Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich | |
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Portrait by George Dawe
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Born |
Tsarskoye Selo, Saint Petersburg Governorate, Russian Empire |
27 April 1779
Died | 27 June 1831 Vitebsk |
(aged 52)
Spouse |
Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (m. 1796 ann. 1820) Joanna Grudzińska (m.1820 wid. 1831) |
Issue | 3 children with mistresses (Pavel, Konstantin, Konstasia) |
House | House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov |
Father | Paul I |
Mother | Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg |
Konstantin Pavlovich (Russian: Константи́н Па́влович; 27 April 1779 – 27 June 1831) was a grand duke of Russia and the second son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. He was the Tsesarevich of Russia throughout the reign of his elder brother Alexander I, but had secretly renounced his claim to the throne in 1823. For 25 days after the death of Alexander I, from 19 November (O.S.)/1 December 1825 to 14 December (O.S.)/26 December 1825 he was known as His Imperial Majesty Konstantin I Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias, although he never reigned and never acceded to the throne. His younger brother Nicholas became Tsar in 1825. The succession controversy became the immediate cause of the Decembrist revolt.
Konstantin was known to eschew court etiquette and to take frequent stands against the wishes of his brother Alexander I, for which he is remembered fondly in Russia, but in his capacity as the commander-in-chief and de facto viceroy of Congress Poland he is remembered as a ruthless ruler.
Konstantin was born in Tsarskoye Selo on 27 April 1779, the second son of the Tsesarevich Paul Petrovich and his wife Maria Fyodorovna, daughter of Friedrich II Eugen, Duke of Württemberg. Of all Paul's children, Konstantin most closely resembled his father both physically and mentally.