Coronation coach

The diameter of the rear wheels of the Romanov coronation coach are almost as tall as me. They’re about five feet across, painted deep red with elaborate carving and gilding.

The coach was the first item in a special exhibit about Catherine the Great (1729-1796), illustrated with items from the Hermitage. It was built on the orders of Peter the Great and used by several rulers, including Catherine the Great. Apparently she hated the baroque style with lots of carved, gilded details: cherubs, curlicues, scrolls, people, lions, flowers, crown.

However, as I learned later in the exhibit, Catherine was big on using imagery to support the legitimacy of her rule, so it figures that she’d use this coach built on the orders of the Peter the Great, whom she strove to emulate.

The coach, displayed on its doors the coat of arms of the Romanovs, including the double-headed black eagle. A regal red was the second most common color on the coach, following gold. It was the color of the upholstery and drapes.

From Sophie to Ekaterina

Catherine was born a minor German princess named Sophie. She took a Russian name, Ekaterina, after she went to Russia at age 14 to marry Prince Peter.

In her memoirs, she wrote, “I would have loved my new husband if oly he had wanted or been able to be lovable; but even on the first days of my marriage, I had a cruel thought about him. I said to myself, ‘If you love that man, you’ll be the unhappiest creature on earth; your character needs you to be loved in return; this man hardly looks at you, he talks about practically nothing but dolls, and he pays more attention to other woman than you; you’re too proud to make a fuss, so keep a tight rein on any tenderness you show this man; think of yourself, madam!’ This first impression on my waxen heart remained with me, and this thought has never left my head.”

This quote makes her sound tough. But she had the benefit of hindsight in writing her memoirs. I wonder how she felt in the early days of her marriage.

An active love life

When she and Peter hadn’t produced an heir after eight years of marriage, her mother-in-law encouraged her to take a lover. A son followed.

Apparently Catherine had an active, if illicit, love life. A gentleman with the last name of Potemkin was a great love and adviser to her. They’re reputed to have married secretly. That, of course, was after the death of Peter, her royal husband.

The Reign of Catherine, 1762-1796

There was apparently a risk of Catherine being repudiated by her husband after he took the throne, so he could install his mistress as his Tzarina. A bloodless coup d’etat took place with the aid of the militarily prominent Orlov brothers. Peter died a suspicious death.

Catherine was viewed in Europe as a tsar-killer. That’s one of the reasons she went to such pains to have symbols of her rule and legitimacy in her portraits. One of her first portraits in the exhibit shows her holding a scepter pointing at a bust of Peter the Great with “to continue what was begun” written overhead, asserting her role continuing her predecessor’s legacy.

That Catherine was quite a gal. Everything seemed to have an ulterior motive.