Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

Empress Catherine II of Russia began to search for a suitable wife for her second grandson, Grand Duke Konstantin, after the marriage of her eldest grandson, Grand Duke Alexander, with Louise of Baden in 1793. The empress spoke of pride about Konstantin as an enviable match for many brides in Europe, as he was the second in line to succession to the Russian Empire. Soon a marriage offer arrived from the court of Naples: King Ferdinand I and Queen Maria Carolina suggested a marriage between the Grand Duke and one of their many daughters, which the Empress immediately rejected.

In 1795, Empress Catherine sent her general Andrei Budberg in a secret mission to the ruling European courts, to find a bride for Konstantin. He had a huge list of candidates, but during his trip became ill and was forced to stay in Coburg. He was attended by the Ducal court doctor, Baron Stockmar, who, once he knew the real intention of his trip, drew the general's attention to the daughters of Duke Franz. Budberg wrote to Saint Petersburg that he found the perfect candidates, without visiting any other courts.

After a little consideration, Catherine consented. Duchess Augusta, once she knew that one of her daughters would be a grand duchess of Russia, was delighted with the idea: a marriage with the Imperial Russian dynasty could bring huge benefits for the relatively small German Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. However, in Europe there were other views; for example, Charles-François-Philibert Masson, in his Secrets Memoirs of the court of Saint-Petersburg wrote about the unenviable role of German brides in the Russian court:

Young touching victim, which Germany sends as a tribute to Russia, as did Greece who sent their maids to the Minotaur...

Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia, early 1800s

Juliane, along with her mother and two elder sisters, Sophie and Antoinette, travelled to Saint Petersburg at the request of Empress Catherine II of Russia. After the first meeting, the Empress wrote: "The Duchess of Saxe-Coburg was beautiful and worthy of respect among women, and her daughters are pretty. It's a pity that our groom must choose only one, would be good to keep all three. But it seems that our Paris give the apple to the younger one, you'll see that he would prefer Juliane among the sisters...she's really the best choice." However, Prince Adam Czartoryski, in his Memoirs, wrote:

He was given an order by the Empress to marry one of the princesses, and he was given a choice of his future wife.

This point of view was confirmed by Countess Varvara Golovina, who also wrote:

After three weeks, the Grand Duke Konstantin was forced to make a choice. I think that he did not want to marry.

After the young grand duke chose Juliane,[2] she began her training as a consort. On 2 February 1796, the 14-year-old German princess took the name of Anna Feodorovna[3] in a Russian Orthodox baptismal ceremony and 24 days later, on 26 February, she and Konstantin were married. The Empress died nine months later, on 6 November. By virtue of her wedding, Anna was awarded with the Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Saint Catherine and the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem.[4]

This union, in connection with the wedding of Anna's brother Leopold and Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales, made the little Duchy of Saxe-Coburg the dynastic heart of Europe. In addition, thanks to relations with the Russian Empire, Saxe-Coburg was relatively safe during the Napoleonic Wars. However, on a personal level, the marriage was deeply unhappy. Konstantin, known to be a violent man[5] and fully dedicated to his military career, made Anna intensely miserable.[6]

In the meanwhile, the young grand duchess began to grow up and became more and more attractive to the Russian court, who nicknamed her the "Rising Star". This made Konstantin extremely jealous, even of his own brother Alexander. He forbade Anna to leave her room, and when she had the opportunity to come out, Konstantin took her away. Countess Golovina recalled: The married life of Anna Fyodorovna was hard and impossible to maintain [...] in her modesty, she needed the friendship of Elizabeth Alexeievna (Louise of Baden, wife of her brother-in-law Alexander), who was able to smooth things out between the frequent quarrelling spouses...". During the difficult years in the Russian court, Anna became close to Grand Duchess Elizabeth, of similar age.

In 1799 Anna left Russia for medical treatment and didn't want to return. She went to her family in Coburg; however, they didn't support her, as they feared for the reputation of the Ducal family and their finances. Anna left Coburg to have a water cure; but at the same time, the St Petersburg's court made their own plans. Under the pressure of the Imperial family and her own relatives, the Grand Duchess was forced to return to Russia. In October 1799 the weddings of Grand Duchesses Alexandra and Elena were celebrated. Anna was forced to attend.

The assassination of Emperor Paul I on 23 March 1801 gave Anna an opportunity to carry out her plan to escape. By August of that year, her mother was informed that the grand duchess was seriously ill. Once informed about her daughter's health, Duchess Augusta came to visit her. In order to have a better treatment she took Anna to Coburg, with the consent of both the new Emperor Alexander I and Grand Duke Konstantin. Once she arrived to her homeland, Anna refused to come back. She never returned to Russia.