Age progression of OTMAA

[Maria Sisi]

They all died at such young ages.

They were all attractive and photogenic looking, so it would have been interesting to see what the children would have looked like as they got older.

What relatives/side of the family do you think they would have looked like and taken after the most?

[edubs31]

Good question. I think Olga and Tatiana were old enough (in their early-20s) by 1918 to where we had a pretty good idea of how they were destined to look throughout their lives. It's hard to know how well they would have aged of course. Tatiana draws comparisons to her first cousin Irina who while regarded as stunning in her youth did not age well at all.

Marie is a bit younger and seemed to have more the physical features of the Alexandrovich side of the family. While Marie was still fairly young, 19, at the time of her death I always found her physical development remarkably predictable and consistent. Maria is Maria at every age to me...you can easily see the little girl in the later teen. Anastasia on the other hand is the real wild card. She went through several physical periods in her short life. She seemed to be recapturing some of the beauty of her earlier years towards the end and rounding into an extremely attractive young woman.

Alexei meanwhile was very handsome but hampered by his illness. If he had lived well into adulthood - hardly a guarantee - I see him as far taller and more slender than his father. His physical appearance that of his mother's side of the family and a young Alix herself.

[Maria Sisi]

Yes Maria as you said is Maria in every picture. Her face oddly didn't really seem to change that much as she grew up. I think someone on this forum once said she was like a female Alexander III (yikes) except prettier. I actually think her face looked a lot like her grandmother, Maria Feodorovna. So perhaps she would have aged facially similar to her Danish relatives.

It's interesting you said Alexei's physical appearance was more like that of his mothers side cause I see a similarity face wise between Alexei and Maria, who favored her father's side. And from the pictures I've seen Alexandra's family doesn't appear to be that tall. Her brother may have been an inch or two taller then Nicholas but not by much. By the time of his death at 13 he was already close to his father's height at 5'7", so chances are he would have been over 6'0" like the Romanovs. I thought if he did reach adulthood he would have been similar to his uncle Michael Alexandrovich, tall and thin.

I actually think Tatiana's face looks similar to her uncle Ernst Ludwig although I can see the Romanov in her as well. Olga seems to be a mix of both sides as well. I think I see a bit of her grandma Alice in her, although that might have to do with the fact they both appear so melancholy in their photos.

Anastasia, like you said is definitely a puzzle. During the war she went through a real awkward phase but in the few pictures we have seems to have been softening towards the end. I suppose physically she was like the Romanovs while facially more like the Hesse, similar to Aunt Irene.


 

[carkuczyn]

I have always thought that Tatiana looked like Uncle Ernst and Anastasia looked like Aunt Irene!  Olga and Marie, who resembled one another quite a bit, both look like the Romanov side of the family.

[edubs31]

Yes Maria as you said is Maria in every picture. Her face oddly didn't really seem to change that much as she grew up. I think someone on this forum once said she was like a female Alexander III (yikes) except prettier. I actually think her face looked a lot like her grandmother, Maria Feodorovna. So perhaps she would have aged facially similar to her Danish relatives.

I see some of MF in Marie, particularly as she grew older. No a lot, but certain traces.

It's interesting you said Alexei's physical appearance was more like that of his mothers side cause I see a similarity face wise between Alexei and Maria, who favored her father's side. And from the pictures I've seen Alexandra's family doesn't appear to be that tall. Her brother may have been an inch or two taller then Nicholas but not by much. By the time of his death at 13 he was already close to his father's height at 5'7", so chances are he would have been over 6'0" like the Romanovs. I thought if he did reach adulthood he would have been similar to his uncle Michael Alexandrovich, tall and thin.

Actually the person I think Alexei looks most like might be Tatiana. Those pictures of OTMAA with their heads shaved in Tobolsk, and earlier when Tatiana was ill with Typhoid in early-1913 reveal some startling similarities between the two...the kind you don't normally see when comparing males and females when their hair is at its respective length.

Anastasia, like you said is definitely a puzzle. During the war she went through a real awkward phase but in the few pictures we have seems to have been softening towards the end. I suppose physically she was like the Romanovs while facially more like the Hesse, similar to Aunt Irene.

That's a pretty fair assessment. I've always said the younger Anastasia looks like a sister (or even a cousin) to the older Anastasia, more than an older version of her own self.

[Rodney_G.]

I think we're agreed on Marie changing little as she aged. Always her inner beauty permeating her outer beautiful face. Probably becoming heavier,but still the merry, fun aunt in middle age.

Age doesn't favor the more sober and melancholic and introspective, and unfortunately that was what Olga was becoming. I think facially, she would have aged quickly, though not necessarily  poorly. In figure, I doubt she would remain the sturdy girl she was as a teen and young woman.

I think Tatiana would retain her exotic face , and  remain appealing. I agree with edubs though that her leanness and fineness of features is subject to a certain premature aging. I can see her still retaining her characteristic look for a long time.

Who knows about Anastasia? Or which Anastasia? She metamorphed so much and so drastically. I think facially she may have steadily gained in character as she passed her twenties and thirties. Of the four girls, Anastasia strikes me as usually looking slightly  older than her chronological age. It's so difficult to judge a girl who never made it to adulthood. In my sixties,I'm still recognizable to family and friends as I was as a twenty-year old, though obviously having passed through several stages of appearance, most for the better.
I think the same can be said for Anastasia.

[rosieposie]

I would have to agree with you Rodney about Olga.

If you compare Olga's photos from 1917 to 1918 she has aged a lot in her face.  She actually looks older in her last photo taken on the Rus more older then a 21/22.  It is not just her expression but she lost weight and looks gaunt.

[edubs31]

I would have to agree with you Rodney about Olga.

If you compare Olga's photos from 1917 to 1918 she has aged a lot in her face.  She actually looks older in her last photo taken on the Rus more older then a 21/22.  It is not just her expression but she lost weight and looks gaunt.

Not unlike her mother than who was a beautiful woman and had appropriately delicate features for someone her age up until roughly her mid-30s. I think the stress surrounding Alexei and, to a lesser extent some of the political upheaval that took place in 1905/06 age her rapidly. By the time of her imprisonment Alexandra looked 45 going on 60. Olga's weight loss and stress levels were apparent even before captivity I believe. Of course being ideally a beautiful woman in her early-20s, and having far less responsibilities than her mother, makes me a bit more confident that she would have bounced back had the family been rescued and allowed to live somewhere in peace and comfort.

Sometimes I feel like Olga looks older than age not because of any sort of rapid physical decline, but because she was more serious and reflective than her sisters. She looks to me like she's always thinking. Tatiana had more of a natural regal look and Marie and Anastasia were usually joyous and full of life. To me Olga's physical features mirror, to an extent, her internal emotions.

[rachel5a]

They all died at such young ages.

They were all attractive and photogenic looking, so it would have been interesting to see what the children would have looked like as they got older.

What relatives/side of the family do you think they would have looked like and taken after the most?

Yea I agree Anastasia looked a lot like Irene