Nicholas II & Family

[Kristallinchen]

Reading a book "Victoria's gene" which is all about the hemophilia disease that she passed on to her descendants. Apparently DNA on the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II revealed that Anastasia was a carrier of the illness, her 3 sisters were not.

I've read that Maria was a carrier. Appearantly she an operation on her tonsils once and bleeded so much, her mother had to urge the doctor to go on with it.

Interesting.

Wasn't there confusion at first about the youngest two daughters, when the bones were discovered? If I am correct the bones of Aleksei and one of his sisters were found on a different spot then the rest of the family.

Yes, the last ones to be discovered were of Aleksey and Maria. Yurovski had them buried elsewhere to confuse any future researchers (as the Tsar had five children and not just three).

Thank you for the confirmation.

Therefore it could be a mistake that according to the book Anastasia was the only carrier of the hemophilia gene(s). Or it should be Marie or it should be both princesses.

The thing is one of the two definitely was a carrier. One side (Americans) say this one...Russians say the other one.

I don't remember which was which though. And of course it could've been both as well.

[Principessa]

Reading a book "Victoria's gene" which is all about the hemophilia disease that she passed on to her descendants. Apparently DNA on the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II revealed that Anastasia was a carrier of the illness, her 3 sisters were not.

I've read that Maria was a carrier. Appearantly she an operation on her tonsils once and bleeded so much, her mother had to urge the doctor to go on with it.

Interesting.

Wasn't there confusion at first about the youngest two daughters, when the bones were discovered? If I am correct the bones of Aleksei and one of his sisters were found on a different spot then the rest of the family.

Yes, the last ones to be discovered were of Aleksey and Maria. Yurovski had them buried elsewhere to confuse any future researchers (as the Tsar had five children and not just three).

Thank you for the confirmation.

Therefore it could be a mistake that according to the book Anastasia was the only carrier of the hemophilia gene(s). Or it should be Marie or it should be both princesses.

The thing is one of the two definitely was a carrier. One side (Americans) say this one...Russians say the other one.

I don't remember which was which though. And of course it could've been both as well.

Yup, I can completely understand the confusion

Also in the linked Science article:

"..Earlier this year, Rogaev and his colleagues reported that, based on DNA analysis, the bodies of two children found near the murder site were indeed those of Alexei and his sister Maria. They further confirmed that the other bodies near the site belonged to the rest of the Romanov family. .."

So I guess Rogaev and his team knew the difference between the bones of Anastasia and Maria. It is also the team who got the result of Alix and Anastasia being carriers of hemophilia B.

[Kristallinchen]

Reading a book "Victoria's gene" which is all about the hemophilia disease that she passed on to her descendants. Apparently DNA on the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II revealed that Anastasia was a carrier of the illness, her 3 sisters were not.

I've read that Maria was a carrier. Appearantly she an operation on her tonsils once and bleeded so much, her mother had to urge the doctor to go on with it.

Interesting.

Wasn't there confusion at first about the youngest two daughters, when the bones were discovered? If I am correct the bones of Aleksei and one of his sisters were found on a different spot then the rest of the family.

Yes, the last ones to be discovered were of Aleksey and Maria. Yurovski had them buried elsewhere to confuse any future researchers (as the Tsar had five children and not just three).

Thank you for the confirmation.

Therefore it could be a mistake that according to the book Anastasia was the only carrier of the hemophilia gene(s). Or it should be Marie or it should be both princesses.

The thing is one of the two definitely was a carrier. One side (Americans) say this one...Russians say the other one.

I don't remember which was which though. And of course it could've been both as well.

Yup, I can completely understand the confusion

Also in the linked Science article:

"..Earlier this year, Rogaev and his colleagues reported that, based on DNA analysis, the bodies of two children found near the murder site were indeed those of Alexei and his sister Maria. They further confirmed that the other bodies near the site belonged to the rest of the Romanov family. .."

So I guess Rogaev and his team knew the difference between the bones of Anastasia and Maria. It is also the team who got the result of Alix and Anastasia being carriers of hemophilia B.

Yes, thanks for the article.

This is not the what if thread, but one wonders, how history would've developed, if the revolution hadn't overtrown them.

Would've Alexei survived to succeed his father? (Somehow that's very doubtable, considering the medicine at the time.)

Would've probably really Olga been made regent?

In what other RFs would've the deadly disease been spread assuming that Maria and/or Anastasia would've married foreign royals as was customary.

[Celia]

Alexei could have married and had children --though with the precedent of his great-uncle Leopold I wonder who would have married him.  His cousin Waldemar of Prussian married but didn't have children.  His cousin Lord Tremanton didn't marry, but he died younger than Leopold did. 

[Kristallinchen]

Today is the 125th wedding anniversary day of Nikolai II. and Alexandra.

[Kristallinchen]

Alexei could have married and had children --though with the precedent of his great-uncle Leopold I wonder who would have married him.  His cousin Waldemar of Prussian married but didn't have children.  His cousin Lord Tremanton didn't marry, but he died younger than Leopold did.  

He was the Tsesarevich of Russia. For sure there would've been someone available to marry him.

However it's doubtful, he would've gotten very old. He was close to death a lot of times during his short young life.

[Ellie]

Before Alexei was born there was talk of changing the Pauline laws so Olga would have inherited. There was talk of Olga were she older being regent for an underage Alexei, as well.

[fairy]

Reading a book "Victoria's gene" which is all about the hemophilia disease that she passed on to her descendants. Apparently DNA on the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II revealed that Anastasia was a carrier of the illness, her 3 sisters were not.

I've read that Maria was a carrier. Appearantly she an operation on her tonsils once and bleeded so much, her mother had to urge the doctor to go on with it.

Interesting.

Wasn't there confusion at first about the youngest two daughters, when the bones were discovered? If I am correct the bones of Aleksei and one of his sisters were found on a different spot then the rest of the family.

Yes, the last ones to be discovered were of Aleksey and Maria. Yurovski had them buried elsewhere to confuse any future researchers (as the Tsar had five children and not just three).

Thank you for the confirmation.

Therefore it could be a mistake that according to the book Anastasia was the only carrier of the hemophilia gene(s). Or it should be Marie or it should be both princesses.

The thing is one of the two definitely was a carrier. One side (Americans) say this one...Russians say the other one.

I don't remember which was which though. And of course it could've been both as well.

Yup, I can completely understand the confusion

Also in the linked Science article:

"..Earlier this year, Rogaev and his colleagues reported that, based on DNA analysis, the bodies of two children found near the murder site were indeed those of Alexei and his sister Maria. They further confirmed that the other bodies near the site belonged to the rest of the Romanov family. .."

So I guess Rogaev and his team knew the difference between the bones of Anastasia and Maria. It is also the team who got the result of Alix and Anastasia being carriers of hemophilia B.

The Girls were quite close in age, so purely from the forensic point of view it is impossible to establish which of the sets of remains belong to which girl. Fact is that the girl found with the boy was one of the two youngest girls. No other identifying factors are known.

[Malenkaya]

There is so much debate around the bodies. The body buried under the name Anastasia in the Peter and Paul fortress was approximately 5 foot 7 inches when Anastasia was the shortest of the four sisters by far.

[Ellie]

There is so much debate around the bodies. The body buried under the name Anastasia in the Peter and Paul fortress was approximately 5 foot 7 inches when Anastasia was the shortest of the four sisters by far.

I've always believed that body was Maria.

Years ago there was a site that actually put forth the idea it was Tatiana who was the missing body.

[Principessa]

I think it will always be a mystery…

But fortunately all 4 sisters have been found (based on DNA data). Or else someone with very close genetic markers have been buried there instead of one of the sisters.

[Ellie]

Robert K. Massie, whose legendary Nicholas and Alexandra has been so popular, died today. Rest in peace. He was a giant of Russian biography.

[Gemsheal]

I'm very sorry to hear that - He and his ex-wife Suzanne were the first to write in detail about the last Romanovs from a sympathetic point of view (while not discounting their failure as rulers).  R.I.P.

[Lady Willoughby]

Robert K. Massie, whose legendary Nicholas and Alexandra has been so popular, died today. Rest in peace. He was a giant of Russian biography.

Oh wow! A true loss.

[CyrilSebastian]

I have Mr. Massie's Nicholas and Alexandra. He is a splendid writer.