This poor little darling's untimely death was yet another blow for Empress Alexandra Feodorovna who, out of care and concern for her brother and niece in the wake of the marriage breakup, invited to join her own family on holiday in Poland.
Inevitably, with her propensity to blame herself for things going wrong, the Empress must have wrestled with a mixture of emotions. The Emperor describes the family's heartbreak in the letter to Kaiser Wilhelm -
'It is impossible for me to pass over the sudden and tragic death of that sweet little sunshine, without sending you just a word to tell you how deeply I feel for you all in this sad affair. It is really very difficult to realize the facts, that darling child is no more among us! How joyous and merry she was that day at Wolfsgarten, when I was there, so full of life and fun and health, and to think that one shall never see her again in this world! What a terrible heartrending blow for poor Ernie, who doted and adored that little enchantress! May heaven give him power to bear up under such a blow!'
tsaria