Physical Characteristics/Features of the Romanovs

[cdianec]

I have read many places that Nicholas II was quite short compared to his other male relatives, such as GD Nicolai N (6ft 6in) and GD Alexander M (6ft 3in).  Just how tall was Nicholas II, anyway?  Was Alexandra actually taller than he was, or was that just a result of her high heels, upswept hair and her hats?  How tall were the Grand Duchesses?  They didn't appear in photos to be all that tall, but when I read the specifications of length of some of their gowns, they seemed enormously long!  And I read a description of Maria Feodorovna by M. P. Bok, Stolypin's daughter, remarking on MF's tiny frame.  Would that be tiny compared to very tall Romanov standards? Or was she actually a very petite person?

[lilavanderhorn]

I think NII was somewhere around 5'6.  Alix may have been around the same, but her hair, heels and hats did make her appear taller.  Tatiana was around 5'7, Maria around 5'6 also.  Olga maybe 5'5 or 5'4, and Anastasia around 5'2?  I am guessing here.  Alexis seemed to have grown quite a bit before he died, who knows, if he had lived he would have been taller that the lot of them.

[olga]

How tall were the Grand Duchesses?  They didn't appear in photos to be all that tall, but when I read the specifications of length of some of their gowns, they seemed enormously long!

Did you take into account the trains of the gowns? They were extremely long.

[Maria_Pavlovna]

This is what i think-right before there deaths.


Nicholas was 5'7-8ish ?

Alexandra was 5'9 ( she was taller then her husband).

Olga was 5'5

Tatiana was 5'7-8

Maria was 5'6

Anastasia was 5'3

Alexei was 5'1-2  ?

[Lanie]

5'9 is a bit tall for Alix and I've read Alexei was at/surpassed Nicholas' height - he would have been quite a tall boy, taking after his Russian relatives I suppose!  Tatiana was the tallest of the four girls, I'd guess anywhere from 5'7-5'9.  Maria was probably 5'6-5'7, Olga 5'3-5'4, maybe 5'5ish, Anastasia shortest at perhaps 5'2 or 5'1 (taller than ME at any rate!).

[Maria_Pavlovna]

Lanie, I really don't now how tall they were i was just guessing.

[Val289]

I think I've always read that Nicholas was somewhere around 5'6, and that Alix was about the same height.  Although wearing heels - perhaps around 5'7.  Tatiana was the tallest Grand Duchess and I've seen her height listed as 5'7 - 5'9.  Maria I believe was about 5'7, Olga 5'4/5'5 , and Anastasia about 5'2.   I don't remember the height that was given for Alexei though!

[Lisa]

Nicholas and Alix was the same height. Alix looked heigher because of the shoes and the headress.
In the order, the daughters (in 1918 ): Maria, Tatiana, Olga and Anastasia...

[Annie]

The height thing is all subjective, like with FS and AA and the singer from the rock message  board. Are there no official records? I read that Nicholas was 5'7" and Alix was 5'8", and that Alexei had grown several inches taller than N in Tobolsk. He was on track to be a tall Romanov too. N got his smallness from his mother, MF, who was only about 5'2"?

Since Alexei was taller than N in the last year or two (the wood sawing pic shows they were at least the same height at that time) it's strange that Alexei is always portrayed as a small child, such as in the statue of the family in Russia someone posted where N is carrying him, he looks about 5. Also in the martyr portraits they are often painted to show N taller than Alix and Alix taller than all the kids, with Alexei about half the size of the others I guess this is just symbolic for child martyr?

[Lisa]

[Michelle]

I've read that Tatiana was around 5'10/11-ish, Maria 5'8/5'9, Olga 5'5/5'6, and Anastasia 5'1/5'2.  I'd put Nicholas at 5'7 as well as Alix.  Tatiana has such a stretched out body type that it'd be hard for me to imagine her any less than 5'10. :-/

Here's a good picture depicting their height well.

[Michelle]

Here's another good pic showing Tatiana's obvious giantess:

[Annie]

I've read that Tatiana was around 5'10/11-ish, Maria 5'8/5'9, Olga 5'5/5'6, and Anastasia 5'1/5'2.  I'd put Nicholas at 5'7 as well as Alix.  Tatiana has such a stretched out body type that it'd be hard for me to imagine her any less than 5'10. :-/

Here's a good picture depicting their height well.

What year is this? Was it taken before Anastasia grew to full height? She wasn't that much shorter than the others in the bald pics.

[Georgiy]

I think that photo was taken around 1912.

As for the iconographic representations, i too find the depiction of the children interesting, in that they appear as they did around 1913 for the most part.

[Michelle]

The pic was taken in 1913.  But the second one was in about 1917.