The office of Governor was instituted in the Grand Duchy of Poznań (part of the Prussian partition) after the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The incumbent was Duke Antoni Radziwiłł (1775-1833), a scion of an eminent Lithuanian family which bore the Trąby coat of arms. His hard-headed parents, realising the Commonwealth was doomed, sent their sons to school in Göttingen. The young man retained his Polish national consciousness but moved exclusively in Prussian circles. This love affair was consummated with his marriage to Princess Louise of Prussia (1770-1836), niece of King Frederick William II, in 1796.

Radziwiłł was an idealist whose aim in life was to bring about Polish-Prussian reconciliation. He accepted the position of Governor of the Grand Duchy of Poznań in good faith and was optimistic that his reconciliatory mission would succeed. In reality, all administrative power was vested in the over-president of the province and Radziwiłł was merely a figurehead. The duke governor was surrounded by informers who did not even bother concealing the fact that they were apprising Berlin of his every movement.

In order to save face and preserve his dignity in this situation, Radziwiłł limited himself to official matters and focused on artistic activities, patronising culture and assisting Polish students. He was a talented cellist and an amateur composer who wrote the music for Goethe’s play Faust. A lot of artists, among them Frédéric Chopin, were invited to his charming hunting palace in Antonin, near Ostrów Wielkopolski.

Wielkopolska’s widespread participation in the November Uprising (1830) was a convenient pretext to dismiss Duke Antoni, especially as his brother, Duke Michał Gedeon Radziwiłł (1778-1850) was commander-in-chief of the Polish army. Antoni Radziwiłł died in Berlin and was laid to rest in the family mausoleum in his beloved Antonin.