Maria Fyodorovna
Encyclopedia
Maria Feodorovna born Princess Dagmar of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and later Princess Dagmar of Denmark, was Empress consort of Russia
as spouse of Emperor Alexander III
. She was the second daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark
and Louise of Hesse-Cassel. Among her children was the last Russian monarch, Emperor
Nicholas II
, whom she outlived by ten years.
. Her father was Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
, a member of a relatively impoverished princely cadet line
. Her mother was Princess
Louise of Hesse-Kassel
.
She was baptized into the Lutheran faith and named after her kinswoman Marie Sophie Fredrica of Hesse-Kassel
, Queen
Dowager
of Denmark
as well as the medieval Danish queen, Dagmar of Bohemia. Growing up, she was known by the name Dagmar. Most of her life, she was known as Maria Feodorovna , the name which she took when converting to Orthodoxy
immediately before her 1866 marriage to the future Tsar
Alexander III
. She was known within her family as Minnie.
In 1852, Dagmar's father became an heir to the throne of Denmark
, largely due to his wife, Louise's succession rights as niece of King Christian VIII
. In 1853, he was given the title Prince of Denmark and he and his family were given an official summer residence, Bernstorff Palace
. Her father became King of Denmark in 1863 upon the death of King Frederik VII.
Due to the brilliant alliances of his children, he became known as the "Father-in-law of Europe
." Maria Feodorovna was the younger sister of Alexandra
, Queen Consort of King Edward VII
and mother of George V
of the United Kingdom
, which helps to explain the striking resemblance between Nicholas II and George V. Her older brother was King George I of Greece
. Her eldest brother became King Frederik VIII. Her youngest sister was Thyra, Duchess of Cumberland.
During her upbringing, Dagmar, together with her sister Alexandra, was given swimming lessons by the Swedish
pioneer of swimming for women, Nancy Edberg
; she would later welcome Edberg to Russia
, where she came on royal scholarship
to hold swimming lessons for women.
The rise of Slavophile
ideology in the Russian Empire
led Alexander II of Russia
to search for a bride for the heir apparent, Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia
, in countries other than the German states that had traditionally provided consorts for the tsars. In 1864, Nicholas, or "Nixa" as he was known in his family, went to Denmark where he was betrothed to Dagmar. On 22 April 1865 he died from meningitis
. His last wish was that Dagmar would marry his younger brother, the future Alexander III
. Dagmar was distraught after her young fiancé's death. She was so heartbroken when she returned to her motherland that her relatives were seriously worried about her health. She had already become emotionally attached to Russia and often thought of the huge, remote country that was to have been her home. The disaster had brought her very close to "Nixa's" parents, and she received a letter from Alexander II in which the Emperor attempted to console her. He told Dagmar in very affectionate terms that he hoped she would still consider herself a member of their family. In June 1866, while on a visit to Copenhagen, the Tsarevich Alexander asked Dagmar for her hand. They had been in her room looking over photographs together.
Dagmar left Copenhagen on 1 September 1866. Hans Christian Andersen
was among the crowd which flocked to the quay in order to see her off. The writer remarked in his diary: "Yesterday, at the quay, while passing me by, she stopped and took me by the hand. My eyes were full of tears. What a poor child! Oh Lord, be kind and merciful to her! They say that there is a brilliant court in Saint Petersburg and the tsar's family is nice; still, she heads for an unfamiliar country, where people are different and religion is different and where she will have none of her former acquaintances by her side".
Dagmar was warmly welcomed in Kronstadt
by Alexander II of Russia
and all his family. She converted to Orthodoxy and became Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna of Russia. The lavish wedding took place on in the Imperial Chapel of the Winter Palace
in St.Petersburg. After the wedding night, Alexander wrote in his diary, "I took off my slippers and my silver embroidered robe and felt the body of my beloved next to mine... How I felt then, I do not wish to describe here. Afterwards we talked for a long time." After the many wedding parties were over the newlyweds moved into the Anichkov Palace
in St.Petersburg where they were to live for the next 15 years, when they were not taking extended holidays at their summer villa Livadia
in the Crimea
.
due to the annexation of Danish territories
by the newly created German Empire
.
On the morning of 13 March 1881, Alexander II, aged sixty-two, was killed by a bomb on the way back to the Winter Palace from a military parade. In her diary, Maria later described how the wounded, still living Tsar was taken to the palace: "His legs were crushed terribly and ripped open to the knee; a bleeding mass, with half a boot on the right foot, and only the sole of the foot remaining on the left." Alexander II died a few hours later. Although the people were not enamoured of the new Tsar, they adored Russia's new empress. As Maria's contemporaries said of her: "She is truly an Empress." She herself was not altogether pleased with her new status. In her diary she wrote, "Our happiest and serenest times are now over. My peace and calm are gone, for now I will only ever be able to worry about Sasha."
Alexander and Maria were crowned at the Kremlin
in Moscow on 27 May 1883. Just before the coronation, a major conspiracy had been uncovered, which cast a pall over the celebration. Nevertheless over 8000 guests attended the splendid ceremony. Because of the many threats against Maria and Alexander III, the head of the security police, General Cherevin, shortly after the coronation urged the Tsar and his family to relocate to Gatchina Palace
, a more secure location, 50 kilometres outside St.Petersburg. The huge palace had 900 rooms and was built by Catherine II. The Romanovs heeded the advice. Maria and Alexander III lived at Gatchina for 13 years, and it was here that their five surviving children grew up.
Under heavy guard, Alexander III and Maria made periodic trips from Gatchina to the capital to take part in official events. Maria longed for the balls and gatherings in the Winter Palace. These also occurred at Gatchina. Alexander used to enjoy joining in with the musicians, although he would end up sending them off one by one. When that happened, Maria knew the party was over.
During Alexander III's reign, the monarchy's opponents quickly disappeared underground. A group of students had been planning to assassinate Alexander III on the sixth anniversary of his father's death at the Peter and Paul Cathedral
in St.Petersburg. The plotters had stuffed hollowed-out books with dynamite, which they intended to throw at the Tsar when he arrived at the cathedral. However, the Russian secret police uncovered the plot before it could be carried out. Five students were hanged; amongst them was Aleksandr Ulyanov
, older brother of Vladimir Lenin
.
When Maria's eldest sister Alexandra
visited Gatchina in July 1894, she was surprised to see how weak her brother-in-law Alexander III had become. He seemed to have shrivelled. Gone was the glow in his cheeks and his good cheer. At the time Marie had long known that he was ill and did not have long left. She now turned her attention to her eldest son, the future Nicholas II
, for it was on him that both her personal future and the future of the dynasty now depended.
Nicholas had long had his heart set on marrying Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt. Neither Alexander III nor Maria approved of the match. Nicholas summed up the situation as follows: "I wish to move in one direction, and it is clear that Mama wishes me to move in another - my dream is to one day marry Alix." Maria and Alexander found Alix shy and somewhat peculiar. They were also concerned that the young Princess was not possessed of the right character to be Empress of Russia. Nicholas's parents had known Alix as a child and formed the impression that she was hysterical and unbalanced. Reluctantly they both agreed for Nicholas and Alix to wed.
died aged just forty-nine at Livadia. In her diary Maria wrote, "I am utterly heartbroken and despondent, but when I saw the blissful smile and the peace in his face that came after, it gave me strength." For a time Maria was inconsolable. Her sister, Alexandra
, and brother-in-law, the future Edward VII
arrived in Russia a few days later. The Prince of Wales
planned Alexander's funeral and also set a date for the new Tsar Nicholas II
's wedding to Alix.
Maria Feodorovna's grandson-in-law, Prince Felix Yusupov
, noted that she had great influence in the Romanov family. Sergei Witte
praised her tact and diplomatic skill. Nevertheless, she did not get along well with her daughter-in-law, Alexandra Feodorovna
(the former Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt), holding her responsible for many of the woes that beset her son Nicholas and the Russian Empire in general.
Once the death of Alexander III
had receded, Maria again took a brighter view of the future. "Everything will be all right," as she said. She had lived for twenty-eight years in Russia, including thirteen as Empress, and thirty-four years of widowhood still awaited her, the last ten in exile in Denmark. Maria continued to live in the Anichkov Palace
in St.Petersburg and at Gatchina Palace. In late 1916, the Dowager Empress left St. Petersburg to live in the Mariinsky Palace in Kiev. She never again returned to St. Petersburg.
Empress Maria Fedorovna, the mistress of Langinkoski
retreat, was also otherwise a known friend of Finland. During the first russification period
, she tried to have her son stop the violation of the grand principality's autonomy and to recall the unpopular Governor-General Bobrikov from Finland to some other position in Russia itself. During the second russification period
, at the start of the First World War, the Dowager Empress, travelling by her special train through Finland to Saint Petersburg
, expressed her continued disapproval for the oppression of Finland by having an orchestra of a welcoming committee to play the March of Pori regiment and the Finnish anthem 'Our Country
', which at the time were under the explicit ban from Franz Albert Seyn
, the then Russifying Governor-General of Finland
.
in Mogilev
, Maria returned to the city. She quickly realized how Kiev had changed and that her presence was no longer wanted. She was persuaded by her family there to travel by train to the Crimea with a group of other refugee Romanovs. After a time living in one of the imperial residences in the Crimea, she received reports that her sons, her daughter-in-law and her grandchildren had been murdered. However, she rejected the report publicly as rumour. On the day after the murder of the Tsar's family, Maria received a messenger from Nicky, "a touching man" who told how difficult was the life of her son's family in Ekaterinburg. "And nobody can help or liberate them - only God! My Lord save my poor, unlucky Nicky, help him in his hard ordeals!" In her diary she comforted herself: "I am sure they all got out of Russia and now the Bolsheviks are trying to hide the truth." She firmly held on to this conviction until her death. The truth was too painful for her to publicly admit. Her letters to her son and his family have since almost all been lost; but in one that survives, she wrote to Nicholas: "You know that my thoughts and prayers never leave you. I think of you day and night and sometimes feel so sick at heart that I believe I cannot bear it any longer. But God is merciful. He will give us strength for this terrible ordeal." Maria's daughter Olga Alexandrovna commented further on the matter, "Yet I am sure that deep in her heart my mother had steeled herself to accept the truth some years before her death."
Despite the overthrow of the monarchy (1917), the former Dowager Empress Maria at first refused to leave Russia. Only in 1919, at the urging of her sister, Dowager Queen Alexandra, did she begrudgingly depart, fleeing via the Crimea
over the Black Sea
to London
. King George V
sent the warship HMS Marlborough
to retrieve his aunt. After a brief stay in the British base in Malta and later London
, she returned to her native Denmark, choosing her holiday villa Hvidøre near Copenhagen
as her new permanent home. Although Queen Alexandra never treated her sister badly and they spent time together at Marlborough House in London and at Sandringham House in Norfolk in Great Britain, Maria felt that she was now "number two". This was not surprising as Maria was merely a former Empress while her older sister was a popular Dowager Queen.
In exile in Copenhagen
, Denmark
, there were many Russian émigrées. For them, Maria still remained the Empress. People respected and highly valued her and often asked her for help. The All-Russian Monarchical Assembly held in 1921 offered her to become the locum tenens of the Russian throne. She declined the request - she would not like to interfere in political games and gave the evasive answer, "Nobody saw Nicky killed" and therefore there is a chance. She rendered financial support to Nikolai Sokolov, the investigator who studied the circumstances of the death of the Tsar's family. They did not meet - at the last moment, Grand Duchess Olga sent a telegram to Paris requesting to cancel the appointment. It would be too difficult for the old and sick woman to hear the terrible story of her son and his family.
, died. For Maria that was the last loss that she could bear. "She was ready to meet her Creator," wrote her son-in-law, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, about Maria's last years. On 13 October 1928 at Hvidøre near Copenhagen, in a house she had once shared with her sister Queen Alexandra, Maria died at the age of 80, having outlived four of her six children.
Following services in Copenhagen's Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Church, the Empress was interred at Roskilde Cathedral
. In 2005, Queen Margarethe II of Denmark and President Vladimir Putin
of Russia and their respective governments agreed that the Empress's remains should be returned to Saint Petersburg
in accordance with her wish to be interred next to her husband. A number of ceremonies took place from 23 to 28 September 2006. The funeral service, attended by high dignitaries, including the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, did not pass without some turbulence. The crowd around the coffin was so great that a young Danish diplomat fell into the grave before the coffin was interred. On 26 September 2006, a statue of Maria Feodorovna was unveiled near her favourite Cottage Palace in Peterhof. Following a service at Saint Isaac's Cathedral
, she was interred next to her husband Alexander III
in the Peter and Paul Cathedral
on 28 September 2006, 140 years after her first arrival to Russia and almost 78 years after her death.
in the 1971 film Nicholas and Alexandra
, and by Jane Lapotaire
in the 13-part 1975 British series Edward the Seventh, the story of her brother-in-law.
She was portrayed by Ursula Howells
in the 1974 BBC miniseries Fall of Eagles
.
She was portrayed by Helen Hayes
in the London production of the play Anastasia and in the 1956 film
based on the play.
The 1986 NBC-TV miniseries
Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna
, in which Olivia de Havilland
portrays the Dowager Empress, represents the latter as considering a personal meeting with Anna Anderson
, the woman who claimed to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia
. There is no evidence that the Empress Dowager ever had such an intention (or indeed that she had ever been requested to grant an audience to the woman).
The Empress was voiced by Angela Lansbury
in the 1997 Fox Animation Studios
feature film Anastasia
.
Empress Maria Fiodorovna, by A.I. Barkovets and V.M.Tenikhina, Abris Publishers, St. Petersburg, 2006
Empress Maria Feodorovna's Favourite Residences in Russia and Denmark, by Galina Korneva and Tatiana Cheboksarova, Liki Rossi, St. Petersburg, 2006
A Royal Family – The Story of Christian IX and his European descendants, by Anna Lerche and Marcus Mandal ISBN 87-15-10957-7 - chapter entitled "Love and Revolution - Maria Feodorovna's Fate during the Greatness and Fall of the Russian Empire" - an excellent account with privileged access to private royal archives and interviews with members of various European Royal Families
The Last Grand Duchess, by Ian Vorres, Finedawn Publishers, London, 1985 – the authorised biography of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, youngest daughter of Maria Feodorovna and Alexander III
The Court of the Last Tsar, by Gregory King ISBN 978-0471727637 - gives a viewpoint on the role of the Empress Dowager in the court of her son, Nicholas II, and an opinion about her feelings about Alexandra.
|-
|-
|-
Imperial Consorts of Russia
The Imperial Consorts of Russia were the spouses of the Russian Monarchs. They used the titles Tsaritsa or Empress.-House of Rurik :-House of Rurik :-House of Rurik :- Time of Troubles :...
as spouse of Emperor Alexander III
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...
. She was the second daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark
Christian IX of Denmark
Christian IX was King of Denmark from 16 November 1863 to 29 January 1906.Growing up as a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the House of Oldenburg which had ruled Denmark since 1448, Christian was originally not in the immediate line of succession to the Danish...
and Louise of Hesse-Cassel. Among her children was the last Russian monarch, Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
, whom she outlived by ten years.
Family
Princess Marie Sophie Fredrica/Frederikke Dagmar was born at the Yellow Palace in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. Her father was Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
Christian IX of Denmark
Christian IX was King of Denmark from 16 November 1863 to 29 January 1906.Growing up as a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the House of Oldenburg which had ruled Denmark since 1448, Christian was originally not in the immediate line of succession to the Danish...
, a member of a relatively impoverished princely cadet line
Cadet branch
Cadet branch is a term in genealogy to describe the lineage of the descendants of the younger sons of a monarch or patriarch. In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets – titles, realms, fiefs, property and income – have...
. Her mother was Princess
Princess
Princess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
Louise of Hesse-Kassel
Louise of Hesse-Kassel
Louise of Hesse was a German Princess and the queen consort to King Christian IX of Denmark.-Early Life and Ancestry:...
.
She was baptized into the Lutheran faith and named after her kinswoman Marie Sophie Fredrica of Hesse-Kassel
Marie Sophie of Hesse-Kassel
thumb|Queen Marie Sophie portrayed by [[Cornelius Høyer]] Marie Sophie Frederikke of Hesse-Kassel was Queen Consort of Denmark and Norway. She also served as Regent of Denmark in 1814–1815.-Background:...
, Queen
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
Dowager
Dowager
A dowager is a widow who holds a title or property, or dower, derived from her deceased husband. As an adjective, "Dowager" usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles....
of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
as well as the medieval Danish queen, Dagmar of Bohemia. Growing up, she was known by the name Dagmar. Most of her life, she was known as Maria Feodorovna , the name which she took when converting to Orthodoxy
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
immediately before her 1866 marriage to the future Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Alexander III
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...
. She was known within her family as Minnie.
In 1852, Dagmar's father became an heir to the throne of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, largely due to his wife, Louise's succession rights as niece of King Christian VIII
Christian VIII of Denmark
Christian VIII , was king of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, king of Norway in 1814. He was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick of Denmark and Norway and Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, born in 1786 at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen...
. In 1853, he was given the title Prince of Denmark and he and his family were given an official summer residence, Bernstorff Palace
Bernstorff Palace
Bernstorff Palace, Danish: Bernstorff Slot, in Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark, was built in the middle of the 18th century for Foreign Minister Johann Hartwig Ernst, Count von Bernstorff. It remained in the possession of the Bernstorff family until 1812. In 1842 it was bought by Christian VIII...
. Her father became King of Denmark in 1863 upon the death of King Frederik VII.
Due to the brilliant alliances of his children, he became known as the "Father-in-law of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
." Maria Feodorovna was the younger sister of Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
, Queen Consort of King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
and mother of George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, which helps to explain the striking resemblance between Nicholas II and George V. Her older brother was King George I of Greece
George I of Greece
George I was King of Greece from 1863 to 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was only 17 years old when he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the former king Otto. His nomination was both suggested and supported by the Great Powers...
. Her eldest brother became King Frederik VIII. Her youngest sister was Thyra, Duchess of Cumberland.
During her upbringing, Dagmar, together with her sister Alexandra, was given swimming lessons by the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
pioneer of swimming for women, Nancy Edberg
Nancy Edberg
Nancy Fredrika Augusta Edberg , was a Swedish swimmer, swimming instructor and bath house director. She was the first Swedish woman in these fields. Edberg was a pioneer in making the art of swimming and ice skating accepted for women in Sweden- Biography :Nancy Edberg was taught to swim by her...
; she would later welcome Edberg to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, where she came on royal scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to hold swimming lessons for women.
Twice a fiancée, ultimately a bride
Slavophile
Slavophilia was an intellectual movement originating from 19th century that wanted the Russian Empire to be developed upon values and institutions derived from its early history. Slavophiles were especially opposed to the influences of Western Europe in Russia. There were also similar movements in...
ideology in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
led Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
to search for a bride for the heir apparent, Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia
For the son of Alexander III, who succeeded his father on the throne in 1894, see Nicholas II of Russia.Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov , full title: Heir, Tsesarevich and Grand Duke of Russia was Tsesarevich —the heir apparent—of Imperial Russia from 2 March 1855 until...
, in countries other than the German states that had traditionally provided consorts for the tsars. In 1864, Nicholas, or "Nixa" as he was known in his family, went to Denmark where he was betrothed to Dagmar. On 22 April 1865 he died from meningitis
Meningitis
Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...
. His last wish was that Dagmar would marry his younger brother, the future Alexander III
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...
. Dagmar was distraught after her young fiancé's death. She was so heartbroken when she returned to her motherland that her relatives were seriously worried about her health. She had already become emotionally attached to Russia and often thought of the huge, remote country that was to have been her home. The disaster had brought her very close to "Nixa's" parents, and she received a letter from Alexander II in which the Emperor attempted to console her. He told Dagmar in very affectionate terms that he hoped she would still consider herself a member of their family. In June 1866, while on a visit to Copenhagen, the Tsarevich Alexander asked Dagmar for her hand. They had been in her room looking over photographs together.
Dagmar left Copenhagen on 1 September 1866. Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
was among the crowd which flocked to the quay in order to see her off. The writer remarked in his diary: "Yesterday, at the quay, while passing me by, she stopped and took me by the hand. My eyes were full of tears. What a poor child! Oh Lord, be kind and merciful to her! They say that there is a brilliant court in Saint Petersburg and the tsar's family is nice; still, she heads for an unfamiliar country, where people are different and religion is different and where she will have none of her former acquaintances by her side".
Dagmar was warmly welcomed in Kronstadt
Kronstadt
Kronstadt , also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt |crown]]" and Stadt for "city"); is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: It is also...
by Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
and all his family. She converted to Orthodoxy and became Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna of Russia. The lavish wedding took place on in the Imperial Chapel of the Winter Palace
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and...
in St.Petersburg. After the wedding night, Alexander wrote in his diary, "I took off my slippers and my silver embroidered robe and felt the body of my beloved next to mine... How I felt then, I do not wish to describe here. Afterwards we talked for a long time." After the many wedding parties were over the newlyweds moved into the Anichkov Palace
Anichkov Palace
Anichkov Palace is a former imperial palace in Saint Petersburg, at the intersection of Nevsky Avenue and the Fontanka.-History:The palace, situated on the plot formerly owned by Antonio de Vieira, takes its name from the nearby Anichkov Bridge across the Fontanka...
in St.Petersburg where they were to live for the next 15 years, when they were not taking extended holidays at their summer villa Livadia
Livadia Palace
Livadia Palace was a summer retreat of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, and his family in Livadiya, Crimea in southern Ukraine. The Yalta Conference was held there in 1945, when the palace housed the apartments of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and other members of the American delegation...
in the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
.
Tsesarevna
Maria Feodorovna was pretty and popular. Early on she made it a priority to learn the Russian language and to try to understand the Russian people. She rarely interfered with politics, preferring to devote her time and energies to her family, charities and the more social side of her position. Her one exception was her militant anti-German sentimentAnti-German sentiment
Anti-German sentiment is defined as an opposition to or fear of Germany, its inhabitants, and the German language. Its opposite is Germanophilia.-Russia:...
due to the annexation of Danish territories
Province of Schleswig-Holstein
The Province of Schleswig-Holstein was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1868 to 1946. It was created from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, which had been conquered by Prussia and the Austrian Empire from Denmark in the Second War of Schleswig in 1864...
by the newly created German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
.
Empress of All the Russias
Alexander and Maria were crowned at the Kremlin
Kremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
in Moscow on 27 May 1883. Just before the coronation, a major conspiracy had been uncovered, which cast a pall over the celebration. Nevertheless over 8000 guests attended the splendid ceremony. Because of the many threats against Maria and Alexander III, the head of the security police, General Cherevin, shortly after the coronation urged the Tsar and his family to relocate to Gatchina Palace
Gatchina Palace
The Great Gatchina Palace was built in 1766–1781 in Gatchina town by Antonio Rinaldi for Count Grigori Grigoryevich Orlov who was a favourite of Ekaterina II. The Gatchina Palace is located on the hill above Lake Serebryannoe. It combines themes of a medieval castle and a country residence....
, a more secure location, 50 kilometres outside St.Petersburg. The huge palace had 900 rooms and was built by Catherine II. The Romanovs heeded the advice. Maria and Alexander III lived at Gatchina for 13 years, and it was here that their five surviving children grew up.
Under heavy guard, Alexander III and Maria made periodic trips from Gatchina to the capital to take part in official events. Maria longed for the balls and gatherings in the Winter Palace. These also occurred at Gatchina. Alexander used to enjoy joining in with the musicians, although he would end up sending them off one by one. When that happened, Maria knew the party was over.
During Alexander III's reign, the monarchy's opponents quickly disappeared underground. A group of students had been planning to assassinate Alexander III on the sixth anniversary of his father's death at the Peter and Paul Cathedral
Peter and Paul Cathedral
The Peter and Paul Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox cathedral located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is the first and oldest landmark in St. Petersburg, built between 1712 and 1733 on Zayachy Island along the Neva River. Both the cathedral and the fortress were...
in St.Petersburg. The plotters had stuffed hollowed-out books with dynamite, which they intended to throw at the Tsar when he arrived at the cathedral. However, the Russian secret police uncovered the plot before it could be carried out. Five students were hanged; amongst them was Aleksandr Ulyanov
Aleksandr Ulyanov
Aleksandr Ilyich Ulyanov was a Russian revolutionary and a terrorist, convicted of attempted assassination of Alexander III. He was an older brother of Vladimir Lenin.- Life :...
, older brother of Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
.
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
visited Gatchina in July 1894, she was surprised to see how weak her brother-in-law Alexander III had become. He seemed to have shrivelled. Gone was the glow in his cheeks and his good cheer. At the time Marie had long known that he was ill and did not have long left. She now turned her attention to her eldest son, the future Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
, for it was on him that both her personal future and the future of the dynasty now depended.
Nicholas had long had his heart set on marrying Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt. Neither Alexander III nor Maria approved of the match. Nicholas summed up the situation as follows: "I wish to move in one direction, and it is clear that Mama wishes me to move in another - my dream is to one day marry Alix." Maria and Alexander found Alix shy and somewhat peculiar. They were also concerned that the young Princess was not possessed of the right character to be Empress of Russia. Nicholas's parents had known Alix as a child and formed the impression that she was hysterical and unbalanced. Reluctantly they both agreed for Nicholas and Alix to wed.
Dowager Empress
On 1 November 1894, Alexander IIIAlexander III of Russia
Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...
died aged just forty-nine at Livadia. In her diary Maria wrote, "I am utterly heartbroken and despondent, but when I saw the blissful smile and the peace in his face that came after, it gave me strength." For a time Maria was inconsolable. Her sister, Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
, and brother-in-law, the future Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
arrived in Russia a few days later. The Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
planned Alexander's funeral and also set a date for the new Tsar Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
's wedding to Alix.
Maria Feodorovna's grandson-in-law, Prince Felix Yusupov
Felix Yusupov
Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston , was best known for participating in the murder of Grigori Rasputin, the faith healer who was said to have influenced decisions of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsaritsa Alexandra Feodorovna.-Biography:...
, noted that she had great influence in the Romanov family. Sergei Witte
Sergei Witte
Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte , also known as Sergius Witte, was a highly influential policy-maker who presided over extensive industrialization within the Russian Empire. He served under the last two emperors of Russia...
praised her tact and diplomatic skill. Nevertheless, she did not get along well with her daughter-in-law, Alexandra Feodorovna
Alexandra Fyodorovna of Hesse
Alix of Hesse and by Rhine later Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova , was Empress consort of Russia as spouse of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of the Russian Empire...
(the former Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt), holding her responsible for many of the woes that beset her son Nicholas and the Russian Empire in general.
Once the death of Alexander III
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...
had receded, Maria again took a brighter view of the future. "Everything will be all right," as she said. She had lived for twenty-eight years in Russia, including thirteen as Empress, and thirty-four years of widowhood still awaited her, the last ten in exile in Denmark. Maria continued to live in the Anichkov Palace
Anichkov Palace
Anichkov Palace is a former imperial palace in Saint Petersburg, at the intersection of Nevsky Avenue and the Fontanka.-History:The palace, situated on the plot formerly owned by Antonio de Vieira, takes its name from the nearby Anichkov Bridge across the Fontanka...
in St.Petersburg and at Gatchina Palace. In late 1916, the Dowager Empress left St. Petersburg to live in the Mariinsky Palace in Kiev. She never again returned to St. Petersburg.
Empress Maria Fedorovna, the mistress of Langinkoski
Langinkoski
Langinkoski is a rapid on the Kymi river in Kotka, Finland.-Imperial fishing lodge:Alexander III of Russia had a very small manor or a medium sized log house built there, between the branches of the Kymi river. He would take relatively rustic vacations there, along with his family...
retreat, was also otherwise a known friend of Finland. During the first russification period
Russification of Finland
The policy of Russification of Finland was a governmental policy of the Russian Empire aimed at limiting the special status of the Grand Duchy of Finland and possibly the termination of its political autonomy and cultural uniqueness...
, she tried to have her son stop the violation of the grand principality's autonomy and to recall the unpopular Governor-General Bobrikov from Finland to some other position in Russia itself. During the second russification period
Russification of Finland
The policy of Russification of Finland was a governmental policy of the Russian Empire aimed at limiting the special status of the Grand Duchy of Finland and possibly the termination of its political autonomy and cultural uniqueness...
, at the start of the First World War, the Dowager Empress, travelling by her special train through Finland to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, expressed her continued disapproval for the oppression of Finland by having an orchestra of a welcoming committee to play the March of Pori regiment and the Finnish anthem 'Our Country
Maamme
Maamme or Vårt land is the title of Finland's national anthem. There is no law on an official national anthem in Finland, but Maamme is firmly established by convention....
', which at the time were under the explicit ban from Franz Albert Seyn
Franz Albert Seyn
Franz Albert Seyn was a Russian general who was Governor-General of Finland between November 24, 1909 and March 16, 1917....
, the then Russifying Governor-General of Finland
Governor-General of Finland
Governor-General of Finland ; was the military commander and the highest administrator of Finland sporadically under Swedish rule in the 17th and 18th centuries and continuously in the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland between 1808 and 1917.-Swedish rule:...
.
Revolution and exile
Revolution came to Russia in March 1917. After travelling from Kiev to meet with her deposed son, Nicholas IINicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
in Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
, Maria returned to the city. She quickly realized how Kiev had changed and that her presence was no longer wanted. She was persuaded by her family there to travel by train to the Crimea with a group of other refugee Romanovs. After a time living in one of the imperial residences in the Crimea, she received reports that her sons, her daughter-in-law and her grandchildren had been murdered. However, she rejected the report publicly as rumour. On the day after the murder of the Tsar's family, Maria received a messenger from Nicky, "a touching man" who told how difficult was the life of her son's family in Ekaterinburg. "And nobody can help or liberate them - only God! My Lord save my poor, unlucky Nicky, help him in his hard ordeals!" In her diary she comforted herself: "I am sure they all got out of Russia and now the Bolsheviks are trying to hide the truth." She firmly held on to this conviction until her death. The truth was too painful for her to publicly admit. Her letters to her son and his family have since almost all been lost; but in one that survives, she wrote to Nicholas: "You know that my thoughts and prayers never leave you. I think of you day and night and sometimes feel so sick at heart that I believe I cannot bear it any longer. But God is merciful. He will give us strength for this terrible ordeal." Maria's daughter Olga Alexandrovna commented further on the matter, "Yet I am sure that deep in her heart my mother had steeled herself to accept the truth some years before her death."
Despite the overthrow of the monarchy (1917), the former Dowager Empress Maria at first refused to leave Russia. Only in 1919, at the urging of her sister, Dowager Queen Alexandra, did she begrudgingly depart, fleeing via the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
over the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
sent the warship HMS Marlborough
HMS Marlborough (1912)
HMS Marlborough was an Iron Duke-class battleship of the Royal Navy, named in honour of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and launched in 1912. In World War I she served in the 1st Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet based at Scapa Flow...
to retrieve his aunt. After a brief stay in the British base in Malta and later London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, she returned to her native Denmark, choosing her holiday villa Hvidøre near Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
as her new permanent home. Although Queen Alexandra never treated her sister badly and they spent time together at Marlborough House in London and at Sandringham House in Norfolk in Great Britain, Maria felt that she was now "number two". This was not surprising as Maria was merely a former Empress while her older sister was a popular Dowager Queen.
In exile in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, there were many Russian émigrées. For them, Maria still remained the Empress. People respected and highly valued her and often asked her for help. The All-Russian Monarchical Assembly held in 1921 offered her to become the locum tenens of the Russian throne. She declined the request - she would not like to interfere in political games and gave the evasive answer, "Nobody saw Nicky killed" and therefore there is a chance. She rendered financial support to Nikolai Sokolov, the investigator who studied the circumstances of the death of the Tsar's family. They did not meet - at the last moment, Grand Duchess Olga sent a telegram to Paris requesting to cancel the appointment. It would be too difficult for the old and sick woman to hear the terrible story of her son and his family.
Death and burial
In November 1925, Maria's favourite sister, Queen AlexandraAlexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
, died. For Maria that was the last loss that she could bear. "She was ready to meet her Creator," wrote her son-in-law, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, about Maria's last years. On 13 October 1928 at Hvidøre near Copenhagen, in a house she had once shared with her sister Queen Alexandra, Maria died at the age of 80, having outlived four of her six children.
Following services in Copenhagen's Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Church, the Empress was interred at Roskilde Cathedral
Roskilde Cathedral
Roskilde Cathedral , in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Denmark. The first Gothic cathedral to be built of brick, it encouraged the spread of the Brick Gothic style throughout Northern Europe...
. In 2005, Queen Margarethe II of Denmark and President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
of Russia and their respective governments agreed that the Empress's remains should be returned to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
in accordance with her wish to be interred next to her husband. A number of ceremonies took place from 23 to 28 September 2006. The funeral service, attended by high dignitaries, including the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, did not pass without some turbulence. The crowd around the coffin was so great that a young Danish diplomat fell into the grave before the coffin was interred. On 26 September 2006, a statue of Maria Feodorovna was unveiled near her favourite Cottage Palace in Peterhof. Following a service at Saint Isaac's Cathedral
Saint Isaac's Cathedral
Saint Isaac's Cathedral or Isaakievskiy Sobor in Saint Petersburg, Russia is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in the city...
, she was interred next to her husband Alexander III
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...
in the Peter and Paul Cathedral
Peter and Paul Cathedral
The Peter and Paul Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox cathedral located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is the first and oldest landmark in St. Petersburg, built between 1712 and 1733 on Zayachy Island along the Neva River. Both the cathedral and the fortress were...
on 28 September 2006, 140 years after her first arrival to Russia and almost 78 years after her death.
Film and stage representations of the Dowager Empress
She was portrayed by Irene WorthIrene Worth
Irene Worth, CBE was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the English and American theatre. -Early life:...
in the 1971 film Nicholas and Alexandra
Nicholas and Alexandra
Nicholas and Alexandra is a 1971 biographical film which tells the story of the last Russian monarch, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra....
, and by Jane Lapotaire
Jane Lapotaire
Jane Lapotaire is a British actress.She studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in the 1960s. Her role in the title role of Marie Curie first brought her to wide attention...
in the 13-part 1975 British series Edward the Seventh, the story of her brother-in-law.
She was portrayed by Ursula Howells
Ursula Howells
Ursula Howells was an English actress whose elegant presence kept her much in demand for roles in film and television....
in the 1974 BBC miniseries Fall of Eagles
Fall of Eagles
Fall of Eagles is a 13-part British television drama aired by the BBC in 1974. The series was created by John Elliot and produced by Stuart Burge....
.
She was portrayed by Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
in the London production of the play Anastasia and in the 1956 film
Anastasia (1956 film)
Anastasia is a 1956 American historical drama film directed by Anatole Litvak for 20th Century Fox. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, Yul Brynner, and Helen Hayes. Supporting players include Akim Tamiroff, Martita Hunt, and, in a small role, Natalie Schafer...
based on the play.
The 1986 NBC-TV miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna
Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna
Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna is a 1986 TV movie, starring Amy Irving, Olivia de Havilland and Jan Niklas. The film was loosely based on the story of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia and the novel The Riddle of Anna Anderson by Peter Kurth. It was Christian Bale's first film and Rex...
, in which Olivia de Havilland
Olivia de Havilland
Olivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
portrays the Dowager Empress, represents the latter as considering a personal meeting with Anna Anderson
Anna Anderson
Anna Anderson was the best known of several impostors who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia...
, the woman who claimed to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife Alexandra Fyodorovna....
. There is no evidence that the Empress Dowager ever had such an intention (or indeed that she had ever been requested to grant an audience to the woman).
The Empress was voiced by Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
in the 1997 Fox Animation Studios
Fox Animation Studios
Fox Animation Studios is an American animation production company located in Phoenix, Arizona and is a division of 20th Century Fox. After the bankruptcy of Sullivan Bluth Studios in Ireland in 1994, animators Don Bluth and Gary Goldman returned to the United States and were hired by 20th Century...
feature film Anastasia
Anastasia (1997 film)
Anastasia is a 1997 American animated musical film produced and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. It was the first feature film to be released by Fox Animation Studios....
.
Issue
Tsar Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna had four sons and two daughters:- Tsar Nicholas IINicholas II of RussiaNicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
(6 May 1868 – 17 July 1918) - Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich of RussiaGrand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich of RussiaGrand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich of Russia was the infant son of Alexander III and Empress Marie of Russia. At the time of his birth, his father, as the eldest son of Tsar Alexander II, was titled as the Tsarevich of Russia...
(7 June 1869 – 2 May 1870) - Grand Duke George Alexandrovich of RussiaGrand Duke George Alexandrovich of RussiaGrand Duke George Alexandrovich of Russia, , was the third son of Alexander III and Empress Marie of Russia. He was named George after his mother's younger brother, King George I of Greece...
(6 May 1871 – 9 August 1899) - Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of RussiaGrand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of RussiaGrand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia was a daughter of Tsar Alexander III of Russia and the elder of Tsar Nicholas II two sisters. She married her cousin Grand Duke Alexander Mikailovich of Russia, with whom she had seven children....
(6 April 1875 – 20 April 1960) - Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich (22 November 1878 – c. 12 June 1918)
- Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of RussiaGrand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of RussiaGrand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia was the youngest child of Emperor Alexander III of Russia. Her older brother was Tsar Nicholas II....
(13 June 1882 – 24 November 1960).
Styles
- Her Serene Highness Princess Dagmar of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (1847–1853)
- Her Highness Princess Dagmar of Denmark (1853–1858)
- Her Royal Highness Princess Dagmar of Denmark (1858–1866)
- Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna, Tsesarevna of Russia (1866–1881)
- Her Imperial Majesty The Empress of All the Russias (1881–1894)
- Her Imperial Majesty The Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia (1894–1917)
- Her Imperial Majesty The Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna (1917–1928) - a title she was referred to as a courtesy by some foreign royal courts. In fact the title Dowager Empress of Russia had ceased to exist with the collapse of the Russian Empire. In the Crimea after the collapse of the Kerensky provisional government, Maria Feodorovna was publicly referred to by guards as Citizeness Maria Feodorovna Romanova. When asked to sign as former Dowager Empress she refused and signed herself as Widow of Tsar Alexander III.
Ancestry
Books
Little Mother of Russia: A Biography of Empress Marie Feodorovna, by Coryne Hall ISBN 978-0841914216 - a biographical account of Empress Maria FeodorovnaEmpress Maria Fiodorovna, by A.I. Barkovets and V.M.Tenikhina, Abris Publishers, St. Petersburg, 2006
Empress Maria Feodorovna's Favourite Residences in Russia and Denmark, by Galina Korneva and Tatiana Cheboksarova, Liki Rossi, St. Petersburg, 2006
A Royal Family – The Story of Christian IX and his European descendants, by Anna Lerche and Marcus Mandal ISBN 87-15-10957-7 - chapter entitled "Love and Revolution - Maria Feodorovna's Fate during the Greatness and Fall of the Russian Empire" - an excellent account with privileged access to private royal archives and interviews with members of various European Royal Families
The Last Grand Duchess, by Ian Vorres, Finedawn Publishers, London, 1985 – the authorised biography of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, youngest daughter of Maria Feodorovna and Alexander III
The Court of the Last Tsar, by Gregory King ISBN 978-0471727637 - gives a viewpoint on the role of the Empress Dowager in the court of her son, Nicholas II, and an opinion about her feelings about Alexandra.
External links
// Website of the Danish Cultural Society Dagmaria|-
|-
|-