Not all women from the family of Russian autocrats spent their time in idleness, fun and doing nothing. Princess Maria Romanova is one of such workaholics and women with a difficult fate. The Russian Tsar Alexander II was her grandfather.
When Mary was not yet two years old, her mother, the Greek princess Alexandra, passed away. The baby's father, leaving her with her brother in the care of his brother, Sergei Alexandrovich, went abroad. The family of the Grand Duke became dear to the girl and her brother. Maria received a very good education and by the age of 15 was considered the most coveted bride among the families of European monarchs.
In 1908, she agreed without objection to marry the Swedish prince Wilhelm. Maria did not love her fiancé, the marriage was political, all the details of which were coordinated in detail by the offices of both states. A year later, the young family had a son, Lennart. Her husband's relatives did not favor Maria. Four years later, the young mother, leaving her son with her husband's family, left for Russia.
Nicholas II, angry with his cousin for her arbitrariness, but the outbreak of the First World War and problems in the state, pushed aside the issue of Mary's "escape".
The runaway princess did not sit idly by in the palace: she graduated from medical courses and began working as a nurse in military hospitals.
Finally, Maria found her happiness: she married a loved one - Prince Putyatin, whom she had known since childhood. During the arrest of all members of the royal family, the young Putyatin family managed to get out to Europe in time, and then move to England.
Despite the fact that the English monarchs were blood relatives of the Romanovs, the British queen did not help Maria's family. Very soon, all the funds that the family had ran out, and Maria had to look for a source of income. At that time, knitted wool items were in great demand in London. Maria bought knitting needles and yarn. Her first product was a sweater, for which, upon sale, she rescued 21 shillings. And although knitting did not bring a lot of money to the family, it made it possible to feed the family. Soon Maria mastered tailoring. But the family lived very hard, money was sorely lacking. Hoping for the best, the Putyatins decided to move to Paris.
The handicraft lessons taught to girls from the imperial family were very useful to Mary. In Paris, she studied machine embroidery courses. Using the acquired baggage of skills and knowledge, she opened her own embroidery workshop "Kitmir". At first the princess worked in it alone, and then the "team" was replenished with three hired employees.
Promotional video:
Maria was very lucky: her workshop received a one-time order from Coco Chanel herself, whose name has already thundered in Europe.
Coco Chanel's spring fashion show was, as always, successful. The audience especially noted the models, decorated with embroidery, made by the unknown workshop "Kitmir".
Maria received many orders and interesting offers. The workshop worked almost round the clock to cope with the volume of orders. And this work got the desired result: "Kitmir" acquired the status of a "fashion house". But fame is not permanent: embroidery is out of fashion and the flow of orders has dried up.
Maria decided to go into the perfume business. She understood that a budding entrepreneur in this area would not be able to compete with the perfume "stars" of Paris. The family moved to London. It is not known for what reason discord began in the family of the Russian princess, but the result was the divorce of the spouses. And although London turned out to be a promising market for new perfumes, Maria managed to release only two fragrances. The business was ruined by the lack of necessary financial resources and the inexperience of Mary herself. The princess decided on a desperate step, taking the perfume samples she developed, she went to America with the hope of the success of her business.
Surprisingly, on the American continent, she suddenly became in demand in the field of writing and photography. Maria became a link between free America and the royal European houses of Europe, which have always distanced themselves from the correspondent brethren, but not from a member of the Russian imperial family.
Maria very quickly became a famous journalist. She even wrote a memoir about the time of her life in Russia, about how she managed to find her place in life, despite the difficulties that fell to her lot.
In 1937, the Swedish monarch returned to Mary the citizenship of his country, which she had lost many years ago. But on the eve of World War II, Maria left Europe in protest of the recognition of the existence of the USSR by Europeans and left for Argentina.
An interesting fate developed for her son, who was left in the Swedish ruling family of her husband. In 1931, King Gustav V of Sweden challenged the young Lennart to marry and ensure the continuation of the royal dynasty. But Lennart, having fallen in love with the daughter of a Swedish manufacturer, flatly refused the dynastic marriage imposed on him. An important role in his making a difficult decision was played by his mother, Princess Maria, who approved the choice of her son. Lennart officially renounced the throne of Sweden, married his girlfriend and went to live in Germany, where he lived on his own island of Mainau, inherited from his grandmother. Lennart lived in a happy marriage and never regretted his decision. Maria also enjoyed being with her son and his four children. And although all Lennart's children belonged to the Swedish dynasty Bernadotte,in each of them the blood of the Romanovs flowed.
Princess Maria was very happy with her favorite work as a journalist, she visited all European countries, her articles and photos were posted by the best world publications. All her life her motto was: "Don't cry, Mademoiselle, everything will be fine!" She considered herself a true Romanova, and never lost heart, fighting for her happiness and life. She died at the age of 68 and found her last rest in Constanta.
The story of Mary is very similar to the fairy tale about the princess seamstress, who had a happy ending. Her fate could have turned out quite differently, if the imperial family of the Romanovs had not fallen into the meat grinder of revolutions and would not have perished. But, history has no subjunctive moods …
