They first met at the 1884 wedding of his uncle to her sister. She called him Nicky; he called her “Alix” or “Sunny.” Although Alix was only 12, she knew at that moment that Nicky was “The One.” It was on this occasion she carved their names on the window of the Peterhof Palace.
After the wedding, Alix bid her sister and Nicky goodbye, returning to the Darmstadt Palace in Germany which was her home. Alix was a royal princess.
Five more years would pass before Princess Alix would return to Russia and see Nicky again. During that visit, the two fell even more deeply in love. Nicky was determined to make Alix his bride.
But Nicky’s parents wouldn’t hear of Nicky marrying a German princess. They hated Germans as did almost every Russian. But Nicky’s parents weren’t just any Russians. Nicky’s parents were the Romanov rulers of Russia: Tsar Alexander III and Tsarina Marie Feodorovna . They were the Royal Emperor and Empress. Nicky – Nicholas Alexandrovich- being their oldest son – was the Tsarevitch – the heir to the Russian throne.
Alix returned to Germany.
More years passed. Love letters written in English flew back and forth between the lovesick pair.
Meanwhile, Nicky carried on a torrid and scandalous three-year affair with the famous Russian ballerina, Mathilda Kschessinska.
Nevertheless, Nicky’s heart still belonged to Alix. He wrote in his diary:
It is my dream to one day marry Alix H. I have loved her for a long time, but more deeply and strongly since 1889 when she spent six weeks in Petersburg. For a long time, I have resisted my feeling that my dearest dream will come true.”
Nicky’s parents continued to wage a fierce campaign to find Nicky a suitable bride. The Tsar hoped to land a bigger catch for his son than Princess Alix (even though she was his godchild!), parading a series of royal princesses in front of his son. But Nicky stood firmly against each proposed match, declaring flat out to his folks that he’d become a monk rather than marry anyone ugly and boring when he could have the tall and lovely blue-eyed beauty Princess Alix as his wife and royal consort.
Meanwhile, alone in Germany, Alix was equally resolute to marry Nicky, doing her own bit in turning down royal suitors. She even stood up to her domineering grandmother, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, when the Queen tried to marry her off to her grandson, the Duke of Clarence. Alix declined to marry the Duke stating to “Granny” that she did not love him. Victoria – notorious for her royal matchmaking – surprisingly
“was proud of Alix for standing up to her, something many people, including her own son, the Prince of Wales did not do.”
For five years, Tsar Alexander III had stood firmly against his son’s wishes. But, in 1894, he became ill and relented, the couple announcing their engagement in April of 1894.
Alix, as a requirement for the engagement, converted from Lutheranism to the Russian Orthodox religion and took the Russian name “Alexandra Feodorovna” to strengthen her appeal to the Russian people. Nicholas and Alexandra planned a spring 1895 wedding.
But their plans were thrown in disarray by Alexander’s sudden death in November and Nicholas’s subsequent ascension to the throne as His Imperial Majesty, Tsar Nicholas II. Nicholas insisted that the wedding date be moved forward, as he wanted Alix by his side to help him rule. They married a swift three weeks later. He was 26. Alix, now called Empress Alexandra,was 22.
Hi Lisa,
Thank-you so much for the lovely posts, there’s not one boring one in the lot!
This post especially was very interesting, as I followed your link to learn more about Mathilde Kschessinska and was shocked that I had never heard of her before.
On another note, I remember reading somewhere that a couple days before Alix and Nicky’s wedding, a roof caved in on a ball, or some tragedy in Russia occured, but they still decided to hold onto their original wedding date to much criticism. Would you be able to tell me a little more about it?
Thanks again,
Jessica
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Jessica, thanks so much for the kudos. I apologize for taking so long to post anything. As for your question about the Russian catastrophe, hang on. That’s my next post!
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Hi Lisa,
While some royals marry for security or affiliation, Alix and Nicky married for LOVE. What a great love story and what a wonderful couple.
I wish they were able to escape the execution. =(
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They were both home bodies, though, and not really suited to be emperor and empresses. The whole thing is a travesty.
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Something hidden not noted in many years of royalty-watching. The London, 1894 pix. HInt: Note the Princesse, the Empress, photos of her always showed the right side of her face. Her left side was always turned away. Hmmm.
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I never noticed this.
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Such a fascinating piece of history, so real and beautiful yet so cruel. It absorbs ppl from far away, there is something so bewitching about emperors, kings and their kingdoms. Why do they enamor us so much? I live in Asia but the British royal family for example fascinates me to no end. There is something about rulers, and their palaces that are etched deep in people’s minds.
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[…] mattered more or so little. That first summer, Alix carved their names in a sill. Their second Nicky chronicled, “It is my dream to one […]
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Hi Lisa,
It would be nice if you could credit the source of the images that you use. That beautiful portrait of a young Czarevitch Nicholas of Russia is taken from my website. In addition, you’ve edited my description of the photograph and used it as yours! I understand that this sort of “cribbing” goes on all the time on the internet and there’s nothing that I can do. And I was reading in another post where you wrote that you don’t make any money from your post or have advertising so what you’re doing is not technically wrong, even when it’s original art work.
But again, it would be nice to get some credit. I did a Google search this morning for “portraits of Nicholas II” and when I clicked on the image that I know to be mine, it went directly to your website, and not mine! We all put a lot of effort into our blogs, websites, etc. It would be nice to get some recognition.
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A tragedy that they died the way they did
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