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[nena]

I have heard rumors that the Heir Alxander of Serbia cried wen he had heard that Olga died

[blessOTMA]

I have heard rumors that the Heir Alxander of Serbia cried wen he had heard that Olga died

Indeed. I had heard he waited until it was pretty certain she  had perished with the rest of the family before marrying another.

[Sunny]

I have heard rumors that the Heir Alxander of Serbia cried wen he had heard that Olga died

Indeed. I had heard he waited until it was pretty certain she  had perished with the rest of the family before marrying another.

Nena, Annie: i didn't know anything about it!
Do you know more? I mean: was he in love with Olga, or did he "just" want a stricter bond to the tsar?
Nena, meybe you know something about it... It sounds very interesting. Thanks!

[blessOTMA]

Sunny , alot of the story is in the Olga's  crushes thread. Alexander of Serbia  was educated  in Russia and knew Olga ...though how well I can't say . Before the war for a match they looked towards Romania...because I believe  such a tie with Serbia as the Tsar's daughter in marriage would be seen as too much an affront to Germany. Both German and Russia were sparing over that area before the war and we see fighting over it  indeed caused the war . It was a tinder box ( explosive)  and really Russia  didn't need a marriage to form a strong tie with Serbia and so looked elsewhere.  All that and we still don't know Olga's thoughts besides the wish to remain in Russia. I'm sure she was deeply patriotic...but I can't see trading in being a Russian GD for a place in either Serbia or Romania!

[Sunny]

Oh thanks Annie, the topic "Olga's crushes" is in my to-read list ^^ Sorry for OT. I'm going straight to the topic. It sounds so interesting!
It doesn't seem strange to me he was educated in Russia: Queen Elena of Italy, born Princess of Montenegro, was educated in the Smol'nij institute and was good friend with Nicholas and his siblings. She was orthodox (i think. not sure) and spoke fluently russian. But this is off topic again!
Thansk Annie ^^ Going to find out more!

[Ekaterina-Nikolaevna]

I have heard rumors that the Heir Alxander of Serbia cried wen he had heard that Olga died

Really? I've never heard that before. I know that George V and Queen Mary attended a church service at an Orthodox church in memory of Nicholas, and declared a month of court mourning on the 25th July.

[Sunny]

I have heard rumors that the Heir Alxander of Serbia cried wen he had heard that Olga died

Really? I've never heard that before. I know that George V and Queen Mary attended a church service at an Orthodox church in memory of Nicholas, and declared a month of court mourning on the 25th July.

This makes me quite angry. They refused permission to NAOTMAA to have exile in england - when everything was already settled and Kerenskij was quite almost pushing them on a train to Murmansk by force! - and then they were in MOURNING? Maybe i'm exaggerate, but i find George V as guilty as the Bolsheviks for the IF's death. Not because he didn't want them in England, but because he said yes and then changed idea. Wilhlem II was russian enemy, and so on, but at least he tried to save his cousins' lives. I'm sure they wouldn't have accepted - but at least he did what he could (he was loosing: he couldn't do much, to be honest).

[Ekaterina-Nikolaevna]

This makes me quite angry. They refused permission to NAOTMAA to have exile in england - when everything was already settled and Kerenskij was quite almost pushing them on a train to Murmansk by force! - and then they were in MOURNING? Maybe i'm exaggerate, but i find George V as guilty as the Bolsheviks for the IF's death. Not because he didn't want them in England, but because he said yes and then changed idea. Wilhlem II was russian enemy, and so on, but at least he tried to save his cousins' lives. I'm sure they wouldn't have accepted - but at least he did what he could (he was loosing: he couldn't do much, to be honest).

I understand where you're coming from. George really could've put his foot down much more and insisted on a rescue mission, though I suppose when his ministers told him he would risk his throne, any monarch would have backed off.The Russian revolution kicked off riots and strikes aplenty in Europe, though Britain's were only because of false rumours, and IMO that's barely a threat. I don't see how an ex-tsar, ex-tsarina and their children would kick off a revolution and end the British monarchy, as George's ministers told him, but it must have scared him off. With Russia's monarchy in tatters and Germany's not far off, George must have been clinging to his crown.
As for Wilhelm, at least he tried. None of the IF wanted to go to Germany, but he made an effort. The court mourning and church service was just in respect - blood is thicker than water, and Nicholas was cousins with George. IMHO, a year in Siberia, away from the big cities and drama and Bolshevik leaders, safe and sound (for most of it), sounds better than being smugged to Finland, which was dangerous, and risking your life to board a ship (that could be stopped or captured on the route back to Britain) to go to a country full of rioting ruled by ministers who don't want you!

[blessOTMA]

Indeed George could have insisted, both his father and grandmother would have.... He had the whole of the British Empire to place them in  initially, they did not have to even go to the  UK , if that was such a danger.  All he had to say was this is a family matter...and not political. I believe George would been respected for it even by his enemies . Abandoning one's family for your own hide does not please anyone.   But at least he learned his lesson and made sure the Greeks got out later. However not raising a finger for Nicky and his family is a stain that won't wash out imo.

[Sunny]

Of course i understand George's fears: he was afraid to loose his throne. But as BlessOTMA pointed out, he could have put them in another country of the Empire, and saving them would have brought him great respect, IMHO - Nicky was his political and war ally, not only his cousin. I thinks this is a matter that goes beyond political threats. I'm thinking to French Revolution - the King and the Queen were prisoners from the very first moment, and there was no way for other countries to save them. But when they were executed, Austrian Empire declared war to France - to vindicate Marie Antoniette's death, i suppose, not ONLY for political matters.
I know that UK was one of the last european country to officially recognize Soviet Union as a state - as BlessOTMA said, at least he learned his lesson. (for example Italy, a "Red" country during WWI and first years after, was i think the first one to oficially recognize Soviet Union. For "Red Country" i mean that Turin, the town from which the Italian IF came from, was most socialist).

[Ekaterina-Nikolaevna]

Yes, at least he learnt from his mistakes. If he hadn't have saved the Greeks, he'd have their blood on his hands as well as NAOTMAA's in a sense, and that would not have been good.

[Kalafrana]

I think we have to bear in mind that we are not living in 1917-18 and George V was. He had only the information available to him at the time, which was, inevitably, incomplete, and did not have the benefit of knowing that Nicholas and family were going to be murdered. Further, as a monarch his duty was to his monarchy, which meant putting aside personal feelings.

Ann

[Sunny]

What strikes me the most, is Wilhelm II's behaviour, if i compare it with George's one. Germany was loosing - Brest litovsk didn't give germany the help the kaiser thought. But he tried to do something, anyway... i can't understand why. George's behaviour is disturbing me when i compare it with Whilelm's.

[LisaDavidson]

George V, like Alexander III, was not initially the heir. His older brother, Eddie, died in the 1890s, but neither Eddie nor George V was particularly well educated nor prepared for the throne. As a result, as an Emperor, George V was rather provincial in his outlook, and while I'm sure he was personally fond of Nicky, Alexandra was disliked and even hated by many other royals. But, please don't blame his ministers - George V is solely responsible for abandoning his cousins, and Lloyd George was unfairly maligned for many years because GV made him the scapegoat for this. Shameful!

[historyfan]

All the same, I wonder about the kind of guilt that George V would have had to live with for the rest of his life.

(I have no basis of fact, just that I can't imagine he wouldn't have felt some level of remorse!)