Prince Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Menshikov was a son of Prince Menshikov who, at one stage, was betrothed to Grand Duchess Natalya Alexeyevna, a granddaughter of Peter the Great.
Background
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Menshikov was the son of Prince Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov and his wife Darya Mikhailovna. Prince Menshikov similarly arranged the betrothal of his son to Grand Duchess Natalya Alexeyevna, a granddaughter of Peter the Great.
Career
He later served as an officer in the Russian army. With the accession of Catherine, the second wife of Peter the Great, to the Russian throne in 1725, Prince Menshikov was practically the absolute ruler of Russia. However, following the fall and exile of the Menshikovs in September 1727, the engagement was broken off and the family was stripped of all their positions and property titles and charged with embezzlement and abuse.
The family was exiled to the Siberian town of Beryozovo.
Only part of their personal property was returned such as clothing, linens and tableware including copper and tin. However, the Menshikov jewels were retained by the Empress.
The jewels of the family were later used for the crown for the coronation of the Emperor, including diamonds, pearls and emeralds. In 1731, Aleksandr Menshikov became an ensign in the Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment.
He participated in the capture of Ochakov (1737) and Khotin (1739), under the leadership of Count Munnich, and in 1738 became a captain-lieutenant.
In 1748 he received the rank of second-major and took part in the Prussian War. In 1757 he was made a Knight of the Alexander Nevsky and the given the rank of lieutenant-general. Peter Aleksandrovich Menshikov (1743–1781) - married Princess Ekaterina Alexandrovna Dolgorukoi (1747–1791).
Sergei Aleksandrovich Menshikov (1746–1815) - Senator, married Princess Ekaterina Nikolaevna Galitzine (1764–1832).
Daria Alexandrovna Menshikova (1747–1817) - married Prince Alexander Bakarovich Gruzinsky (1726–1791). Catherine Alexandrovna Menshikova (1748–1791) - married Stepan Stepanovich Zinoviev.
In 1762, he was among the first residents notified of the accession to the throne of the Empress Catherine World War II He was then elevated to the rank of General-in-chief He died two years later.