Few stories in history are as sad and tragic as the story of Alexandra Fedorovna Romanov, the last tsarina of Russia.
On June 6 1872, Alix was born Alexandra Victoria Helena Louise Beatrice von Hesse in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany. Here and at the New Palace, she spent her early life, but she also travelled to foreign countries,particularly Great Britain. She went to G.B. so much so she could visit her grandmother, Queen Victoria. Alix was her favourite grandchild, and it was her grandmother that gave Alix a formal education. However, Alexandra's childhood was not an easy one. In 1875, her brother died of hemophilia and three years later, her mother and her sister died from diptheria. .
She first met the young Tsarevitch Nicholas when she was 11 during the wedding celebration of her sister, Ella, to Nicholas' uncle, Sergei. They met again when she was 17 and he was 21. Tsar Alexander III and his wife Marie Fedorovna were against the match with the shy and unpopular girl even though Alix was their God Daughter. .
Undismayed, Nicholas pursued Alix at the wedding of her brother and her cousin in Germany in April 1894. Both were unquestionably in love, however Alix was against changing her religion from Lutheran to Russian Orthodoxy.
Everyone at the wedding was aware of Nicholas' desire for Alix to be his bride and encouraged Alix to consent. Ella, having already converted and moved to Russia, was a strong voice for Nicholas as was Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany. He favored a match between Germany and Russia for a strong alliance between the two countries. .
The day after the wedding and 3 days after Nicholas' 2 hour plea, Alix finally agreed when he asked again. Perhaps it was the romance of the wedding festivities, or the fear of her true love returning to Russia never to ask again, that the years of Alix's refusal to consider conversion to Orthodoxy melted away. After she accepted the proposal the European branch of the family, who had been anxiously awaiting this engagement, rejoiced.
