Editing Natalia Brasova (section)

==Royal mistress==
[[File:Grand Duke Michael alexandrovich his wife and son.jpg|thumb|left|Natalia and Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich with their son]]
Wulfert accepted the Kremlin post, at an enlarged salary, and as Natalia's residence permit was tied to her husband's she also returned to Moscow to live temporarily at a hotel opposite the Kremlin.<ref>Crawford and Crawford, pp. 81–84</ref> By November, she was living in an eight-room apartment at 36 Petersburg Road, paid for by Michael,<ref>Crawford and Crawford, pp. 85–87</ref> where he visited her about three times a month from Orel.<ref>Letter from Michael to Nicholas II, 3 December 1909, State Archive of the Russian Federation, 601/1301, quoted in Crawford and Crawford, p. 91</ref> Wulfert was still demanding that Natalia return to him, as well as threatening to shoot her.<ref>Crawford and Crawford, p. 90</ref> Against the wishes of Michael and Natalia, Nicholas II insisted that she remain in Moscow, and refused to vary the conditions of her residence permit.<ref>Crawford and Crawford, pp. 90–95</ref>

By December 1909, Natalia was pregnant. Fearful that her husband would try to claim the child and take it away from her, her desire for a divorce grew stronger.<ref>Crawford and Crawford, pp. 94–96</ref> Eventually, after prolonged negotiations and a hefty pay-off (200,000 rubles), Wulfert agreed to a divorce on the pretence that he had been unfaithful.<ref name=p97>Crawford and Crawford, p. 97</ref> Natalia's divorce petition was submitted to the Moscow Ecclesiastical [[Consistory court|Consistory Court]] on 19 February 1910,<ref name=p97/> but by July 1910 it had not been granted. When she gave birth to a son on 24 July 1910, the child was legally Wulfert's. The boy was named [[George, Count Brasov|George]] in honour of [[Grand Duke George Alexandrovich of Russia|Michael's late brother]].<ref>Crawford and Crawford, p. 104</ref> It was said that Wulfert was bought off with a bribe of 200,000 roubles,<ref>Letter from Michael Bakhrushin to Pauline Gray, 17 December 1973, Leeds Russian Archive, MS 1363/136, quoted in Crawford and Crawford, p. 107</ref> and the date of their divorce was back-dated, so that George was recognised as Natalia's illegitimate son, though inheriting her noble status, rather than the legitimate child of Wulfert's.<ref>Crawford and Crawford, p. 107</ref>

In May 1911, Nicholas II granted Natalia the surname "Brasova" and the right to live at Michael's estate at [[Brasovo]], {{convert|70|mi|km|abbr=off}} from his posting at Orel. Michael, Natalia and her two children moved there immediately.<ref>Crawford and Crawford, p. 111</ref> By the end of the year, Michael was posted to a command in Saint Petersburg, and they moved to the capital. He officially lived in regimental quarters while paying for a 28-room apartment at 16 [[Liteyny Prospekt]] for her.<ref>Crawford and Crawford, p. 118</ref> She felt trapped in the apartment, feared that her letters were opened, and was ostracised by society.<ref name=c119>Crawford and Crawford, p. 119</ref> After a few months, Michael moved her to a villa at 24 Nikolaevskaya, Gatchina, nearer to his base at the [[Gatchina Palace]].<ref name=c119/>