Princess Victoria Alix Helena Louise Beatrix was born in Darmstadt on June 6, 1872, as the sixth child and fourth daughter of Prince Louis of Hesse and Princess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria. Darmstadt, with a population of slightly below thirty thousand, was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Hesse, an old-fashioned, agricultural establishment still not used to the recent foundation of the German Empire. And it was there that Alix was baptized on her parents’ wedding anniversary. The earliest description we have of her is written by her mother: “She is a sweet, merry little person, always laughing and with a dimple in one cheek.”
Babyhood was spent with the other sisters and two English nurses. An especially close relationship developed between Alix, Ella (an older sister), and the only surviving boy in the family -- Ernest. Their mother being active in social work, the three of them became involved in charity at a very early age. Alix often visited hospitals and schools for the poor on behalf of Princess Alice, and for the delightful character she exhibited during these visits she was given a score of nicknames which would stick with her for life -- “Alicky,” “Sunny” and “Princess Sunshine.”
The early death of Princess Alice, however, ended this cloudless childhood when Alix was only six. Her older sisters developing into women and starting lives of which she could no longer play a part, she was left largely to the ladies-in-waiting, most of them belonging to the “old school” preaching restraint and discipline. Responsive and obedient by nature, Alix adopted these principles quickly. As her delicate shyness was now complemented by a love of learning and an adult-like reserve, many people began to mistake Alix’s timidity and seriousness for coolness. Most of her time was now devoted to lessons and fervent worship, and she seldom ventured beyond the palace gates. She excelled within them, however, quickly mastering English and French in addition to her German, and displaying a tremendous talent at the piano.
Alix’s first encounter with Russia came when her dearly loved Ella married the brother of the Russian Tsar Alexander III, Grand Duke Sergei. Alix was then a tall, slender girl, with a serious expression in her deep gray eyes, and a slightly wistful fold to her delicate mouth, compensated, however, by a ready smile and blush. Her regular features and good complexion, as well as shimmering golden hair, were rapidly earning her the title of a budding beauty. Going with her whole family to St. Petersburg in that spring of 1884, she was taking her first unconscious step towards becoming the Empress of what was to be her country. Only twelve at the time, she was full of joy and anticipation, interested in everything, in awe of the gorgeous wedding ceremony and festivities. Still not “out,” she could not go to the various balls and thés dansants that were being held, and was instead amused by the heir to the Russian throne. The Tsarevich Nicholas would later admit in his diary that he “sat next to little twelve-year-old Alix, and liked her awfully much.”
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