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The Romanov's Third Daughter

© Anna Gruverman

In 1899, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was preparing for the arrival of her third child. This time, Russia anxiously awaited an heir. Relatives ardently prayed for a boy, and several mystical rituals were performed for Alix by a number of shamans said to have the powers to influence the gender of an unborn child. The Empress bathed in blessed waters, arranged icons on the walls of her room, lighted candles and incense. The happy preparations were soon halted, however, by the difficulty that this pregnancy caused her. Tormented by unmerciful cramps and nausea, Alix took to her bed in the second month and had to use a wheel chair for mobility. Further hardships were brought on by the fact that her eldest daughter, Olga, then four, was sick with typhoid fever. Alix was constantly tired and anxious, and the pressure inflicted upon her by the Romanov family, for whom providing an heir to the Russian throne was of key importance, did nothing to help. Her husband did his best to amuse her, taking her out on daily rides in the park, reading aloud to her and spending as much time at home as his duties to the country permitted. At last, in the night of June 14, the child was born.

As she arrived, there were no congratulations, no happy gasps at the fact that she was the most beautiful and healthy baby Alix had yet produced. The room was silent. Another girl was born. It seemed, as the cannons in St. Petersburg fired 101 times -- the traditional announcement for the birth of a Grand Duchess -- that only her mother and father welcomed her arrival.

Tsar Nicholas, despite the pressure and disappointment of the family and court, despite the unrest of the people, continued to be the perfect father. He was glad of the birth, glad that his beloved Alix was recovering, and glad of his third child, be it a girl or a boy. His diary recorded happiness untainted by the strain of politics: "A happy day: the Lord sent us a third daughter -- Maria, who was safely born at 12.10! Alix hardly slept all night, and towards morning the pains got stronger. Thank God it was all over quite quickly! My darling felt well all day and fed the baby herself... The evening was marvelous."

Maria, or Marie, as she is often called in English, was a strikingly beautiful and robust child, with rosy cheeks and the adorable plumpness of a cherub. Grand Duke Vladimir, upon seeing her for the first time, remarked that she had the face of one of Botticelli's angels, and took to calling her "the Amiable Baby" as she was always smiling and cheerful. She was a very fine little girl, the same in coloring as Olga, but on a grander and more vivid scale. She had the same shape of the face and similar light brown hair, streaked in gold and curling lightly over her forehead. But her eyes, called "Marie's saucers" by the family, were what set her apart -- a dark royal blue in color, they were enormous, deep, unforgettable eyes, lined by long dark lashes and bringing to mind the princesses of Russian fairy-tales. Above them were the fine level brows of the Romanov family.

Baby Marie wrapped up warmly	Tsar Nicholas and little Marie	Alexandra holding little Marie	Marie's formal portrait in traditional attire	Left to right are Marie and Anastasia
Little Marie Nikolaievna	Marie snuggling with her parents	Marie wearing a kerchief	Marie Osmond	A pensive Marie smiling at the camera
Marie enjoying a hug from her elder sister Olga	Marie	Left to right: Marie, Olga, Anastasia	Picking flowers out in the meadow	Marie Nikolaievna
Marie Nikolaievna	In a carriage during a parade	Wearing a huge hat	Being pensive and romantic...	Dressed in the uniform of her patron regiment
Sitting charmingly by a fountain	Marie	Marie with her mother and little brother	Maria Nikolaievna Romanova

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