#adini

"Many people have expressed surprise that one of the little Grand Duchesses was not called Victoria or Alexandra. The Russian Church only allows names which exist in the language. Victoria does not exist, though Victor does; Alexandra is considered very unlucky for the Romanoff family.

"The Emperor Paul had a daughter named Alexandra. Her life was short, but troubled. When she was about seventeen years of age her grandmother, Catherine II., arranged a marriage for her with the King of Sweden. The wedding-day arrived ... The bridegroom suddenly declared to his gentlemen that he could not and would not go on with the marriage ...

" ... she never recovered the shock, and died broken-hearted at nineteen [correction: seventeen] years of age.

"Nicholas I. had a very beautiful daughter named Alexandra. ... She died of scarlatina before she was twenty years of age. ...

"Alexandra II. [sic] had a daughter of the name; she died in childhood; a pretty golden-haired child she was, judging by her portrait. A little blue silk frock which she used to wear is still shown in the Winter Palace.

"Other branches of the family had also Alexandras, but in no case did they live to be twenty-one years of age."

The first Nicholas and Alexandra and the three graces

Before Nicky and Alix and OTMAA, there was Nicholas I (who was said to be not only the Iron Tsar but also the best-looking man in Europe) and his wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (Princess Charlotte of Prussia or "Muffy" as he called her.)

The couple had seven children, four sons and three daughters. Their sons (Tsar Alexander II and Grand Dukes Konstantin Nicholaevich, Nicholas Nicholaevich, and Mikhail Nicholaevich) are better known than their daughters, even though they were said to be not only beautiful but exceptional in intelligence and education.

Nicholas and Alexandra's eldest daughter was Grand Duchess Maria Nicholaevna, who would become the Duchess of Leuchtenberg through marriage. I have read that Maria's face resembled her father's and that she would dare argue with him, and when she did, their countenances would terrify those around them. She is described as energetic and willful. She was an art connoisseur and collector.

The second daughter was Grand Duchess Olga Nicholaevna, who became the Queen Consort of Wurttemberg. She was elegant, stately, kind, intelligent, and educated. She did many good works in her adopted land and was beloved by her people.

The third daughter was Alexandra, better known as Adidini. While the two older daughters resemble their father, Adini is said to have resembled her mother. She was interested in nature and music, in particular singing. Her story is very sad. She died young and, in doing so, broke her father's heart.

Grand Duchesses Maria, Olga and Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia, daughters of Tsar Nicholas I.