The last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, was born on May 18, 1868 at the royal estate of Tsarskoye Selo near St. Petersburg.
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The last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, was born on May 18, 1868 at the royal estate of Tsarskoye Selo near St. Petersburg.
As heir to the throne, Nicholas, the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Fyodorovna, had a versatile home schooling that lasted for 13 years.
From the age of 20, at his father’s insistence, Nicholas had to attend meetings of the State Council and the Cabinet of Ministers.
The future emperor’s father unexpectedly succumbed to a kidney disease, and, sensing his coming death, quickly arranged his son’s wedding to Alix, Grand Duchess of Hesse-Darmstadt. Pictured: Crown Prince Nicholas Alexandrovich with his fiancée Alix during their engagement in Germany.
Nicholas II and his wife were crowned on May 14 (26) 1896 at the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. The empress was known as Alexandra Fyodorovna in Russia.
Shortly before the coronation, in November 1895, the royal couple had their first child – a daughter Olga.
Tsar Nicholas read a lot in his spare time, often noting in his diary the books he had started or finished reading.
Nicholas seized any opportunity to spend time with his children, as they did with him.
Self-composed in public, the royal couple were deeply in love. This tender relationship of mutual support was unveiled to the world when their diaries and letters were published.
Unsurprisingly, the tsar and his family were the focus of the Russian people’s attention, which inevitably led to the emergence of rumors, stories, and varying judgments.
Crown Prince Alexei was born in 1904. Shortly after birth the boy was diagnosed with hemophilia, a grave hereditary blood disease carried by his mother, Alexandra Fyodorovna.
Nicholas II and his wife leave St. Basil’s Cathedral.
World War I. Most august bothers in arms: Russian Tsar Nicholas II, left, British King George V, center, and Belgium’s King Albert, right. George V and Nicholas II were first cousins, as their mothers were sisters.
Emperor Nicholas II examines a World War I battlefield.
An iconic photograph of the royal family taken in 1910 in St. Petersburg, long before the tragic deaths of everyone pictured: Tsar Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna, Grand Princesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, Prince Alexei.
The Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg where Tsar Nicholas II, his wife and children were shot dead by the Bolsheviks in July 1918.
