Margaretta (or Margaret) Alexandra Eagar (12 August 1863 — 8 August 1936), was an

Irishwoman The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been c ...

who served as a

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

to the four daughters of

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

and Empress

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

and Alexandra Feodorovna of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, the Grand Duchesses Olga;

Tatiana Tatiana (or Tatianna, also romanized as Tatyana, Tatjana, Tatijana, etc.) is a female name of Sabine-Roman origin that became widespread in Eastern Europe. Variations * be, Тацця́на, Tatsiana * bg, Татяна, Tatyana * germ ...

;

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, ...

; and

Anastasia Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...

—known collectively as

OTMA OTMA was an acronym sometimes used by the four daughters of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in t ...

—from 1898 to 1904. In 1906, she wrote a memoir entitled ''Six Years at the Russian Court'' about her time with the family.

Early life

Eagar was born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on 12 August 1863. She was one of ten children born to a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

couple, Francis McGillycuddy Eagar and Frances Margaret Holden. She was trained as a medical nurse in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

and worked at one point as matron of an orphanage.Zeepvat, Charlotte, ''From Cradle to Crown: British Nannies and Governesses at the World's Royal Courts''

Time at Court

Eagar was appointed nurse to the daughters of Nicholas II in 1898 and remained with them until 1904. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, an aunt of the girls later recalled Eagar's great love of politics. As a toddler,

once escaped from her bath and ran naked up and down the palace corridor while Eagar discussed the

Dreyfus Affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...

with a friend. "Fortunately, I arrived just at that moment, picked her up and carried her back to Miss Eagar, who was still talking about Dreyfus," recalled the Grand Duchess. The four grand duchesses began learning English from Eagar and, by 1904—by which time Eagar had left the Imperial Court—had developed a slight

Hiberno-English Hiberno-English (from Latin ''Hibernia'': "Ireland"), and in ga, Béarla na hÉireann. or Irish English, also formerly Anglo-Irish, is the set of English dialects native to the island of Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland a ...

accent in their pronunciation. In 1908 English tutor

Charles Sydney Gibbes Charles Sydney Gibbes (19 January 1876 – 24 March 1963) was a British academic who from 1908 to 1917 served as the English tutor to the children of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia. When Nicholas abdicated the throne in March 1917 Gibbes volun ...

was brought in to "correct" this. Otma1906

Eagar, who grew fond of all four grand duchesses, wrote in her book that she left the

Russian Court The Judiciary of Russia interprets and applies the law of Russia. It is defined under the Constitution and law with a hierarchical structure with the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court at the apex. The district courts are the primary crimina ...

for personal reasons. However, it was possible that she was dismissed due to the tense political situation surrounding the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

, as Great Britain largely sided with Japan.

Later life

Eagar received a pension from the Russian government for her time as a nurse. She exchanged letters with the grand duchesses describing her work as a governess for other families up until their murder in July 1918. Family members stated that she remained haunted by the brutal murder of the family for the rest of her life. In later years, she ran a boarding house. She died in a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...

in 1936, at the age of 72.

References

Sources

*Massie, Robert K., ''Nicholas and Alexandra,'' 1967, Dell Publishing Co., *Zeepvat, Charlotte, ''From Cradle to Crown: British Nannies and Governesses at the World's Royal Courts,'' Sutton Publishing, ASIN B000GREBC0

External links