was rarely in Vienna, the three of them went to the theater together. Moreover, Schratt even accompanied the imperial couple on their journeys. Elizabeth was murdered in 1898, and her husband Katarina's relationship lasted until the Emperor's death in 1916.
My husband's heartlessness
Perhaps Emperor Alexander II caused his wife Maria Alexandrovna the most suffering. Nothing foreshadowed this sad scenario, when in April 1841, 23-year-old Alexander, heir to the Russian throne, married the 16-year-old princess Maria Heska, with whom he fell in love at first sight. In 1860, Maria Aleksandrovna gave birth to her eighth child, and doctors informed her husband that another pregnancy would kill his wife, who had been diagnosed with tuberculosis. From then on, the intimate relationship between the emperor and the empress ceased, and the 41-year-old man felt absolved of his treason.
Empress Maria Alexandrovna still as happy wife
Initially, Alexander II had fleeting love affairs, but in the mid-1860s he fell in love with the noblewoman 28 years younger Ekaterina Dolgorukov. He sought her for many months. During their night together, he declared: "You are my real wife. I swear to marry you as soon as I can. ”
The emperor was literally crazy about his mistress who bore him four children. The wife felt deeply offended, the more so as tuberculosis stripped her of all her beauty over time (in the last years of her life, the Tsarina was described as a "powdered skeleton"). At the end of his wife's life, Alexander II dealt her most painful blow, bringing Ekaterina to the imperial seat - the Winter Palace! The lover and her children moved to the bedroom of Maria Alexandrovna lying in bed who was forced to listen to the sounds of the life of her husband's other family.
Maria Alexandrovna died on July 3, 1880, alone, while sleeping. Only 40 days after the death of his wife, Alexander II married Jekatierna and recognized the children born of this union. In fact, the emperor even intended to crown his newly wed wife and make their firstborn son heir to the throne! He was prevented from doing so by the death at the hands of terrorists on March 13, 1881.
Bibliography:
- Battiscombe G. Queen Alexandra. London, 1969
- Gelardi J. Born to Rule. Granddaughters of Victoria, Queens of Europe. London, 2005
- Gelardi J. The extraordinary women of the Romanovs. From greatness to revolution. Warsaw, 2012
- Hannan B. Empress Elizabeth. Warsaw, 2015
- Wiernicka V. Secrets of the Russian Tsars. Łódź, 2018