Catherine II spared nothing for her lovers, generously distributing titles and money to them. And Stanislav Poniatowski was given a Polish crown by the empress. True, as presented, and took away.
Meeting at name days
Stanislav Ponyatovsky is a Polish aristocrat who came to Russia as a secretary to the English envoy. He was educated, handsome, and besides, he could speak beautifully. What else do you need to please women?
In June 1756, the name days of the heir to the throne, Peter Fedorovich, the future emperor Peter III, were celebrated in Oranienbaum. At this holiday, the 24-year-old Poniatovsky first saw the 27-year-old wife of the heir, Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna. And immediately fell in love.
“Recovering from the first birth, she blossomed in the way that a woman endowed with beauty by nature can only dream of,” he later recalled. - Black hair, amazing whiteness of skin, big blue bulging eyes, talking a lot, very long black eyelashes, a pointed nose, a mouth calling for a kiss, perfectly shaped arms and shoulders …"
The portraits of Catherine, most likely, do not convey her charms. But either the ideas about beauty have changed, or the men were not disinterested, but the lovers definitely worshiped this woman.
So Ponyatovsky fell at the feet of the future empress. And Catherine was not only a tasty morsel, but also quite an accessible fortress. The husband openly neglected her, I call my wife "spare madam". And even the birth of a son - Pavel Petrovich - did not bring the spouses closer together.
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When Sergey Saltykov, Catherine's lover, was sent abroad as an ambassador, the young woman yearned for no male affection. As you know, she could not imagine life without them.
A problem arose before Ponyatovsky: it was necessary for Catherine to pay attention to him. In this the young Pole was helped by Lev Naryshkin, a court joker and a rake. He was Catherine's friend. But once he got sick and, unable to personally see the Grand Duchess, began to send her letters. But he could not deftly compose messages, so he used the services of Ponyatovsky.
Ekaterina realized that it was not Naryshkin who wrote the letters, but someone else. “In these letters, he asked me for jam or other similar trifles, and then funny thanks me for them,” Ekaterina recalled. - These letters were well written and very witty … And soon I learned that the role of secretary was played by Poniatowski.
There is nothing more dangerous than a lapdog
The deed is done: the Grand Duchess drew attention to the young Pole. And Naryshkin arranged a personal meeting for them. “Under the pretext that I had a headache, I went to bed early,” writes Ekaterina. At the appointed hour, Naryshkin "began to meow at my door, which I opened for him, we went out through the small hallway and got into his carriage, unnoticed by anyone, laughing like crazy at our trick." They arrived at Naryshkin's house, where Ponyatovsky was already waiting for them. This was the first, but far from the last date.
Stanislav lost his head so much from love that he lost both shame and fear. As he himself put it, "I forgot that Siberia exists."
The Grand Duchess never forgot about this, but continued to meet with Stanislav. Of course, stealthily. Catherine wrote: "To leave me, Count Poniatovsky usually took with him a blond wig and cloak, and when the sentries asked him who was coming, he called himself: the musician of the Grand Duke!"
Often, lovers found themselves, so to speak, on the verge of failure. Once, Catherine was showing her chambers to the Swedish envoy, Count Horn. He came with Ponyatovsky. A lapdog of the Grand Duchess ran out to the guests: she barked at the unfamiliar count, and met Ponyatovsky with wild delight. “My friend,” said the Swedish envoy to Stanislav. - There is nothing more treacherous than a little lapdog. The first thing that I gave to my mistress was a dog, and through it I always found out if she had someone more favored than me."
Count Horn did not betray his lovers, but rumors about the affair between the Grand Duchess and Ponyatovsky still spread throughout the courtyard. They said that Catherine gave birth to her daughter Anna, who died at the age of one, from Stanislav.
The legal spouse - Pyotr Fedorovich - although he did not love his wife, nevertheless decided to put an end to her amorous adventures. By his order, the servants seized Ponyatovsky when he was returning from Catherine again. “The Grand Duke in the most unequivocal terms asked me if I had slept with his wife,” Stanislav recalled. Of course, he gave a negative answer. Peter pretended to believe, but Ponyatovsky was still expelled from the country.
I will do everything for you
And in Russia, events developed rapidly. Peter became emperor, but was overthrown and killed. Catherine ascended the throne.
Poniatovsky thought that the Russian empress yearned for him, and was eager to go to Russia. But I received a message from Catherine, who advised "not to rush to come here." A little later, she explained: "I have to observe a thousand decencies and a thousand precautions."
Catherine still felt insecure on the throne, and the foreign favorite was completely useless. In addition, she has a new lover - Grigory Orlov. In the arms of this rude military, the empress forgot about the refined and educated Pole. In general, Catherine preferred "domestic" men: among her many lovers, Ponyatovsky was the only foreigner.
“Write to me as little as possible, or better not write at all unless absolutely necessary,” the empress gave Stanislav such advice. Although she immediately softened the blow: "I will do everything for you and your family, be sure of this."
She kept her word. In October 1863, the Polish king August III died. With the help of threats, diplomatic cunning and the 30,000-strong Russian army introduced to Poland, Catherine II placed her retired lover Stanislav Poniatowski on the throne in Warsaw.
Unfortunately, Poniatovsky did not appreciate the Empress's gift. He, a weak and dependent man, did not want a crown. “Don't make me king, you'd better call me to you,” Stanislav begged. But Catherine II herself knew what was better and what was worse.
Poland no longer exists
The Polish monarch became a puppet in the hands of the Russian empress. The Poles hated him and called him "the straw king." Catherine II rejoiced: such a rag on the throne of a neighboring country suited her perfectly.
All affairs in Poland were run by the Russian ambassador Nikolai Repnin. And Poniatowski used to indulge and debauchery. Catherine paid off his debts, while doing the partitions of Poland.
King Stanislav complained: “But it’s not for the same that they hate me, did you want to make me king? Not so that Poland would be dismembered under my rule, would you like me to wear a crown? The questions are rhetorical. That is why he was made king.
The outraged Poles raised an uprising led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko. Poniatowski fled from Warsaw and abdicated the throne.
He turned out to be the last Polish king. The Kosciuszko uprising was suppressed, and Russia, Austria and Prussia made the third and final partition of Poland. This country has ceased to exist.
Poniatovsky was ordered to live in Grodno. Catherine II did not want to see him - a man whom she had deprived of her own crown.
Having ascended the throne, Paul I pardoned Kosciuszko and allowed Poniatovsky to live in St. Petersburg. Here he died in 1798.
In his memoirs, Stanislav Ponyatovsky wrote that he had committed many unseemly acts, being in the power of love for a beautiful woman.
Maria Konyukova