The wedding was gleefully planned by the empress who just loved her warped amusements. She had paired Prince Michael Golitsyn, a nobleman she had reduced to one of her court jesters, with a hideous-looking serving wench. Now it was time for the honeymoon. For that occasion, Anna arranged for a magnificent palace to be built entirely of ice on the frozen Neva River. Even the minutest details were given meticulous attention, right down to the ice playing cards that sat atop an ice table. There were ice trees and shrubs outside, with an ice elephant guarding the entrance, while inside the honeymoon suite the couple was provided with a canopied bed made entirely of ice, along with ice sheets, pillows, and blankets. A huge crowd joined the grand procession to this frozen retreat where the unfortunate couple was condemned to spend the night consummating the marriage neither had wanted. They emerged the next morning frostbitten and sniffling, while the capricious Empress Anna was left howling with laughter.
Source:
Farquhar, Michael. “Chapter 4 – Anna (1730-1740): “A Bored Estate Mistress”.” Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness from Romanov Russia. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2014. 62. Print.
Further Reading:
Anna Ioannovna (Russian: Анна Иоанновна)
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