Re: Alexandra and her Health Part 2

I just keep thinking about all those years that she refused to marry Nicholas because of her faith.  If she had accepted sooner, she would have had many years to be a bride, but not an Empress/Bride.

That might have made all of the difference in the world, too.

I just keep thinking about all those years that she refused to marry Nicholas because of her faith.  If she had accepted sooner, she would have had many years to be a bride, but not an Empress/Bride.

That might have made all of the difference in the world, too.

totally agree- from a romance pov the fact that they were still "committed" after 10 years looks wonderful, but practically it might have changed everything for both alix and nicky.
the way that she acted due to health implications was arguably exusable and not really affected by the years not experienced as tsarevna, but those years may have had a massive impact on the whole downfall of the monarchy.

I just keep thinking about all those years that she refused to marry Nicholas because of her faith.  If she had accepted sooner, she would have had many years to be a bride, but not an Empress/Bride.

That might have made all of the difference in the world, too.

I think you're right - it would have been easier for her if she'd had time to "ease into" the role.  But I don't know how many years she would've had.  In 1894, she was only 22.  Let's say she married Nicholas in 1890, at the age of 18 - she still would've only had four years.  That doesn't seem like a long time to me, certainly nothing close to the 15 or so years her mother-in-law had.

I just keep thinking about all those years that she refused to marry Nicholas because of her faith.  If she had accepted sooner, she would have had many years to be a bride, but not an Empress/Bride.

That might have made all of the difference in the world, too.

I think you're right - it would have been easier for her if she'd had time to "ease into" the role.  But I don't know how many years she would've had.  In 1894, she was only 22.  Let's say she married Nicholas in 1890, at the age of 18 - she still would've only had four years.  That doesn't seem like a long time to me, certainly nothing close to the 15 or so years her mother-in-law had.

very good point- as helpful as this time may have been there may have been a limited amount anyway, and i don't think that a marriage this early would have been the right choice anyway- in terms of marriage 1894 was obviously "right" for nicky and alix, just not in terms of preparation to rule an empire.

We know that they etched their names into a window glass in 1884 at the ages of 12 and 16 - far too young to think about marriage.  Alix came back to Russia in 1888 at the age of 16 - that was the pivotal meeting.

Marriages took place from age 16 and up for most dynastic brides.  But if they had married in 1890 instead of 1894, four years doesn't seem that long, but remember that would be four years with Alexander III still in charge and Marie still hosting all of the balls etc.

From the 1894 marriage through 1898, Nicholas and Alix had two children.  Had this happened as Tsarevich and Tsareva, they would have had much more privacy and fewer public responsibilities.

Four years of acclimation to Russia and the Russian way of life might have made all the difference.  And perhaps, and I know that FA doesn't like us to get started on "what if", but perhaps Marie would have been more supportive and less jealous in the role of Empress not Dowager Empress in mourning.

Just try to remember how much more slowly time went by when we were 18 and 22 than it does for us now that some of us are much much older. 

And remember the whole "she comes to us behind a coffin" thing?  Not a problem in either 1888 or 1890.

But even if there was no way to get the engagement done before 1894, I just wish that someone with some sense has made them wait to marry until at least 6 months after Alexander's death.

But - before FA puts this into "Having Fun" - back to reality.

I just keep thinking about all those years that she refused to marry Nicholas because of her faith.  If she had accepted sooner, she would have had many years to be a bride, but not an Empress/Bride. That might have made all of the difference in the world, too.

totally agree- from a romance pov the fact that they were still "committed" after 10 years looks wonderful, but practically it might have changed everything for both alix and nicky. the way that she acted due to health implications was arguably exusable and not really affected by the years not experienced as tsarevna, but those years may have had a massive impact on the whole downfall of the monarchy.

Another reason why Alexander III's untimely death has potentially had such an adverse impact.

Petr

so many things impacted on the outcome of the end of the monarchy that i think it is impossible to lay all the blame on alix or nicky. or in that case to label all of the problems that caused them both to be a "problem" for instance, i think to say that alix's poor health,  (imo anxiety and stresss induced mostly), religious views, political views, place of birth etc, can not be blamed singly or combined for the downfall of the monarchy- likewise nicky's poor decision making, choice of consort and weak judgment cannot be blamed. so many things combined to make things the way that they were- like you say, the early death of alexander III, you may lay the blame mostly or entirely on alix or nicky, but you must consider what put them in the position that they were.

back to alix's health i wonder if anyone knows the name of it, but there is a long term sort of nervous breakdown, which the name of i can't recall, which brings about both severe anixety and depression with serious migraines, wonder if anyone knows what i'm talking about?

As far as the timing of the marriage is concerned, we need to remeber that not only did Alexandra have doubts, Nicholas's parents were against the match until a late stage.

However, if they could not have married in Alexaqnder III's lifetime, they should have waited until official mourning was over, and married shortly before the coronation.

Ann

hi know this hasn't been posted in for a while, but was wondering (sorry if this has been answered before) i know that alix took a lot of medication- veronal, valium drops, occassionally morphine etc, but i was wondering if anyone could say what she took each of these for? e.g what did she take for the migraines, what did she use to calm down during or after what was arguable a panic attack, was the veronal taken to give her more energy?
thanks

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veronal was comonly used(from 1900s until 1950s if I remember correctly) as sleeping drug.
valium drops were(& still are?) used during panic attacks & generally to calm down.
morphine is still used as pain killer, to treat acute or chronic pain-so it's probable(imho) that Alexandra used it to help to relieve pain, as she suffered for years from sciatica. I've also read somewhere that it might be used during heart attacks, though I don't know if it's true & what exactly morphine do...

thanks, how do you take veronal? or more to the point..in what form would alexandra have taken veronal? pressed into pills?

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I think I once read that veronal was a powder that was melted in water or something. I don't know how accurate that information is though-perhaps someone would know?

hi know this hasn't been posted in for a while, but was wondering (sorry if this has been answered before) i know that alix took a lot of medication- veronal, valium drops, occassionally morphine etc, but i was wondering if anyone could say what she took each of these for? e.g what did she take for the migraines, what did she use to calm down during or after what was arguable a panic attack, was the veronal taken to give her more energy?
thanks

Both AF and NII were reported to have taken tincture of Cocaine (which is a powerful nasal decongestant) for colds.

Petr

I can report that cocaine is a severe disappointment when taken for nasal problems!

Some years ago I had an investigation for sinus trouble which involved putting an endoscope up my nose. The ENT specialist announced that he was a licensed drug dealer and was going to numb the inside of my nose with cocaine. Great, I thought, now's my chance to try cociane legally.

Alas, no high, nothing, only a sensation of my nose being well and truly scraped out. The specialist did admit that we weren't doing it properly, as you're supposed to snort it from a £50 note.

I've dined out on that one a few times.

Ann

Did Alexandra actually have *health problems* (i.e. cancer, diabetes, hemophilia, etc.) or were most of her migraines and sicknesses from worry and stress?