Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark ( el, Αλεξάνδρα); – ), later known as Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna of Russia (russian: Алекса́ндра Гео́ргиевна), was a member of the Greek royal family and of the Russian imperial family. She was the daughter of
George I of Greece
George I ( Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination in 1913.
Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen, and seemed destined for ...
and
Olga Constantinovna of Russia
Olga Constantinovna of Russia ( el, Όλγα; 18 June 1926) was queen consort of Greece as the wife of King George I. She was briefly the regent of Greece in 1920.
A member of the Romanov dynasty, she was the oldest daughter of Grand Duke Co ...
. She died of childbirth complications.
Early life
Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark was born on at
Mon Repos, the summer residence of the Greek royal family on the island of
Corfu
Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...
. She was the third child and eldest daughter of King
George I of Greece
George I ( Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination in 1913.
Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen, and seemed destined for ...
and his wife,
Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia
Olga Constantinovna of Russia ( el, Όλγα; 18 June 1926) was queen consort of Greece as the wife of King George I. She was briefly the regent of Greece in 1920.
A member of the Romanov dynasty, she was the oldest daughter of Grand Duke Co ...
. Alexandra's father was not a native Greek, but he had been born a Danish prince named Christian Wilhelm of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a son of
Christian IX, King of Denmark, and he had been elected to the Greek throne at the age of seventeen. Five of his sons (
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
* Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...
,
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
,
Nicholas
Nicholas is a male given name and a surname.
The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...
,
Andrew
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...
and
Christopher
Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...
), and two daughters (Alexandra and
Maria
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
*170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
*Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...
), attained adulthood.
The Greek royal family was not wealthy by royal standards and they lived with simplicity. King George was a taciturn man, but contrary to the general approach of the time, he believed in happy rambunctious children. The long corridors of the royal palace in Athens were used by Alexandra and her siblings for all types of play and sometimes a "bike ride" would be led by the King himself. Raised by British nannies, English was the children's first language, but they spoke Greek between themselves. They also learned German and French.
Alexandra, nickname "Aline" within her family, or Greek Alix, to distinguish her from her aunt and godmother,
Alexandra, Princess of Wales
Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 t ...
, had a sunny disposition and was much loved by her family. "She had one of those sweet and lovable natures that endeared her to everybody who came in touch with her," recalled her brother, Nicholas. "She looked young and beautiful, and ever since she was a child, life looked as it had nothing but joy and happiness in store for her."
Alexandra's playmates were her brother Nicholas and her sister Maria, who followed her in age. Alexandra spent many holidays in Denmark visiting her paternal grandparents. In Denmark, Alexandra and her siblings met their Russian and British cousins in large family gatherings.
Marriage and children
![Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich Romanov and Princess Alexandra of Greece](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Grand_Duke_Paul_Alexandrovich_Romanov_and_Princess_Alexandra_of_Greece.jpg)
When she was eighteen years old, she was married to
Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia (russian: Павел Александрович; 3 October 1860 – 28 January 1919) was the sixth son and youngest child of Emperor Alexander II of Russia by his first wife, Empress Maria Alexandrov ...
, her maternal first cousin once removed and the youngest child and sixth son of
Emperor Alexander II
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Fin ...
and his first wife,
Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine
Maria Alexandrovna ( rus, Мария Александровна), born Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (8 August 1824 – 3 June 1880), was Empress of Russia as the first wife and political adviser of Emperor Alexander II. She was one of the ...
. They had become close when Grand Duke Paul spent winters in Greece due to his frequent respiratory illnesses. The Greek royal family also frequently spent holidays with the Romanov family on visits to Russia or Denmark. Their engagement was announced on 10 November 1888.
[Zeepvat, ''Dear, Unforgettable Alix'', p. 8] The wedding took place on in
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, at the chapel of the
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace ( rus, Зимний дворец, Zimnij dvorets, p=ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the Emperor of all the Russias, Russian Emperor from 1732 to 1917. The p ...
.
[Van der Kiste, ''The Romanovs 1818-1959'', p. 126]
They had two children:
*
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (1890–1958)
*
Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich (1891–1942)
Death
Seven months into her second pregnancy, Alexandra took a walk with her friends on the bank of the
Moskva River
The Moskva (russian: река Москва, Москва-река, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river running through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through centra ...
and jumped directly into a boat that was permanently moored there, but fell as she got in. The next day, she collapsed in the middle of a ball from violent labour pains. She gave birth to her son, Dimitri, lapsed into a fatal coma, and she died six days later in the Romanovs' estate Ilyinskoe near Moscow. The Grand Duchess was buried in the
Peter and Paul Cathedral, St. Petersburg. Her grieving husband had to be restrained from throwing himself into the grave with her.
Her husband later
morganatically
Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...
remarried
Olga Karnovich. Alexandra’s son would be involved in the murder of
Grigori Rasputin
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (; rus, links=no, Григорий Ефимович Распутин ; – ) was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, thus g ...
, a favorite of
Tsarina Alexandra Feodorvna, in 1916.
In 1939 during the reign of her nephew
George II of Greece
George II ( el, Γεώργιος Βʹ, ''Geórgios II''; 19 July Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S.:_7_July.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>O.S.:_7_July">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html"_;"title="nowiki/ ...
, the Greek government obtained permission from the Soviet government under
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
to rebury Princess Alexandra in Greece. Her body was removed from the vault in
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
and transferred by a Greek ship to Athens. It was finally laid to rest near the
Tatoi Palace
Tatoi ( el, Τατόι, ) was the summer palace and estate of the former Greek royal family. The area is a densely wooded southeast-facing slope of Mount Parnitha, and its ancient and current official name is Dekeleia. It is located from t ...
. Alexandra's marble tombstone over an empty tomb is still in its place in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
The "''Alexandra Maternity Hospital''" (now "''Alexandra General Hospital''") in Athens was later named in her memory by another nephew,
King Paul; it was affiliated with the
University of Athens
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...
with a special remit to research and combat postpartum maternal mortality.
Alexandras Avenue
Alexandra's Avenue (Greek: Λεωφόρος Αλεξάνδρας ''Leoforos Alexandras'') is a main east–west thoroughfare running from Patission Street/28 October Street and Kifissias Avenue in the northern part of the city of Athens, Greece. ...
in Athens was also named after her.
Ancestry
Notes
References
*Mager, Hugo (1998). ''Elizabeth: Grand Duchess of Russia''. Carroll and Graf Publishers Inc.
*Zeepvat, Charlotte (2004). ''The Camera and the Tsars: A Romanov Family Album''. Sutton Publishing Inc.
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Burials at Tatoi Palace Royal Cemetery
Daughters of kings