Until the moment when Russia became the Russian Empire at the behest of Tsar Peter I, the morals at the court were very strict. Peter the Great, trying to bring Russia closer to Europe, introduced many innovations, among which there was a tradition of having the ruler of favorites or favorites. Since the reign of Catherine II, mentions of illegitimate children of Russian emperors began to appear.
Alexey Bobrinsky, son of Catherine II
This boy was the fruit of the love of Ekaterina Alekseevna and Grigory Orlov.
Alexey Bobrinsky, son of Catherine II, portrait by Fyodor Rokotov.
Surprising is the fact that the legal spouse of Catherine Alekseevna Peter III did not even know about the pregnancy of his own wife. On the day of the birth, Catherine's valet Vasily Shkurin, taking advantage of the tsar's special weakness for watching the fire, started a fire, sacrificing his own house. Only 2 months have passed since the birth of Alexei, when the empress, with the help of people devoted to her, made a coup and ascended the throne.
Alexey Bobrinsky, son of Catherine II.
Alexey was brought up from infancy in the family of Vasily Shkurin, along with the sons of the valet, had a meek disposition, was shy and very timid. Having matured, the young man did not show any special talents for training, but he loved a riotous lifestyle, managed to make a lot of debts, which caused the anger of the empress, who excommunicated the uncomfortable son from the court. Alexei Grigorievich was able to arrive from the Baltic States to Petersburg only after his mother died.
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Alexey Bobrinsky, son of Catherine II.
In the marriage of Alexei Bobrinsky and Baroness Anna Ungern-Sternberg, four children, a daughter and three sons were born. Another child was born out of wedlock.
Elizaveta Temkina, daughter of Catherine II
There is no documentary evidence that Elizaveta Grigorievna Tyomkina is the daughter of Catherine II and Grigory Potemkin. However, among historians there are many supporters of the version of the birth of a daughter by the empress, who had already reached 45 years of age by the time her daughter was born.
Elizaveta Temkina, daughter of Catherine II.
According to official figures, in the days when Elizabeth was born, the Empress was allegedly toiled due to an illness caused by eating dirty fruits. The baby was brought up in the family of Potemkin's nephew Alexander Samoilov, who was considered the official guardian of Elizabeth Temkina.
Portrait of Elizaveta Grigorievna Temkina as Diana, artist Vladimir Borovikovsky.
The empress showed absolutely no interest in the fate of the girl. However, the matured girl was not only successfully married off, but also given a very generous dowry for her. Elizaveta Grigorievna in her marriage felt quite happy and gave her husband 10 children.
Sophia Naryshkina, daughter of Alexander I
The windy beauty Maria Naryshkina, in addition to her husband and Alexander I himself, had many lovers, but the emperor considered some children to be his beloved. For 14 years, while the relationship between the emperor and Maria Antonovna lasted, only five children were born, but a daughter and a son survived. The emperor was especially fond of Sophia, about whose fate he was worried, looking for his favorite suitors.
Sophia Naryshkina, daughter of Alexander I.
However, the girl died at the age of 16 from consumption, forever remaining in the memory of the descendants as a gentle and almost unearthly creature.
Sofya Trubetskaya, daughter of Nicholas I
Ekaterina Musina-Pushkina got married with her husband Sergei Trubetskoy, already in fact being on the demolition. The wedding of the young lady was arranged by Emperor Nicholas I himself, which gave contemporaries a reason to consider him the bride's lover and the father of her child. After the wedding, the couple immediately left, Ekaterina Musina-Pushkina had a daughter, Sophia.
Sofya Trubetskaya, daughter of Nicholas I.
When the girl was 18 years old, the Duke de Morny was completely fascinated by her beauty. He immediately proposed to the beauty, not at all embarrassed by her origin. However, the duke himself was the illegitimate son of the Dutch queen.
Sofya Trubetskaya, daughter of Nicholas I.
The Duke de Morny took his young wife to Paris, where she became one of the first beauties. Widowed, Sophia Trubetskaya married a second time, to the Spanish Duke of Albuquerque. After that she shone in Madrid and even became the founder of the Russian tradition in Spain: with her light hand, they began to decorate the Christmas tree there for Christmas.
Children of Alexander II
For many years, Princess Yekaterina Dolgorukova was the favorite of Alexander II. It was she who became the wife of the emperor after his wife Maria Alexandrovna died. At the same time, Alexander II could not even withstand the one-year mourning befitting the situation, having legalized his relationship with the princess literally a couple of months after his wife left.
Children of Alexander II.
Four children, one of whom died in infancy, and their mother, his mistress, were granted the title by the emperor. George, Olga and Catherine became the princes of Yurievsky.
A year later, Alexander II was killed, and Yekaterina Dolgorukova left Russia with her children. The family lived in France, George died in 1913, leaving behind his son Alexander. Olga was married to Pushkin's grandson, in marriage with whom she gave birth to three children. Catherine passed away in 1959, was married twice, but both times she was unhappy in marriage.
The problem of children born outside of an officially registered family has always existed. Celebrities, perhaps more often than others, are surprised by the appearance on the horizon of an already adult child, born as a result of an accidental touring novel or an ardent youthful connection. The reaction to such surprises in the stars, as in ordinary people, can be different: from a sharp rejection of the fact of their own unexpected paternity to instantly arising family feelings.