Elizabeth Antonovna of Brunswick

Elizabeth Antonovna of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1743–1782) was the daughter of Duke Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick and Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna of Russia. Born after the deposition of her brother Ivan VI, she was kept imprisoned by Empress Elizabeth of Russia along with her family at Kholmogory, and in 1780, she and two brothers and a sister were placed under house arrest for the rest of their lives in Horsens.

Early life The siblings were kept prisoner because their right to the Russian throne, according to the succession of Empress Anna, made them potential political threats to the Empress Elizabeth, Emperor Peter III, and eventually Empress Catherine the Great. In contrast to that of their elder brother, the deposed Ivan VI, who was placed in solitary confinement, the younger siblings were kept together with their father after the death of their mother in 1746.

In Kholmogory, the family occupied the Bishop's house within the fortress compound, where they were allowed a small garden and some animals. They were kept under watch by guards and kept a small retinue of servants: as their father retained sexual relations with the female servants, their staff eventually consisted of their half siblings.

By an Imperial decree of 1750, the siblings were banned from learning to read and write. Natan Eidelman writes that they at least were lovers.

During the inspection of Melgonov, Elizabeth, described as the head of the family, communicated the siblings' life and wishes. She stated that when young, before their father had grown blind, they had all wished to be free, and hoped for the day when they would be released. The siblings, being unused to their new degree of freedom in a new environment and surrounded by people whose language they could not understand, were reportedly unhappy in Denmark.