Alexandra of Greece and Denmark

Grand Duchess Alexandra of Russia

Alexandra and her husband Pawel in the year of their marriage

Alexandra with her daughter Maria (1891)

Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark (born August 18, ^jul. / The thirtieth August  1870 ^greg. On Corfu , † September 12 ^jul. / 24. September  1891 ^greg. In Ilyinskoye in Moscow ) was a Greek princess by marriage Grand Duchess of Russia from the house of Romanow-Holstein-Gottorp .

Life

Youth and Marriage

Alexandra was the eldest daughter of the Greek King Georg I (1845-1913) from the House of Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and his wife Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinowna Romanowa (1851-1926), daughter of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolajewitsch Romanow and Princess Alexandra of Saxony-Altenburg .

Alexandra, usually called Aline or Greek Alix , grew up with her siblings, who later became King Constantine I of Greece , Georg , Nikolaus , Maria , Andreas and Christoph in Athens. Another sister, Olga, died the same year she was born (1880). The princess received a proper upbringing from governesses , which concentrated on foreign languages, courtly conversation, music, dancing and horse riding. Alexandra was extremely popular in her family. Her brother Nikolaus recalled: " She had that sweet and lovable nature that made her popular with everyone who came in contact with her. She looked young and beautiful, and since she was a child it looked like life would have nothing left for them but joy and happiness. "

Due to the family ties, the family mostly spent their vacations in Russia or Denmark. Alexandra had contact with the Russian tsarist family early on, including her future husband.

On June 5th ^jul. / June 17, 1889 ^greg. she married the Grand Duke Pawel Alexandrowitsch Romanow (1860-1919), youngest son of the Russian Tsar Alexander II and his wife Princess Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt in St. Petersburg . Alexandra received the name Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgijewna Romanowa ( Russian Александра Георгиевна ) after the marriage . The marriage had two children:

• Maria Pavlovna (1890-1958)

⚭ 1908–1914 Prince Wilhelm of Sweden (1884–1965)

⚭ 1917–1923 Prince Sergej Michajlowitsch Putjatin (1892–1966)

• Dmitri Pavlovich (1891–1942), co-conspirator in the murder of Rasputin

⚭ 1926–1937 Anne-Audrey Emery (1904–1971)

death

Alexandra was seven months pregnant when she went for a walk with some friends on the banks of the Moscow River . She jumped straight into a boat that was permanently moored there, but fell when she got on. The next day she collapsed in violent labor and gave birth to her son Dmitri. She then fell into a coma and died six days later. Alexandra found her final resting place in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. Her husband had an affair with the married Olga von Pistohlkors , born Karnovich he without permission from the Russian Tsar Nicholas II. Married on October 10, 1902. There were three other children from this marriage.

In 1939, her nephew, then King George II of Greece , received permission from the Soviet government under Josef Stalin to bring Alexandra's body back to Greece. Her body was removed from the grave in St. Petersburg (Leningrad) and transferred to Athens by a Greek ship. She was ultimately buried in the royal cemetery in Tatoi .

literature

• Hugo Mager: Elizabeth: Grand Duchess of Russia . Carroll and Graf Publishers Inc. (1998) ISBN 0-7867-0678-3
• Charlotte Zeepvat: The Camera and the Tsars: A Romanov Family Album . Sutton Publishing Inc. (2004) ISBN 0-7509-3049-7
• Je.W. Ptschelow: Monarchs of Russia (Монархи России), Olma-Press, Moscow 2003, page 545

Web links

Commons : Alexandra of Greece  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Alexandra of Greece and Denmark on Find a grave