Alexandra Fyodorovna facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine / Alexandra Fyodorovna |
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| Empress Consort of Russia | |
Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna and her daughters - (left to right) the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia, and Maria. Livadia, 1914.
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| Born | 6 June 1872 Darmstadt, Hesse |
| Died | 17 July 1918 (aged 46) Yekaterinburg, Russia |
| Spouse | Nicholas II of Russia |
| Issue | Olga Nikolaevna Tatiana Nikolaevna Maria Nikolaevna Anastasia Nikolaevna Alexei Nikolaevich |
| House | House of Hesse-Darmstadt |
| Father | Louis IV of Hesse |
| Mother | Princess Alice of the United Kingdom |
Alexandra Fyodorovna (Russian: Императрица Александра Фёдоровна) (born Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine 6 June 1872 – 17 July 1918) was Empress consort of Nicholas II, the last Tsar of the Russian Empire. She was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. The Russian Orthodox Church canonised her as Saint Alexandra in 2000.
Alexandra is best remembered as the last Tsaritsa of Russia. She is also one of the most famous royal carriers of the haemophilia disease. Her friendship with the Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin was also an important part of her life.
Early life
Fedorovna was born Princess Alix Victoria Helena Louise Beatrice in Darmstadt, Hesse and by Rhine. That area was a part of the German Empire at the time. Her father was Grand Duke Louis IV. Her mother was the former Princess Alice, the second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
In November of 1878, diphtheria swept through Hesse. Alix, her sisters, Irene and May and brother, Ernie were infected by the disease. Her sister, May, died shortly before the end of the month but the others got better. Alix's mother became sick after caring for Ernie when he came down with the disease. Princess Alice died on December 14, 1878. Princess Alix became very close to her maternal grandmother. She was often thought to be Victoria's favourite granddaughter. Because of this, Alix spent many of her early years in the United Kingdom. In 1892 when she was twenty, her father died, and her brother, Ernst Ludwig, became the Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine.
Marriage
Alix was married relatively late for a princess in those times. She had already refused to marry Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence (the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) even though her family wanted her to marry him. She had, however, already met a relative by marriage, the Tsarevich of Russia. His uncle Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich was married to Alix's sister Elizabeth. At first, Nicholas' father, Tsar Alexander III, told them they could not get married. He later changed his mind as his health began get bad. Alix did not like the need that she had to turn away from her Lutheran faith. The Russian tsaritsa had to be Orthodox. She later changed her mind and in time became a strong convert to the faith. She and Nicholas became engaged in April 1894. Alexander III died in November of that year, and Nicholas became Tsar of Russia at the age of twenty-six. The couple were married 14 November 1894.
Execution of the Royal family
The Tsar and Tsaritsa and all of their family, along with several family servants, were executed early in the morning during the night of July 17, 1918, by a detachment of Bolsheviks led by Yakov Yurovsky.
Titles
- Her Grand Ducal Highness Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine
- Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Alexandra Fyodorovna of Russia (created prior to marriage)
- Her Imperial Majesty Tsaritsa Alexandra Fyodorovna, Empress of Russia.
