Terrible tsarinas

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Catherine’s Reign: A Flash of Flamboyance by a great prince of France. A few months after her husband’s funeral, Catherine showed herself receptive to Campredon’s suggestions. Matrimonial discussions were thus picked up again at the point where they had been dropped upon the death of the tsar.

In April 1725, the rumor spread that the infanta Maria Anna (the 7-year-old daughter of King Philip V of Spain), who was supposed to have been engaged to the 15-year-old Louis XV, was about to be sent back to her country because the French regent, the Duke of Bourbon,3 considered her too young for the role. Inspired, Catherine called for Campredon; he could only confirm the news.

Catherine then waxed sympathetic over the fate of the unfortunate infanta, but declared that the regent’s decision did not surprise her, for one cannot play with impunity with the sacred candor of childhood. Then, wary of Naryshkin, the grand master of the court who was present during this meeting, she went on in Swedish. Praising Elizabeth’s physical and moral qualities, she stressed the importance that the grand duchess would have on the international chessboard in the case of a family accord with France. She did not dare to state her thoughts outright, opting merely to assert, with a prophetic gleam in her eyes: “We would prefer friendship and an alliance with the King of France over all the other princes in the world.” Her dream: that her dear little Elizabeth, “that little royal morsel,” should become Queen of France. How many problems would be resolved smoothly, from one end of Europe to the other, if Louis XV agreed to become her son-in-law! If need be, she promised, the fiancee would adopt the Catholic religion. This offer struck Campredon very much like a declaration of love; he dissolved in thanks and asked to be given time to transmit the details of the proposal to his superiors. For his part, Menshikov went to the ambassador and swore to him that Elizabeth’s intelligence and grace were “worthy of the French