Here we have the scandalous Mathilde Kschessinska, wife of Grand Duke Andrei of Russia, and mistress to two other members of the Romanov family, with her son Vova. Mathilde was born on August 31, 1872 outside of St. Petersburg to a family of performers. Mathilde's parents, grandparents, and siblings were involved in the theater or ballet. From childhood, she was pushed to be a dancer. Petite, with a thin waist, thick legs, and beautiful face, Mathilde was a natural candidate to be a ballerina in Moscow. She first appeared onstage at age nine, and had trained since she could walk. She started the Imperial Ballet School at age eight. This was a major opportunity for a young girl with aspirations to be a ballerina, but it didn't allow her to have much of a childhood. Her parents were stage parents who wanted her to succeed on stage and also pushed her sister, Julia, into becoming a dancer. She was taught by several famous dancers. She was heavily influenced by Danish and Italian dancers who's style was different from what was being done in Russia at the time. They put more weight on acting and showmanship, though Mathilde had excellent form and execution the focus on drama helped her succeed. She was the Lady Gaga of the turn-of-the-century Russian dance world and attracted attention with her flair for drama, extravagant costumes, and outrageous lifestyle. Her formal debut was in 1890, when she was almost eighteen. For the next twenty-seven years she would be the Prima Ballerina of Imperial Russia. At age eighteen, she met the future Czar Nicholas II. He was impressed by her dancing, and began attending all her performances and sending her gifts back stage. The Romanov men loved dancers. They were considered ideal mistress material and it was not unusual for a popular dancer to have a royal "patron" who gave her jewels and subsidized her lifestyle. In her memoirs Mathilde recalled meeting Nicholas socially the first time and feeling an immediate spark between them. Within a few months there was a sexual relationship going on according to comtemporary speculation. Though we are somewhat unclear on that as Nicholas was a major goody two-shoes an without much proof it could just be they had a "courtly love" thing going on. Nicholas once wrote her that he could barely hold his pen because he was feeling such passion for her. Mathilde began living the lavish lifestyle of a royal mistress. Nicholas rented her a large house and sent her many extravagant jewels, including once necklace with diamonds the size of walnuts that was too heavy for her to wear. Mathilde's career also set off to the point she only danced for special productions, and spent the rest of her time entertaining and being entertained. Her fame and reputation increased. Her father was upset at her for allowing herself to be branded a "scarlet woman", though he had pushed her onto the stage from the time she could walk and knew full well how the royals felt about dancers. And how dancers felt about them, as well. Mathilde and Nicholas's relationship continued until 1894, when Nicholas fell in love with Princess Alexandra of Hesse and broke off his relationship with Mathilde. He visited her backstage after one of her performances, gave her a gift and explained that he had met someone else and would probably be getting married and so needed to break off the relationship. That was actually a very noble thing to do; one of the standard manners of breaking up for royals involves avoiding them, taking up with someone else, and hoping they get the point. The other involves getting a hanger-on or servant to tell them they're no longer welcome at the palace. Mathilde would have been lucky to get a letter. Nicholas, though entirely faithful to his wife, did occasionally see Mathilde dance and send her gifts (though not romantic jewelry) and they always remained on good terms. Though Alexandra was careful about them not seeing too much of one another; Nicholas had told her of his relationship with Mathilde before they got engaged and begged her forgiveness for him having a past. I told you he was a goody-two shoes with his lady loves, if not where peasants and anti-monarchists were concerned. Meanwhile, she had been introduced to Nicholas's cousin Grand Duke Sergei, who continued to support her. He even bought her a lavish home and even more jewels. Mathilde continued to be a legendary dancer, and she often used her own jewelry with her costumes on stage to give a more dramatic effect. She had the lead role in almost everything she danced in from 1894 on. In 1896 she was named Prima Ballerina of the St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet. She often used her royal connections to advance her career. Though Mathilde liked Sergei and appreciated his support, they did not have the same level of chemistry she had had with Nicholas. Around 1900, she began to fall in love with Grand Duke Andrei, Sergei's cousin, who was seven years her junior. She definitely had a think for royalty. Mathilde was incredibly attracted to Andrei and was charmed by his shyness and awkwardness; he knocked over a wine glass on to her gown one of the first times they dined together. Despite her blooming relationship with Andrei, Sergei continued to support her. And both men gave her lavish gifts. In late 1901 she discovered she was pregnant, and didn't know which one of them was the father. Her only child, Vladimir, was born June 30, 1902. He was known in the family as Vova, which was a nice nickname for a Romanov. There was one unfortunate Grand Duke who was known as Bimbo. Vova's birth had been very difficult, and Mathilde took a long recovery after his birth. Though her replacement had proved popular and her star was fading a bit, her status as Prima Ballerina remained. When Vova was a child, Nicholas II gave him a title as a favor to Mathilde and he was acknowledged in private as royalty, though no one could agree who his father was. Andrei acted as his father, and legally adopted him after the revolution. Mathilde continued to balance her two royal lovers, and thanks to her great charm and personality, they didn't mind sharing her that much. But Andrei was the love of her life. The home Sergei had bought her became a center of society and her lavish lifestyle was legendary. During a harsh winter when almost no coal could be found to heat anyone's home, Mathilde's house received truckloads of coal every week. She used the finest of everything, and lived a better lifestyle than Nicholas II and his rather sheltered family. Though she was not on the same level as some of the Romanov relatives, who's lavish lives along with Nicholas's isolation, made the public rather miffed with the whole Romanov clan. Not that Mathilde didn't have plenty of enemies. She was not popular with the commoners, who considered her a whore living off royal money and an embodiment of the lust and corruption of the extended Romanov family. She also liked to sabotage young dancers she saw as rivals, though during that time period that was really standard behavior for ballerinas and actresses. Special comment was made about women who weren't divas. Mathilde and Andrei settled into a nice routine of travel and parties, with the occasional ballet and spoiled their son rotten. But by 1910, things in Russia had begun to change and the future was not looking bright for Mathilde Kschessinska. This will be at least a two part post.