Elizaveta Narishkina

Princess Elisabeth "Zizi" Alexeevna Narishkina née Kurakin (1838-1928) was a Russian noblewoman, court official and memoirist. She served as Ober-Hofmeisterin (Mistress of the Robes) to empress Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse) from 1910 until 1917.

Life

She was the daughter of Kurakin and Julia Golitsyn. She married Anatoly Dimitevich Naryshkin (1829-1883). They had two children, a son Kyril (1868-1924) who was a General, and a daughter Vera (1874-1951) who married the Governor of Yaroslav, Dimitri Nikolaevich Tatishchev (1867-1919).

She was appointed chief lady-in-waiting to empress Alexandra in succession to Maria Golitzyna, who died in 1910. As such, she was the first in rank of female office holders of the empress household and responsible for the ladies-in-waiting.

During the World War I, she remained in service at Tsarskole Selo with the empress along with the ladies-in-waiting Princess Orbeliani (d. 1915), O. E. Butzow, Sophie Buxhoeveden and Anastasia Hendrikova. After the Russian Revolution, she remained during the house arrest of the tsar and empress at Tsarskole Selo. When the household staff where informed by the government that they would have to choose by leaving or remaining and henceforth be submitted to the conditions of house arrest themselves, she chose to remain. In April, Kerensky informed them that there were plans to separate Alexandra from the rest of the family for political reasons, Narishkina, according to Sophie Buxhoevden. At one point, Narishkina unsuccessfully suggested to Alexandra that she and Nikolai could escape without their children, who they could leave in the care of Narishkina, who would then join them. Ultimately, Narishkina did not accompany Alexandra to Siberia, as she fell ill and left for health reasons on 27 May.

She published her memoirs, Under three tsars: the memoirs of the lady-in-waiting, Elizabeth Narishkin-Kurakin.

References
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