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Terrible Tsarinas anniversary of her coup d’etat. Amused by La Chetardie’s eagerness to congratulate her, Elizabeth granted him a part-friendly, part-protocol interview in the evening. She found him tired, fatter, but so well-spoken that he thought he had charmed her completely, making her forget her past complaints against France.
But, just as he was preparing to deploy every seductive wile in his possession, in came the titular Ambassador of France, Monsieur d’Allion. Mortified by what he considered unfair competition, d’Allion was anxious to stick an umbrella in his spokes. After a series of harsh statements, Louis XV’s two representatives exchanged insults, slapped each other, and drew their swords. Although he was wounded in the hand, La Chetardie kept his dignity. Finally, realizing how silly it was for two Frenchmen in foreign territory to quarrel, the adversaries reluctantly reconciled.
This took place just before Christmas. As it happens, it was precisely then, at the end of 1743, that the news Elizabeth had so much hoped for arrived from Berlin. The King of Prussia, solicited by various emissaries to find a bride for the heir to the Russian throne, finally presented a pearl: a princess of adequate birth, pleasant appearance and good education, who would be a credit to her husband without trying to eclipse him.
That was exactly the kind of daughter-in-law the empres s had dreamed of finding. The candidate, just 15 years old, was born in Stettin; her name was Sophia of Anhalt-Zerbst (Figchen, to her family). Her father, Christian Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst, was not even a reigning prince; he merely ruled over his small hereditary prerogative under the condescending protection of Frederick II.
Sophia’s mother, Johanna of Holstein-Gottorp, was a German cousin of the late Charles Frederick, father of the Grand Duke Peter, whom Elizabeth had made her heir. Johanna was 27 years younger than her husband and had great ambitions for her daugh«160»
An Autocrat at Work and Play ter. Elizabeth considered this all very good for the family, very German, and very promising. Just going over the genealogy of the fiancee, branch by branch, Elizabeth felt herself back on familiar ground.
While she was predisposed in favor of the young lady, she was very disappointed in her nephew, whom she had come to know all too well. Why wasn’t he more interested to learn the results of the matrimonial maneuvers that had been conducted in his behalf? The principal interested party, too, was kept out of the negotiations of which she was the object. Everything was agreed through confidential correspondence between Zerbst (where Sophia’s parents resided), Berlin (where Frederick II was headquartered), and St. Petersburg (where the empress was anxiously awaiting the news from Prussia).
All the information she was able to obtain concurred: according to the few people who had met the girl, she was gracious, cultivated and reasonable, spoke French as well as German, and, despite her tender years, conducted herself well under any circumstance. Too good to be true? Seeing Figchen’s portrait, sent by Frederick II, Elizabeth was even more convinced. The little princess was truly delicious, with a sweet face and an innocent look.
Fearing any last-minute disappointment, the tsarina kept secret from her entourage the imminence of the great event that she was preparing for the happiness of Russia. But, while Alexis Bestuzhev may have been in the dark, diplomats close to Prussia were well aware of what was going on, and they found it hard to keep the news to themselves. Mardefeld kept La Chetardie and Lestocq informed as the talks progressed day by day. Here and there, rumors began to circulate. The Francophile clan was guardedly optimistic to hear that this princess, educated by a French teacher, was coming to join the court. She might be Prus«161»
Terrible Tsarinas sian by blood, but she could not help but serve the cause of France if she had been well- instructed by her governess - even if the marriage plans fell through.
Elizabeth received news of Sophia’s progress en route to the capital, with her mother. They presented themselves in Berlin, where they received Frederick II’s blessing and bankrupted themselves buying a suitable trousseau. Sophia’s father stayed behind in Zerbst. Was it to save money or to save face that he refused to accompany his daughter on this quest for a prestigious fiance?
Elizabeth didn’t care: the fewer Prussian relations surrounding the girl, the better it would be. She sent the ladies an allowance to help defray their travel expenses, and suggested that they remain incognito at least until they arrived in Russia. When they crossed the border, they were to say that they were on their way to St. Petersburg to pay Her Majesty a courtesy call. The tsarina had a comfortable carriage, drawn by six horses, waiting for them when they got to Riga. They gratefully wrapped themselves in the sable shawls that Elizabeth had thoughtfully provided against the chill, and continued their journey north.
However, upon their arrival in St. Petersburg,, they were disconcerted to learn that the Empress and all the court had removed to Moscow in order to celebrate Grand Duke Peter’s 17th birthday on February 10, 1744. In Elizabeth’s absence, La Chetardie and the Prussian ambassador, Mardefeld, had been left to welcome the ladies and introduce them to the capital city.
Sophia was enchanted by the beauty of this enormous city built at the water’s edge, admired the regiments’ changing of the guard and clapped her hands with pleasure at the sight of fourteen elephants, a gift to Peter the Great from the shah of Persia.
Her shrewd mother, however, was miffed that they had not yet been presented to the Empress. She was also worried by Chancel«162»
An Autocrat at Work and Play lor Alexis Bestuzhev’s frosty attitude toward the intended match.
She knew he was “more Russian than Russia itself,” and violently opposed to any concession to the interests of Prussia. Furthermore, s he had heard rumors that he intended to induce the Holy Synod to oppose the marriage on the basis that the two fiances were too closely related. Elizabeth was unfazed by Johanna’s worries: she knew that at the first hint from her, Bestuzhev would drop his objections and fall into line, for fear of setting off another wave of punishment against his clan, and she knew that the high prelates, mumbling in their beards, would bite their tongues and go ahead to give the couple their blessing.
Johanna cut short her daughter’s fun and entertainment and, on Mardefeld’s advice, set off at the end of January to meet the court in Moscow. La Chetardie escorted them. Elizabeth had set a date to receive them at the Annenhof Palace, in the eastern sector of the second capital, on February 9 at 8:00pm. After keeping them waiting, she gave orders to open the doors to the audience hall and appeared at the threshold, while the two visitors sank into their deepest curtseys. She took in the future fiancee in a glance - a slender, pale young girl, in a pink and silver gown with a plain skirt - no pannier. The toilette was inadequate but the girl herself was darling. Standing next to this scrumptious young lady, Peter - who had come to take delivery of this princess that had been shipped to him - looked even uglier and more disagreeable than usual.
His provocations recently had reached a new height, as he had taken up with Brummer, the minister from Holstein, and a clique of schemers all of German extraction. Furthermore, instead of being pleased that Her Majesty had named him a colonel in the Preobrazhensky Regiment, he now had the gall to invite a regiment from Holstein to come and demonstrate what was meant by discipline and efficiency - two qualities that were, in his view,
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Terrible Tsarinas sorely lacking in the Russian military.
Elizabeth had long mourned her inability to produce an heir for Russia herself, but given all these annoyances from her Germanophile nephew she must have been glad, in the end, that he was in fact not her own son. This disastrous successor resembled her neither in mind nor spirit. She began to pity the poor girl she was about to throw at the feet of such an unworthy man. She would have to do whatever she could to help the new bride win over, and control, the stupid and fanatical young fellow who was destined to become emperor one day. If only Sophia could still rely on her mother to guide her and comfort her in her disappointment; but with all her airs,
