History and Culture: Exhibition "Family Album of the Duke of Edinburgh" opened in Saint-Petersburg

On August 14, 2021, the exhibition "Family Album of the Duke of Edinburgh" was opened in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum of the Peter and Paul Fortress (Saint-Petersburg). It features photographs of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna (1853-1920) and Prince Alfred Duke of Edinburgh, the son of Queen Victoria (1819-1901), from the Livadia Palace Museum.

The exposition presents the album of 1875 with photographs of the Duke's family of different years from Britain and Russia. The pictures were taken in various places in Europe and Russia: in Saint-Petersburg, London, Coburg, Darmstadt, Cannes. Most of the photographs are showcased for the first time.

During the reign of Peter I (1672-1725), members of the Russian imperial family began to marry representatives of European dynasties. These unions were a significant part of Russian foreign policy. When choosing partners for the royal successors, the position and prestige of potential relatives of the Russian imperial house were carefully analyzed.

For a long time, the Romanov dynasty established family relations with numerous German royal houses. As the exception, there was the marriage between representatives of the world's largest empires - Russian and British - the union of the daughter of Emperor Alexander II, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna and the son of Queen Victoria, Prince Alfred Duke of Edinburgh.

The wedding took place on January 11, 1874, in Saint-Petersburg in the Winter Palace and became one of the most magnificent wedding ceremonies in the history of the Russian Imperial House. After the wedding, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna moved to her husband's homeland, but she often visited Russia. In 1893, Prince Alfred ascended the throne of the Duchies of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and the family settled in Coburg.

The exhibition will run until November 13, 2021.