In the mid-19th century, the Russian Romanov royal family had a collective fault line of grand duchesses. None of the three grand dukes born in the 30s and 40s lived to adulthood, resulting in the mid-50s and 60s when there was no grand duke in Russia to marry. Due to the scarcity of the number, the female grand dukes of this generation are obviously particularly precious. Against this background, Alexander II the "Liberator" became the most beloved monarch in the royal family.
The most cherished child
In August 1842, Alexander II was married for 16 months, and his wife Maria Alexandrovna gave birth to his first child. Although she is only a daughter who cannot inherit the throne, the Alexander couple does not skimp on their love in the slightest, and projects all the emotions of first-time parents onto their daughter. The child was named Alexandrovna, and in honor of her grandmother, Queen Alexandra, she was called Linna or Sasenka by her family.
In honor of the birth of their eldest daughter, the Alexander couple planted an oak tree in the garden of the yellow village of St. Petersburg. Then in 1843, '45 and '47, Linna had three more brothers, who played slides or swings in the garden.
Despite having three younger brothers, her parents did not reduce their affection for Linna. Alexander maintained a special affection for this first child. He cherishes the time he spends with Linna, and even asks the nanny to bring Linna over to accompany him when he works in the study. The first time Linna teethed, the first time she spoke, the first time she walked, Alexander never missed it. Linna's love for her father goes far beyond her younger brothers as heirs.
Grief and obsession
However, little Linna, like the family, did not escape the Romanov family's Alexandra curse. She contracted meningitis at the age of 6 and a half, had a high fever, and died on July 10, 1849, a death that broke her parents.
Imaginary painting of grandfather Nicholas I when he died, the two angels pictured are none other than Lina and her aunt
On July 10, there was no text in Alexander's diary, and the entire page was painted black by him and clipped with a dried violet. On the black paper, traces of ink and tears can be clearly seen. The child's mother was even more grief-stricken, and until years later when she mentioned her oldest child, she would still cry over her death.
When Lina died, Maria was experiencing her fifth pregnancy, and the Alexander couple desperately wanted to have another daughter. Unfortunately, it backfired, and in January 1850 they had their fourth son, Grand Duke Alexei.
Linna's costumes have been carefully preserved in the Hermitage, including a blue silk dress she wore, which was recorded by the nanny of her niece and granddaughter OTMA sisters 50 years after her death.
Linna's last portrait
The light of life
It was not until 1853 that the Alexander couple had a second daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna. Alexander was thrilled with the birth of his youngest daughter, and he believed that God had returned Linna to him. Alexander projected his love for Lina onto Maria. From the day she was born, she was Alexander's favorite child, and he liked to have Maria with him, just like the early death of Linna.
Maria
Unlike her brother, Maria had her private bedroom since she was a child, decorated in pink. She used it as a playroom with her brothers.
At the age of seven, Maria suffered from a severe throat infection, a high fever for several days, and she fell unconscious. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander stayed by their daughter's side, praying to God, similar to the scene when Lina died many years ago. In the end, the tears of the parents moved God and the daughter was rescued from the line of death. From then on, Alexander spoiled this daughter even more unscrupulously, responding to her needs, and even ordered that a farm be built for her to play.
Unlike other royal children, Maria was able to wear high-end clothing from an early age
Surrounded by six brothers, Maria grew up to be a tomboy with an independent personality and a strong will. She is fluent in English and Russian, and in addition to this, she is fluent in German and French. Mark Twain described her as " blue-eyed , humble , and beautiful " , and like many of her contemporaries , Twain noticed the influence of the young Grand Duchess on her father.
"She is absolutely honest and never changes in front of strangers," says Anna Tetcheva, "she is used to being the center of the world", and her teachers consider her "stubborn and uncompromising", commenting that "the people around her cannot be too rude to her and cannot reason too much with her".
Maria has been pearlescent since she was a child
The Tsar was so dependent on her daughter that she had been her father's personal secretary since she was a teenager, reading and encrypting letters for her every day.
Eternal regret
In the 60s of the 19th century, at two court banquets organized by Alexander's sister-in-law, Alexandra Josephna, the ghost of Linna appeared. The tsar and other courtiers were interested in the idealism that was popular at the time. At one banquet, the table rose and rotated a few centimeters, followed by the striking "God bless the Tsar," and the Tsar and others present claimed that they all felt the touch of the ghost's fingers. The ghost answered Alexander's questions by tapping the letters on the alphabet, and he painstakingly wrote them down on paper.
For a long time, Alexander was keen to communicate with his daughter and tell him how he missed him. One maid later complained that the answers were meaningless. While the queen believes that the ghost is a spirit of lies manipulated by the devil, the daughter does not actually appear, so she refuses to participate in the second conjuring banquet.
The extinguishment of the "light of life"
In 1868 and 1871, Maria met QV's second son, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. The young couple are attracted to each other and often walk and chat together. But their parents were against the marriage. Alexander did not want to lose his beloved daughter, and at the same time he did not want his son-in-law to be British. He thought British customs were strange and that the British were cold and unfriendly, and he was sure his daughter would not be happy there. At that time, there were even rumors that the Tsar, in order to keep his daughter in the country, had agreed to have his adjutant Prince Gretin, as his son-in-law.
But Maria was stubborn and recognized Alfred as her husband. Their marriage contract began to be negotiated in July 1871, and several times in the middle reached a deadlock, until July 1873, when the negotiations were finally successful.
Mary and Alfred
Alexander gave his daughter a staggering dowry of one hundred thousand pounds, plus an annuity of thirty-two thousand pounds a year. He also gave his daughter all the best jewels of the Romanov family, including the sapphires he inherited from his mother Alexandra Fedorovna, as wedding gifts. At the same time, he also commissioned the court jeweler Bolin to make a complete set of jewelry from diamonds and Burmese rubies, including a necklace and crown jewelry. And the prospective son-in-law Alfred was appointed honorary head of the Russian Guard, and there was even a Russian warship named after him.
Mary's dowry
Mary's wedding dress
On January 23, 1874, the young couple had a grand wedding in the cathedral of the Hermitage. Throughout the ceremony, the Tsar turned pale and said, "This was her happiest moment, but the light of my life was extinguished at the same time."
Maria's wedding
A lifelong watch
Alexander booked an entire floor of lavish honeymoon suites for his daughter, hoping to persuade the young couple to stay in Russia. However, after a short honeymoon, Maria left Russia and settled in England. After learning of his daughter's decision, Alexander immediately arranged a state visit to England.
Alexander almost burst into tears after meeting his daughter in England. He turned to QV and said, "I thank you so much for your kindness to her, I gave her to you." QV responded to the tsar and brought Maria to his side, and Maria had tears in her eyes and reluctantly said goodbye to her father.
Until his death, Alexander never lost hope of his daughter's return, and her brother Alexander III had the same thoughts as his father. Maria's newlywed honeymoon suite was kept intact by her father and brother for twenty years, until her nephew Nicola succeeded to the throne.