Welcome to Russian History Retold, Episode 245, the Romano of Children, Part 1.

Moving away from the Russo-Turkish Wars, I wanted to cover a topic that I had never

touched on during the past 12 years on this platform.

And that is, it's about the children of the last Russian czar, Nicholas II.

My sources for today's episode are the Romanovs, the final chapter by Robert Masi, the

Romanovs, ruling Russia 1613-1917 by Lindsay Hughes, and finally the Romanovs sisters, the

lost lives of the daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra by Helen Rappaport.

Nicholas and Alexandra Romanovs, the czar and Zarina of Russia, would have five children,

four girls and one boy. They were named Olga Tatiana Maria, Anastasia and Alexei, and were born

in that order. Their lives were filled with the trappings of royalty, yet ended in the most

terrific manner. Today's goal is not to dwell on their murders but on their lives, loves,

concerns and feelings, and we really have the most information about the girls, as Alexei was

only 13 when he was killed. To better understand the children, you need to know more about the parents.

Now, obviously, I've already covered Zarina, Nicholas II, commenting on how he was ill-suited to

be a leader of any country, much less one as vast as Russia. As a parent, though, he was deeply

devoted to his children. The mother, born Alex of Hesse and Byrne, granddaughter of Queen Victoria

of England, was a daughter of a minor grand duke, but she also had a very traumatic childhood.

The initial shock that hit Alex's family was one that would haunt the future Zarina for the rest

of her life. Her brother, known as Friddy, died from a fall from a window. It was about 20 feet or

six meters off the ground, and the fall alone was obviously a contributing factor to his death,

but it was his hemophilia that closed the deal. It was an inherited disorder, traced to

Queen Victoria and her son, Leopold, who died at the age of 30 from the disease. The future,

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