Marie Feodorovna and her grandchildren

[Ena]

This picture is from a site that sells some belongins of Olga Alexandrovna and her family. I give you the link towards this site so you can see some nice rare pictures and wonderfull things that have belonged to a wonderfull grandduchess and her family. I wish I had the money to buy some of those rare items, but unfortunately that's not the case. I just have to wait until the cash flows in and then I can ! I would love to own the picture of Olga Alexandrovna and her mother at Hvidore or the Bejewelled Book Mark...But wouldn't we all want that!

Maybe next week's paycheck RN.   

Thanks for the link.  It's nice to dream if I could buy any of this!  I'm curious if Olga's family is behind the sale.  It would be a shame as some of this looks sentimental.  I can understand bits and bobs that have no personal attachments, but the photos and some of the other items look keepworthy.

[Janet Ashton]

I think Alicky did not gave Minny the excess Xenia gave her mother to her kids. Minny did love OTMAA but didn't have the closeness of the other grandchildren. Remember that the children were quite isolated in court circles.

I am not sure she WAS "close to the other grandchildren". Sure, there are affectionate photos of her on a beach with Tikhon or Guri Kulikovsky, but equally there are pics of her sitting affectionately with Nicholas and Alexandra's children. She treated the mother of Tikhon and Guri as a personal maid and ignored their father entirely - and our source for this information is their mother herself. Equally, I wonder what sort of relationship she had with George Brassov, whose mother was similarly beyond the pail and who to the best of my knowledge she never even met? - Maria Feodorovna was immensely possesive of Xenia, creating terrible scenes when she married, so you are probably right to say that Xenia - who thus remained completely under her mother's influence - subsequently gave her good access to the kids, but I disagree with the suggestion that Maria's lack of contact with Nicholas's kids was in some sense entirely Alexandra's fault. A cuddly Granny MF certainly was not!

[Eric_Lowe]

I think Alicky did have a pocessive personality. She like Minny to have access to her children, but not too often. She was the same to her husband.

[Janet Ashton]

I think Alicky did have a pocessive personality. She like Minny to have access to her children, but not too often. She was the same to her husband.

Whether Alexandra was possessive or not (and if you have not yet done so you might want to read Mossolov for an alternative view of this, since he who was at least a part of their household and certainly had no love for Alexandra opines that Nicholas was jealous of her time, rather than the reverse) you should not overlook the difficult behaviour of Maria Feodorovna, which is evident from the memoirs of several people in onstant contact with her. Even leaving aside the issue of MF's attitude to Mikhail's morganatic son, Olga Alexandrovna recalled that she took Nicholas and Alexandra's daughters to see their grandmother regularly - and that all four were unaccustomedly quiet and restarined in her presence. Olga A clearly had a poor relationship with her mother, and was afraid of her, but I don't think this gives us the right to ignore what she says entirely about M's stultifying effect on her grandchildren.

[Eric_Lowe]

I really don't know. It seems that Xenia's sons had a much easier and closer relationship with MF. Also MF got to involve more into the lives of Irina than OTMA. When Felix Yussopv wanted to marry Irina, he had to answer to MF (who was with her sister Queen Alexandra at that time) before the marriage could go on. I don't think MF was consulted when the match between Olga & Carol was suggested.

[Janet Ashton]

When Felix Yussopv wanted to marry Irina, he had to answer to MF (who was with her sister Queen Alexandra at that time) before the marriage could go on. I don't think MF was consulted when the match between Olga & Carol was suggested.

Absolutely - but I think that says a lot about MF's attitude to Xenia and her children. Since M was not the reigning monarch, or their mother, it seems perfectly natural to me that her permission not be sought for any marriage involving Nicholas and Alexandra's children - though of course with Carol things never got so far anyway. It may be my peculiarity, but it seems strange to me that MF had any say over who Irina married either!

[Eric_Lowe]

Irina was said to be MF's favourite granddaughter, and with Xenia & Sandro, it is easy for bossy MF to muscle her influence in the marriage.

[Svetabel]

Equally, I wonder what sort of relationship she had with George Brassov, whose mother was similarly beyond the pail and who to the best of my knowledge she never even met? -

The Empress actually met Natalia Brasova in 1919 year in London, after arriving from the Crimea. The meeting was not an easy one, Natalia gave the Empress some photos of GD Mikhail, those MF had not seen before.
As for Georgiy Brasov then the Empress seemed saw him only once, in 1923, and again in London. His mother came with him to MF and the agitated Empress wrote in her diary after that: "he [Georgiy] doesn't resemble my Misha at all".
So, we can't speak about any real relationship between the Brasovs and the Empress.

[Aglaya]

Thanks, Svetabel, I didn't know about that meeting in 1923. It's a pity that Georgyi didn't resemble his father.

[Carolath Habsburg]

But, for what ive seen, Georgiys had a Romanov looks, at least in childhood pictures. I remember one where he looks like his uncle Nicholas ;-)

[Aglaya]

I have his passport photo when he was eight years old, but very small size and bad quality so it's hard to see any resemblance...

[Carolath Habsburg]

George Brassov:

Thats the picture i talk about. Georgiy looks like Nicky in this picture



I dont know..maybe is it just me..

[Aglaya]

Picture of Georgiy from his passport:

[Svetabel]

Picture of Georgiy from his passport:

Even in this one we can see a slight resemblance to his Uncle Nicholas II, so it's interesting that Empress MF didn't see any resemblanse to some of her sons. Or she just didn't want to see.

[Aglaya]

Yes, it's really strange.
 And I really don't understand why MF didn't want to have any closer relation with Georgiy. She hated his mother, but he was just innocent child and in fact - one of her grandchildren.