The Romanovs might have lived in the lap of luxury, but their lifestyle was actually somewhat shocking for the time. The family was not without its problems, however, namely Alexeis hemophilia. The oldest daughters Olga and Tatiana made up the so-called "the Big Pair" while Maria and her younger sister Anastasia were referred to as "the Little Pair.". Alexandra was so angry at the governess that she fired her in retaliation. But for all that Alexandras life looked like a fairy tale, it quickly turned into an absolute nightmare. The Tsar and Tsarina made all their children, starting with Olga, live as simply as possible. But for all Nicholas and Alexandras PR issues, they were hiding more scandalous secrets in the boudoir. But Maria continued to fight for her life. The Romanov dynasty began on February 21, 1613, when Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was unanimously elected as the Czar of Russia by the country's parliament. Fate, however, had much crueler plans. And when a boy finally did come along, things only got worse. They woke the Romanovs and their servants on the night of July 17 and told them to go downstairs, pretending it was for their own safety as White forces descended on Yekaterinburg. Allegedly, Ermakov tried to strike the screaming survivor once more with his bayonet, and failed for a second time. Only, things were most certainly not under control. While she was a captive, the beautiful Maria Romanov caused a tragic scandal. If it was meant to give Olga and her siblings some humility, it didnt work. As Alexandra grew up, she turned almost neurotically stubborn. alvirne high school teacher dies . When Empress Alexandra found out, she lectured Olga viciously, sniping at her, Dont be so wild and kick about and show your legs, it is not pretty.. She couldnt even go outside for a walk without being followed. Most of these rare and relatively intimate pictures of the Imperial Romanov family were taken by the head of the family and Russia's last tsar himself, Nicholas II. Wikimedia CommonsMaria Romanov and Anastasia making faces at the camera in a moment of fun after the revolution. Even the younger Romanovs were aware there was danger afoot. Olga and Tatiana began to work as nurses alongside their mother in a military hospital, while Maria and Anastasia visited wounded soldiers, cheering them up with their humor and lively personalities. The Romanovs were thunderstruck with grief at Alexeis illness, and it drove them to a controversial decision. They didnt just have pet names for each other, they also had pet names for their private, er, parts. The Tragic Story Of Maria Romanov, The Beautiful Daughter Of Russias Last Tsar. While their encounter was fleeting, Maria immediately made an impact on the young Dickie. With their enormous differences in class and station, they could never be together, and Olga had to repress her feelings whenever her parents were around. Despite her fiery temper and strong backbone, Maria was a romantic at heart, and it wasnt long before she softened toward one guard in particular. In 1914, Maria faced a life-threatening ordeal. DNA testing was performed in an attempt to identify the remains. Her family nicknamed her big blue eyes Maries saucers, while her great-aunt claimed Maria to be a real beautywith enormous blue eyes. Once, a gentleman even said that Maria had the face of a Botticelli angel. Only she and Anastasia remained. The future Tsar Nicholas II was born in the lap of luxury at the extravagant Alexander Palace in Saint Petersburg. Because of the heavy smoke, the guards were only able to see the bottom halves of the surviving victims. But her angelic face hid a disturbing truth. It was certainly one of the most flattering. In 1913, Olga fell deeply in love with a junior officer in the military, Pavel Voronov. Maria only wished that the guards could afford her a tiny bit of freedom. Do not allow the doctors to bother him . Over the next few days, the Imperial family confronted the whole, horrific reality. For now, though, they remained rumorsbut things didnt get better for Olga. The Tsar wasnt prepared for battle and his troops were already exhausted from earlier conflicts. Then, take a look at some haunting photos from the last days of the Romanov family. Using his mothers upcoming birthday as an excuse to suspend the traditional mourning period, Nicholas carted over Alexandra from Germany and married her on November 26, 1894a bare week after his dads funeral. On his birthday (May 18) he noted: I've lived to 50! The minor fall caused internal hemorrhaging. After all, giving Russia a male heir would solidify her place in court and transform her from a suspicious outsider to the mother of the crown prince. More than 1,300 people died in the Khodynka Tragedy.. Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. While Marias parents tended to her and the other three Grand Duchesses, they were always particularly worried about Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia, a disorder where ones blood doesnt clot properly, making him more susceptible to bleeding out. Many historians believe that Lenin and his lieutenant Yakov Sverdlov ordered the attack in lieu of a public trial. Meanwhile, Maria got off with a scolding. Unfortunately, people considered her one of the homeliest looking people in her family, and her future siblings Tatiana and Maria far outshone her as court beauties. You must thank God for healing you. At first, he seemed a perfectly healthy child. Alexandra's growing . widely considered to be the most beautiful. At the start of the 20th century they followed the lives of the Romanov sisters, tsarinas Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. The Tsar and Tsarina were deeply disappointed, but Maria did offersome consolation. As many of her contemporaries noted, had she not been the daughter of the Tsar, this strong, warmhearted girl would have made some man an excellent wife. Lord Mountbatten, who was cousin to the grand duchesses and met them when he was a young boy, would later reminisce, I was crackers about Mari[a], and was determined to marry her. Catherine the Great: Giving birth during house fire. Her childhood nanny recalled how One day the little Grand Duchess Mari[a] was looking out of the window at a regiment of soldiers marching past and exclaimed, Oh! The Bolshevik officers burned the bodies and left only partial bones. It was all heading down a very dark path. It was to be his last ever diary entry four days later, he, his family (Alexandra, four daughters and son) and four servants were shot in the basement of the Ipatiev House. Suddenly, Nicholas was about to become Tsar and desperately needed to start producing heirs. It was supposed to be a joyous timebut it didnt take long before it turned into a horror story. The new Tobolsk museum The Imperial Route project, which charts the Romanov family's stay or transfer after Nikolai's abdication through St Petersburg , Moscow, Tyumen, Perm, Tobolsk and Yekaterinburg.. Alix hardly slept all night, and towards morning the pains got stronger. Doctors frantically did everything they could to save the boy, but nothing had any effect. While it was true that pro-Romanov forces were closing in on Ekaterinburg, the actual reason was far grimmer. Olga had some seriously awkward teenage years and, being a Russian Princess, she couldnt exactly lay low and ride them out. The young princess also had an innate bearing that courtiers couldnt help but notice, and people said that any dress Tatiana wore would instantly look amazing. Just like her sister Anastasia, Marias short life and legacy is greatly defined by the mystery surrounding her gruesome end. It didnt matter that Nicholas wasnt prepared, he was Gods agent on Earth, so anything he did was Gods will, not a mistake. Wikimedia CommonsThe bullet-riddled basement of the Ipatiev House where the Romanovs met their grisly end. 14 June] 1899 - 17 July 1918) was the third daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna.Her murder following the Russian Revolution of 1917 resulted in her canonization as a passion bearer by the Russian Orthodox . Unfortunately, this tragedy wasnt an isolated incident. But this nightmare had only just begun. The affliction, commonly known as the "Royal disease," spread as Victoria's heirs married into royal families across Europe . As such, the military commissar, Peter Ermakov, aimed for Marias thigh, injuring her. She was always one of the prettiest and definitely the most flirtatious of her sisters, and she soon struck up a close friendship (and possibly more) with the guard Ivan Skorokhodov. Answer (1 of 9): Definitely yes, they suffered both physically and mentally. Cuts that wont stop bleeding arent the only problems that come with hemophilia. It was supposed to save thembut boy, it did not. Thanks for your help! (Photo by Laski Diffusion/Getty Images) The Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg. This meant that the Romanovs dynasty in Russia was over, and that Marias family no longer had royal power. You know, the one with the exposeddelicate area. On November 24, 1960, after three centuries in power, the Romanov line came to an end above a barber shop in the east end of Toronto. by Amanda Madru. But before that could happen, the couple had to go through one formidable obstacle. The slightest bump could cause the boy to hemorrhage for days, with the tsarina often becoming hysterical and completely breaking down, shutting herself and the young prince away from the outside world. He tried to strike her with his bayonet, but thankfully Maria had sewn jewels into her clothes, which ended up protecting her midsection from the knife. Nightmare over, right? This proved to be a terrible mistake. A new government organization called The Bolsheviks was on the rise, which featured Vladimir Lenin as its leader. In other words, the girl had style in spadesand she knew what to do with it. Marias family desperately looked for a way to end this scandal once and for all. Thisis not what happened. In the first months and years of little Princess Olgas life,disturbing reports began coming out of the palace. The Big Pair and the Little Pair each shared bedrooms with plain cots and started their days with a cold bath. Despite her willingness to help her siblings out, she never got a kind word in return. Please reach out to us to let us know what youre interested in reading. From petty paybacks to insane acts of karma, these bitter people somehow found the most ingenious ways. By the next morning, Alexei Romanov was a whole new kid. did maria romanov sleep with a guard. After a grueling, five-day journey, they finally made it to Yekaterinburg. And she wasnt about to let this crush fizzle out. Each of the Romanov girls was wearing an amulet with Grigori Rasputins image hidden inside. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna Romanov (1899-1918) June 14th, 1899 (O.S.). We want our readers to trust us. Maria Romanov and Anastasia roughhouse with their cousin, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich. But as yet, they didnt even know the true meaning of upheaval.. Thanks for your help! If the first three girls had successively dampened their morale, Anastasia shattered it. Maria Romanov and Anastasia making faces at the camera in a moment of fun after the revolution. A previous version of this article states that the Ipatiev House was in Moscow. The family grew desperateand they found help in a sinister place. I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. Marias governess didnt approve of Rasputin having access to the girls while vulnerable, and the Tsar eventually asked him to cease his visits to the nursery. She sneered at him, You are a very ugly man and I dont like you one bit! Then again, Olga suffered in ways few could see. And then it took an even crueler turn. 7. Marias father wholeheartedly believed that they would be able to leave the house, but things never worked out the way he wanted them to. In 1914, Maria faced a life-threatening ordeal. It was the worst thing that could have happened to the Romanovs. Grand Duchess Marie. Vice Admiral Sir Francis Pridham, KBE, CB, was the First Lieutenant of the HMS Marlborough, when it arrived in Yalta on April 7, 1919 under orders of the British Royal Navy to evacuate Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna, sister of Queen Alexandra, and members of the Russian Imperial Family. The ladies were partially protected from the gunshots by the diamonds (collectively weighing 1.3 kilograms), which were sewn into their clothes. On July 17, 1998, The Romanovs were laid to rest in the traditional burial place of the tsars, St. Petersburg's Sts. And then Nicholas made a fatal error. It left horror in its wake. Both Alexandra and four of her siblings fell ill alongside her father, Grand Duke Louis IV. As she did with many whom she met, Maria made fast friends with some of her guards, often asking them for their names and inquiring after their families. According to a persistent rumor at the time, Rasputin had not only seduced Empress Alexandra, but also the four Romanov girls. Although Catherine's successor Queen Anne Boleyn suffered an infamously dark fate, Aragon's own life was somehow even more tragic. She was also addicted to Veronal, a kind of sedative; as she once confessed to a friend, Im literally saturated with it.. Because of this tragic scenario, the family risked losing the loyalty of those around them. She had two older sisters - Olga and Tatiana, one younger sister - Anastasia, and one younger brother Alexei. Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. In a pleasant parallel to the theatrical performance given for Marie Antoinette's 'Hesse Princesses', the Tsarina attended a theatrical performance at Versailles with the Tsar, in the Salon . With the rumors surrounding Rasputin complicating things for the Romanovs, their position grew more precarious still with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Only, her family had other things to worry about. When she saw that she had given birth to another girl, Alexandra asked, What will the nation say? Luckily, Tatiana had a secret weapon. While many believed it was Anastasia who was missing, scientific advancements eventually proved otherwise. Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. Aware of her shortcomings, Olga reacted in an unexpected way. Maria was so intensely ill that she almost lost her life for the second time. Still, no one deserves the fate she received. With rude guards and dire circumstances (the ex-emperor's daughters, for instance, had to sleep on the floor, and the Tsarevich Alexey suffered from hemophilia and couldn't walk) Ipatiev House . The bullets bounced off of the clothing, wounding but not killing the children, though Nicholas and Alexandra had perished in the first volley. They did not suspect that they would never have the need for it. Ermakov focused on Maria and her sister Anastasia, who hadnt yet been hit. From petty paybacks to insane acts of karma, these bitter people somehow found the most ingenious ways. But although it seemed like the end, the battle was only just beginning. Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark historyor the chilling secret shared by her and Louis. As a result, the regime for the royals was harsher. Princess Anastasia is almost a hallowed, mythical name today, but the real girl was a lot more human than we like to think. She became increasingly uneasy with the restrictions guards imposed on her family at Yekaterinburg. As a young girl, Maria met one of her greatest admirers. While Olga reportedly thought this was hilarious, Tatiana was beside herself with shock. Making distraction rewarding since 2017. Two girls in a row might be bad luck, but three was beginning to look like a curse for Alexandra and Nicholas. Catherine the Great (1729 - 1796) Getty Images. The only two Russian rulers given the title of "The Great" Peter the Great and . Eventually, Ogla did grow out of her awkward periodbut her sudden-onset hotness was a huge liability. Maria was a shameless flirt, always batting her lashes at the young officers and even those who guarded her. Eventually, Alexandra managed to survive her brush with mortality, but the people she loved most werent so lucky. Two of the dogs died along with the princesses, but the dog belonging to Crown Prince Alexei miraculously escaped. The dinner was terribly late today they served it at 3:30 pm today, not at 1:00 pm! NicholaswroteMay 13, for instance. Room in the Ipatiev House, Yekaterinburg, where the Russian royal family was brutally murdered, 1918. All Rights Reserved. Last but not least, we have Anastasia, the fourth and youngest Romanov sister. One thing was for sure: Maria had to avoid severe injury at all costs. Reportedly, when Nicholas heard the news, he had to take a long walk to collect himself. Unfortunately for Marias family, it wasnt enough for Nicholas to just abdicate the throne. The Ipatiev House, was a neat and tidy merchant's mansion - and a well guarded one too. Aides whispered that the Romanov children bled abnormal amounts, stirring up the old rumors that Alexandra was a carrier of the hemophilia gene that had felled her own brother. Her first cousin, Louis Mountbatten, had a wild crush on her, and she remained dear to his heart until his passing in 1979. Unbeknownst to them, this was all a facade for the horror that awaited them. The heavy smoke from the weaponry caused the guards to take a temporary respite, and they left the room to let it air out. Still, if her family made fun of her, she was certainly attracting positive attention elsewhere. Regardless, there wasnt any paper trail, so the buck basically stops with Yakov Yurovsky, who was commandant of the House of Special Purpose. Her words were wretched: God grant him fortune, beloved, she scrawled. Simply put, Nicholass family hated Alexandra, with most of that hate coming from his mother Maria. One of the guards, Ivan Skorokhodov, even smuggled in a cake for Marias 19th birthday, although when the pair were later discovered in a compromising position, the guards were replaced with a decidedly less-friendly set. did maria romanov sleep with a guard. She could be so obstinate in her pranks and teasing that one of her cousins even said that she was nasty to the point of being evil. Yeah, not someone Id want to babysit.