The favorites of royalty have always held a special place in the course of history. After all, as a rule, it is these women who push men to deeds and heroic deeds. Anna Mons, the love of the first Russian emperor Peter I, can be called one of the most interesting persons in the history of Russia.
The biography of many people in history arouses the ardent interest of descendants. After all, some of them by their very existence have already managed to turn the course of events by 180 degrees. One of these women was Anna Mons, the favorite and beloved woman of the Russian Emperor Peter I.
Anna's childhood
A famous woman even after centuries was born in the German settlement, located near Moscow. Biographers date her birth to January 26, 1672. In Russia she was called Anna Ivanovna Mons, but her middle name was Anna-Yargareta von Monson. Because of this, she was often nicknamed "Monsiha". The girl was born into the family of goldsmith Johann Georg Mons. True, according to some sources, it is claimed that he was a wine merchant. The girl's mother is Matryona Efimovna Mogerfleish. Anna's father arrived in Moscow in the second half of the 17th century. By 1690, he was wealthy enough - this was enough for Peter I to appear in his house.
However, after his death, it turned out that the family had a lot of debts, and they had to sell the property. At the same time, Anna Mons's mother was a greedy woman and diligently looked for sponsors or rich husbands for her daughters.
Meet the Emperor
Biographers say that Anna Mons got acquainted with the tsar around 1690. Lefort facilitated such a fateful meeting. It is believed that even before Anna became the favorite of the future emperor, she had a love affair with Lefort. Oddly enough, no portraits of the girl have survived. However, according to the memoirs of contemporaries, she was distinguished by rare beauty in her youth.
Historians call Anna Mons the first true love of Peter I. He became very attached to her, and so much so that he even sent his lawful wife Evdokia to the monastery so that she would not stand in his way as an obstacle to happiness. The legal wife, by the way, did not prevent Peter I from living with Mons openly, without hiding the novel from anyone.
Historians describe the moment of their meeting as follows. When it was bad weather, a friend and neighbor of Anne Franz Lefort brought a lanky youth to their courtyard. But even then she knew that this was the king. He often dropped in to her father's shop to buy provisions for his amusing troops - as he called his army. Anna bowed down to the sovereign and offered him coffee. For the young man, all this was new - no one bowed in front of him so that the entire neckline was visible, and no one offered him coffee. Peter decided to wait out the bad weather in their house. But the bad weather lasted more than one day, and the roads became impassable.
Anna turned out to be not as simple as it seems - at first the tsar had to recapture her from another, then become free. But once he got his freedom, he had nothing more to fight for. Anna, on the other hand, was reputed to be an intelligent woman and quickly recognized that she had become a trophy.
At the same time, the king still wanted to marry Mons. But he was stopped by the fact that she was openly disliked. First, she was a foreigner. Secondly, her essence, which longed for a rich life, was obvious to many. In addition, historians note that the young woman was unlikely to love the king. Yes, she treated him favorably, but she did not feel any special bright feelings. As time later showed, she sincerely fell in love with another man at the end of her life.
At that time, on the other side of the courtyard, a "gift" was being prepared for the tsar - a young peasant woman Martha, who was captured in one of the battles by Prince Menshikov. Subsequently, Martha became Peter's great love and the new empress.
Love triangle
Anna Mons's personal life has taken a sharp turn. In an attempt to regain the favor of the emperor, she went to desperate measures. So, she tried to make him jealous. The woman wrote several letters to one of her Saxon admirers. The latter is practically crazy about love. The fact that his beloved condescended to him, he began to tell everyone in a row. As a result, the news reached the king. Peter I went to Anna to demand an answer.
She hoped to receive an offer, but in fact the king was furious and even wanted to take away all the gifts from her - estates, money, etc. Anna was able to calm him down, but soon her admirer drowned in the stream. Then Anna found another boyfriend, who even decided to turn to Peter with a request to allow him to marry. And the king gave permission. After all, at that time he had another favorite who had no education and did not like to talk a lot.
Anna and her husband left for Berlin, where her husband's home was. However, her family life did not last long - her husband died a few months after the wedding. It turned out that Anna found herself a Swedish captain, with whom she took the inheritance from her husband's relatives.
End of life
Anne Mons made a significant contribution to the country's development. After all, Peter for the sake of the German created the Baltic Fleet in order to win victories in the western direction. Therefore, such a novel by the emperor had its advantages.
Anna died suddenly, consumption is called the cause of her death. The date of death of this great and bright woman is August 15, 1714. At that time, she was a fairly wealthy woman, and she left all her fortune to her last love Karl-Johann von Miller, who was the very Swedish captain, and to her mother in equal shares.
