Olga Valerianovna Paley
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| Her Serene Highness Princess Olga Valerianovna Paley | |
| Born | December 2, 1865 |
|---|---|
| Died | November 2, 1929 (aged 62) Paris, France |
| Parents | Valerian Karnovich and Olga Vasilyevna Meszaros |
Her Serene Highness Princess Olga Valerianovna Paley (Ольга Валериановна Палей) (December 2, 1865–November 2, 1929), was the second wife of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia.
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[edit] Early life and first marriage
She was born Olga Karnovich at St. Petersburg, the daughter of Valerian Karnovich and his wife Olga Vasilyevna Meszaros. She married Eric Augustinovich von Pistolkors, by whom she had three children:
- Alexander Ericovich von Pistolkors (1885 - 1944), who married Alexandra Taneyeva.
- Olga Ericovna von Pistolkors (1888 - 1963)
- Marianna, or Marianne, von Pistolkors (1890 - 1976), who married Count Nicolai de Zarnekau.
[edit] Scandal of second marriage
She later began an affair with Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, causing a great society scandal, and bore him a child, Vladimir. Her marriage to Pistolkors was terminated by divorce, and Paul asked permission of Tsar Nicholas II to marry Olga, but he refused.
In 1902, Paul married her morganatically, but the marriage was not approved, and she was given no titles. In 1904, Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria granted Olga the title of Countess von Hohenfelsen. Nicholas II later acquiesced to the marriage and made her Princess Paley.
Olga and Paul had three children:
- His Serene Highness Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley (1897-1918), a poet.
- Her Serene Highness Princess Irina Pavlovna Paley (1903-1990), married her cousin HH Prince Feodor Alexandrovich and later Count Hubert Conquere de Monbrison.
- Her Serene Highness Princess Natalia Pavlovna Paley (1905-1981), a fashion model and film actress, married firstly Lucien Lelong and secondly John Chapman Wilson.
[edit] Exile
Olga left Russia in 1920 with her two daughters to Finland, after her son and her husband were murdered by the Bolsheviks. She died in exile in Paris.
[edit] External links
- Memories of Russia - by Princess Paley
