Alix seemed to up and down over the years ...she was quite slim in the 1912 footage when the church at AP was opened...When she was young she seemed part of the thin side of her family, like Ella and her eldest sister, Victoria. But if you look at Alix's father, he was a very large man and she seem to follow him in the later years. Genes, there's no stopping them.
I sometimes think Marie got her muscles from Alix's father as well as her other grandfather , Alexander III...because let me just say our Marie had, what we in the US call , "guns" that is, large biceps ( upper arms) I kept having to add more there though out my latest painting ! This was how she was "as strong as any man" as the washer women at Impative House said in awe.
Also in this photo Marie reminds me so much of Alexis when he laughs like this ...he could look like TN in repose, but like Marie when laughing. When you look at this photo, you can see why Marie was adored by so many at the court. This spirit is irresistible.
