Alexandra Nikolaevna
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Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia (24 June 1825 – 10 August 1844) was the youngest daughter and fourth child of
Tsar Nicholas I , house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp , father = Paul I of Russia , mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) , birth_date = , birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire , death_date = ...
,
Emperor of Russia The emperor or empress of all the Russias or All Russia, ''Imperator Vserossiyskiy'', ''Imperatritsa Vserossiyskaya'' (often titled Tsar or Tsarina/Tsaritsa) was the Absolute monarchy, monarch of the Russian Empire. The title originated in conn ...
, and his wife, Princess Charlotte of Prussia. She was a younger sister of
Tsar Alexander II of Russia 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 Finlan ...
.


Biography

She was the
namesake A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...
of her paternal aunt, Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna, who died in childbirth along with her stillborn daughter in 1801, but in the family she was known by her affectionate nickname, "Adini". According to her sister
Olga Olga may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olga (name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters named Olga or Olha * Michael Algar (born 1962), English singer also known as "Olga" Places Russia * Olga, Russia, ...
's memoirs, Alexandra had inherited her mother's "Prussian look". It was also said that she resembled her late maternal grandmother,
Queen Louise of Prussia Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Luise Auguste Wilhelmine Amalie; 10 March 1776 – 19 July 1810) was Queen of Prussia as the wife of King Frederick William III. The couple's happy, though short-lived, marriage produced nine child ...
. Nicholas affectionately spoke of Adini as "... a little moppet, but very sweet". Alexandra was famous in Saint Petersburg society for both her wit and her lively personality. She was also the musician in the family. A serious student of vocal music, she was talented enough to qualify for lessons from the famous soprano Henriette Sontag.


Marriage

On 28 January 1844, Alexandra married Prince
Frederick William of Hesse Frederick William George Adolphus, Landgrave of Hesse (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Georg Adolf von Hessen-Kassel; 25 November 1820 – 14 October 1884) was the only son of Wilhelm I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel-Rumpenheim and Princess Louise Charlotte ...
(1820–1884) in St. Petersburg. Her husband was the only son of
Prince William of Hesse Prince William of Hesse-Kassel (24 December 1787 – 5 September 1867) was the first son of Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Caroline of Nassau-Usingen. Marriage and children On 10 November 1810, William was married in Amalienbor ...
and Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark. Since childhood he lived in Copenhagen with his parents and was regarded as one of the strongest candidates as heir to the Danish throne as there was a lack of direct male heirs in the royal family. Thus it was important for him to find a wife that could back his claim. "Fritz", as he was called, had come to St. Petersburg as a prospective bridegroom for
Olga Olga may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olga (name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters named Olga or Olha * Michael Algar (born 1962), English singer also known as "Olga" Places Russia * Olga, Russia, ...
, but fell in love with Adini instead on the first evening he spent with the family. Although Olga was the elder daughter and also found Fritz to be an engaging young man, she graciously stepped aside in favour of her sister, and even chaperoned the couple when they wanted to spend time together away from the prying eyes of the court. The emperor and empress then gave their permission for Alexandra and Fritz to be married. Frederick's uncle, king
Christian VIII of Denmark Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Frederic ...
purchased
Dehn Mansion The Dehn Mansion is one of two identical but mirror-imag Rococo-style town mansions on Bredgade, flanking the entrance to Amalienborg via Frederiksgade, in the Frederiksstaden district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It takes its name after Friedrich Ludw ...
in Copenhagen and Bernstorff Palace outside the city for the newlyweds and there was great joy over the union in the royal family. Alexandra became acutely ill with tuberculosis shortly before her wedding, and this complicated the pregnancy which soon followed. She was never well enough to travel to Hesse and take up her new position with her husband. They stayed in St. Petersburg, where her health rapidly declined. She went into labor prematurely, three months before the child was due, and gave birth to a son, Wilhelm. The infant died shortly after he was born, and Alexandra died later the same day. She was the first of her parents' children to die. Her parents were devastated and their grief would last until the end of their lives. She was buried at the
Peter and Paul Fortress The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early 1920s i ...
in St. Petersburg. Her son was buried in Rumpenheim (Germany). Nine years later, Fritz married Adini's first cousin, Princess Anna of Prussia (1836–1918), as his second wife. Eventually he became head of the House of Hesse-Kassel. Although they had six children together, Fritz and Anna were never emotionally close, and it is speculated that one reason was because Fritz was unable to overcome his grief for his first wife.


Legacy

In the gardens of the Petergof palace near Saint Petersburg there is a memorial bench with a small sculpture bust of the Grand Duchess. Her rooms there have been preserved just as they were at the time of her death. Six sheaves of wheat made of diamonds, which came to Hesse on one of the dresses in Alexandra's trousseau, were transformed into a tiara by Anna around 1900. This tiara is now the traditional wedding tiara of the Hessian princely family, and was last worn by Floria of Faber-Castell when in 2003, she married
Donatus, Hereditary Prince of Hesse Donatus, Prince and Landgrave of Hesse (legally ''Heinrich Donatus Philipp Umberto Prinz und Landgraf von Hessen''; born 17 October 1966) is the head of the House of Brabant and the German House of Hesse. He is the eldest son and successor of G ...
, Adini's husband's great-great-grandson by his second marriage.


Ancestry


Sources

* ''Hesse: A Princely German Collection''. Catalog of exhibition at the Portland Art Museum, 2005. John E. Buchanan, Jr., Director, The Marilyn H. and Dr.
Robert B. Pamplin, Jr. Robert Boisseau Pamplin Jr. (born September 3, 1941) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and minister. He is also noted as an educator, historical preservationist and author. A longtime Oregonian, Pamplin is chairman, president and CEO ...
Collection. * Olga, Queen of Wuerttemberg. '' Traum der Jugend goldener Stern''. Günther Neske Verlag, 1955.


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexandra Nikolaevna Of Russia 1825 births 1844 deaths Deaths in childbirth House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov Russian grand duchesses House of Hesse-Kassel 19th-century people from the Russian Empire 19th-century women from the Russian Empire Daughters of Russian emperors Children of Nicholas I of Russia Burials at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg