#duchess marie alexandrovna of edinburgh

[queenalexandraofdenmark]

Happy Father's Day!!! 💙

Christian & Alexandra, Albert & Elizabeth, George & Mary, Sasha & Olga, Nicholas & Tatiana, Philip & Charles, Ernest Louis & Elisabeth, and Edward & Louise.

[teatimeatwinterpalace]

A marble bust and torso of the Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna, Duchess of Edinburgh, 1876 by Mary Thornycroft. (x)

[graceofromanovs]

Princesses Alexandra, Victoria Melita, and Marie of Edinburgh, 1887.

The daughters of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (later Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. The eldest Princess Marie (right) later became Queen consort of Romania, while the second daughter Princess Victoria Melita (middle) later became Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia.

They are the granddaughters of Queen Victoria, and Tsar Alexander II of Russia.

Source Royalty In Colour

[romanovsonelastdance]

Romanov relatives: Alexandra of Edinburgh with her son Gottfried of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

Alexandra was the third daughter of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna and Prince Alfred. Known as 'Sandra,' she was somewhat less-famous than her elders sisters Marie of Romania and Victoria Melita. Gottfried was her eldest child and only surviving son. He married Princess Margarita of Greece and Denmark, eldest sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

[duchesssoflennox]

CHILDREN OF PRINCESS VICTORIA MELITA OF EDINBURGH 🥺💙✨️🫶

Princess Victoria Melita (25 November 1876 – 2 March 1936) was the second daughter and third child of Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia! She was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria from her English father's side and Tsar Alexander II's granddaughter from her Russian mother's side. She is famous for her divorce and remarriage scandals!

In 1894, at the age of 18, at the suggestion of her grandmother, Queen Victoria, she married her cousin, Prince Ernest of Hesse and by Rhine! Between 1895 and 1900, Victoria Melita and Ernest had 2 children:

Princess Elizabeth of Hesse and by Rhine (11 March 1895 – 16 November 1903) affectionately known as "Ella"!

a stillborn son (25 May 1900 - 25 May 1900) who died in the womb of his mother In 1900, Victoria Melita gave birth to a stillborn son, which was very disappointing for Queen Victoria!

In 1901, Princess Victoria Melita and Ernest divorced because they had an unhappy and incompatible marriage. They were first cousins who married under family pressure, but they soon realized that they had nothing in common Princess Victoria was in love with another cousin, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, while Ernest was rumored to be a homosexual.

Princess Victoria Melita had a complicated and tragic relationship with her daughter Princess Elisabeth... She was fond of her daughter, but she was not very involved in her upbringing.

Princess Victoria Melita's relationship with her daughter Princess Elisabeth was strained after the divorce. Princess Elisabeth blamed her mother for the divorce and resented her for leaving her father. Princess Victoria tried to reconnect with her daughter during her visits, but she was only partially successful. Princess Elisabeth was very close to her father and preferred to stay with him at Wolfsgarten, where he built her a small house of her own in the woods. Princess Victoria and Princess Elisabeth never had a chance to fully reconcile, as Princess Elisabeth died of typhoid fever in 1903, at the age of eight. It was a tragic loss for both parents, who loved their little daughter dearly.

Victoria melita later wrote in her memoirs: "My little Ella was taken from me. She was the joy of my life and I never really recovered from this loss."

Victoria melita's memories of her daughter were mostly sad and bitter, but she also cherished some happy moments they shared. She remembered how Ella loved animals and nature, and how she enjoyed playing in the woods near Wolfsgarten, where Ernest built her a small house of her own. She also remembered how Ella had a sweet and gentle personality, and how she looked like a fairy with her Dark hair and blue eyes... Two years after the death of her daughter Elizabeth, in 1905 she married her cousin and long-term lover Kirill Vladimirovich! In 1907, Victoria Melita and Kirill welcomed their first child, a daughter named Marie. Marie was named after her maternal grandmother! In 1909, Kirill and Victoria Melita welcomed their second child, a daughter named Kira! And in 1917, Kirill and Victoria Melita welcomed their third and last child, a son named Vladimir, The birth was so difficult and painful that 41-year-old Victoria Melita went near death during the birth of Vladimir! Princess Victoria Melita had 3 children from her second marriage who survived to adulthood and married and all had children. Despite the birth of three more children, Princess Victoria Melita never forgot her little Elizabeth and always kept a portrait of her in her room until her death in 1936...

[loiladadiani]

Portraits of Romanovs (and Relations) by Nicholas Panagiotti Zarokilli

Nicholas Pannagiottis Zarokilli was born in Turkey in 1879. He was a painter particularly fond of creating pictures of beautiful women. From 1912 to 1920, Zarokilli produced paintings for publications like MoToR, Modern Priscilla, Women’s Home Companion, The Green Book, McCall’s, and The Saturday Evening Post.

He also designed World War I posters. The United States needed money for the war, so the artist created posters to try and encourage people to give for the cause.

Zarokilli was known well for his dry-point paintings. Drypoint is a printmaking technique of the intaglio family, in which an image is incised into a plate or "matrix" with a hard-pointed "needle" of sharp metal or diamond point. In principle, the method is practically identical to engraving.

He painted portraits for people such as the Queen of Spain, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Grand Duchess Anastasia, the King of Portugal, and Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Guggenheim. Landscapes were also his love, painting the cities of Venice, Madrid, and Seville.

The following is his rendering of several members of the Romanov family (and other relations.) I have seen some of these here and there before (several of you have them in your Tumblrs and always admired them; I think he captures the likenesses admirably. I found the ones here together and identified on the British Museum website (they were done between 1920 and 1922.)

These are the names of the easily recognizable "personages" in the paintings in the order they appear below:

Prince Felix Yusupof (wearing a suit)

Prince Felix Yusupof (head)

Princess Irina Alexandrovna

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich (sitting)

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich (bust)

Prince Andrei Alexandrovich

Prince Feodor Alexandrovich

Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna

Grand Duke Kyril Vladimirovich

Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Younger

Queen Marie of Romania (born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh) - Granddaughter of Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain (born Princess Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenberg (youngest granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Hessian Princess through the morganatic Battenberg line)

References

N.P. Zarokilli Archives | The Saturday Evening Post

Nicholas Panagiotti Zarokilli | British Museum

[adini-nikolaevna]

Russian Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in a terrible way. What was the reaction of the people in the European dynasty to his death? His sister Queen Olga of Württemberg, Queen Victoria, his daughter Maria Alexandrovna, the King and Queen of Denmark, what did they all comment on his death, what was the first thing they said? What I wonder most was his reaction to the death of his daughter Maria and sister Olga? Thank you in advance for your kind answer 🙏

Hi! I can give you some information, but unfortunately, I have never read anything about Olga of Wurttemberg's reaction to the assassination of Alexander II. Brother and sister had been quite close, though, so I'd have to imagine that Olga was devastated. Queen Victoria wrote that she was "quite shaken and stunned by the awful news... Poor, poor Emperor, in spite of his failings, he was a kind and amiable man, and had been a good ruler, wishing to do the best for his country." The Queen was "overwhelmed" and seemingly concerned for her daughter-in-law, the Duchess of Edinburgh. "My poor dear Marie, what a terrible grief and ordeal for her! .... It is too much almost to bear, but she is very courageous." Victoria, the German Empress, wrote: "Poor darling Marie!! How will she stand such a terrible shock? To lose both parents within a year, and her Father, whom she doted on, in such a manner!" In her memoirs, Maria Alexandrovna's eldest daughter, Queen Marie of Romania, described her mother's reaction like this: "It was in London that Mamma heard of her father's assassination. I remember quite well our being brought down to her room and the terrible shock it was to find Mamma in tears. Mamma weeping, and overwhelming, unheard-of cataclysm." Hope this helps!

[darlinggeorgiedear]

It is known that when King George V was a sailor, he fell in love with his uncle's daughter, Princess Marie of Edinburgh (Missy), and even proposed to her. George used to say that Missy was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. Did he harbor a grudge or resentment towards Maria Alexandrovna, the Duchess of Edinburgh (Missy rejected his proposal through her mother) when she turned down his marriage proposal? And how was their relationship when they got together with Missy in the later times. As it is known, Missy had relationships with many men, and it was known by everyone that the father of some of her children was not Ferdinand. This issue became a source of many rumors in European courts. What was his comment about what a strict man like .George would call immoral? Did he, like Kaiser Wilhelm II, see Missy as a fallen woman? What did George think about this, did Missy's husband see Ferdinand as a stupid husband? what did he think about these?

I don't think there is anything that suggest he loved Missy at any point. He recovered extremely fast from the failed engagement to have been in love. He definitely had feelings for her, but their relationship was really blown out of proportion by Queen Victoria, whose comments on the subject contrast strongly to George's behavior and letters to his mother, which sometimes feature his feelings concerning Missy. Also, not sure if him calling Missy the most beautiful is true either. I've never seen that before.

I think the fact it wasn't a passionate, loving relationship played a part in Missy's refusal since she didn't desire marrying her cousin who she saw as a friend. Beyond Missy calling George her chum in her book, everything is quite unclear, which is what makes this whole situation so odd to follow. Everyone involved (Missy's and George's parents, and Q Victoria) all claimed to wanted the marriage to happen, but since it didn't happen, someone had to be lying, which many have agreed was Missy's mother, GD Marie A.

From my understanding, George first wrote GD Marie for Missy's hand, then he wrote Missy. Then Edward Vii got involved, and out of pride, demanded for George to end it. GD Marie said Missy was too young, which somewhat cooled the situation, until Missy got engaged a few months later to someone else, which proved Edward Vii suspicion that it was GD Marie's fault. I just think the whole situation got so chaotic in credit Edward Vii and his brother, who turned the whole failed engagement into a family feud. Also, by the time her engagement was announced, which would have been the ideal time for George to be very bitter, since it showed her age concern was a lie, he had moved on to another pretty and vivacious cousin, Xenia.

I think because George knew Missy well since when she was a kid, she was always family to him. Even though, I'm sure George thought Missy actions and how she dressed were odd. I posted an excerpt from a letter from George to Nicholas II a few days ago, which shows George's relaxed attitude towards Victoria Melita, who was similarly immoral and, like Missy, was once close to George. Possibly George didn't gossip in letters, which hides his true feelings from us. It's pretty easy to assume, since George was not a saint, that he did in private have more negative opinions about Missy and Ducky, since he was an adament traditionalist.

But like Empress Alexandra (I wrote my view on their relationship a few days ago), I think Missy was out of sight and out of mind for George for the most part.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

BORN ON THIS DAY:

Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (17 October [O.S. 5 October] 1853 – 24 October 1920) was the fifth child and only surviving daughter of Alexander II of Russia and Marie of Hesse and by Rhine.

She was Duchess of Edinburgh and later Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as the wife of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

She was the younger sister of Alexander III of Russia and the paternal aunt of Russia's last emperor, Nicholas II.

[foreverinthepagesofhistory]

Look at this photo of the Edinburgh children!! It’s so cute

from left to right: Alexandra, Victoria Melita, Alfred, Marie

the children in this photo are the children of Prince Alfred Duke of Edinburgh and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna. They were in the middle of Queen Victoria’s grandchildren. What I mean by this is that we have the older grandchildren: Vicky Edward and Alice’s children And we have the younger grandchildren: Arthur, Leopold and Beatrice’s children. To me the middle grandchildren mean Helena and Alfred’s children. The eldest was Alfred, then Marie, then Victoria Melita (nickname: Ducky) then Alexandra. There would be another child Beatrice in 1884. Alfred was ten years old when she was born.

In this photo I love little Marie’s smile and how Ducky’s curls are cute and how she is stroking the dog like she loves him. If you look closely, you can see Alfred holding both his sisters hands and I just think it’s adorable.

[teatimeatwinterpalace]

Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich in 1884.

Peterhof, 20 June 1884

My Little Darlings!

I could not write all these days, we had so much to do, but now the marriage is over I am able again to tell you what we have been doing. Last Saturday was the state entry of cousin Ella into Petersburg. We all drove in beautiful old coaches, like in the fairy tales, with six horses. Aunt Minny in front with Ella in gold carriage drawn by eight snow white horses. We went like this to the Winter Palace.

We all were dressed in court dress. The weather being lovely it was a splendid sight. On Sunday, we had a tiring day, when two weddings took place, the Russian one at 1 o'clock followed by the German ceremony. At 5 we had a big banquet and at 9 a ball, which did not last long however. But we remained the whole day in our court or drawing-room dresses, for after the ball we got again into the gilt coaches and drove in procession to Uncle Serge's new palace, which is quite beautiful, an enormous house with most charming rooms for cousin Ella. She looked beautiful in her wedding dress, diadem and crown.

When we arrived at their house we had a big supper, after which we were delighted to go to bed. Next day Serge and Ella paid visits to all the family and she looked lovely in a pink dress and bonnet and had on many lovely jewels she got. Uncle Serge and all the family gave her lovely presents and Aunt Minny a splendid trousseau. They both look so happy and pleased.

Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna, Duchess of Edinburgh and of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

[graceofromanovs]

GODPARENTS OF GRAND DUKE ALEXANDER ALEXANDROVICH

Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich was born on 7 June 1869 in the Alexander Palace, Saint Petersburg in Tsarskoe Selo, Saint Petersburg. He was the second son of the Tsesarevich and Tsesarevna of Russia, later Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna. He was christened on 21 June in Grand Palace Church, Tsarskoye Selo, by the Confessor of Their Imperial Majesties. 

ALEXANDER II, EMPEROR OF RUSSIA - the Russian Emperor, his grandfather, was one of his listed godparents. He became the Emperor of All Russia in 1855. Alexander’s most significant reform as emperor was the emancipation of Russia’s serfs in 1861, for which he is known as Alexander the Liberator.

KING CHRISTIAN IX OF DENMARK - the Danish King who had ascended the throne just a few months after the grand duke was born, was one of his godparents. His initial unpopularity at the start, and the many years of political strife, where the king was in conflict with large parts of the population, his popularity recovered towards the end of his reign, and he became a national icon due to the length of his reign.

GRAND DUCHESS MARIA ALEXANDROVNA OF RUSSIA, DUCHESS OF EDINBURGH, DUCHESS OF SAXE-COBURG AND GOTHA - His 15-year-old paternal aunt, the grand duchess, stood as one of his godparents. She later married Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (son of Queen Victoria), with whom she had five children, including the future Queen Marie of Romania. She was to be the only Romanov to marry in the British royal family.

PRINCESS ALEXANDRA OF DENMARK, PRINCESS OF WALES, QUEEN CONSORT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM - His maternal aunt, the popular and beautiful Princess of Wales, stood as another of his godparents. Largely excluded from wielding any political power, she unsuccessfully attempted to sway the opinion of British ministers and her husband's family to favour Greek and Danish interests. In 1901, upon the death of her mother-in-law Queen Victoria, her husband ascended the throne and thus she became the Queen consort of the United Kingdom.

Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich died of bacterial meningitis in 1870, one month before his first birthday. (Source)

[princessvictoriamelita]

Group photograph taken at Coburg. The portrait was taken to mark the coming of age of the Hereditary Prince of Saxe Coburg and Gotha when Prince Alfred of Edinburgh who was aged 16 when the photograph was taken.  1890.

Front row: Princess Beatrice.

Middle row: Princess Alexandra, Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna (Duchess of Edinburgh), Hereditary Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Princess Marie.

Back row: Hereditary Grand Duke Ernest Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt, Princess Victoria Melita, Prince George of Wales and Duke Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Princess Victoria Melita and Grand Duke Ernest Louis would marry four years later at the instigation of their mutual grandmother, Queen Victoria. Their marriage proved to be unhappy and ended in divorce in 1901.

[royalmotherhood]

Marie, Duchess of Edinburgh, nee Grand Duchess of Russia, with her children,  Alfred, Marie, Victoria Melita and Alexandra, and niece-in-law, Duchess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen, nee Princess of Prussia, with her daughter, Feodora, in 1886. 

[loiladadiani]

Prince George of Wales and his "chum" Princess Marie of Edinburgh (Missy)

Marie of Edinburgh (Marie Alexandra Victoria; 1875 – 1938) was born into the British royal family. Her parents were Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (later the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (daughter of Tsar Alexander II).

"Missy" (her nickname) grew into a “lovely young woman” with “sparkling blue eyes and silky fair hair.” She did not lack suitors from a young age and was courted by several royal bachelors, including Prince George of Wales. Prince George served for many years under his uncle, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, as a naval cadet in Malta. There, he grew close to young Marie.

Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh all approved of the match. Missy seemed ameneable to the idea of George as a possible husband. George's mother, Alexandra Princess of Wales and Marie's mother, the Duchess of Edinburgh vetoed the match. The Duchess of Edinburgh did not wish for her daughter to remain in England, she never liked her husbands native land.

Another reason the Duchess of Edinburgh was against the idea of the marriage between George and Marie was the fact that they were first cousins and although first cousin marriages were accepted in England, they were not permitted by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Thus, when George officially proposed to her, Marie did as she was told by her mother and informed him that the marriage was impossible and that he must remain her “beloved chum”. Marie's father was devastated, as his dearest dream had been to see Marie married to George.

George continued on his unhurried search for a suitable Princess to marry and found a solid and beloved life partner in Princess Mary of Teck (who had been his brother's fiance.) Marie married the Crowned Prince of Romania, Ferdinand.

Marie kept gifts that George gave her during their courtship until her death, and they remained close friends for the whole of their lives. In 1901, well after they had both married other people, she wrote to him that those years in Malta were the happiest she ever had.

Photographs: 1. Marie and her family and George at the time he was "courting" the young woman; 2 and 3. Young Marie; 4. George V; 5. Princess Marie of Romania; 6. George and Mary, Ernst Ludwig and Victoria Melita and Ferdinand and Marie.

[eric1967]

Imperial Fringe Tiara

Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg, and her famous fringe tiara, a wedding gift of her father Emperor Alexander II.

She wore a glittering tiara and a wonderful pearl necklace from her mother Empress Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, according a letter send to her daughter Marie, Queen of Romania in 1919. (Bijuterile Reginei Maria, Diana Mandache).

“A Highly important antique diamond tiara of imperial Russian design. The larger vertical sections set with cushion-shaped stones with pear-shaped stones at the tips and alternating with smaller collet-set sections, the whole graduating from the centre, early 19th Century” (Sotheby’s 1960)