Sofia Sergeyevna Trubetskaya (1836-1898)

Russian Princess. Sofia Sergeyevna Trubetskaya or Sophie Troubetskoy was the daughter of Ekaterina Petrovna Mussina-Pushkina, whose beauty she inherited. Her father was either Ekaterina's husband the cavalry lieutenant Prince Sergey Vasilyevich Trubetskoy, making her their only child, or her lover Nicholas I of Russia. Her paternity was questioned right from her birth - shortly afterwards Sergey left for the Caucasus whilst Ekaterina went abroad, eventually settling in Paris with her daughter. She met the Frenchman Charles de Morny, half-brother of Napoleon III, then special envoy to Russia, at the coronation of Alexander II - they married in St Petersburg on 7 January 1857 and moved back to France together. They had four children. She was accepted into the Spanish aristocracy, becoming a dame of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa and introducing the tradition of the Christmas tree into Spain.

Bio by: Ola K Ase