The Romanov Dynasty: The Splendour & Misery Of The Last Tsarinas | Real Royalty

this channel is part of the history hit Network [Music] The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg Chief residence of the romanovs the Russian dynasty of the tsars the most powerful men in the world ruled from here as did their wives since Catherine the Great nearly all zarinas have been German like the young Prussian princess Charlotte Charlotte Von poison was the daughter of the legendary Queen Louise of Prussia she grew up in charlottenburg Palace in Berlin and was engaged to Russian Grand Duke Nicholas when she was 17. two years later in 1817 she set off to Saint Petersburg the wedding was announced [Music] foreign foreign [Music] years after Charlotte another Prussian makes her way to Saint Petersburg Maria Louisa Von priceen great great great granddaughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II and a direct descendant of Princess Charlotte [Music] she wants to find out what life was like for her ancestor what Destiny awaited her at the Russian court and what it means for a young woman to be married off into a far and distant Kingdom and why Always Prussian princesses [Music] Maria von poison carries her ancestors writings with her excerpts from her letters and Diaries [Music] I confess that everything was so new to me and that I found myself at this new location my soul was more occupied than my eyes everything was quite confusing for me it is 1500 kilometers from Berlin to Saint Petersburg with a horse-drawn carriage princess Charlotte's Journey takes 17 arduous days an important stopover is memo the last German Town before the border to the tsarist Empire what was formerly mammal is now part of Lithuania and has reverted to its original Lithuanian name clipida this is where Charlotte is to meet the Grand Duke in 1817 and continue her journey to Saint Petersburg accompanied by her future husband the Prussian Border Town had already played an important role in Charlotte's life when she was eight years old she and her family had to flee Napoleon's Victorious Army to the furthest Eastern corner of the Prussian Kingdom it was uncertain whether the royal family would ever be able to return to the capital of Berlin but the intervention of Russian Tsar Alexander the first a friend and Ally of the royal family prevented prussia's ultimate defeat by Napoleonic France Nicholas a younger brother of the Tsar was also present at the peace negotiations ever since the days of Peter the Great the Russian Court had regarded the German principalities Prussia wurttemberg and many of the others as a sort of dating agency and you know whenever Azar wanted to find a wife he was sent off on a tour of Hessa wurttemberg Berlin Prussia and so on to find an appropriate wife because they were mainly on Protestants and therefore unlike Catholics they would they would be happy to convert to Orthodoxy and at the same time Russia would gain access and influence in Germany which was the center the fulcrum of Europe and as Russia wanted to be a great European power German presence was always useful the young Prussian Princess and the Russian Grand Duke did truly fall in love with each other the location where Charlotte finally leaves her own family and Country behind in 1817 has great symbolic value nimazat the former Border Town on the Baltic Coast lies a few kilometers to the east of mellow this is where the borders of the Prussian and Russian Kingdom meet and where Charlotte's future husband is waiting for her the royally privileged Berlin newspaper is also there as the Russian princess bids her farewell thus she stepped while the military on Earth were made and the mustard cries of hurray slowly along the ranks greeting the soldiers and often drying her eyes at the barrier she turned back one more time with tears in her eyes to glance back to her Homeland while the Grand Duke welcomed her first steps onto Russian land with a hearty embrace and it was then that the present Russian military let out a loud Cry of joy today there is little trace of this once so important border between the two great powers once one of the most significant borders in Europe one could say that this is where Western Civilization ended and Eastern civilization began here in this picture we can see two obelisks that denote the border between Russia and Prussia on the one side was the Russian Empire and here the Kingdom of Prussia [Music] Nicholas's presence made the crossing of the Border easier which I did by foot so I could say farewell to the Troops I was Bid Farewell by Prussian cries and welcomed by the cries of the Russians it was a moment where a nearly lost control of my senses I do not know from where I got the strength to stand and not fall down the thought that from now on I would only have unknown faces around me caused me to shed many tears the German princesses arrived in a country that was a bundle of contradictions on one hand on the aristocracy in Saint Petersburg lived in astonishing Splendor um sanctuous palaces thousands of servants hundreds of thousands of serfs working in their country estates um men there for example wore diamonds on their and their buttons I'm in a way that no one else did in Europe but on the other hand behind this facade of extraordinary glamor and and wealth was was a very poor rural country um 80 of the people were serfs living in absolute poverty and so um the German princesses arrived at a court that was a huge mixture a golden facade um set with diamonds behind it uh seething popular discontent and poverty [Music] foreign at this time Saint Petersburg was the capital of Russia built from a swamp in one great violent act by Peter the Great in 1703 it was to open Russia to the west and gain military access to the Baltic Sea [Music] when the Russian princess comes here in the summer of 1817 the city is blossoming ballet schools theater and engineering schools are of top European standards authors and composers from all over Europe are guests of the city and its hundreds of palaces each grander than the next impress the new arrivals there were foreigners Italians many Germans came built in Petersburg really and when you think of the young German women who came to the court at St Petersburg which what image did the princesses have that was the German princesses had a very good image that they were very good wives very good mothers that they were well educated and well suited to the Russian czars as women what were the most hardest moments in their lives the hardest moment was probably converting to the Orthodox Church and when she got her new name a Russian name Alexandra this is no longer Charlotte but Alexandra yes in my opinion perhaps that was the hardest hardest moment this change of name and in the heart also later on and perhaps also the moment when she saw her new husband at the meeting just when they arrived perhaps that was also the best moment yes Maria von poison is on the way to the Winter Palace the romanov's residence for one and a half centuries when the German princesses arrived at Russian Court they did so with considerable trepidation and fear it was a terrifying Prospect to set off from your comfortable German Town into vast dangerous deadly Russia they knew the German princesses that tsars were regularly horribly murdered killed that politics in the Russian Court was a deadly and often fatal Pastime and so leaving their family behind they set off with considerable trepidation into a land with a different religion a different language and a brutal way of doing business and so the Palace of the tsars was a place steeped in Destiny for the German princesses from Hesser vortenberg Baden as well as from the Kingdom of Prussia here is where they gained their first impressions of the expanse of power and wealth that the Romanov Dynasty held for 18 year old Charlotte the gravity of her new role already becomes clear on her fourth day when she has to convert to the Russian Orthodox Church foreign who taught me the dogmas of the Russian church and who prepared me for my first communion was a courageous man but could not speak German very well he was not the man I would have needed to give me the peace of mind and calm my heart in such a moment but in prayer I found what only peace can give I read holy scriptures and no longer thought of Earthly things and only filled with the joyous thought of receiving my first communion I betook myself led by the Tsar to the church [Music] from Charlotte's writings we know that she described feeling like a sacrificial lamb during the ceremony food it was indeed a sacrifice Charlotte made a large Sacrifice by renouncing her beliefs she gave up her entire past she no longer belonged to herself but fulfilled a requirement for the future for her husband for Russia for the people whether they liked it or not the German princesses became Servants of their husbands the people and the entire Kingdom [Music] the ceremony which went on for hours in the incense-filled palace church was made additionally hard to bear for Charlotte the ceremonial gown crushes her and the heat in the overcrowded church is stifling but then it is done the Protestant princess Charlotte becomes the Orthodox Grand Duchess Alexandra theodorovna now in the summer of 1817 the wedding can finally take place with what a disposition I woke on the morning of July 13th I do not want to speak too much of my own feelings here but it is impossible to silence them on such a day one place the crown upon my head and laid a countless amount of crown jewels upon me under whose weight I thought I would die I was filled with joy when our hands came together I was placing my life into the hands of Nicholas and complete trust and he has never forsaken this trust [Music] the story of Nicholas and Charlotte who became Alexandra was always a love story it was always a lovely it was one of the most successful marriages perhaps the most successful marriage in the whole history of the Romanov Dynasty and they were incredibly Well Suited they adored each other they understood the same culture she accepted that Nicholas was a militarist I'm obsessed with marching bands and parades um uniforms and who regarded him first first and foremost as a soldier and her whole family was like that in the Prussian court so they were perfect foreign now Alexandra is a grand duchess married to Nicholas the brother of the Tsar Alexander the first [Music] Alexander the first is also married to a German his wife Sarina Elizabeth Alexander was born Princess Louise Marie Augusta of Barton she was brought to the court at Saint Petersburg when she was 13 and they were married a year later both her daughters died before they reached adulthood the mother of Nicholas and Alexander Maria fyodorovna is a princess of wurttemberg by birth she went down in history thanks to her social and charitable engagement the most powerful German on the tsarist throne was Princess Sophie friederica Augusta from Angels better known as Catherine the Great she is the only princess who went on to rule herself after the death of her husband it is thanks to her that marriage politics ensured it was German princesses who were henceforth chosen for the heirs to the throne [Music] alongside the proper upbringing the almost impeccable family tree and the Protestant beliefs it is the insignificance of the German principalities that makes the German princesses such sought after wedding candidates a marriage with a princess from Hessa Barden or even Prussia would not jeopardize the balance of power in Europe the time after the wedding Alexandra will remember as the most Carefree in her life her husband Nicholas has a strong interest in the military and all things Technical and is given the family-friendly position of Inspector General of the engineering Corps by his brother Tsar Alexander whilst the freshly wed couple enjoys their marital bliss a political development is brewing that will have a decisive impact on their lives after debilitating years in power Nicholas's brother Alexander the first has made the unexpected decision to abdicate and to retire from political life entirely his intention is for Nicholas to be his successor when he saw that we were close to tears he'd try to console Us by saying that would not happen immediately and that years would go by before he put his decision into action and he left us alone one can imagine in what kind of state we never dreamed of such an idea we felt like we had been hit by lightning it was a memorable moment in our lives Nicholas is not prepared for his brother's decision as it was his older brother Constantin who was to be successor to the throne but Constantin had long since rejected the role aside from a few select people no one in the great Russian Empire knew that Nicholas was the chosen successor something that proved to be a grave error but for now it is still Alexander who sits upon the throne and Alexandra is still a grand duchess and not a Serena slowly but surely she gets used to her new surroundings and her open and carefree demeanor quickly makes her the darling of Saint Petersburg High Society now Maria von poison will get her own impression of what it must have been like at a tsarist ball who works for the Hermitage has invited her to a historical Salon evening with the appropriate dress code of course [Music] foreign years after the Russian revolutionary seized power from the nobility festive balls are once again being held in Saint Petersburg they are an expression of the new generation of Russian aristocracy searching for their roots the Revolution and Soviet rule closed off most of the connections their families held to their history [Music] the attendance of a real Prussian princess is of course the highlight of the Season especially an unmarried Prussian princess Maria's great great grand Aunt Alexandra was a passionate dancer her beauty was renowned far and wide and The High Society celebrations would last until the early hours of the next morning six months after the birth of her first child in October 1818 she hosted the opening ball of the season for the first time it was such a great event for our Palace for it was the first time that the well to do from Saint Petersburg were welcomed here one was full of praise for our ball our meal our politeness it was very encouraging and made us want to welcome and entertain the high society here more often when one is young and beautiful and likes to dance one is easily pleased without Much Ado Alexandra's life is caught and her family she shows little interest in anything else she was a flibbertigibet she was frivolous she wanted to live in her little world a little gilded world like a beautiful rather unnervous rather pretty bird and she didn't worry herself about politics at all she regarded her role as to worship her husband the Tsar Nicholas the first and that was an easy thing to do because Nicholas the first was almost like Jupiter on Earth he was six foot three dazzlingly handsome often described as the most handsome and beautiful man in Europe with um with the majesty and that stature to play the emperor and of course the sexual the sexual energy and vigor to match it and she was the perfect submissive worshipful wife eight years after the wedding things took a dramatic turn before Tsar Alexander can realize His Wish of abdicating and handing the tsarist crown over to his brother Nicholas he dies now come the repercussions that barely a soul knew about the new intended heir to the throne the aristocracy and the high-ranking officers in particular swear their allegiance to Constantin who is more reluctant than ever to take on the crown revolutionary forces within the military try to make use of the power vacuum to Stage a coup in December 1825 things come to a head in Saint Petersburg with the so-called decemberist uprising of Senate Square for Nicholas the news are it is All or Nothing this is where the Royal residence is and suddenly there is a Revolt in the center of town they wanted to use the opportunity before the new oath was sworn in the Senate how did such a result even happen what were the causes the real cause was the Enlightenment I would say and the French Revolution all these Aristocrats all these officers were well educated in the spirit of the Enlightenment and furthermore just imagine they were all in the war in France they saw a totally different life there is and that was a shock for everyone for soldiers for officers for the aristocracy they saw a different life and thought why do people elsewhere live much better than we do and they searched for reasons and it became clear to all the reasons were the aristocracy and the serfdom in Russia you have to understand it was not a revolution of the proletariat it was a revolution of the aristocracy Revolution from her Chambers in the nearby Winter Palace Alexandra watches the events unfold Messengers keep her constantly updated she knows what happened to the ruling family in the French Revolution eyewitnesses of event thought the ruler was too patient that he should resort to cannons but I understood so well what was happening in the heart of my Nicholas everyone was amazed at his calm and his cold-bloodedness his mildness but one wanted him to act quickly and decisively Nicholas orders heavy cannons to be brought to the square but still hopes for a peaceful resolution but by evening the situation escalates when the rebels shoot The Negotiator a war hero from the Napoleonic Wars Nicholas gives the order to fire altogether 1 700 people were shot here one fled to the never and the never was covered in blood the Revolt ends on the same night Nicholas the first is and will remain tsar of Russia but at what a cost Russian blood was shed by Russians the ruler seems to be nearing the palace we saw people from the window amongst whom he was probably on Horseback soon he rode into the palace Courtyard and came up the small stairs we threw ourselves towards him oh God when I heard how he was giving out orders my heart began pounding at the sound of his voice I had a completely changed man in front of me Nicholas had already been an ultra conservative um believer in um in in Orthodoxy and autocracy before The Decemberists but afterwards it confirmed in him his belief that he was chosen by God to keep sacred autocracy um in Russia and that was what would make Russia Great forever and so The Decemberists really achieved exactly the opposite of their aims they um they reinforced autocracy in Russia and Nicholas was actually quite a talented um Statesman he was the Tsar who was most like none other than President Putin and in fact you know Nicholas the first and Putin almost share the same um the same slogan autocracy Orthodoxy uh what we know was was the heart of both of their policies to get away from the intrigues at court and power battles Nicholas and Alexandra Retreat to peterhof Palace more and more often particularly in the summer it is the Royal summer residence and 30 kilometers outside of Saint Petersburg Peter the Great ordered the estate to be built shortly after he founded the capital he had just worn down the Swedish military and secured Russian access to the Baltic Sea he then demonstratively erects a magnificent Palace right by the Finnish Gulf a symbol of the new modern and mighty Russia peterhof Palace is too Splendid for Alexandra and their allocated Wing to large and impersonal she wants a sanctuary for her and her family far away from her duties as Zarina and mother of the nation her husband whose love for her is genuine understands her needs throughout his entire life he takes great joy in surprising her it's allowed me to take the lower path from strellner I couldn't stop my little cries of Joy when I saw the sea the old trees so close to the shore and the fountain in the garden in one word I was delighted at the edges of the large estate Nicholas builds a cottage foreign [Music] its particular style is representative of the Zeitgeist especially the German one the neo-gothic forms are an expression of the Romantic soul that yearns back to the times of the knights in the Middle Ages a time when the world seemed intact for its rulers and no revolution had upset the aristocracy's claim for power the cottage becomes the family's favorite retreat far from the stiff ceremony of court and the intrigues in the Palaces the family enjoys summer months here that almost resemble a normal life what were the happiest moments for Alexandra Alexander Alexandra Feud Rover spent the happiest years of her life here with her husband and her beloved children there were seven of them four sons and three daughters yes the years she spent here at the cottage with her family were the happiest of her life he taught were the saddest moments in the cottage when Alexandra came to Russia for the first time everything was new for her her surroundings the people the language she was homesick for her Prussia she wrote letters to her friends and family constantly especially to her brother Wilhelm and that made the loneliness a little easier [Music] here is where the romanovs one of the most powerful and richest families in the world live out their private family idle Nicholas coming from a strong military tradition and who likes nothing more than spending the night on his field bed tends lovingly to his children Alexandra can recover from her many pregnancies that sap her strength the piece is only interrupted once a year when the nobility and commoners are invited to a large party the Highlight the royal family steps into the public eye from an appropriate distance one can observe them taking their afternoon tea [Music] Maria returns to Saint Petersburg by car as soon as one leaves the Russian Metropole an impression of the vastness of the Kingdom that had to be ruled becomes clear the country is enormous in the 19th century the tsars of Russia ruled over 1 6 of the Earth most of it endless land which along with its Farmers belonged entirely to the aristocracy the surf labor force ensures the lavish lifestyle of the ruling classes they are treated with varying degrees of kindness by their owners as landowners the tsars had a good reputation so most of the farmers and villagers that became property of the romanovs were at an advantage they owned the most land in the Kingdom essentially the kingdom of the romanovs is like a private business in which the Germans played an important role from the very beginning back in Saint Petersburg Maria von poison is on the search for the spirit of the city it is once again an international focal point whose strong cultural ties to Europe can be felt everywhere not least due to thousands of foreign students who live and study here in the 19th century Saint Petersburg is also multilingual 50 000 Germans make up the community that centers around the Protestant Saint Petri Church the Germans were everywhere German aristocracy served at court military in the financial sector and the economy and many of these people live on in Legends and why do these people come to Russia to try and make their Fortune I can make this is simple really to earn money and make their career they all came from small German towns and this was their chance to achieve something it was almost the same for German princesses it was a great Advantage for Russia just by Norma Forte that's why in all of Russian literature for example by leskov and goggle there's always a German character one that is industrious and always at work and Thrifty and earns money and makes something of it which is the exact opposite of the Russian mentality Russians cannot build up anything which is why they always wait for Good Fortune but not to build something for themselves that's why the Germans were so important for Petersburg to establish so Charlotte actually came to quite a German place and was not so lonely in a foreign place not at all don't worry firstly her mother-in-law was here the mother of Nicholas the first she was German a princess from wurttemberg and she was overjoyed to see a proper German princess here I don't know the numbers but I'd estimate that roughly half of them were Germany Alexandra introduces a very German custom to Russia the Christmas tree her family increasingly becomes the main focus of Alexandra's life she gives birth to seven children but also suffers miscarriages the doctors urgently recommend abstinence not an option for Bazaar finally Alexandra must endure the fate of many serenas who must stand back and dutifully accept their husbands mistresses Alexandra who used to adore the Bulls in the Winter Palace must now retain her Regal composure as Nicholas enjoys himself with young Aristocrats and even ladies in Waiting openly for all to see an Austrian diplomat's wife noted it seems the Tsar wanted to throw off the veil once and for all that had shrouded his relationship to duchess urusova this time he made no attempt to hide it it was so obvious to all that I felt for the Zarina her sensitive heart had no doubt recognized the core of their relationship long ago but the outer appearance remained and her pride and self-love remained intact that is over now foreign Nicholas was highly saxed and had a succession of Mistresses at the court but he was very discreet many of them were Charlotte's um ladies and waiting um big big Aristocrats wives everything was kept extremely quiet there were no public Mistresses and she accepted that that was the way a Romanov Emperor would behave and that was the way an aristocrat of the 19th century behaved as well so she was very used to this adultery and betrayal are a Common Thread throughout the romanov's 300 year history Alexandra's daughter-in-law princess Marie of Hesser is particularly affected throughout her entire life she had to defend herself that she was not born out of wedlock due to the rumors Alexandra herself tried to prevent the marriage but her son Alexander defied his mother and took the young Hessian princess as his wife the marital bliss he has fought so hard for is short-lived their firstborn son dies and Alexander becomes a notorious adulterer [Music] Marie now Zarina Maria alexandrovna maintains the appearance of a happy family whilst her husband Alexander II continuously betrays her and sires a multitude of illegitimate children when Marie contracts tuberculosis and her life of infirmity begins she must tolerate her husband's Mistresses moving into their own quarters in the palace such Behavior must be tolerated as a Serena yet one still has charity work and the patronage of the Arts for distraction and purpose something Alexandra had as well for the construction of the Isaac Cathedral Nicholas the first calls back the Mosaic School he founded in Rome the tsarist couple are regular visitors today it is primarily restoration work and decorating the Metro stations that make up the commissions for the once Royal Mosaic Workshop of the Arts Academy ensuring the traditional craft is kept alive would you like to try it that's the Hammer with Richard is broken into very small pieces that's already pretty good but always watch your fingers you have to practice for a long time as it was important for the Arts to be on a par with the top European standards The Academy of the Arts is under the direct patronage of the Royal Family also commissioned portraits herself for her own family and close relatives there were no photos back then so you had to sit and model because Alexandra was homesick for Prussia she tried to create a connection to her home with the portraits to her father her mother and her other relatives Alexandra never quite gets over her homesickness letters between Berlin and Saint Petersburg are exchanged on a daily basis the families visit each other whenever they can at the end of December my brother Wilhelm left it was a terrible moment but once it was over I became even closer to my Nicholas I felt I had only him to lean against for support to my new home and his wonderful tenderness made up for everything which I had lost the family is and Remains the main support for almost all of the zarinas none other than Catherine the Great the only Zarina to rule have distinguished themselves politically [Music] the unhappy marriage of Maria alexandrovna is followed by the German princess Dagmar of Denmark she is engaged to Nicolaus heir to the throne when he suddenly dies over one year later after a brief period of grieving she marries his younger brother Alexander when his father is killed by a bomb attack she ascends the throne as Maria fyodorovna the wife of Alexander III the last German princess on the tsarist throne is Alex Von hessen darmstadt she is also given the name Alexandra fyodorovna when she marries Nicholas II the grandson of her namesake princess Charlotte of Prussia her Reign is ill-fated there is a mass panic at the coronation and thousands of people are trampled to death her son is a hemophiliac and she becomes more and more reclusive finally trusting only the dubious Mystic Rasputin as a German the outbreak of World War One Sparks growing hostility towards her and the Russian Revolution seals the fate of the romanovs in Yekaterinburg she is shot by revolutionaries together with her husband and all their children a dreadful price to pay for their refusal to acquiesce to the social shifts that were taking place in Europe it was a tragedy for Russia and the Romanov Dynasty that the Tsar who faced the greatest and most complicated problems and challenges of all the Romanov dynasty of 300 years was the most rigid the narrowest the most narrow-minded Nicholas II and that he was assisted um and ruled with um the the stupidest um the stupidest the most limited the most arrogant the most vindictive and the most willful of all the German princesses um Alexandra and so they misunderstood the changing world and their um their Follies their arrogance um directly led to the catastrophe of the Russian Revolution [Music] today the Russian Epoch of the tsars is associated with a glorious past and a longing for a time of great power and wealth this can be found in a school Maria visits in the heart of Saint Petersburg having me the former girls school was founded by Alexandra fyodorovna the lockless last Sarina just before the first World War it is one of the few things left behind that a testimony to the German princess in Russia is a symbol of how the tsarist epoch is now viewed in Russia it's not just the body politic that's Reawakening the glamor and power of the sardom and church large parts of the population see hope for the future in a return to Traditional Values foreign [Music] today 110 young boys and girls are being taught at the school the final exam is internationally recognized and alongside the usual subjects mass and playing the Chimes on the syllabus why was this School founded it was the first and only school that was founded by Alexandra she always helped the Ordinary People she said we have to give back to the people what we have relegated to the museum we have to teach it to the people again for that as the foundation of each Nation that's why girls from all over Russia came here to learn the old traditions like weaving needlework or lace making so it is not all forgotten once that training was over they were sent to the Russian Villages as teachers what is the aim of this school what role does it play in today's society developing an awareness for traditions for our children is the priority without that Russia would not exist that is the goal of this school [Music] the Russian character is clearly defined here the rituals and Customs from the time of the tsars God-fearing and conscious of tradition values that were upheld by the school's founder the last German princess to ascend the tsarous throne until she and her entire family was Swept Away by the Russian Revolution six of the final 12 Russian rulers were killed or assassinated a fate that was not shared by the husband of Princess Charlotte of Prussia Nicholas the first he is killed by a flu epidemic that Rampages through Saint Petersburg in 1885 and dies within several days for his wife the death of her beloved Nicholas is the tragedy of her life he was everything to her he had been the central thought of my heart for 38 years and for the 38 years I was the happiest of women and now all the more inconsolable I feel there is no use for me on this Earth anymore and would so much like to die now this Arena stands alone in a country that Still Remains foreign to her after 40 years she spends more and more time in Berlin goes on extended holidays to the kodazoo and finally dies five years after the unbearably painful death of her husband Nikki Nikki I'm coming are her last words as differently as the lives of the German princesses on the Russian Throne played out this is where their Pathways meet in the Peter and Paul Cathedral they are buried alongside their family children here in the northern part of the cathedral Nicholas the first was laid to rest and his wife Alexandra petrovna survived her husband for five years she died in 1860 the space next to him was kept for her after his death and what kind of a woman lies buried here was she an unhappy or happy woman she had a happy life it was not a marriage of appearance but a love marriage her husband called her my little bird and all admired her light and Airy gate and if you look at the portraits you look very similar to your ancestors what remains of Alexandra she was certainly a child of her age the Romantic Period in private she was insightful loving and a supporter of the Arts politically she was clueless without any grasp of the social changes and precipices of the 19th century her husband was an absolute ruler who missed a historic opportunity for change the history of Alexandra and Nicholas is above all the story of a great love

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Length: 51min 7sec (3067 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 30 2022