Alexander Palace Forum
Discussions about the Imperial Family and European Royalty => Rulers Prior to Nicholas II => Topic started by: Grand Duchess Valeria on September 08, 2009, 08:11:08 AM
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Can we compare the three daughters (Maria, Olga, Alexandra) of Nikolai I.? How was their character and the relationship between them and to their brothers and parents? I guess it's not comparable with OTMA, is it? :-)
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In my opinion, it's not comparable with Nicholas II and Alexandra's daughters, but from what I read, Tsar Nicholas I adored his daughter Alexandra (maybe she was his favorite?), her death was devastating for him.
I don't know much about the relations between Nicholas I's sons and daughters...however, I don't think that they were united like OTMA...or I'm wrong?...
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The three daughers of Nikolay I seem to be very intersting to me. May be because they are so remote in time...it is so intersting to discover lives of women who lived under compleely diffeent circumstances. Of course, they were the Emperor`s dughters, their lives differed from those of their contemporary females.Distance in time and their status make their lives and first of all mode of thinking a little bit incomprehensible to us.
But as for the death of Alexandra, the Tzar accoeding to the memories of Olga, the Queen of Wurtemberg, started growing older after her death. he never recovered from this loss. he even ordered to change completely the interior of the room where she lay dying because this look was too painful for him.
According to Queen Olga,the girls were so close to each other, and their upbringing so similar, that their aunt laughed at them and callled them "cattle" because they behaved in the same way and their way of thinking was so similar.
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Violetta, thank you very much for the informations!, so, Nicholas I's daughters were similar to OTMA, for me it's a great pleasure to descovere that I was wrong. :)
Also, I wonder how was the relations between their brothers...
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The problem with Nikolay I`s daughters is the following : we know too little about them whereas OTMA`s lives were described by many people both from the family, the servants etc. You probably know the story of Olga`s prospective suitor who became Alexandra`s husband. The Herediatry Duke of Hessen Kassel came to Russia to court Olga and probably ask her to marry him `cause Olga, according to those standards, was becoming a spinster ( at 22 or 23, I think). The guest did like Olga, but the next day he saw Alexandra who was absent the previous day because of slight cold. He fell in love with A, and Olga though she DID like her guest and DID want to marry, did not feel bitter because her sister "stole" her prospective husband. It does testify to the extent of love,affection and readiness to self-sacrifice in case of the sist ers
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The three daughers of Nikolay I seem to be very intersting to me. May be because they are so remote in time...it is so intersting to discover lives of women who lived under compleely diffeent circumstances. Of course, they were the Emperor`s dughters, their lives differed from those of their contemporary females.Distance in time and their status make their lives and first of all mode of thinking a little bit incomprehensible to us.
But as for the death of Alexandra, the Tzar accoeding to the memories of Olga, the Queen of Wurtemberg, started growing older after her death. he never recovered from this loss. he even ordered to change completely the interior of the room where she lay dying because this look was too painful for him.
According to Queen Olga,the girls were so close to each other, and their upbringing so similar, that their aunt laughed at them and callled them "cattle" because they behaved in the same way and their way of thinking was so similar.
Which aunt called them "cattle"?
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elena pavlovna the wife of GD Mikhail Pavlovich. cattle or a herd of cattle. the girls did not feel offended.olga, the queen of wurtemberg, was very ironic about the whole situation.the point is that girls were so close to each other that they isolted themselves from the others. elena pavlovna invited thrm to her parties so that the girls could see other people and face different situations.
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And maybe "mingle" with her daughters...were her daughters so close to each other like the daughters of an Emperor?
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And maybe "mingle" with her daughters...were her daughters so close to each other like the daughters of an Emperor?
it was not about "mingling with her daughters". as the queen of wurtemberg remembers, elena pavlovna found out that Nikolay I `s daughters were isolated that they live with people who think alike, and no new idea could reach the girls. hence she decided "to shake" them. once she heard them sing a song about a day "lighted up with love" and asked them if they knew what this meant. they didn`t, and elena pavlovna kept asking questions. than both parties realized how isolated and naive the girls were concerning many issues. it was owing to her aunt that olga began to socialize ( olga admitted this). elena pavlovna took her to the mikhailovskiy palace. later on people admitted that olga was like a frightened deer as she was so unaccostomed to simple social rituals like simple chat etc. but this "magic" atmosphere became attractive to olga who found out for the first time in her life how to flirt innocently with yong men. she admitted that although she didn`t like a certain young man she like the fact that he liked her...
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Was Olga the prettiest of the sisters or was it Alexandra as I often have red it?
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Was Olga the prettiest of the sisters or was it Alexandra as I often have red it?
You can browse through the portraits of all three sisters - they are posted at the proper threads on them - and judge yourself as the prettiness is always a matter of taste and fashion.
I read various opinions of the contemporaries - one think Olga was a beauty, other- Maria, another - Alexandra.
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another - Alexandra.
If I can express my personal opinion, I am inclined to consider the Grand Duchess Alexandra the most fascinating of the three daughters of Tsar Nicholas I.
Maybe because I consider one of her portraits that I posted in reply #37 in Portraits of the Romanovs XVIII - Middle XIX cent., one of the most beautiful portraits of Imperial Russia time.
However as I said, this is just my personal opinion.
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I don`t know who was the most fascinating : Maria, Alexandra or Olga. Alexandra, called Adini by her family, died too early so she did not bloom fully she didn`t mature and display herself. Maria maried down probably this was the reason why she was a little neglected by her contemporaries (this is the impression that I got). Olga took the most brilliant position as the queen of wurtemberg, she did so many good things during her stay there.she is still remembered there. May be Alexandra was fascinating but because of hr untimely death she didn`t do what she could have done as a wife mother and the consort of the duke of hessen-kassel. I think we tend to idealize those who passed away too early, who died tragicaaly. especially if it was a beuatiful young princess, pure loving etc. as edgar poe said: what could be more beautiful than a death of a young beautiful woman?
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I think we tend to idealize those who passed away too early, who died tragicaaly. especially if it was a beuatiful young princess, pure loving etc. as edgar poe said: what could be more beautiful than a death of a young beautiful woman?
You're right, this is also the reason that makes OTMA still so popular.
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Not counting a couple of stillborns, there was a fourth daughter--Grand Duchess Elizaveta Nikolaevna. She died very young, however; I think she was only three years old. Does anyone know anything about her, or what happened to her?
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Not counting a couple of stillborns, there was a fourth daughter--Grand Duchess Elizaveta Nikolaevna. She died very young, however; I think she was only three years old. Does anyone know anything about her, or what happened to her?
There was no Elizaveta who died at 3 years old. More obviously there was a 6-7th month child, born and died the same day.
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Really? I could have sworn there was a third daughter named Elizaveta. Interesting....
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Maybe you were browsing genealogy sites?Here it is stated that certain Grand Duchess Elisabeth,born in 1826 died young...
http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00143831&tree=LEO
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I did indeed see it on a genealogy site, and somewhere else, too.
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Maybe you were browsing genealogy sites?Here it is stated that certain Grand Duchess Elisabeth,born in 1826 died young...
http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00143831&tree=LEO
And died the same day, had she lived more we'd know more about her.
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I have heard about Elizaveta too and even more two stillborn daughters (born 1820 and 1823). Do you know something about that?
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That's what I heard too, and the Elisasveta that I read about was born in 1826 and died in 1829. But if Svetabel says this is incorrect, well, she's usually right, so I don't know what to make of it. :-\
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That's what I heard too, and the Elisasveta that I read about was born in 1826 and died in 1829. But if Svetabel says this is incorrect, well, she's usually right, so I don't know what to make of it. :-\
Many sources and esp.I-net ones often make mistakes. It's an obvious reality and sometimes it's just impossible to understand where on earth did they find some info.
In case with the family of Nicholas I I can say that all their life was under scrupulous attention. That was not the Middle Age when the infant children died like flies and we don't know now much on many of them. That was 19century and the family of one of the powerful Russian Tzars, and had he had a daughter who died at 3 years old we'd definitely know more on her - 3 years old is quite an age to remember a child and make notes of him/her, paint a sketch/portrait and so on.
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That's what I heard too, and the Elisasveta that I read about was born in 1826 and died in 1829. But if Svetabel says this is incorrect, well, she's usually right, so I don't know what to make of it. :-\
Do you remember where have you read about that Grand Duchess Elizaveta?, I never read nothing about a fourth daughter...can you post a link or tell the title of the book?
Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna was born in 1825, and Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich in 1827...so if that misterious Grand Duchess was born 1826, those would be three childbirth in 3 consecutive years...it seems improbable to me, sorry.
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Do you remember where have you read about that Grand Duchess Elizaveta?, I never read nothing about a fourth daughter...can you post a link or tell the title of the book?
Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna was born in 1825, and Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich in 1827...so if that misterious Grand Duchess was born 1826, those would be three childbirth in 3 consecutive years...it seems improbable to me, sorry.
There was some discussion of Nicholas and Alexandra's children on the 'Nicholas I mistresses' thread (http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=10922.0) although this was inconclusive with regard to Elizaveta. However, there is clear evidence that Alexander was born in 1818, Maria in 1819 and a daughter was stillborn in 1820, so that is certainly 3 children in 3 years. The stillborn daughter was recorded by Nicholas and his mother Maria Feodorovna in letters to Anna Pavlovna of the Netherlands. So it's not improbable that a child may have been born in 1826 although what is surprising is the lack of a date of death - even if the child only lived a day, as Svetabel says, there would normally be some record of it. Something which occurred to me was if the child had some birth defect, which might have lead to it being kept out of sight while it lived and might have accounted for an early death - but of course this is only speculation on my part.
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There was some discussion of Nicholas and Alexandra's children on the 'Nicholas I mistresses' thread (http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=10922.0) although this was inconclusive with regard to Elizaveta. However, there is clear evidence that Alexander was born in 1818, Maria in 1819 and a daughter was stillborn in 1820, so that is certainly 3 children in 3 years. The stillborn daughter was recorded by Nicholas and his mother Maria Feodorovna in letters to Anna Pavlovna of the Netherlands.
I didn't know about the stillborn of 1820, thank you for the clarification.
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the stillborn daughter is also mentioned in a very famous and reliable book by nikolay shilder NIKOLAY I. i know that the stillborn daughter was born less than a year after the birth of maria.alexandra feodorovna was so devastated that her husband took her to berlin, to her parents to make her feel better.in fact, it was ab. 2,5 years and 3 children
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Oh I understand, thank you Violetta.
Unfortunately I haven't read Nikolay I by Nikolay Shilder...I read the biography of Tsar Nicholas I written by Henri Troyat, and I think that the stillborn wasn't mentioned in it (or maybe I don't remember it, I will take another look to the book).
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Oh I understand, thank you Violetta.
Unfortunately I haven't read Nikolay I by Nikolay Shilder...I read the biography of Tsar Nicholas I written by Henri Troyat, and I think that the stillborn wasn't mentioned in it (or maybe I don't remember it, I will take another look to the book).
Shilder was a russian -pre-revolutionary historian, he wrote books about alexander 1 and nikolay 1, in fact, he didn`t finish the latter book - he died. the books by shilder that i had access to were published at hte beginning of the 20th century.
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a little bit off topic. there was another stillborn baby in 1823. a boy.the incident was described in olga of wuertemberg`s memories.
in 1823,olga`s mother, was pregnant. at that time elena pavlovna, the fiancee of GD mikhail pavlovich, was entering the st.petersburg society. alexandra feodorovna was really excited about this.she was 9 months pregnant and was so excited and worried about elena pavlovna that she began to cry nervously. she was wearing golden belt decorated with precious stones and they didn`t loosen her belt. the same night she gave birth to a stillborn boy.
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Oh, thats interesting. I often red that it was a girl and not a boy. I've found many sources about that. Where do you find this about a boy?
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Oh, thats interesting. I often red that it was a girl and not a boy. I've found many sources about that. Where do you find this about a boy?
in the memories of grand duchess olga nikolaevna,the queen of wurtemberg
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(http://i719.photobucket.com/albums/ww199/vitavioletta/DSCN1636.jpg)
(http://i719.photobucket.com/albums/ww199/vitavioletta/DSCN1634.jpg)
i took these pictures in cadriorg palace in tallin but i can`t tell between the 2 girls :who is MAriya nikolaevna and who is olga nikolaevna. help will be appreciated
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I think that Maria is in the second portrait, and Olga in the first one...
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Maria:
(http://images.orkut.com/orkut/photos/OgAAADY1EPa47pWcBtmP1KoI_ncKyEmZtF1vlPMC5COK5hZJQRUHdN5GooXhGUyCWQb-d21aVMXp4Vt6bep7Z15zTGsAm1T1UGUGmMOVcvZZ3HfdzocLOfmheV_2.jpg)
Olga:
(http://images.orkut.com/orkut/photos/OgAAAH2ZlBf1tjtbdlFBf8vPcdETXRPElLqAy_m7Ia8Hemu3d6lIr74WKEGMOExKVTyX-dKv9s7DyTkQSnSJnHQnyQsAm1T1UN-rEM4SF4QtN9ipzJffP0a_X6YO.jpg)
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Its often said, that Olga and Alexandra were the two beauties of the daughters. Were the sisters very close to each other or to their brothers?
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Its often said, that Olga and Alexandra were the two beauties of the daughters. Were the sisters very close to each other or to their brothers?
Olga and Alexandra was always close to each other. Alexandra was also the favourite sister of her brother Konstantin,her death was a great blow for him.
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What was Maria's relationship with her sisters like? Was she close to one in particular?
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What was Maria's relationship with her sisters like? Was she close to one in particular?
In childhood Maria was more or less close to her sisters, the family of Nicholas I was a very united one. But Maria was the eldest daughter and thus her somewhat unique position in th family. She also had a difficult character, she was head-strong and eccentric, while her sisters were more gentle and simple. They adored her as the eldest and cleverest one. Maria married in 1839 and became a mother of the large family, so she didn't have enough time to be with her youngest sisters.
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Thank you for the information, Svetabel!
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Was Maria very close to her first husband and her children?
And what about her second marriage, was that a love marriage? It was "just" a count, wasn't it?
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ys,it was a lov match.her marriage was kpt in secret from nikolay 1.after her father`s death maria turned to her brother,alexander 2, to gain acceptanc to her marriage.the tzar hesitated for some time but refused to accept her marriage
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Was Maria very close to her first husband and her children?
And what about her second marriage, was that a love marriage? It was "just" a count, wasn't it?
Maria was a very good and loving mother who was able to keep her children united. Her first marriage wasn't a success actually but she found a real happinness in her 2nd one, as Count Stroganov shared her artistic tastes and wasn't ambitiuos. He never boasted that his wife was a Tzar's daughter and knew his place.
Info on GDss Maria N. you can also find at the topic about her and the Leuchtenbergs.
http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=363.0 (http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=363.0)
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Thanks a lot!
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As it was ask before a lot of times....here is a good overwiev how many children/daughters and stillbirthes Nikolai and Alexandra had.
Aleksandr II Nikolaievich Romanov, Tsar of Russia b. 29 Apr 1818, d. 13 Mar 1881
Mariya Nikolaievna Romanov, Grand Duchess of Russia b. c 18 Aug 1819, d. c 21 Feb 1876
unnamed daughter b. 22 Jul 1820, d. 22 Jul 1820
Olga Nikolaievna Romanov, Grand Duchess of Russia b. 11 Sep 1822, d. 30 Oct 1892
unnamed daughter b. 23 Oct 1823, d. 23 Oct 1823
Aleksandra Nikolaievna Romanov, Grand Duchess of Russia b. 24 Jun 1825, d. 10 Aug 1844
Elizabeta Nikolaievna Romanov, Grand Duchess of Russia b. 7 Jun 1826, died young
Konstantin Nikolaievich Romanov, Grand Duke of Russia b. 21 Sep 1827, d. 29 Jan 1892
unnamed daughter b. 5 Oct 1829, d. 5 Oct 1829
Nikolai Nikolaievich Romanov, Grand Duke of Russia b. 8 Aug 1831, d. 25 Apr 1891
Mikhail Nikolaievich Romanov, Grand Duke of Russia b. 25 Oct 1832, d. 18 Dec 1909
Have a look to the source: http://thepeerage.com/p10069.htm#i100689
Hope, I could help:-)
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It was mentioned in another thread that Olga Nikolaevna was chief of the Elizavetgradsky Hussar regiment. Does anyone know the regiments of Maria and Alexandra? Are there any portraits of them in uniform? What exactly were their military duties? Thanks in advance!
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Alexandra and Maria didn't have their "own" regiments. Olga became the Chief of Elizavetgrad Hussars in 1845 year as Nicholas I wanted to please his daughter who was left alone at home - I mean without sisters, one married, one died in 1844.
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(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4065/5122543930_19cfe77cac_z.jpg)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/5122533104_ce6a2ab713_z.jpg)
Portraits of the daughters of Nicholas I (Olga and Alexandra) by Sokolov.
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Personally I've always thought Olga and Maria were the prettiest of the sisters.
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Personally I've always thought Olga and Maria were the prettiest of the sisters.
Really? That's interesting, because when Alexandra was a child, her father referred to her as "sweet, but not really pretty." However, from everything I've read, most people would come to disagree with him (and he did change his mind as she grew up), since she bore a striking resemblance to her maternal grandmother, Queen Louise of Prussia, who was a renowned beauty.
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Maybe fashions and tastes change? At the time, Maria was considered the most beautiful. Her sister Olga wrote: "She combined a strict classical face with lively facial expressions. Her forehead, nose and mouth were completely regular, her shoulders and chest were perfectly developed, and her waist was so slender that the band from her Greek coiffure could fit around it."
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(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6479379275_149198cd51.jpg)
I found this picture of Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna, with a girl I assume is one of their daughters. I think it could be Olga, but I'm wondering what everyone else thinks.
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(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6773353557_c5a0e3e3e6_z.jpg)
Maria
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6773353919_63ff863e56_z.jpg)
Olga
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6773353199_8dac51163a_z.jpg)
Alexandra
These statues are at the base of the Nicholas I memorial statue in St. Petersburg. They are allegorical representations: Maria is force, Olga is wisdom, and Alexandra is faith. Their mother, not pictured, is justice.
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I found a possible portrait of Alexandra Nikolaievna. This is actually a portrait on a porcelain dessert plate from the dowry service of Alexandra. It was dated in 1844. I'm guessing that since this plate was part of Alexandra's dowry, the portrait on it could be Alexandra. :-\
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v614/lunarmaiden10/uafahd396.jpg)
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Gem,
I've seen the plate before, but not an up-close version of the portrait; there is a bit of resemblance, but I can't say for sure :-\
I don't know if you read German or not, but there is a great book called Die Mitgift Einer Zarentochter, and it's all about Alexandra's dowry. It's full of fabulous pictures you won't see anywhere else.
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Alexandra and Maria didn't have their "own" regiments. Olga became the Chief of Elizavetgrad Hussars in 1845 year as Nicholas I wanted to please his daughter who was left alone at home - I mean without sisters, one married, one died in 1844.
Need to correct myself. Maria did have her regiment - 4th Novo-Troitzkiy Dragoon regiment.
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Alexandra and Maria didn't have their "own" regiments. Olga became the Chief of Elizavetgrad Hussars in 1845 year as Nicholas I wanted to please his daughter who was left alone at home - I mean without sisters, one married, one died in 1844.
Need to correct myself. Maria did have her regiment - 4th Novo-Troitzkiy Dragoon regiment.
Really? Thank you so much for sharing! Have you ever seen an image of her in uniform (I've seen one of Olga)?
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Alexandra and Maria didn't have their "own" regiments. Olga became the Chief of Elizavetgrad Hussars in 1845 year as Nicholas I wanted to please his daughter who was left alone at home - I mean without sisters, one married, one died in 1844.
Need to correct myself. Maria did have her regiment - 4th Novo-Troitzkiy Dragoon regiment.
Really? Thank you so much for sharing! Have you ever seen an image of her in uniform (I've seen one of Olga)?
No, never seen Maria N. in uniform. I've done a research recently on the Romanov women in uniform (posted in my LJ page) and Maria N. is in the list of those whose images in uniform had never been seen or published.
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Hi Sveta,
I read on your LJ page (excellent job, by the way) that Maria Nikolaevna received her regiment in 1837; do you know if there is a reason why Nicholas I's other daughters were not given regiments at the same time?
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Hi Sveta,
I read on your LJ page (excellent job, by the way) that Maria Nikolaevna received her regiment in 1837; do you know if there is a reason why Nicholas I's other daughters were not given regiments at the same time?
I think Nicholas I 'granted' the regiments to his daughters in the case of their marriage. Olga N. in 1846, Maria N. in 1837 but it's strange that Alexandra did not receive any regiment in 1843...
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Hi Sveta,
I read on your LJ page (excellent job, by the way) that Maria Nikolaevna received her regiment in 1837; do you know if there is a reason why Nicholas I's other daughters were not given regiments at the same time?
I think Nicholas I 'granted' the regiments to his daughters in the case of their marriage. Olga N. in 1846, Maria N. in 1837 but it's strange that Alexandra did not receive any regiment in 1843...
That sounds accurate, but you're right--it is strange that Alexandra didn't receive a regiment. Anyway, thank you very much for your help :)
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A portrait of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna in her regiment uniform. Artist/date is not identified.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RVl3XnJTCHBIKEW2_vUM3w?feat=embedwebsite
Joanna
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(http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5542/9189201196_a69d5afa25_o.jpg)
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3672/9186402215_1a603539a1_o.jpg)
Sketches of Olga, Maria, and Alexandra Nikolaevna by Hau, 1835. Download for full size.
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(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3732/9511080221_a87f4412b7_o.jpg)
Close-up of Alexandra and Olga Nikolaevna from the family portrait by Vernet, which was done for the twenty-fifth wedding anniversary of Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna.
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(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3683/11109560065_7d9c8a5922_o.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7337/11109747643_e2c42c894a_o.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7348/11109552635_db0204d4b9_o.jpg)
Maria, Olga, and Alexandra Nikolaevna by Sokolov.