Czarina of Russia Alexandra

Born Alix of Hesse and by Rhine on June 6, 1872, Alexandra was a German princess and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, inheriting the hemophilia gene. Her early life was marked by the death of her mother, Princess Alice, when Alexandra was six years old, leading to a reserved demeanor. She developed skills in piano and needlepoint and received an education in English fashion, history, literature, and geography. She met her future husband, Tzarvich Nicholas, at a young age, and their friendship culminated in marriage on November 26, 1894, shortly after Nicholas ascended to the Russian throne as Emperor Nicholas II. As Tzarina, she managed the imperial household with notable frugality and gave birth to four daughters before her son, Alexis, was born in 1904, who was diagnosed with hemophilia. This led to the introduction of the Siberian monk Grigory Rasputin to the royal family in 1905, whose perceived ability to alleviate Alexis's suffering gained him significant influence over Alexandra. Alexandra's German background and staunch belief in autocratic rule contributed to her unpopularity among the Russian people, especially as her husband's reign faced increasing challenges. During World War I, with Nicholas at the front, Alexandra assumed de facto control in Petrograd, making controversial governmental appointments based on Rasputin's advice, which further destabilized the government. Following widespread unrest, military defeats, and famine, Nicholas II abdicated on March 15, 1917, marking the collapse of Imperial Russia. Alexandra and her family were subsequently exiled to Siberia in July 1917 and were ultimately executed by a gun squad in the cellar of Ipatyev House in Yekaterinburg on July 17, 1918. Their remains were later discovered in 1979, exhumed in 1991, and finally laid to rest in the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg in 1998.