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Grand Duchess Tatiana of Russia

September/October 1910

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Princesses Victoria and Maud of Wales by Josefine Swoboda.

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Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia (nee Princess Charlotte of Prussia) by Hau, after Sokolov.

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Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, second daughter of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, when Crown Princess of Wurttemberg, by Hau.

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Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia, consort of Emperor Nicholas I, with her eldest daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, by Sokolov.

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The future Emperor Alexander II of Russia with his sister, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna (later Duchess of Leuchtenberg) by Briullov.

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Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (Detail) by Christina Robertson (1796-1854)

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“Grand Duchess of Russia, Alexandra Nikolaievna (Daughter of Nikolai I)” by Christina Robertson (1796-1854).

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Little Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich “Miche-Miche” of Russia.

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Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, 1887.

'She had besides a special talent for wearing her clothes, in a way quite her own. Of course everything suited her, for she was tall, slim and incredibly graceful, and no blush rose could have competed with her complexion. There was also something of a lily about her; her purity was absolute ; one could never take one’s eyes off her, and when parting from her in the evening one longed for the hour when one would behold her again next day.' Queen Marie of Romania

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The bridesmaids of Victoria, Princess Royal by Herbert Luther Smith, 1858. (x)

Lady Emma Stanley | Lady Cecilia Molyneux | Lady Katherine Hamilton | Lady Constance Villiers | Lady Celia Gordon-Lennox | Lady Susan Murray | Lady Victoria Noel

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Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia.

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How was his relationship with Edinburgh Princess Marie (Romanian Queen Marie), granddaughter of Russian Tsar Alexander II? Do you have any photos of them? What did Tsar Alexander II think of his grandson? Missy was a magnificent beauty when she was a child, did her grandfather think so too?

Hi! In her memoir, Missy refers to Alexander II as “Grandpapa Emperor,” and shares the following memories of him.

“But I do still remember Grandpapa…. There are three pictures which remain to me of him. One is a family breakfast outside on a terrace at Tsarskoe Selo, Grandpapa at the head of the table, I think, and we as tiny mites, running around from one guest to another with little sand cakes on the palms of our hands and Grandpapa pretending to taste them.

“A rather clearer picture is of Grandpapa coming into the big night-nursery (this was also at Tsarskoe), when we were down with measles. I was the last to catch the infection, and Grandpapa was still able to kiss me. I can still see through the mist that time is spreading over these remembrances, Grandpapa bending over me, the tall, tall man to the wee little girl, and how absurdly proud I was that I could still be kissed.”

“The third picture is of Grandpapa in a small carriage driving a wonderful trotter, coal-black and shiny as a shield. Mamma is seated beside him, and I am standing between his knees. That is all, and even that is so blurred that it might have been only a dream.”

I don’t know what Alexander II thought of his granddaughter, but I would have to imagine that he adored her because her mother was especially dear to him.

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“On April 16, 1841, at 8 o’clock in the morning, five cannon shots announced to the capital that the grandest wedding was to take place. We were in white dresses and wore diamond clasps that we had just received from the Tsarevich as a gift. As the bride dressed in her wedding gown, state officials were present, as were ladies and maids of honor. Her white dress was richly embroidered with silver and decorated with diamonds. A red ribbon lay over her shoulder, and a crimson velvet robe, lined with white satin and trimmed with ermine, was attached at her shoulders. On her head was a diamond diadem, earrings, necklace, and bracelets - diamond. Accompanied by her ladies, the Grand Duchess went to the Empress's rooms, where she was given a diamond crown. The Empress could not resist the desire to decorate the bride's head with a flower to serve as an emblem of purity and innocence. The Empress ordered several branches of fresh orange flowers to be brought and she herself stuck them between the diamonds in the crown; pinned a small branch to her chest; the pale flower was not noticeable among the regalia and precious diamonds, but its symbolic meaning touched many. Invited foreign guests, envoys, and representatives of foreign courts in glittering court costumes, ladies in rich ceremonial court dresses had already taken their places in the church. The halls through which the procession was to pass were crowded with people…”

- A.I. Yakovleva, lady-in-waiting to the future Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia.

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"The great day came. It was April 16, the eve of Sasha's twenty-third birthday. In the morning there was mass, at one o'clock in the afternoon the official ceremony of dressing the bride in the presence of the whole family, newly appointed court ladies and three ladies-in-waiting. Marie was coiffed so that two long curls fell on either side of her face, a small diadem of diamonds and pearl pendants was placed on her head - under it was attached a veil of lace, which hung below the shoulders. Each of us sisters gave her a pin to attach it, and then a purple ermine-trimmed robe, so heavy that five chamberlains had to hold it, was placed over her and fastened at the shoulder with a gold pin. At the end, Mama also attached a small bouquet of myrtle and orange blossom under the veil. Marie looked grand and majestic in her outfit, and the expression of solemn seriousness on her childish face was in perfect harmony with the beauty of her figure. At three o'clock there was a solemn banquet, approximately four hundred people were seated in the Nicholas Hall of the Winter Palace at three huge tables. In the middle are the Royal Family and the clergy, who opened the banquet with prayer and blessing. At the table, ladies sat on the right hand, gentlemen on the left. They drank the health of the young couple, Their Majesties, the Tsarevna's Parents, as well as all loyal subjects, and each toast was accompanied by cannon salvoes. The highest ranks of the Court brought champagne to Their Majesties; we, the other members of the Royal Family, were served by our chamberlains. A military band played, and the best singers of the Opera sang so that the walls shook. At eight there was a polonaise in the St. George's Hall: Papa danced in front of everyone with Marie; at ten o'clock we returned to our chambers, here only the family dined with the newlyweds. Adini and I did not take part in this, but had dinner with our teachers in my rooms and looked out at the Neva, at the illuminated embankment, ships decorated with flags, a festive crowd, and behind it the spire of the Peter and Paul Fortress, rising to the sky, still gilded by the setting sun… this day ended with such a wonderful note.”

- Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, Queen of Wurttemberg, on the nuptials of her elder brother, the future Emperor Alexander II of Russia and Empress Maria Alexandrovna (nee Princess Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt.)

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Did members of the Romanovs like literature?

Hi! Yes, many of them did, although I’d have to assume that some were more into literature than others. Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna (daughter of Nicholas I) loved Pushkin, and her sister Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna enjoyed Plutarch and Goethe. Emperor Nicholas II frequently mentions literature in his diaries—everything from Pushkin to the Bible. Supposedly, the names of his two eldest daughters were inspired by the characters of Tatiana and Olga in Pushkin’s Evgeny Onegin! Of his children, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna was said to be an avid reader, and I forget where I read it, but somewhat ironically, she liked Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables!

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Hello ! What do you know about Dmitry Borisovich Golitsyn and his wife? Thank you.

Hello, and please forgive me for the delayed response! I don’t know a lot about the Golitsyns, but I can tell you that Prince Dmitri Borisovich was a cavalry general who distinguished himself during the Russo-Turkish war, and that he was an avid hunter who later became head of the Imperial Hunt under Alexander III. He was close to Nicholas II, who usually called him “Dimka,”

His wife was Countess Ekaterina Vladimirovna Musina-Pushkina, and she was supposed to have been very beautiful but very short in stature. She was also the first woman to take student exams at Moscow University, and she had five children with Dmitri.