Background
Born Rozalia Chodkiewicz, she was the daughter of January Mikołaj Chodkiewicz and Maria Ludwika Rzewuska, who was a daughter of hetman and writer Wacław Rzewuski.
Born Rozalia Chodkiewicz, she was the daughter of January Mikołaj Chodkiewicz and Maria Ludwika Rzewuska, who was a daughter of hetman and writer Wacław Rzewuski.
Known for her beauty, Rozalia travelled to France, where she was rumoured to have some romantic affairs Anna Rajecka"s painting Girl with a Dove comes from that period. The allegory of virginity and innocence was meant to contradict the widespread gossip.
As a result, the 26-year-old princess was sentenced to death and soon beheaded by guillotine, although her guilt was, and remained, widely questioned.
The death of a Polish national caused much concern among the Polish nobility who, prior to the Reign of Terror, openly cheered the Revolution. Lubomirska"s husband, who returned to France to help her, as well as other Poles present in Paris at that time, vouched for her innocence.
After her death, Rozalia became the subject of legends. According to one, her ghost appears in the Lubomirski"s palace in Opole Lubelskie.
The writer Adolf Dygasiński claimed he saw her ghost.