Princess Sofia Andreyevna Gagarina (Russian: Софья Андреевна Гагарина), née Dashkova (25 June 1822 – 10 December 1908) was a maid of honour, later state lady, and wife of the Chief Chamberlain of Prince Grigory Gagarin.
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Biography
Sophia was born to Senator Andrei Vasilyevich Dashkov (1790-1865) from his marriage to Anastasia Petrovna Dmitrieva-Mamonova (1801-1834). From 1830 she lived with her parents and older brother Vasily in Ryazan, where her father served as governor. After the early death of her mother, she was brought up at the Catherine Institute in St. Petersburg, from which she graduated in 1841 with a large gold cipher. Immediately after graduation, she was appointed maid of honor to Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna.
Sweet and pleasant in appearance, Dashkova enjoyed success in the world and was the subject of the most ardent passion of Grand Duke Alexander Nikolaevich. However, these hobbies almost always ended solely in the adoration she had for her mistress. In 1847, she accompanied the crown princess on a trip to Darmstadt, from there to the waters of Kissengen, and then to Stuttgart. During the trip, Sophia became close to the widower Prince Grigory Grigorievich Gagarin (1810-1893), who came to the waters with his little daughter. In many ways, their hasty union was facilitated by the Hofmeisterin, Princess Ekaterina Saltykova. She knew well all the positive qualities of Dashkova and believed that she could Gagarin's late wife.
Having received permission from the emperor, Prince Gagarin proposed and on 17 August 1847 in Darmstadt he married Sofia Dashkova. The poet Fyodor Tyutchev reported to his wife: