Horses in War and Piece Horses in War and Piece | Page 50

Prince Nicholai Oldenburg (Nikolaus
Friedrich August von Oldenburg, 1840-
1886), the second child and the elder
son of Prince Peter of Oldenburg and
Princess Therese Wilhelmina of Nassau,
and the grandson of Grand Duchess
Catherine Pavlovna, belonged to one
of the most influential royal families of
Europe. Different branches of the house
ruled over Denmark, Iceland, Greece,
Norway, Sweden, and Russia (the
Romanovs were one of the descendants
of the Oldenburg house).
Prince Oldenburg received home
education. From birth he was assigned
to the Life Guards Preobrazhensky
Regiment. In 1856, he commenced his
military service in the rank of lieutenant
in the Life Guards Mounted Pioneer
Squadron. In 1861, he was appointed the
regiment’s commander.
In 1863 he made a morganatic marriage
with Maria Bulazel (1845-1907). The
marriage displeased the Tsar: Prince
Oldenburg was dismissed from
the Court and had to quit military
service. Only three years later, due to
the intercession of the Grand Duke
Nicholas, who was married to his sister
Alexandra, he was allowed to return to
the army, his wife and children were
granted the title of Counts Ostenburg.
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