Lot Essay
This charming group portrait depicts six of the seven children of the Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna (1819-79) and her husband Maximilian Eugene, Duke of Leuchtenberg (1817-52). On the Duke's death, his children received the titles of Princes Romanovsky and Imperial Highnesses from Nicholas I.
Prince Nikolai Maximilianovich (1843-90) served as a cavalry general and aide-de-camp general and was also a recognised mineralogist who did much to encourage the development of geological studies in his post as president of the Mineralogical Society. After the Russo-Turkish war, Nikolai's weak health forced him to move abroad with his wife Nadezhda Sergeevna. Prince Georgii Maximilianovich (1852-1912) also became an aide-de-camp and captain in the Empress's lancers regiment. He married twice: in 1879 to Princess Theresa Frederika Olga of Oldenburg and in 1889 to Anastasia Nikolaevna, Princess of Montenegro. Prince Sergei Maximilianovich (1849-77) was captain of the prestigious Guard Preobrazhensky regiment and aide-de-camp to the Emperor like his elder brothers until he was mortally wounded on reconnaissance duties near Iovan Shaftlik. The eldest daughter, Maria Maximilianovna (1841-1914) married Wilhelm, Prince of Baden in 1863, while Princess Evgenia Maximilanovna (1845-1925) married Prince Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg. Prince Evgenii Maximilianovich (1847-1901) became an infantry general and aide-de-camp to the Emperor. In 1869, he married Daria Konstantinovna Opochinina and, eight years later, Zinaida Dmitrievna Skobeleva.
Prince Nikolai Maximilianovich (1843-90) served as a cavalry general and aide-de-camp general and was also a recognised mineralogist who did much to encourage the development of geological studies in his post as president of the Mineralogical Society. After the Russo-Turkish war, Nikolai's weak health forced him to move abroad with his wife Nadezhda Sergeevna. Prince Georgii Maximilianovich (1852-1912) also became an aide-de-camp and captain in the Empress's lancers regiment. He married twice: in 1879 to Princess Theresa Frederika Olga of Oldenburg and in 1889 to Anastasia Nikolaevna, Princess of Montenegro. Prince Sergei Maximilianovich (1849-77) was captain of the prestigious Guard Preobrazhensky regiment and aide-de-camp to the Emperor like his elder brothers until he was mortally wounded on reconnaissance duties near Iovan Shaftlik. The eldest daughter, Maria Maximilianovna (1841-1914) married Wilhelm, Prince of Baden in 1863, while Princess Evgenia Maximilanovna (1845-1925) married Prince Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg. Prince Evgenii Maximilianovich (1847-1901) became an infantry general and aide-de-camp to the Emperor. In 1869, he married Daria Konstantinovna Opochinina and, eight years later, Zinaida Dmitrievna Skobeleva.