Messages

16

The Final Chapter / Re: The Remains Identified as Alexei and Maria. Story Closed.

« on: December 09, 2008, 05:55:27 AM »

I just don't know how to feel about this.

I mean, I completely believe the DNA results. It's clear that these latest remains did belong to Alexei and Anastasia (or Marie). And of course the remains of their parents, sisters, and several family servants were found and buried several years ago. So, all of the family is now accounted for.

I'm glad about that, since at least now the youngest Romanovs will have a decent burial and be with the rest of their family, as they should be.

But on the other hand...while we all now know that all the so-called claimants (Alexei, Anastasia, Marie, etc) were not members of the Imperial Family, it still kind of makes me sad to know for a fact that no one survived that horrible night in 1918.

I would have liked to believe that at least one of them got away...

17

Anastasia Nicholaievna / Re: Anastasia Stats

« on: August 20, 2008, 11:19:01 AM »

That's always been one of my favorite things about Anastasia: her sense of humor! She had such an infectious enthusiasm about life, and she was afraid of nothing.

I most definitely would have liked her--altho she undoubtedly could be maddening at times, and she cheated at games lol! 

And Archaeologistwanna-be, keep your dreams alive! You sound very bright and already you seem to have done quite a bit of research, which is a good start! 

I hope someday to read your book on Anastasia!

18

Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna / Re: GDss Ella and GD Sergei's childlessness

« on: January 17, 2008, 03:54:55 PM »

Okay, I'll be the odd one out this time. (Actually not for the first time.  )

I have always suspected that Ella WAS a virgin--I think that was part of her bitterness toward Sergei's affection toward their wards. Also I recall reading that Sergei even in public humiliated Ella by treating her more like a (not very bright) child than as the intelligent woman she was (altho I guess lots of husbands did that back then!!). And the family never seemed surprised that they never had children--altho that too could be for other reasons. And I think it could be one reason Ella turned more and more towards the Church, since her marriage was so unfulfilling.

Having said that--I don't suppose we'll ever know for sure. I don't think it was a very happy marriage anyway--poor Ella.

What a fate for someone once considered the most beautiful princess in Europe! 

19

The Windsors / Re: Edward and Sophie, Earl and Countess of Wessex

« on: January 05, 2008, 01:44:21 PM »

I agree. Just try saying Philip Theophilius 3 times in a row real fast! Your tongue will curl up and die!! LOL! 

I do like the James, tho. About time there was another James in the Royal family! (Besides, James was my grandfather's name, so I'm a bit biased.  )

20

Imperial Claimants Post Here / Re: If anyone wants a GIGANTIC laugh

« on: November 01, 2007, 03:02:31 AM »

Yeah if any of these people are Romanovs, I'm the Queen of France!!! LOL!

21

Having Fun! / Re: The Prettiest?

« on: November 01, 2007, 02:42:52 AM »

Yes, I think they were all lovely, just in somewhat different ways, as RealAnastasia said so eloquently. And beauty is a very subjective thing too!

To me, Tatiana has the most classic beauty, plus being very stylish and chic.

Olga to me is not quite the beauty that Tatiana was--still I have to admit that I sometimes have trouble telling them apart in photos! Olga was still a very lovely girl.

Marie was beautiful too, but in a different way entirely (IMHO) than her older sisters. She looked more "Russian" with a broader face and cheekbones, but yes, she was stunning.

Anastasia to me is the least beautiful of the girls, but then again she died so young--she may well have blossomed into a stunning beauty herself if only she had lived a bit longer.    I agree that she is much more a tomboyish type. Still she had a charming face and beautiful eyes and hair, I would say she was more "cute" or "pixie-like" than a classic beauty--but she was very pretty anyway!

And I must admit that as much as I admire all the girls, I think I would have liked Anastasia the most---I love her sense of humor, her charm, her mischievous personality. To me, personality and charm trump mere "looks" any day of the week!!!

22

Tatiana Nicholaievna / Re: Tatiana Anecdotes

« on: November 01, 2007, 02:26:24 AM »

I was just thinking about the same incident Anna described--Anastasia throwing a snowball at Tatiana.

I remember reading somewhere that actually Anastasia had put a small rock inside the snowball before throwing it at Tatiana--and yes, Tatiana was knocked, stunned, to the ground. Luckily she wasn't seriously injured, but once Anastasia realized how close she had come to seriously injuring her sister, she broke into floods of tears (one of the few instances I can think of Anastasia crying!)

Does anyone know if it's really true that there was a rock inside the snowball??

I can understand Tatiana's brief collapse if she was struck by a rock--I can't ever recall anyone ever being felled by a mere snowball!!

23

The Alexander Palace / Re: Olga/Tatiana's room

« on: November 01, 2007, 02:12:53 AM »

I know this is somewhat off-topic, but I have to say, that photo of Anastasia holding the pot of flowers and crossing her eyes has always cracked me up!! 

That's our Imperial Imp, all right! 

And thanks everyone for the photos, I am greatly enjoying them!!!

24

Tatiana Nicholaievna / Re: Tatiana in "Nicholas and Alexandra"

« on: November 01, 2007, 01:57:58 AM »

I'm not sure how old the actresses were, I think someone said the one playing Tatiana was about 16?? While the real Tatiana at that time would have been about 21.  I would guess they were in their teens somewhere, maybe early 20's, probably not all that far off from the girls' real ages. (And don't forget--some people look much older than they really are while others look much younger!) Actors often play characters who are actually somewhat older or younger than themselves. (Hopefully we won't soon see a 50-year-old actress playing a 16-year-old girl tho!  )

Anna, was it you who posted the pics of the actors playing the Imperial Family? Thank you so much, it's great being able to see them up close and compare them to the "real" IF!

I agree, the only one who looks even remotely like one of the girls is Fiona Fullerton who played Anastasia. The others look wrong, wrong, wrong--and yes, those awful early 70's hairdos--why couldn't they make the hair as authentic as the clothes??? The actress playing Olga looks nothing like the real Olga--and Tatiana isn't much better!! And Marie had such a pretty, rosy face, she was nearly always smiling--the girl playing her looks like she's just bitten into a lemon lol!!

I do watch the movie sometimes (I have it on DVD and yes, it has that stupid scene of Tatiana opening her gown--she would never have done that!!!) mostly because there isnt much else on film about the Romanovs. All in all I think it's not such a bad movie, mostly badly miscast (OTMA especially) and I just don't see as much of the girls as I personally would like--in the movie they look (and act!) interchangeable!!

I do wish someone would make a really good film about the last Romanovs---properly cast (please!!!) and showing the real story!

And much more OTMA please!!! 

25

Tatiana Nicholaievna / Re: Does Anyone Know When Tatiana's "Name Day" Was?

« on: November 01, 2007, 12:05:37 AM »

Thank you for clarifying that, ImperialHighness! 

26

The Myth and Legends of Survivors / Re: Re: Franziska -An Interesting Story on Her own - A Timeline of Her Life #4

« on: October 31, 2007, 11:54:08 PM »

Thanks, Annie and Helen!! 

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The Myth and Legends of Survivors / Re: Claimant of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna

« on: October 31, 2007, 10:58:29 PM »

This reminds me--allegedly sometime after the murders of the Imperial Family, someone started a pretty lucrative scam regarding "escaped" Grand Duchesses and ships.

They hired a young prostitute who bore a marked resemblance to Grand Duchess Tatiana, dressed her up in "Imperial fashion", and would escort her on board a docked ship with great pomp, claiming that this was in fact Tatiana, that she had escaped, and was boarding the ship on her way to safety out of Russia. Apparently for a fee people had the "honor" of being introduced to the "Grand Duchess", and apparently quite a few people fell for it.

What they didn't know--aside from the fact that she was a prostitute and definitely not a Romanov, much less Tatiana---was that the girl would board the ship, put on her little pretense, and then secretly get off the ship before it set sail.

As I recall this little group of pretenders were eventually nabbed by the cops, thus putting an end to the charade.

I wonder how many honest (if gullible) people went to their graves swearing that they had actually met and spoken to Grand Duchess Tatiana aboard a ship long years before??

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The Myth and Legends of Survivors / Re: Re: Franziska -An Interesting Story on Her own - A Timeline of Her Life #4

« on: October 31, 2007, 11:20:08 AM »

About the languages--I wonder just how well the genuine Grand Duchess Anastasia spoke other languages, such as French, English, and German? I don't think I've ever really heard--I know she was said to be a brilliant mimic and I would think that would be a definite asset in learning another language. Still, Ive also heard she wasn't exactly the scholarly type either!

I do recall reading that she (and her sisters) spoke Russian with other Russians (including the servants), and with their father, but spoke English with their mother, since Alix was never very comfortable with the Russian language--English and German were her languages. So Anastasia certainly should have been fluent in at least Russian and English.

I don't know how "good" AA/FS's German was (I've heard not very good!) but I know for sure her English was frightful!!

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The Myth and Legends of Survivors / Re: Re: Franziska -An Interesting Story on Her own - A Timeline of Her Life #4

« on: October 31, 2007, 10:48:42 AM »

Annie, I entirely agree with you! 

Some very interesting thoughts here.

I have always wondered what became of her alleged child. Because apparently she wasn't the only one to assert that she had given birth to a child--didn't a doctor who examined her after she was rescued from the canal say that she had given birth to at least one child? I would think a doctor would know about something like that!! But the child if it did exist never showed up as far as we know--perhaps it did die and that is why she was so distraught?? (Just a theory of course!)

About her mental illness and the fact that she alienated people who wanted to help her--I majored in psychology and the more I read about her, the more I'm convinced that (perhaps among other things) she suffered from borderline personality disorder. Her behavior definitely seems consistent with that diagnosis. And I'm not saying that to criticize or belittle her--some doctors have thought I am borderline myself--maybe it takes one to know one?! 

30

The Myth and Legends of Survivors / Re: Non Romanov and more obscure royal pretenders/impostors/claimants...

« on: October 31, 2007, 10:35:30 AM »

I've always been fascinated by the story of the mysterious Kaspar Hauser!

I hadn't heard before of the more recent DNA tests, which do seem to indicate that he was of royal birth.

Very intriguing--thanks so much for the link!!!