first. On the 29th, Joseph visited the emperor without announcement, asking for his blessing and committing himself to solving their diplomatic issues openly and honestly. This made a great impression on Paul and the wedding could proceed according to plans. Marriage On 30 October, after Emperor Paul had awarded Joseph the Order of Saint Andrew, he could finally marry Alexandra Pavlovna. The wedding was first celebrated according to Orthodox rites in the imperial chapel of Gatchina Palace, then the Roman Catholic ceremony was held. The following days were overshadowed by news of lost battles and subsequent tension between Austria and Russia, as well as disagreements over the specifics of the dowry and the dower. The emperor again refused to see his son-in-law, but reconciled with him shortly before the young couple's departure on 2 December, which was very emotional. After a visit to Vienna, they arrived in Buda on 11 February. Nevertheless, the Austro-Russian alliance soon fell apart as Emperor Paul pulled out. During the course of the short marriage, the couple lived happily and enjoyed each other's company. There were many festivities thrown for and by the new archduchess, including concerts, balls, hunts, and a harvest festival on Margaret Island, to which she usually wore Hungarian-style dresses. The couple rode and walked around Buda in a carriage, once finding the village of Üröm, which Alexandra liked so much that Joseph bought it for her, planning to build a summer residence there. Towards the end of her pregnancy, Alexandra often visited Üröm. She enjoyed Hungarian folk music and talked to delegations of tóts (old name for Roman Catholic South Slavs living in Hungary) in a mix of Russian and Slovak. For Joseph's birthday in 1800, she commissioned Haydn to conduct his oratorio The Creation and also invited Beethoven to perform in Budapest. As a result of her kindness and consideration, Alexandra became so well-liked by Hungarians that they started to call her magyar királyné ('Hungarian queen consort'), much to the dismay of the Viennese court and especially Empress Theresa (who was, in fact, queen consort of Hungary). Whenever the palatinal couple visited Vienna, Alexandra was humiliated in many small ways, and they were not accommodated in the palace with the rest of the imperial family but in a remote house in the garden. Pregnancy, birth of daughter, and death Alexandra soon became pregnant. While the first stages were easy, she