Mathilde Kschessinska

Mathilde Kschessinska
Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya
Kschessinska costumed for the title role in Petipa's La Camargo. St. Petersburg, c. 1902
Born(1872-08-31)31 August 1872
Ligovo, Petergof, Russian Empire
Died6 December 1971(1971-12-06) (aged 99)
Paris, France
Burial
Spouse
(m. 1921; died 1956)
IssuePrince Vladimir Romanovsky-Krasinsky
HouseHolstein-Gottorp-Romanov
FatherFeliks Krzesiński
ReligionRussian Orthodox (previously Catholic)
OccupationPrima ballerina

Mathilde-Marie Feliksovna Kschessinska (Polish: Matylda Maria Krzesińska; Russian: Матильда Феликсовна Кшесинская; 31 August [O.S. 19 August] 1872 – 6 December 1971), also known as Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya upon her marriage, was a Polish–Russian ballerina from the noble Krzesiński family. Her father, Feliks Krzesiński, and her brother both danced in Saint Petersburg. She was a mistress of the future Emperor Nicholas II of Russia before his marriage, and later the wife of his cousin Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia.[1] She was known in the West as Mathilde Kschessinska or Matilda Kshesinskaya.[2]

  1. ^ Kshessinska 1960. Dancing in Petersburg. London, translated Haskell.
  2. ^ The latter is Beaumont's version, The Diaghilev Ballet in London, 1940.