Author Topic: Did Alexandra get along with other children?  (Read 9207 times)

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Offline GDSophie

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Did Alexandra get along with other children?
« on: September 23, 2016, 03:31:36 PM »
Not in her youth, but some of her lady in waiting's children if they had any. Was she nice to them when they met her? How did she speak to children that weren't her own? Just research for a novel :D
'Give my love to all who remember me' - Olga Nikolaevna

Offline edubs31

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Re: Did Alexandra get along with other children?
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2016, 09:47:38 PM »
Can't offer you much in the way of specifics but I do think she was very pleasant toward children. Certainly she was warm toward Dmitri & Maria Pavlovich during Paul's exile. At the same time - at least once Alexei reached toddler age - she seems to have intentionally distanced OTMAA from her relative's children. But this was more a case of her being concerned of how typical child rough housing might be a danger to Alexei's fragile health than any sort of anominosity towards the children themselves.
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right...

Offline GDSophie

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Re: Did Alexandra get along with other children?
« Reply #2 on: September 24, 2016, 04:29:05 AM »
Oh thank you!
'Give my love to all who remember me' - Olga Nikolaevna

Offline Sanochka

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Re: Did Alexandra get along with other children?
« Reply #3 on: September 25, 2016, 04:04:34 PM »


Reading the original question brought this photo of Alexandra and Lili Dehn's son Titi immediately to mind.  She's looking so tenderly at the baby that she's clearly not unhappy to be holding him.  In fact, it looks like she's cooing at him.

Offline amartin71718

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I'm back on my bull****.

Offline Kalafrana

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Re: Did Alexandra get along with other children?
« Reply #5 on: September 26, 2016, 11:29:37 AM »
She doesn't seem to have been keen on Xenia's family, though they are often described elsewhere as rough and ill-mannered, so that was probably the reason once Alexei arrived.

Ann

Offline Maria Sisi

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Re: Did Alexandra get along with other children?
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2016, 08:43:23 PM »
Well what does one expect from a family with 6 young boys? Alexei himself wasn't exactly the most well mannered and he was only 1. I can only imagine what 6 would be like. Alexei's fragile health did probably have some roll but I'm not sure that was the main reason since she allowed him to horse around with other boys that were personally selected.

Alexander Mikhailovich's theory on the rift among the families, who were very close in the beginning, was the fact that Xenia was having healthy son after healthy son while Alexandra struggled to have one, and when she did he had hemophilia. I don't know how much of that is true but I personally think there is some truth to it. Also their disapproval of Rasputin later on made things worse on Alexandra's side.

There are many photos of Xenia's children with OTMAA, some as late as the war. Although these photos usually only include Nicholas and not Alexandra.
« Last Edit: September 26, 2016, 08:45:07 PM by Maria Sisi »

Offline Kalafrana

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Re: Did Alexandra get along with other children?
« Reply #7 on: September 27, 2016, 02:05:16 AM »
All this is very true, but it may also be that Alexandra simply wasn't used to boys. After all, she had grown up with only one brother, and although Ernst Ludwig obviously enjoyed messing about with his cousins when they were young men, he wasn't a rumbustious type.

Ann

Offline LisaDavidson

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Re: Did Alexandra get along with other children?
« Reply #8 on: November 24, 2016, 11:50:21 AM »
Alexandra loved children and they loved her. She lost her customary shyness while with kids I think. I will have to go to my library for specific citations but they can be found.

Offline GDSophie

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Re: Did Alexandra get along with other children?
« Reply #9 on: January 14, 2017, 07:45:37 PM »
Alexandra loved children and they loved her. She lost her customary shyness while with kids I think. I will have to go to my library for specific citations but they can be found.

Thank you, Lisa! Sorry it took so long to reply!
'Give my love to all who remember me' - Olga Nikolaevna

Offline LisaDavidson

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Re: Did Alexandra get along with other children?
« Reply #10 on: February 01, 2017, 12:20:30 AM »
No problem!