Ralouka Musurus
(1848-1923)
27 August 1863

Volume 10, page 189, sitting number 13,123.

Ralouka ('Rachel') Musurus was the daughter of His Excellency Constantine Musurus, the Turkish ambassador in London.

The family appear on the 1861 census living at the Turkish embassy in Bryanston Square. Ralouka was born in Constantinople in or about 1848. 

A talented pianist, she studied with Camille Dubois, who had been Chopin’s last student. Paderewski dedicated several of his compositions to her. 

On 28 May 1874 in London she married Prince Gregoire Bibesco-Bassaraba de Brancovan. The marriage produced two children. Their daughter, the poet Anna de Noailles, became a prominent figure in Paris society. 

Princess Rachel de Brancovan died in Paris on 26 September 1923.