Background
Konstantin Konstantinovich was born on August 10, 1858 in Saint Petersburg City, Russian Federation. He was the fourth child of the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia and his wife Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg.
1880
Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia as Mozart
1914
Konstantin Konstantinovich as Joseph of Arimathea in his own play Tsar of Judea
Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, his wife Grand Duchess Elizabeth and their children.
Six children of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich
composer playwright translator amateur actor poet
Konstantin Konstantinovich was born on August 10, 1858 in Saint Petersburg City, Russian Federation. He was the fourth child of the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia and his wife Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg.
From his early childhood Konstantin Konstantinovich was more interested in letters, art, and music than in the military upbringing required for Romanov boys. Nevertheless, the Grand Duke was sent to serve in the Imperial Russian Navy. He was unsatisfied, and left the navy to join the elite Izmailovsky Regiment of the Imperial Guard, where he served with distinction.
Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov was both a patron of Russian art and an artist in his own right. A talented pianist, the Grand Duke was Chairman of the Russian Musical Society, and counted Tchaikovsky among his closest friends. But he was first and foremost a man of letters. Konstantin Konstantinovich founded several Russian literary societies. He translated foreign works (including Schiller and Goethe) into Russian, and was particularly proud of his Russian translation of Hamlet. An accomplished poet and playwright, he also took great interest in the direction of his plays. The Grand Duke actually appeared in his last play, "King of Judea," playing the role of Joseph of Arimathea.
The Grand Duke's artistic slavophilism and devotion to duty endeared him to both Alexander III and Nicholas II. The former appointed Konstantin Konstantinovich as President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and later as Chief of All Military Colleges. He was also made an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1902, with reference to his chairmanship of a Swedish-Russian surveying commission.
The outbreak of World War I found Konstantin Konstantinovich and his wife in Germany, where they were taking the cure in Wildungen. Caught in enemy territory, the couple attempted a quick return to Russia. Their plans were disrupted by German authorities, who claimed the Grand Duke and his wife were political prisoners. Grand Duchess Elizaveta sent a message to the German Imperial couple asking for their help. Eventually Konstantin Konstantinovich and his entourage were allowed to depart Germany and transported to the first Russian station. The weakened Konstantin Konstantinovich had to proceed by foot across the front lines. By the time he and Elizaveta arrived in St. Petersburg, now renamed Petrograd, the Grand Duke was in a dismal state of health.
The first year of the war took a cruel toll on his immediate family. Five of his six sons served in the Russian Army, and in October 1914, his fourth and most talented son, Prince Oleg, was mortally wounded fighting against the Germans. The following March, his son-in-law Prince Bagration-Muhransky was killed on the Caucasus front. KR's health and spirit were broken by these blows, and he died on 15 June 1915.
As exemplary and dedicated (and even conservative) as KR's public life was, his private turmoil was intense. KR's first homosexual experiences occurred in the Imperial Guards. The Grand Duke made great efforts to repress his feelings. But despite his love for his wife, Konstantin Konstantinovich could not resist the temptations offered to a person of his exalted state. Konstantin Konstantinovich claimed in his diary that between 1893 and 1899 he remained away from the practice of what he called his "main sin." Yet by the birth of his seventh child, Konstantin Konstantinovich had become a steady visitor to several of the male brothels of Saint Petersburg. By the end of 1904, Konstantin Konstantinovich became somewhat attached to an attractive young man by the name of Yatsko. In KR's final years, he wrote of his homosexual urges less and less.
Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov married in 1884 in St Petersburg Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg, his second cousin. Upon her marriage, Elisabeth became the Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavrikievna. She was known within the family as "Mavra." The marriage was a success, although Grand Duke Konstantin secretly kept male lovers. Konstantin and Elizaveta had nine children: Prince Ioann (1886-1918), Prince Gavriil (1887-1955), Princess Tatiana (1890-1979), Prince Konstantin (1891-1918), Prince Oleg (1892-1914), Prince Igor (1894-1918), Prince Georgy (1903-1938), Princess Natalia (died at exactly two months, 1905), Princess Vera (1906-2001).