Imperial Dancer: Mathilde Kschessinska and the Romanovs (9 page)

On 11 March Mathilde and Nicholas had supper together as usual. Both were in high spirits. It was, as Nicholas later noted, the first anniversary of the day he had called at her parents’ apartment. A few days later he left for the Crimea. ‘It is very sad to part after only two months’ reunion.’
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Nicholas was captivated by the ballerina (‘spent the night ideally’ is a typical diary entry)
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but he never forgot his duty to his parents and Russia. Although Mathilde often told Nicholas that his character was not strong enough to rule the Russian empire she always denied suggesting that he renounce his rights to the throne to marry her, nor is there any indication that he ever wished to do so. Mathilde was just a diversion. Nevertheless, a story has persisted that Nicholas wanted to marry Mathilde and that he would then inherit the Crown of Poland, instead of the whole Russian Empire. Mathilde is said to have been unable to accept such a sacrifice. Any permanent liaison with the dancer was out of the question – and in the background, as always, lurked the spectre of Princess Alix of Hesse.

In the third week of June the Tsarevich went to London for the marriage of his cousin George, Duke of York and Princess May of Teck on 23 June/6 July. Mathilde believed that Princess Alix, the Duke of York’s cousin, would be staying with her grandmother Queen Victoria and attending the wedding. She was worried. Since his return from the Crimea on 17 May, Nicholas had spent only one evening at her house.

Princess Catherine Radziwill, who was in London for the Season, reported that the Tsarevich’s mistress followed him to England: ‘Unknown to Nicholas, the Polish dancer to whom he was very attached had followed him to London. When he found out he visited her every spare moment. The police found out and the Queen was asked to
intervene. Her courage failed her and she asked the Russian Ambassador, Monsieur de Staal, to do it “mildly, very mildly”.’
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Princess Radziwill’s report needs to be regarded with caution, not least because Nicholas’s grandparents, King Christian IX of Denmark and his wife the formidable Queen Louise, were also in London for the wedding. He must have known that any hint of scandal would reach the ears of his parents in St Petersburg. The whole incident seems unlikely. Mathilde made no mention of a visit to London in her published memoirs (which of course proves nothing) but in fact Princess Alix declined to attend the wedding, telling Queen Victoria that the trip would be too expensive.

Mathilde, probably more in wishful thinking, described Nicholas’s feelings for Alix as ‘a vague feeling’, ignoring the evidence to the contrary in Nicholas’s published diaries and letters which she studied before writing her memoirs. She said the Tsarevich often read her the passages in his diary concerning his feelings for her and those for the princess. ‘He was very fascinated with me, he liked the surroundings of our meetings, and absolutely loved me passionately.’
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Yet Mathilde knew that sooner or later he would be pressurised to marry a princess, who would have to convert to the Orthodox religion. In the meantime, she could only hope that the available princesses would refuse to convert so that there could be no marriage.

Although the affair undoubtedly brought happiness to Mathilde, there were also negative aspects. She was disillusioned when he was unable to visit, and sometimes there were anonymous insults. Worse still, Nicholas’s affection was apparently beginning to wane.

In the summer of 1893 Mathilde apologised sadly for being unable to keep a rendezvous. She could not even explain why, as it was inappropriate in a letter. ‘Apart from this there is something else that made me sad – who did you look at for
so long
in the stalls on the right in the binoculars? … Did you notice that after you looked at me I turned away? I do not know if you understood why I did this?’

She went on to thank him for the wonderful bouquet of flowers, saying that she found this attention very touching. Nicholas was a true gentleman, always kind and thoughtful towards her. Mathilde did not know how to thank him sufficiently. ‘I am terribly bored if I do not see you, the time drags endlessly!’ she added.
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The Krasnoe Selo season was approaching. It was difficult for Nicholas to leave camp and visit her house so Mathilde decided to rent a villa near Krasnoe Selo. Having found a suitable property by the
Duderhof Lake, it was then made clear to her that it would give rise to all sorts of gossip if she lived too near the camp.

Instead she settled at Koerevo, in an unusual triangular villa surrounded by a thick forest far from town. The house was situated down a wide avenue and reached by an imposing flight of steps. In the daytime it was secluded and pleasant, but at night it seemed threatening. Too terrified to sleep alone, Mathilde and Julie shared a bedroom. The cook slept on the uninhabited floor above. On one of the first nights they were awakened by a noise outside the window. Certain that someone was trying to get in, they lay there, too terrified to move, until finally dropping off to sleep. In the morning they discovered that a branch had been vibrating against the window pane. They asked the manservant and his wife, whose room was at the other end of the house, to sleep in the room next door in case of need.

To Mathilde’s distress the Krasnoe Selo season did not have the same appeal as the previous year. Nicholas only visited her villa twice. The first time, 3 July, she was notified and was able to wait for him. The second time he rode over from the camp unannounced, only to find that Mathilde was attending a rehearsal in St Petersburg.

The manoeuvres over, the Tsarevich left for Denmark on 10 August. In November he received a letter from Princess Alix telling him she could not change her religion and marry him. Nevertheless, Mathilde’s heart was filled with foreboding for the future.

Mathilde had profited from the absence of the Italian ballerinas to make her mark on the St Petersburg stage and in the autumn of 1893 she was promoted to Prima Ballerina at a salary of 3,000 roubles.
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Several times the Tsarevich’s diary mentioned watching ‘a marvellous
Sleeping Beauty
’ danced by Kschessinska. ‘Scandals and clashes with other artists became normal’ for Mathilde
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as her influence grew.

Then, towards the end of 1893, the Italian Pierina Legnani was appointed Prima Ballerina
assoluta
at the Maryinsky Theatre. At her debut in
Cinderella
she caused a sensation by turning thirty-two
fouettés
(throwing one leg to the side and whipping it round while turning) on one spot. This step, taught at the school in Milan, left the Russians stunned.

The Italians were real virtuosos. ‘Their
tours
, their
pirouettes
, their
fouettés
, were all superior to our own,’ recalled Nicolai Legat. ‘Their manners … often lacked grace; theirs was a school of “
tours de force
’‘; taste was sacrificed to effect a dexterity.’
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Nevertheless, they proved technically superior to the Russians. Legnani was the first serious competition Mathilde had encountered in her rise to the top, and she was jealous.
The race was now on among the Russian ballerinas to learn the Italian ‘tricks’. Most soon mastered the art of keeping the head turned towards the audience during
pirouettes
(a turn on one leg with the supporting leg kept straight), but performing thirty-two
fouettés
was a different matter.

Mathilde and the other Russian dancers flocked to Cecchetti’s studio but, try as they might, they were unable to master the secret. Finally, Nicolai Legat was asked to partner Legnani when Pavel Gerdt was ill. They soon became friends and often danced together. As they practised, Legat observed how Legnani held her body and flicked her head around as she turned. He passed the secret to Mathilde. At her first effort she was able to turn a dozen times. Then, working systematically with Legat, she mastered the full thirty-two. Soon afterwards Mathilde Kschessinska became the first Russian ballerina to perform thirty-two
fouettés
on the stage of the Maryinsky Theatre. The audience went wild in a display of patriotic rejoicing, and the ovation did not subside until Mathilde, with perfect aplomb, coolly gave an encore. She was thrilled. ‘And on the following morning,’ recorded Legat, ‘I received the gift of a gold cigar-case and a note of grateful thanks from a certain very exalted personage.’
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When Legat was promoted to Soloist to His Imperial Majesty in 1896 it was widely attributed to the influence of Mathilde in gratitude for his excellent partnering and for teaching her the thirty-two
fouettés
.

Early in January 1894 there was concern for the Tsar’s health, which forced the postponement of many Court functions until he had recovered sufficiently.

On 12 January the betrothal was announced between Grand Duchess Xenia and Grand Duke Alexander Michaelovich (Sandro), one of the cousins Nicholas frequently brought to Mathilde’s house. Mathilde said she and Nicholas celebrated, along with Julie and Baron Zeddeler, by sitting on Julie’s bedroom floor drinking champagne. Nicholas’s diary made no mention of a visit to Mathilde that day. He had more important things to think about.

With the Tsar still unwell, official papers were now returned bearing the instructions of the Tsarevich, who ‘continued to amuse himself’ with Mathilde. On 21 January Count Lamsdorff reported that one of the young men from the Chancellery had been with Kschessinska a few nights earlier when she received a note from the Tsarevich. It said that he was ‘detained by the illness of his father’ but would arrive, without fail, ‘as soon as an opportunity presented itself’.
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Nicholas was visiting Mathilde less and less. In fact, according to his diaries, he did not call on her at all during 1894. After attending the ballet he returned immediately to the palace. A fourth ballet was added to Mathilde’s repertoire that season. This was
Paquita
, the story of a Spanish gypsy girl and the French general who fell in love with her. Nicholas was in the audience for her performance on 20 February 1894. Now in his diary she was ‘M. Kschessinska’, not ‘my M.K.’
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The Tsar’s illness now had a direct impact on Mathilde’s life. Alexander III, concerned for the future, decided that it was time for Nicholas to marry. There was only one candidate Nicholas would accept. There was to be a family wedding in Coburg in the spring and it was arranged that Nicholas would represent his parents and take the opportunity to propose to Princess Alix of Hesse. Some contemporaries thought the sudden change of heart was because the Tsar and Tsarina had only recently found out about Nicholas’s affair with Kschessinska.

Princess Catherine Radziwill said that Mathilde thought Alix ‘was of so meek and mild a temperament that they would be able to continue their relationship after his marriage’. This is quite possible but it is clear from Nicholas’s diaries that he was losing interest. According to Catherine Radziwill, Mathilde aimed ‘to become a power in the land, a “
Maitresse de Roi
”. … Her Polish propensity for intrigue coming to her help, she very soon contrived to make for herself an excellent position in the world as well as to earn a considerable fortune.’
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On this latter point Mathilde certainly succeeded.

Nicholas left for Coburg on 2 April. Two days later Count Lamsdorff noted in his diary that Kschessinska had ‘reproached [the Tsarevich] about going to his “despicable Alix”.’ At the same time he reported that Nicholas had ‘used the same elegant epithet about his intended marriage’.
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Strangely, several other ministers also doubted Nicholas’s intention to marry.

Mathilde was despondent after Nicholas departed for Germany, unable to concentrate on anything that day. Subsequent days passed in anguish and uncertainty. ‘I did not know what to do next,’ she recalled. ‘Not knowing was horrible and I worried terribly.’
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A few days later the bombshell dropped. Nicholas and Alix were betrothed.

In fact the break with Mathilde had occurred several weeks earlier. ‘Mathilde was terribly upset, sobbing’, several times pleaded illness and refused to appear on the stage.
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On 8 April Count Lamsdorff recorded in his diary:

Today they say that the ballerina Kschessinska just received 100,000 roubles and a house in final settlement on account of her relations with the august lover. Well, well! This evening, at approximately 8 o’clock, a telegram was brought to me from our Minister in Coburg: ‘This morning the betrothal took place of the Grand Duke Tsarevich with Princess Alix of Hesse.’
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This settlement with Mathilde was agreed
before
the betrothal of the Tsarevich was announced. The forthcoming marriage came as something of a relief to the Tsarevich’s brother George, who still believed the Emperor and Empress were unaware of Nicholas’s affair with Mathilde. ‘Thank God, that Nicky is finally betrothed to Alix,’ George wrote to Xenia. ‘You won’t believe how I rejoice at this; it is very lucky that she finally agreed, it could have been a very unpleasant story, especially because of Malechka; it is very surprising that Papa and Mama do not know anything about her. It is good that it ended well.’
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