Joanna Grudzinska

Joanna Grudzińska (17 May 1791 – 17 November 1831) was a notable Polish noblewoman who rose to fame as the Princess of Łowicz through her marriage to Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia, the de facto viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland. Born in Poznań as the eldest of three daughters of Count Antoni Grudziński and Marianna Dorpowska, she grew up in a privileged but politically turbulent environment; her family owned the town of Chodzież and bore the distinguished Grzymała coat of arms. Renowned for her striking beauty, Joanna entered the imperial circle in 1815 when she began a relationship with Constantine, who was then a widower after the death of Princess Juliane of Saxe‑Coburg‑Saalfeld. Their clandestine union required a dramatic sacrifice: Tsar Alexander I forced Constantine to renounce his claim to the Russian throne in favor of his younger brother Nicholas I, a decision kept secret among a very limited circle in Saint Petersburg and later linked to the Decembrist revolt of 1825. The couple married on 27 May 1820, and on 8 July 1820 Alexander formally styled Joanna Princess of Łowicz, cementing her status within the Russian imperial family. In honor of her title, a Russian Imperial Navy frigate, Knyaginya Lovich, was launched in 1828 and saw action in the Mediterranean during the Greek War of Independence and the Russo‑Turkish War of 1828‑1829. Despite being branded a traitor by some Polish patriots, Joanna remained loyal to Constantine throughout the turbulent period of the November Uprising, where he fought against Polish insurgents, even as her own family members fought on the opposite side. After Constantine’s death from cholera in Vitebsk in June 1831, Joanna accompanied his body to Saint Petersburg and died herself later that year, being interred at Tsarskoye Selo. In 1929 her remains were transferred to Rąbin, resting beside her sister Maria Antonina and General Dezydery Chłapowski. Her dramatic life inspired the Polish film Duchess of Łowicz (Księżna Łowicka), cementing her legacy in both history and popular culture.