Tatiana de Foix

Yes, my name combines Russian and French. "But that's polylingual! You can't do that!" you might be saying. Ah, but family heritage explains why.

In the mid-11th century, Princess Anna of Kiev married King Henry I of France. Naturally, Her Highness came to France with a retinue that included ladies-in-waiting. These ladies married into the French nobility, and one of them was my grandmother.

As for my nickname, "Tatiana des Montagnes Ensoleillées", my father entered the following into the chronicles of my family.

On the day of Tatiana's birth, cold rain had been pounding France for more than a week. The labor was exceedingly difficult, and I despaired that my beloved young wife would die in childbirth. The unending rain pouring down on my castle and lands served only to reinforce my fear and dread.

At last, late that afternoon, Tatiana came into the world whole and healthy. When I entered the birthing chamber I bent to kiss my exhausted wife and smooth back her hair. She sighed and smiled at me, and joy speared my heart. Then, as I lifted my tiny daughter and held her in my arms for the first time, I realized the rain had stopped; indeed, as I walked to the window, the sun now draped its golden light over the Pyrenees.

Awed and humbled by the grace shown to me and my wife, I called my daughter Tatiana des Montagnes Ensoleillees—Tatiana of the Sunlit Mountains.

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