Birth of Anna Pavlovna, Russian consort of William II of the Netherlands

Birth of Anna Pavlovna, Russian consort of William II of the Netherlands

Anna Pavlovna was born on 18th January 1795, at Gatchina Palace, St, Petersburg ~ Russia.
She was the daughter of Paul I of Russia and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
Anna was just six years old when her father was assassinated, and he was succeeded by her 23-year-old brother Alexander I.

Anna was raised by her mother at the summer residence of the Romanovs, Tsarkoye Selo.
She spent her childhood there with her two younger brothers, Nicolas and Michael.
Anna was close with her younger brothers, and they even had rings to represent their close bond.

Anna spoke Russian, German and French fluently, and also taught mathematics and physics.
In her free time, she liked to paint and embroider.
Anna was considered to be a great catch, and several candidates for her hand were turned down ~ including Napoleon, the Duke of Berry, the future Ferdinand I of Austria and the Duke of Clarence.

In 1815, her brother decided William the Prince of Orange, the future King of the Netherlands., would be Anna’s groom.
William travelled to St. Petersburg to meet Anna.
Though Anna considered herself to be above him in birth, the meeting went well, and she agreed to marry him.
With Anna’s dowry was settled at 1 million rubles, Anna could remain Russian Orthodox as long as any children they would have were raised as Protestants.

Anna and William were married on 21st February 1816, and they arrived in the Netherlands in August of that same year.
Anna was now titled ‘Her Imperial Highness and Royal Highness Princess of Orange’.
William was popular in Brussels, and Anne enjoyed the Brussels court life.

Between 1817 and 1824 Anna gave birth to five children, William, Alexander, Henry, Ernst Casimir and Sophie.
Ernst Casimir did not survive to adulthood, and her favourite son Alexander died of tuberculosis at the age of 29.
Anna was close to Henry and Sophie, but she was often at odds with her eldest son William.

Despite a relatively good start, Anna and William’s marriage was rocky.
William had relationships outside of the marriage with both men and women.
He was blackmailed several times for his homosexual relationships. They lived apart until 1843, but she remained loyal to him during the years of the Belgian troubles.

Anna finally became Queen consort of the Netherlands when her father-in-law abdicated on 7th October 1840 to marry his late wife’s lady-in-waiting.
Anna was described as a tall, stately woman with a majestic appearance ~ proud and always identifying with her rank as an Imperial Grand Duchess.
She never gave up her Imperial rank, and was as a strict follower of etiquette and ceremony.
Anna was known to be a cold and arrogant Queen, but she was still very involved with her country.
She even spoke better Dutch than William.

In March 1849, her husband suddenly fell ill while he was in Tilburg.
Anna and their son Henry travelled to be with him, and he died in their presence on 17th March 1849.
William was interred in the royal crypt Delft, and according to custom, Anna did not attend his funeral.
Despite their often troubled relationship, Anna was devastated at her husband’s death, and she completely withdrew from public life.

Anna’s relationship with her son the new King, continued to be strained.
She disliked his wife Sophie, who was her niece ~ the daughter of her least favourite sister, Catherine.

Anna considered Sophie sly, and referred to her as “her son’s scourge here on earth”, but her son disliked his wife too….finally giving the two something to agree on.
Anna died on 1st March 1865, aged 70.
She was interred in the royal crypt in Delft.