Alexandra doted on Alexei because he was her only son and the heir to the Russian Empire. [111] After this, Alexandra noticed that the guards defending the palace gradually come to wear handkerchiefs around their wrists, signalling that they supported the Duma, which also meant that she and her children, while being defended from immediate harm, was nevertheless in de facto house arrest from that moment on. His Grandfather Survived One Attack. The guards informed him he was no longer at Tsarskoe Selo and that refusal to comply with their request would result in his removal from the rest of his family; a second offence would be rewarded with hard labour. On 12 March soldiers sent to suppress the rioting crowds mutinied and joined the rebellion, thus providing the spark to ignite the February Revolution (like the later October Revolution of November 1917, the Russian Revolutions of 1917 get their names due to the Old Style calendar). [93] In St. Petersburg, there was a rumor that Alexandra was hiding her brother Ernie in Russia. It uses quotes (in Russian) from Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna from their letters to each other and personal diaries on love, marriage and family happiness. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Email (required) (Address never made public) For instance, he was said to conduct weddings for villagers in exchange for sleeping the first night with the bride. Pierre Gilliard wrote, "He did not like to send Rasputin away, for if Alexei died, in the eyes of the mother, he would have been the murderer of his own son."[87]. Do not allow the doctors to bother him too much. Rasputin liked to preach a unique theology that one must become familiar with sin before having a chance to overcome it. Unfortunately for him, however, he further alienated his father when he fell in love with a German princess, Alix (aka Alexandra), and decided to marry her instead. Rasputin took advantage of Alexandra's fears and told her, “Neither the Emperor nor you can do without me. Her godparents were the Prince and Princess of Wales (her maternal uncle and aunt), Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom (her maternal aunt), the Duchess of Cambridge (her great-grandaunt), the Tsesarevich and Tsesarevna of Russia (her future parents-in-law), and Princess Anna of Prussia. Nicholas was overjoyed, but the members of his family were unhappy and worried. This action won him the passionate support of Alexandra. Nicholas wrote that Alexei lost "1/8 to 1/9 of the total quantity" of his blood in 48 hours. The children's tutor Pierre Gilliard wrote, "Alexei was the centre of a united family, the focus of all its hopes and affections. Rasputin was assassinated to end his perceived interference in political matters, on 30 December 1916. [111] On 18 March Mikhail Rodzianko sent the newly appointed Minister of War, Alexander Guchkov, and General Kornilov to Alexandra to inspect the security of the Palace, which resulted in an officer being appointed to maintain the security of the Palace as well as a channel of communication between the Palace and the Duma. "[94] Alexandra worked as a nurse to wounded soldiers, but her efforts went unappreciated. The route was blocked so he tried another way. Alexandra Feodorovna (also known as Alix of Hesse, or Aleksandra Fyodorovna Romanova, among other monikers) was born on June 6, 1872, in Darmstadt, Germany. He was first cousin to King George V of England and second cousin to Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. [8] This loss was probably so much greater for Alix because Grand Duke Louis IV had been Alix's only remaining parent since she was six. But it is indescribably painful for the kind motherland, I cannot explain. "[59] Alexandra's inability to have a son made her even more unpopular among the Russians. After the execution of the Romanov family in the Ipatiev House, Alexandra's body, along with Nicholas, their children and some faithful retainers who died with them, was stripped and the clothing burnt according to the Yurovsky Note. The mismanagement and failures of the war turned the soldiers against the tsar. The sixth child of Grand Duke Louis IV and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, she was called Alix by her family. On 26 June 1899, Alexandra gave birth to her third child and daughter, Maria. Feodorovna's rule precipitated the collapse of Russia's imperial government. After the October Revolution in 1917, she was imprisoned and shot to death, along with her family, on the night of July 16-17, 1918. Tsar Nicholas II Romanov of Russia, Empress Alexandra with their children: Maria, Tatiana, Olga, Anastasia and Alexei, circa 1912. She was educated by her grandmother, Queen Victoria, and later studied philosophy at Heidelberg University. Nicholas wrote to Militza to "pass on our gratitude and joy … to Philippe."[70]. "[43] Alexandra herself wrote to her sister: "Our wedding seemed to me, a mere continuation of the funeral liturgy for the dead Tsar, with one difference; I wore a white dress instead of a black one."[44]. Samples were taken from Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and from the bloodstained uniform of Alexander II, Nicholas's grandfather, killed in 1881. [22] Nicholas was not attracted to Hélène, writing in his diary: "Mama made a few allusions to Hélène, daughter of the Comte de Paris. The outbreak of World War I was a pivotal moment for Russia and Alexandra. I asked, apparently with a touch of surprise. By March 1917, conditions had worsened even more. Ilyich (Lenin) believed that we shouldn't leave The Whites a live banner to rally around, especially under the present difficult circumstances. "[22], Alix's sister Ella and her husband Sergei were enthusiastically in favor of the match between Nicholas and Alix. Her brother Ernie ruled the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, so he fought with the Germans. [113] She answered that as she and her spouse kept no secrets from each other, they often discussed politics and she naturally gave him advice to support him; as for Rasputin, he had been a true holy man of God, and his advice had been only in the interest of the good of Russia and the imperial family. “Letter to Boyd Carpenter, 29 December 1902 (OS), BL Add. Nicholas left for the front, taking personal command of the armed forces against the counsel of his military advisors. From The Imperial Family he collected all of their jewellery and valuables. [112] Despite the fact he was a first cousin of both Nicholas and Alexandra, George V refused to allow them and their family permission to evacuate to the United Kingdom, as he was alarmed by their unpopularity in his country and the potential repercussions to his own throne. Women, enchanted by the healer's crude mystique, also came to Rasputin for more "private blessings" and received a private audience in his bedroom, jokingly called the "Holy of Holies". Despite her love for Nicholas, Alix was initially reluctant to marry Nicholas because she didn't want to renounce her Lutheran faith to join the Orthodox church. At first, Alexandra turned to Russian doctors to treat Alexei. Stories from his life in Siberia were heard in St. Petersburg. He has no real worth. The majority of witnesses recall him as coarse, brutish and a heavy drinker. Thanks to her nefarious influence our Emperor is doomed to catastrophe.”[64] The Russian peasants decided that “the Empress was not beloved in heaven or she would have borne a son."[65]. She wrote to Nicholas that “I cannot [convert to Orthodoxy] against my conscience" because “What happiness can come from a marriage which begins without the real blessing of God?”[30] Nicholas was devastated, but he remained hopeful because Ella assured him that Alix was "utterly miserable" and had a "deep and pure" love for him. Shortly after his birth, the court doctors realized that he had haemophilia. Queen Victoria sent Alexandra a telegram when Maria was born: “I am so thankful that dear Alicky has recovered so well, but I regret the third girl for the country.”[61] Grand Duke Konstantin fretted: "And so there’s no Heir. [104] Exactly how she planned to replace her son is unconfirmed, but two versions are available: first, that Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich would take power in her name, and that she herself would thereafter become ruling empress; the other version claims that she and Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich would replace the Tsar with his son, the heir to the throne, Maria's grandson Alexei, upon which Maria and Paul Alexandrovich would share power as regents during his minority. I asked. [8][9], Queen Victoria doted on the motherless Alix and became a surrogate mother to Alix. "[36], In September, as Alexander III's health declined, Nicholas obtained the permission of his dying father to summon Alix to the Romanovs' Crimean palace of Livadia. "[77] Alexandra was obsessed with trying to protect him from his disease of hemophilia, and she sat at his bedside for days as he suffered through his fatal attacks. The Little One will not die. "[56], Alexandra refused to court the public because she believed that the Russian people automatically loved and revered their Emperor and Empress. She invited Alix and her surviving siblings to England for their holidays, and they grew close to their British cousins. The execution of Emperor Nicholas II … Alexandra regularly took a herbal medicine known as Adonis Vernalis in order to regulate her pulse. There were rumors that there wasn't enough food for everyone, so the crowd rushed towards the gift tables. An Ambassador's Memoirs. However, although the French government was never asked, British diplomats in France reported that the family was not likely to be welcome there, as anti-German feelings were strong in France during the war and Alexandra was widely unpopular because she was believed to be a sympathizer of Germany. They wanted to limit social instability because of uncertainty. [2][need quotation to verify][3][need quotation to verify][4]. "Once the genetic analysis has been completed in Russia, its results will be compared with test results from foreign experts. Members of the Imperial family resented that she closed off their access to the tsar and the inner court. Two of his daughters were with him. Alexandra was pleased to be reunited with her family once more. According to the Bible, Saint Matthew was one of Jesus's 12 apostles and the first author of the New Testament. [117], For the Romanovs, life at the Ipatiev House was a nightmare of uncertainty and fear. [124], The former tsar, tsarina, and all of their family, including the gravely ill Alexei, along with several family servants, were executed by firing squad and bayonets in the basement of the Ipatiev House, where they had been imprisoned, early in the morning of 17 July 1918, by a detachment of Bolsheviks led by Yakov Yurovsky. "[74] She was cautious and reserved, and she was unquestioningly devoted to Alexandra. World War I put what proved to be unbearable burden on Imperial Russia's government and economy, both of which were dangerously weak. Seraphim was a monk in the Tambov region was had performed local miracles, but none of his so-called miracles were verified and he had been dead for seventy years. "[102] She criticized the Duma and declared “they want to discuss things not concerning them and bring more discontent—they must be kept away.... We are not ready for constitutional government.”[103]. "It's all over," he answered. [95] In St. Petersburg, there were rumors that Alexandra and Rasputin were carrying on nightly conversations with Wilhelm II in Berlin to negotiate a dishonorable peace. She declared that “the heads of the young ladies of St. Petersburg are filled with nothing but thoughts of young officers,”[49] and she crossed off the names of noblemen and noblewomen whom she deemed scandalous from the invitation lists until no one was left. Amongst the conspirators were the nobleman Prince Felix Yusupov, who was married to Nicholas II's niece, Princess Irina of Russia and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, who was once close to Nicholas and Alexandra's family. Nicholas II, his wife, and their five children – the oldest at the time was 22 and the youngest 13 – were taken to the basement under the pretext of evacuation and shot by a firing squad. They were visited by Kerensky from the government, who interviewed Alexandra regarding her involvement in state affairs and Rasputin's involvement in them through his influence over her. In 1981, Alexandra and her immediate family were recognised as martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. "[100] She insisted to Nicholas that "[Rasputin] has your interest and Russia’s at heart. During the night of July 16-17, 1918, Alexandra and her family were escorted to the basement of Ipatiev House, where they were executed by Bolsheviks, bringing an end to more than three centuries of the Romanov rule. Inflation was rampant. The Russian people revere their Tsars as divine beings ... As far as Petersburg society is concerned, that is something which one may wholly disregard."[58]. Nicholas and Alexandra were horrified by the deaths, and they decided not to attend the ball that the French ambassador, the Marquis de Montebello, hosted in their honor. Queen Victoria opposed the match to Nicholas. On June 16, Alexandra wrote to Nicholas, "I have absolutely no faith in N.... [he has] gone against a Man of God (Rasputin), his work can't be blessed or his advice good... Russia will not be blessed if her sovereign lets a Man of God sent to help him be persecuted, I am sure. As her due date drew near, a newspaper noted that “a few days will decide whether the Czarina is to be the most popular woman in Russia, or regarded by the great bulk of the people as a castaway – under the special wrath of God.”[69] On 12 August 1904, Alexandra gave birth to Alexei Nikolaevich in Peterhof. However, few worried because Alexandra was only 23, so she was expected to be able to bear a son soon. A Biography (London and Toronto, 1928), p. 35, Among those also depicted in this portrait, against the wall and to the right of the window, from left to right –. Nicholas and Alexandra: The Last Imperial Family, p. 250. 500,000 Russians gathered to the capital to watch the entertainment, eat the court-sponsored food, and collect the gifts in honor of their new tsar. [110] Alexandra and her children and household were not molested in any way, and the household was left to continue their everyday life as before, with the exception of the occasional power cuts. The Russian Imperial regalia survived the subsequent Russian Revolution and the Communist period, and are currently on exhibit in a museum at the Kremlin Armoury . His only virtues are his strict morals and his conjugal fidelity. Along with her sister, Princess Irene, Alix was a bridesmaid at the 1885 wedding of her godmother and maternal aunt, Princess Beatrice, to Prince Henry of Battenberg. Alexandra Feodorovna also was not popular among Nicholas II’s court. During the war, there was great concern within the imperial house of the influence empress Alexandra had upon state affairs through the Tsar, and the influence Grigori Rasputin was believed to have upon her, as it was considered to provoke the public and endanger the safety of the imperial throne and the survival of the monarchy. Alexandra kept only two bracelets which her uncle Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, had given her as a child and which she could not take off. Fearing for her husband's safety, Alexandra quickly gave in and allowed the search. [80] Hemophilia had entered the royal houses of Europe via the daughters of Queen Victoria, including Alexandra's mother, Princess Alice. Nicholas had married Princess Alexandra in 1894. [104] Reportedly, Empress Alexandra was informed about the planned coup, and when Maria Feodorovna made the ultimatum to the Tsar, the empress convinced him to order his mother to leave the capital. [66] Nicholas contrived a medical diploma from the Petersburg Military Medical Academy for Philippe and made him State Councilor and military doctor. Rather than socialize, she turned towards mysticism and introspection to solve her loneliness. Beautiful, hysterical, and morbidly suspicious, she hated everyone but her immediate family and a series of fanatic or lunatic charlatans who offered comfort to her desperate soul. The poor performance of the military led to rumours believed by the people that the German-born Empress was part of a conspiracy to help Germany win the war. Finally, in 1904, she gave birth to a son they named Alexei. Identification of the remains of the Romanov family by DNA analysis by Peter Gill, Central Research and Support Establishment, Forensic Science Service, Aldermaston, Reading, Berkshire, RG7 4PN, UK, Once A Grand Duchess: Xenia, Sister of Nicholas II by John Van Der Kiste & Coryne Hall, p.174, Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia), Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, royal carriers of the disease of haemophilia, Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsesarevich of Russia, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, Wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna, Coronation of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna, Grand Duke George Alexandrovich of Russia, Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-called, Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, "The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna :: Chapter XXVI :: Revolution 1917", "Maurice Paléologue. 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