Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia
Maria Alexandrovna of Russia | |||||
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Duchess consort of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | |||||
Tenure | 22 August 1893 – 30 July 1900 | ||||
Born | 17 October [O.S. 5 October] 1853 Alexander Palace, Tsarskoye Selo, Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire | ||||
Died | 24 October 1920 Zürich, Switzerland | (aged 67)||||
Burial | |||||
Spouse | |||||
Issue | |||||
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Marie of Hesse and by Rhine | |||||
Signature |
Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (
In 1874, Maria married Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second son of
In August 1893, Maria became Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha when her husband inherited the duchy on the death of his childless uncle, Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She enjoyed life in Germany, where she became active in cultural endeavours and charitable work. To her daughters, she gave every support, but she was critical of her wayward son, Alfred, who died in 1899. Her husband died in 1900 and was succeeded as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha by his nephew Charles Edward.
In her widowhood, Maria continued to live in Coburg. The outbreak of World War I divided her sympathies. She sided with Germany against her native Russia. Many of her relatives, including her brother Paul and her nephew Nicholas II, were killed during the Russian Revolution, and Maria lost her considerable fortune. After World War I, the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha ceased to exist in November 1918. Maria died in 1920 while living under reduced circumstances in exile in Switzerland.
Grand Duchess of Russia
Early life
Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna was born on 17 October [O.S. 5 October] 1853 at the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo.[1][2] She was the sixth child and only surviving daughter among the eight children of Emperor Alexander II and his first wife, Empress Maria Alexandrovna (née Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine).[3][4] At the time of her birth, her grandfather, Nicholas I, was on the Russian throne and her father was Tsesarevich. In 1855, when Maria was seventeen months old, Nicholas I died and her father became the new Russian emperor.[2] The Grand Duchess grew up as the only girl with four older brothers and two younger ones.[2] She did not know her only sister, Alexandra, who had died before she was born.[5] Maria herself almost died from a throat disease at the age of seven.[6]
Maria's childhood was spent in luxury and splendor in the large palaces and country estates owned by the Romanovs.[7] The family's main residence was the sixteen-hundred-room Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, with another residence at Gatchina, forty miles south. In the summer, the family stayed in Peterhof, a large complex with farms, cottages, and various pavilions on the Gulf of Finland.[8] From the end of the summer until winter, the imperial family moved to Tsarskoye Selo, the imperial town, where the Romanovs had the Catherine Palace and Alexander Palace.[8] In the children's island, located in a pond in the park of the Alexander Palace, Maria had her own private little house, off limit to adults, which she used with her brothers as a playhouse.[9] Her father added a farm, built for her enjoyment when she was eight years old.[10]
Maria was beloved by her parents. Her governess, Anna Tyutcheva (1829–1889), a daughter of the celebrated poet Fyodor Tyutchev, reflected that "the whole family adores this child" and that her parents "shower her with kisses and affection."[11] Empress Maria felt "boundless adoration"[11] for her only surviving daughter. Alexander II enjoyed spending time with her, and he considered her his favorite child.[12] He told Anna Tyutcheva that "almost every evening I come to feed soup to this little cherub. This is the only enjoyable minute of my whole day, the only time when I forget the troubles that weigh upon me."[11] When she was bored with her studies, she would burst into her father's study and interrupt his meetings with his ministers.[11]
Maria had a close relationship with her brothers. Her governess noted that she "cannot stand when someone reprimands any of her brothers. This brings her to the state of real despair."[13] Empress Maria had weak lungs and had to travel constantly to Germany and southern Europe to escape the harsh Russian winters.[14] She often took her three younger children with her on these trips,[14] so Maria became especially close to her two younger brothers, Sergei and Paul.[2][14][15]
Surrounded only by brothers, Maria grew up as a tomboy, with an independent character and a strong will.[16] "She is absolutely genuine and never changes in front of strangers," observed Anna Tyutcheva, adding that: "She is accustomed to be the center of the world and that everyone yields to her."[17] Tyutcheva described her pupil as "stubborn and uncompromising" commenting that "one cannot treat her roughly or reason with her a lot."[17]
Education
Maria was educated at the Russian court under the strict regime of her governess, Countess Alexandra Tolstaya.[18][19] Maria was the first Russian grand duchess to be raised by English nannies and to speak fluent English. Besides her native Russian, she also became totally proficient in German and French.[18] In August 1867, while the imperial family was at Livadia Palace, in Crimea, Mark Twain met Maria and her parents.[20] The famous American writer described her as "blue-eyed, unassuming, and pretty".[21] As many contemporaries did, Twain noticed the influence that the young Grand Duchess had over her father.[22]
Engagement
Meeting Prince Alfred
During a visit to her maternal relatives, the
Negotiations
Queen Victoria was also against the match. No British prince had ever married a Romanov; she foresaw problems with Maria's Orthodox religion and Russian upbringing.[35] The Queen considered that Russia was generally "unfriendly" towards Britain and she was also suspicious about Russian moves in the direction of India. Victoria was dismayed, therefore, when she heard that official negotiations had restarted in January 1873. There were rumors going about Saint Petersburg that Maria had compromised herself with Prince Nikolai Golitsyn, the Emperor's aide-de-camp, and her family were anxious to see her settled.[36][37] Alfred refused to believe those rumors and he was prepared to fight to marry the person he loved.[36][37] Queen Victoria therefore swallowed her pride and said nothing. Both mothers continued to look for other partners for their children, but Alfred and Maria would not have anyone else. Maria liked neither the Prince of Württemberg nor the Prince of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who were presented to her as alternatives.[38] As the Empress failed to find a German prince acceptable for her daughter, a meeting among Alfred, the Empress and her daughter took place in Sorrento, Italy, in mid-April 1873.[39] The reunion did not go as planned because Maria came down with fever and Alfred could spend only a short time with her.[40] That year, there was an Anglo-Russian dispute over the Afghan border.[41] The Queen's ministers thought that a marriage might help to ease the tension between the two countries, if only by putting the monarchs into closer contact with one another.[41]
In June 1873, Alexander II joined his wife and daughter at Ems, and Alfred was invited to meet them at Jugenheim.[40] Alfred arrived in early July.[42] On 11 July, he asked for Maria's hand and she accepted him.[43] He was nearly twenty-nine; she was nineteen. He sent a telegram from Germany back to his mother: "Maria and I were engaged this morning. Cannot say how happy I am. Hope your blessing rests on us."[43] The Queen sent her congratulations, but confined her misgivings to her diary on 11 July 1873: "Not knowing Marie, and realizing that there may still be many difficulties, my thoughts and feelings are rather mixed." When breaking the news to her eldest daughter, Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia, Queen Victoria simply said: "The murder is out."[44]
Dowry
Alexander II granted his daughter the then-staggering sum of £100,000 as dowry, plus an annual allowance of £32,000.
A week after the engagement, the proposed Anglo-Russian alliance experienced its first crisis. Queen Victoria asked the Emperor to bring Maria to
Marriage
On 4 January 1874, Alfred arrived in Saint Petersburg for the wedding and stayed at the Winter Palace.[53] The other British guests arrived on 18 January. The wedding was celebrated in great splendour, at the Grand Church of the Winter Palace on 23 January [O.S. 11 January] 1874.[45] Queen Victoria was represented by her eldest son, Albert Edward, and his wife Alexandra, sister of Tsesarevna Maria Feodorovna (née Princess Dagmar of Denmark). The Queen's eldest daughter, Victoria, and her husband Frederick, Crown Prince of Germany, were present as well.[53]
The marriage ceremony consisted of two parts. The Orthodox service took place first and was performed by the
In England that night, Queen Victoria wore the Order of Saint Catherine on her dress and drank a toast to the young couple. Those members of her court who had traveled to Saint Petersburg were overwhelmed by the scale of the celebrations, receptions and entertainments marking the Anglo-Russian marriage. Major-General Sir Howard Craufurd Elphinstone noted that, in one room, supper was served to five hundred people at fifty different tables, with "palms and exotics ... used to so large an extent that it gives the place the appearance of a conservatory ... the heat of the rooms was almost unbearable, and several ladies left the ballroom in a fainting state."[56] Lady Augusta Stanley summed up the wedding in three words: "What a day."
Alfred and Maria spent their wedding night at the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoe Selo.[57] Alexander II had ordered a lavish honeymoon suite on the ground floor, hoping that it would persuade the young couple to remain in Russia. After a short honeymoon in Tsarskoe Selo, however, Alfred and Maria left Russia to live in England. Alexander II never lost hope that they would return, and the honeymoon suite was kept preserved for the couple for two decades. In 1894, it became the bedroom of the last Emperor and his wife, Nicholas II and Alexandra, who were Maria's nephew and Alfred's niece respectively.[58]
Duchess of Edinburgh
Arrival in England
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh arrived in England on 7 March 1874. The town of Windsor was decorated in their honour, with Union Jacks and Russian flags, and Maria was given a great welcome by the waiting crowds. Queen Victoria met them at the South-Western Station[clarification needed] and recorded their arrival in her journal: "I took dear Marie in my arms and kissed her warmly several times. I was quite nervous and trembling, so long had I been in expectation ... Dear Marie has a very friendly manner, a pleasant face, beautiful skin and fine bright eyes ... She speaks English wonderfully well." Later on, Queen Victoria described her new daughter-in-law as "most pleasing natural, unaffected and civil" even if "she was not pretty or graceful and held herself badly".[56] "I have formed a high opinion of her," Queen Victoria reported, impressed with "her wonderfully even, cheerful, satisfied temper – her kind and indulgent disposition, free from bigotry and intolerance, and her serious, intelligent mind – so entirely free from everything fast – and so full of occupation and interest in everything, makes her a most agreeable companion. Everyone must like her."[59] The Queen also noted that Maria was "not a bit afraid of Affie and I hope will have the very best influence upon him."
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh made their public entry into
Alfred and Maria moved into Clarence House in London, which was their main residence in England. Here, she had an Orthodox Chapel installed for her and the Russian priest she had brought from Saint Petersburg.[58] In addition, they had a country house, Eastwell Park, a large estate of 2,500 acres near Ashford in Kent, where the Duke enjoyed shooting parties.
To alleviate his daughter's homesickness, the Emperor and his son Grand Duke Alexei paid a family visit to England in May 1874.[60]
The Duchess and Queen Victoria
Maria often squabbled with her mother-in-law on how she should be addressed at court. As the daughter of an emperor, she was an Imperial Highness who had precedence over all the grand duchesses in Russia. Once she married her husband, she was only entitled to the style of Royal Highness. Emperor Alexander II alleged that his daughter should continue to be styled as an Imperial Highness, not Royal Highness, "as in all civilized countries".[56] Queen Victoria replied that she did not care whether imperial was used or not, as long as royal came first.[55] There was also the added problem that Maria was both Duchess of Edinburgh and Grand Duchess of Russia, and which title should be written first was a controversial matter.[56]
In retaliation for the quarrel over precedence, the Duchess of Edinburgh took great pleasure in showing off her magnificent jewellery. The British princesses were clearly jealous of her diamonds, as was Queen Victoria. Meriel Buchanan, daughter of the last British ambassador to Imperial Russia, described Maria's first Drawing Room: "The Queen compared the Duchess’s tiara with those of her own daughters, shrugging her shoulders like a bird whose plumage has been ruffled, her mouth drawn down at the corners, in an expression which those who knew her had learned to dread."[61]
When she visited Scotland, Maria was frozen in her unheated bedroom in Balmoral Castle and ordered a fire to be lit. When she was out, Queen Victoria entered the room and ordered a maid to throw water on the fire and open all the windows.[62]
Maria's relationship with her mother-in-law deteriorated. She wrote letters to her father describing Queen Victoria as a "silly obstinate old fool". Empress Maria was angry with Queen Victoria and wrote, "To be quite frank, it is difficult to take such a mother-in-law seriously, and I am sorry on Marie's account."[63] Maria's daughter, Queen Marie of Romania, reflected that, "I do not think my mother always found it easy being Queen Victoria's daughter-in-law, though they had great respect for each other."[63]
Maria was angry that Queen Victoria opposed the marriage of her granddaughter Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine to Maria's favorite brother, Grand Duke Sergei. In August 1883, she wrote, "that happy and so entirely satisfactory... prospect of marriage of my brother Sergei is going I think to fall through, under the deplorable influence of the Queen... I knew that from the start she set her heart against it saying that she had only heard his praise, but he had the greatest of all misfortunes, he was Russian and she had enough of one Russian in the family (meaning me, of course)."[64]
At the British court
Maria had five children. Nine months after the wedding, she gave birth to her first child and only surviving son,
The family's main residence was Clarence House.[69] Autumn, Christmas and the New Year were spent at Eastwell Park.[69] On summer holidays, the family went to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.[69]
In 1877,
Maria found it difficult to settle at the British court.[12] Her mother wrote that "Marie thinks London hideous... the air there appalling, the English food abominable, the later hours very tiring, the visits to Windsor and Osborne boring beyond belief."[63] Maria described London as "an impossible place, where people are mad of pleasure" and a let down compared to the broad streets, golden domes, and magnificent palaces of Saint Petersburg. In her eyes, Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle could never compete with the splendours of the Winter Palace.[56] Constant visits to her mother-in-law at Windsor Castle and Osborne House were tedious.[56] Although she loved music, the duchess did not like the Royal Albert Hall, describing it as "all ecclesiastical and ... quite boring ... Every concert goes on for several hours".[71] During a banquet at Marlborough House, she had a conversation with the Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli. When Disraeli identified his rival, she exclaimed, "What a strange state society is in here. Wherever I go there is a double. Two Prime Ministers, two Secretaries of State, two Lord Chamberlains, and two Lord Chancellors."[72]
Maria disliked her in-laws. Queen Victoria's company was oppressive, and of her sisters- and brothers-in-law, she only cared for the two youngest: Prince Leopold and Princess Beatrice.[73] Proud of her strong intellect, she considered Alexandra, the Princess of Wales, a light-minded and foolish woman.
Maria became increasingly homesick for Russia and was happy for any excuse to return there. She spoke of her “Russian heart" and said that "every sympathetic voice from the Fatherland is sacred to me."[74] Her daughter, Queen Marie of Romania, reflected that "my mother dearly loved her native country, and she never really felt completely happy in England."[74]
British people thought her rough and masculine in her manners. Her imperious attitude towards her servants and her defiance of English convention by smoking in public made her unpopular.[56] She made it equally plain that she did not care what people thought.[56]
The Duke of Edinburgh was the heir presumptive of his childless uncle
In Malta
In January 1886, the Duke was appointed commander-in-chief of the British
Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
In Devonport
In March 1887, the Duke relinquished his command of the Mediterranean Fleet, and the family moved to Coburg. Their main residence was Edinburgh Palais, where the Duchess held court. Her husband, occupied with his naval affairs, was away most of the time. Responsibility for the education of the couple's five children fell upon the Duchess. She was a strict, but devoted mother who made sure to be the most important person in her children's lives.[82] Between August 1890 and June 1893, the Duke was stationed at the Royal Navy's base in Devonport. Maria did not care for the Admiralty House, her husband's official residence, and only made rare visits to Devonport with her children.[83]
With the passing of the years, Alfred and Maria grew apart. They had little in common other than a shared interest in music and their children. He was reserved, taciturn, moody, ill-tempered, and a heavy drinker.[84] By the mid-1880s he was an alcoholic. The Duke was described as "rude, touchy, willful, unscrupulous, improvident, and unfaithful." The Duchess resented her husband's attitude, but kept her marriage going, hiding her troubled married life from her children, providing a happy environment for them. She later confessed to one of her daughters that she felt she was never anything more than her husband's "legitimate mistress".[85] Arguments over their children added to the couple's marital problems.[86] The Duke hoped that their eldest daughter, Marie, would marry his nephew, the future King George V. The Duchess, however, was determined that her daughter should avoid her mistake, and married her instead to Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania on 10 January 1893.[26][86]
In Coburg and Gotha
Upon the death of his paternal uncle on 22 August 1893, the Duke of Edinburgh inherited the vacant throne of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, his elder brother, the
The main family residence in Coburg was a building that had been acquired for Prince Alfred's use in 1865. Known as Edinburgh Palais, it was across the central square from the Ehrenburg Palace, the official residence of the reigning duke, and next to the town's opera hall.[91] It was extensively remodelled in 1881 to accommodate the couple's growing family. The royal couple's rooms were on the second floor, while the bedrooms of the four young princesses were on the third floor. Both the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh were avid collectors. In Edinburgh Palais, there were many objects that reminded Maria of her homeland. She also organised entertainment in the Russian fashion.[91]
Alfred and Maria's second daughter, Victoria Melita, married
Over her husband's objections, the Duchess arranged the marriage of her third daughter, Alexandra, in September 1895, to
Family tragedies
On 23 January 1899 Maria and her husband celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary at
Last years
Maria was only forty-six years old when she became a widow.[115] After the death of her husband, she stayed for a while in England, where she had to relinquish Clarence House which was inherited by her brother-in-law, the Duke of Connaught. Maria was at Osborne House during the final days of her mother-in law, Queen Victoria.[116] In her widowhood, she kept Edinburgh Palais as her home in Coburg, and Friedenstein Palace in Gotha.[117] Rosenau Palace continued to serve as her country house.[117] However, she spent most of her time at her villa overlooking a lake in Tegernsee, Bavaria.[93] Her winter residence was the Château de Fabron, near Nice.[118] The upkeep of five residences put a strain on her finances.[117]
Although she was critical of her daughters, she supported them during their personal crises.
Maria lamented that, after working hard for the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg, and clearing its finances, the duchy passed to Charles Edward who took control of it at his majority in July 1905. Relations with the new duke were initially tense,[117] but improved when Charles Edward provided his full support to the marriage of Maria's youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice to Alfonso de Orleans y Borbón, Infante of Spain on 15 July 1909.[123] In the following years, the Dowager Duchess continued to make frequent trips to her native Russia in order to stay with her daughter, Victoria Melita. The last one of her trips took place in May 1914.[124]
At the outbreak of World War I, Maria was in Coburg after returning from a visit to King George V in Buckingham Palace.[124] Her sympathies were divided, but she sided with Germany against her native Russia.[125] The Coburg family faced intense hostility during the war for their British and Russian connections.[125] The Dowager Duchess' position in Coburg became untenable as Russophobia took over the German Empire. To avoid complications, Maria stayed away from Coburg, retiring to Tegernsee in Bavaria.[126] At one point, while she was returning home with her two younger daughters, their car was stopped by an angry mob who recognised her and harassed her for her Russian heritage.[125] It took the police over an hour to extricate them from the situation. After that incident Maria went to live in exile in Switzerland at the Walhaus, an annex of the Dolder Grand Hotel in Zürich.[127]
In August 1917 she wrote: "At the age of 63, I am very fresh in mind, if not in body, and I can support with patience and resignation a sad and perhaps miserable end of life which is in store for my old age... Sometimes I also seem to despair, but not about myself, but about the state of things in general."[90] Many of her relatives were killed during the Russian Revolution, including her only surviving brother Grand Duke Paul, and her nephew Emperor Nicholas II with his immediate family. In the aftermath of the war, the Dowager Duchess lost her large fortune as the bulk of it was held in trust in Russia. Her British income was small, and as she never saw a penny of it, she was forced to sell a great part of her jewellery collection.[90]
Living under reduced circumstances in Zürich, Maria was reunited with her two eldest daughters, Marie and Victoria Melita, who had been on the opposite side during the war.[128] In July 1920, she wrote: "I am too utterly disgusted with the present state of the world and mankind in general... They have destroyed and ruined my beloved Russia, my much-loved Germany."[90] She was a broken woman, her figure, always plump, became thin and her hands trembling.[128][129] Although she had been affected by gastric troubles, her death came unexpectedly.[130] Seven days after her sixty-seventh birthday, on 24 October 1920, she died in her sleep of a heart attack.[130] She was buried beside her husband and their son in the ducal mausoleum at Friedhof am Glockenberg in Coburg.[90] "She was profoundly religious," her eldest daughter wrote, "I hope God will not disappoint her as most things and beings did in this life."[131]
Archives
Maria's letters to her third daughter, Alexandra, are preserved in the Hohenlohe Central Archive (Hohenlohe-Zentralarchiv Neuenstein) in Neuenstein Castle in the town of Neuenstein, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.[132][133][134][135]
Honours
- Russian Empire: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Catherine, 17 October 1853
- United Kingdom:
- Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, 1st Class[136]
- Companion of the Order of the Crown of India, 1 January 1878[137]
- Lady of Justice of the Order of Saint John[138]
- German Empire: Dame of the Order of Louise, 1st Class[139]
- Hesse and by Rhine: Dame of the Order of the Golden Lion, 1 May 1896[140]
-
- Spain: Dame of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa, 20 May 1888[141]
- Kingdom of Portugal: Dame of the Order of Saint Isabel, 28 February 1894[142]
Issue
Image | Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alfred Alexander William Ernest Albert | 15 October 1874 | 6 February 1899 | Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 22 August 1893 | |
Marie Alexandra Victoria | 29 October 1875 | 18 July 1938 | Married, 10 January 1893, King Ferdinand I of Romania; had issue | |
Victoria Melita | 25 November 1876 | 2 March 1936 | Married, (1) 19 April 1894, Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine ;had issue; divorced 21 December 1901 (2) 8 October 1905, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia; | |
Alexandra Louise Olga Victoria | 1 September 1878 | 16 April 1942 | Married, 20 April 1896, Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg; had issue | |
Unnamed son | 13 October 1879 | 13 October 1879 | Stillborn | |
Beatrice Leopoldine Victoria | 20 April 1884 | 13 July 1966 | Married, 15 July 1909, Infante Alfonso of Spain, 3rd Duke of Galliera; had issue |
Ancestry
Ancestors of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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See also
Notes
- ^ Nelipa, Alexander III His Life and Reign, p. 22
- ^ a b c d Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p. 10
- ^ Gilbert, Alexander II and Tsarkoe Selo, p. 40
- ^ Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 5
- ^ Zeepvat, The Camera and the Tsars, p. 25
- ^ Van der Kiste, The Romanovs 1818–1959, p. 57
- ^ Sullivan, A Fatal Passion, p. 12
- ^ a b Nelipa, Alexander III His Life and Reign, p. 32
- ^ Gilbert, Alexander II and Tsarkoe Selo, p. 41
- ^ Gilbert, Alexander II and Tsarkoe Selo, p. 44
- ^ a b c d Julia P. Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p.12
- ^ a b Zeepvat, The Camera and the Tsars, p. 94
- ^ Julia P. Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p.10
- ^ a b c Zeepvat, The Camera and the Tsars, p. 28
- ^ Zeepvat, Romanov Autumn, p. 123
- ^ Van der Kiste, Alfred: Queen Victoria's Second Son, loc 1991
- ^ a b Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p. 13
- ^ a b Wimbles, The Daughter of Tsar Alexander II, p. 45
- ^ Zeepvat, The Camera and the Tsars, p. 89
- ^ Zeepvat, Romanov Autumn, p. 111
- ^ Zeepvat, Romanov Autumn, p. 112
- ^ Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p. 18
- ^ Abrash, A Curious Royal Romance, p. 389
- ^ Van der Kiste, The Romanovs 1818–1959, p. 58
- ^ a b Sullivan, A Fatal Passion, p. 13
- ^ a b c d Papi, Jewels of the Romanovs: Family & Court, p. 93
- ^ Sullivan, A Fatal Passion, p. 14
- ^ Van der Kiste, Alfred: Queen Victoria's Second Son, loc 2049
- ^ Sullivan, A Fatal Passion, p. 23
- ^ a b Wimbles, The Daughter of Tsar Alexander II, p. 46
- ^ Abrash, A Curious Royal Romance, p. 393
- ^ Abrash, A Curious Royal Romance, p. 390
- ^ Van der Kiste, Alfred: Queen Victoria's Second Son, loc 2059
- ^ Van der Kiste, Alfred: Queen Victoria's Second Son, loc 2068
- ^ Van der Kiste, Alfred: Queen Victoria's Second Son, loc 2191
- ^ a b Abrash, A Curious Royal Romance, p. 395
- ^ a b Van der Kiste, Alfred: Queen Victoria's Second Son, loc 2127
- ^ Abrash, A Curious Royal Romance, p. 392
- ^ Van der Kiste, Alfred: Queen Victoria's Second Son, loc 2148
- ^ a b Abrash, A Curious Royal Romance, p. 397
- ^ a b Cowles, The Romanovs, p. 198
- ^ Van der Kiste, Alfred: Queen Victoria's Second Son, loc 2165
- ^ a b Van der Kiste, Alfred: Queen Victoria's Second Son, loc 2182
- ^ Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p. 39
- ^ a b c d Van der Kiste, The Romanovs 1818–1959, p. 62
- ^ Papi, Jewels of the Romanovs: Family & Court, p. 94
- ^ Papi, Jewels of the Romanovs: Family & Court, p. 96
- ^ Julia P. Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p.70
- ^ Julia P. Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p.71
- ^ Julia P. Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p.41
- ^ Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p. 41
- ^ Corti, The Fall of Three Dynasties, p. 214
- ^ a b Van der Kiste, Alfred: Queen Victoria's Second Son, loc 2267
- ^ Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p. 43
- ^ a b c d Golden, Royal Ephemera, p. 20
- ^ a b c d e f g h Van der Kiste, The Romanovs 1818–1959, p. 64
- ^ Zeepvat, Romanov Autumn, p. 248
- ^ a b King & Wilson, The Romanovs Adrift, p. 169
- ^ Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 6
- ^ Van der Kiste, The Romanovs 1818–1959, p. 65
- ^ Buchanan, Queen Victoria's relations, p. 115
- ^ Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p. 73
- ^ a b c Julia P. Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p.73
- ^ Julia P. Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p.107
- ^ Zeepvat, Romanov Autumn, p. 58
- ^ Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 14
- ^ a b Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 18
- ^ Wimbles, The Daughter of Tsar Alexander II, p. 47
- ^ a b c Pakula, The Last Romantic, p. 40
- ^ Zeepvat, Romanov Autumn, p. 60
- ^ Van der Kiste, The Romanovs 1818–1959, p. 66
- ^ Julia P. Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p.69
- ^ Van der Kiste, Alfred: Queen Victoria's Second Son, loc 2588
- ^ a b Julia P. Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p.74
- ^ Korneva & Cheboksarova, Russia & Europe, p. 86
- ^ a b Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 15
- ^ a b Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 16
- ^ Van der Kiste, The Romanovs 1818–1959, p. 94
- ^ a b Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 13
- ^ Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 28
- ^ Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 37
- ^ Pakula, The Last Romantic, p. 43
- ^ Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p. 136
- ^ Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p. 138
- ^ Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p. 137
- ^ a b c Van der Kiste, The Romanovs 1818–1959, p. 163
- ^ Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 137
- ^ Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 71
- ^ Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 136
- ^ a b c d e f g Mandache, Always Imperial, p. 30
- ^ a b c Korneva and Cheboksarova, Russia and Europe, p. 87
- ^ Korneva & Cheboksarova, Russia & Europe, p. 84
- ^ a b Beéche, The Coburgs of Europe, p. 82.
- ^ Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 168
- ^ Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 186
- ^ Papi, Jewels of the Romanovs: Family and Court, p. 102
- ^ Zeepvat, Romanov Autumn, p. 103
- ^ Zeepvat, Romanov Autumn, p. 138
- ^ Wimbles, The Daughter of Tsar Alexander II, p. 48
- ^ Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 208
- ^ Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 349
- ^ Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 350
- ^ Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 66-68
- ^ a b Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p. 160
- ^ a b Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 373
- ^ Beéche, The Coburgs of Europe, p. 83.
- ^ Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p. 162
- ^ a b Wimbles, The Daughter of Tsar Alexander II, p. 50
- ISBN 978-3-422-023437.
- ^ Beéche, The Coburgs of Europe, p. 84.
- ^ a b Van der Kiste, The Romanovs 1818–1959, p. 165
- ^ Van der Kiste, Alfred: Queen Victoria's Second Son, loc 4808
- ^ Beéche, The Coburgs of Europe, p. 120.
- ^ Mandache, Dearest Missy, p. 411
- ^ Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p. 171
- ^ Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p. 172
- ^ a b c d Wimbles, The Daughter of Tsar Alexander II, p. 52
- ^ Beéche, The Coburgs of Europe, p. 85.
- ^ Gelardi, From Splendor to Revolution, p. 175
- ^ Perry & Pleshakov, The Flight of the Romanovs, p. 100
- ^ Perry & Pleshakov, The Flight of the Romanovs, p. 101
- ^ Beéche, The Coburgs of Europe, p. 116.
- ^ Miller & Beéche, Royal Gatherings Volume II, p. 12
- ^ a b Wimbles, The Daughter of Tsar Alexander II, p. 54
- ^ a b c Beéche, The Coburgs of Europe, p. 222.
- ^ Miller & Beéche, Royal Gatherings Volume II, p. 14
- ^ Van der Kiste, The Romanovs 1818–1959, p. 203
- ^ a b Sullivan, A Fatal Passion, p. 343
- ^ Beéche, The Coburgs of Europe, p. 86.
- ^ a b Sullivan, A Fatal Passion, p. 346
- ^ Pakula, The Last Romantic, p. 305
- ^ "Briefe an Alexandra und ihre Geschwister von ihren Eltern Herzog Alfred (1844-1900) und Herzogin Marie (1853-1920) von Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, 1886-1893".
- ^ "Briefe an Alexandra von ihrer Mutter Herzogin Marie von Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, geb. Großfürstin von Russland, 1894-1896".
- ^ "Briefe und Telegramm an Alexandra von ihrer Mutter Herzogin Marie von Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, geb. Großfürstin von Russland, 1897-1898".
- ^ "Briefe und Telegramme an Alexandra von ihrer Mutter Herzogin Marie von Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, geb. Großfürstin von Russland, 1899-1900".
- ^ Joseph Whitaker (1897). An Almanack for the Year of Our Lord ... J. Whitaker. p. 110.
- ^ "No. 24539". The London Gazette. 4 January 1878. p. 114.
- ^ "No. 26725". The London Gazette. 27 March 1896. p. 1960.
- ^ "Luisen-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 1, Berlin, 1886, p. 1056 – via hathitrust.org
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Goldener Löwen-orden", Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste (in German), Darmstadt: Staatsverlag, 1914, p. 3 – via hathitrust.org
- ^ "Guía Oficial de España". Guía Oficial de España: 173. 1890. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
- ^ Bragança, Jose Vicente de (2014). "Agraciamentos Portugueses Aos Príncipes da Casa Saxe-Coburgo-Gota" [Portuguese Honours awarded to Princes of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha]. Pro Phalaris (in Portuguese). 9–10: 13. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
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