Tsarina Alexandra Facts & Worksheets

• In 1878, a diphtheria pandemic caused the deaths of many residents in her home. Her mother and younger sister Marie both died within weeks of each other. She survived the disease at the age of six, but the loss of her closest family members had a lasting impact on her reserved character.
• When Alix’s mother died, Queen Victoria attentively watched over her and took an active role in her upbringing. The queen acted as a surrogate mother to Alix and her brothers by frequently inviting them to holiday in Britain and ensuring they received a proper royal education. Alix became close to her British relatives and wrote frequently to her grandmother, whom she revered and admired. She regularly referred to Queen Victoria as ‘the dearest and kindest woman alive’ in her poems, demonstrating their strong bond.
• Alix was raised in the Lutheran faith and received a regular education for young aristocratic women in the late 19th century, with a focus on language, music, history and religion. She attended major royal ceremonies such as her aunt Princess Beatrice’s wedding in 1885 and Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887. 
• Despite her royal responsibilities and public appearances, Alix preferred a more relaxed family life than the formality of court society. In 1892, her father died of a heart attack; she was 19 years old at the time, so this left another significant emotional impression on her.

Marriage and Coronation of Tsarina Alexandra

• By the late 19th century, Princess Alix was regarded by Queen Victoria as a desirable match for the British royal family. She believed that marriage to one of her grandsons would secure both personal happiness and dynastic strength. She strongly favoured a union between Alix and either Prince Albert Victor (‘Eddy’) or his younger brother, Prince George (later George V). 
• Alix was invited to Balmoral in 1889, where Eddy proposed marriage. Although he was affectionate and enthusiastic, Alix declined. She expressed no romantic feelings towards him and insisted that she would not marry out of duty alone. She maintained her position despite the pressure exerted by Queen Victoria and other family members. Her older sister, Ella, opposed the marriage, asserting that Eddy was psychologically and physically incapable.
• Alix had first met Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich, heir to the Russian throne, in 1884 at her sister Elisabeth’s wedding in St. Petersburg. At the time, Alix was 12 and Nicholas was 16. Over the following years, their bond developed gradually. Nicholas openly admitted his deep affection for Alix and wrote in his diary of his wish to one day marry her.
• Nicholas’s offer to marry Alix was not well received, especially by his parents, Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna. They were concerned about her German background and whether or not she could be empress. They would rather he marry Princess Hélène of Orléans or someone else from a more important European family. Nicholas, on the other hand, stayed loyal to Alix and even turned down other arranged marriages. 
• A significant barrier to the proposed marriage was religion. Alix, raised in the Lutheran tradition, was hesitant to convert to Russian Orthodoxy – a requirement for becoming empress. She initially refused Nicholas’s proposal in 1894 due to her religious beliefs, stating that a marriage without spiritual integrity would not be right. Due to such reservations, Alix sought guidance from her sister Ella, who had converted to Orthodoxy upon marriage. She reassured Alix that conversion did not mean the loss of personal faith and that it was possible to embrace Orthodoxy while remaining true to one’s conscience. Eventually, Alix accepted this and agreed to convert, thereby enabling the engagement.
• In April 1894, during her brother Ernest Louis’s wedding in Coburg, Nicholas proposed to Alix a second time. She accepted but the announcement of their engagement came at a critical time. Alexander III’s health was rapidly deteriorating, and Nicholas required his father’s formal approval. Alix travelled to Russia and was received by the dying emperor, who gave his blessing.
• Though there remained political and personal doubts within the Russian imperial court, the engagement was now official. Nicholas was overjoyed, writing of his happiness and love, and Alix expressed similar sentiments in her letters. Their union was not only a personal triumph but also a dynastic alliance between Germany and Russia during a time of growing international tensions.
• In November 1894, following the death of his father, Alexander III, Nicholas became Tsar of Russia. Just days later, Princess Alix of Hesse officially joined the Russian Orthodox Church and became Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna. She married Nicholas II shortly afterwards in a ceremony at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. Alexandra’s presence was met with suspicion by many, despite the fact that their union was founded on love, particularly because it occurred so soon after a royal funeral. Alexandra herself acknowledged that the ceremony resembled a continuation of mourning rather than a celebration.
• Despite her love for her husband and dedication to her family, Alexandra struggled to adapt to her new role as Russia’s empress. Her quiet nature, preference for privacy and dislike of public functions led many at court to view her as aloof. 
• Though she spoke several languages fluently – including Russian – her accent and behaviour made her an outsider in Russian society. She also refused to follow some of the expected customs of the Russian court, such as leading elaborate balls or socialising widely with the nobility.
• Alexandra had conflicts within the royal family. Their relationship was strained since her mother-in-law, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, ruled at court. Other Romanov family members were resentful of Alexandra’s growing power over Nicholas and her belief in the monarch’s divine rights. She alienated many at court by refusing to include certain nobles whom she considered immoral or scandalous.