I think that the issue of relationship between Alexandra and the court is really complex. it should be looked at from different angles. and both parties are to blame for the situation. we should remember that she was brought up in a small German court in Darmstadt where the grand ducal family led a simple life. There were cases when they could not afford a trip to some ceremonies to their foreign relatives and had to stay at home. There were other differences between the marvelous Russian Court and that in Darmstadt. So when Alix arrived to Russia ( as a betrothed of Niki) she was already a fully formed person (22 years old) that in turn meant that changing her views and attitudes towards basic things was virtually impossible. One had to be really flexible ( her mother-in-law Mariya Feodorovna easily adjusted herself to new conditions just because she was not so stubborn) to adjust herself to new conditions. We should remember that Alix was reluctant to change her views on any topic. Mosolov, one of the major members of court, wrote in his memories that till the end of her days Alix remained a German princess from the small German court. Robert K. Massie gave an example of Alix`s behavior at one of the balls. She disliked the fact that ladies wore dresses that disclosed their shoulders and breast and remarked that "we don`t wear such dresses in Darmstadt". she was trying to impose her own rules in the court that obviously did not win her any support from court members. Also, she seemed not to have understood that she was not a private person hence her likes and dislikes shouldn't have governed her behavior. But court members, at least some of them, weren`t nice to her, either. It was because they knew about Mariya Feodorovna`s negative attitude towards her daughter-in-law. Relationships between A and court were tolerable before the birth of the hemophiliac son but after the birth of Alexei the IF isolated itself from the other Romanovs and the court. AF was afraid that no one, who had not been in a similar situation, would have been able to feel for her. But more importantly, Alexei`s disease was a state secret. revealing this secret would mean endangering the dynasty. it meant that the throne would pass to the Vladimirovichi line because Misha, Niki`s brother was not married and had no children and, what is more, had no intention of marrying a suitable European aristocrat. AF and her family started to lead a secluded life in Alexandrovski palace in Tsarskoe Selo. she was never fond of balls and other grand events but after 1904 she led a totally secluded life e.g. there took place fancy parties at the Zimniy palace in St.Petersburg but the last ball took place in 1903, a year before the birth of Alexei. No ball took place later.
