miliosr
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From the March 23rd, 1917 entry of French Ambassador Maurice Paleologue's diaries:
This morning Buchanan has announced that King George, with the advice and approval of his ministers, offers the Emperor and Empress the hospitality of British territory; but he refuses to guarantee their safety and confines himself to a hope that they will remain in England until the end of the war.
Miliukov is obviously greatly touched by this announcement, but he added sadly:
"But I fear it comes too late!"
In yesterday's Petrograd Gazette the Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovitch has had a long interview published in which he attacks the fallen sovereigns:
"I have often wondered, he says, whether the ex-Empress were not in league with William II, but each time I have forced myself to dismiss so horrible a suspicion."
Who can tell whether this treacherous insinuation will not before long provide the foundation for a terrible charge against the unfortunate Tsarina? The Grand Duke Cyril should know or be reminded that the most infamous calumnies which Marie Antoinette had to meet when she faced the Revolutionary Tribunal first took wing at the elegant suppers of the Comte d'Artois.
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miliosr
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From the March 24th, 1917 entry of French Ambassador Maurice Paleologue's diaries:
The Soviet has heard that the King of England is offering the Emperor and Empress the hospitality of British territory. At the bidding of the "Maximalists," the Provisional Government has had to pledge its word to keep the fallen sovereigns in Russia. The Soviet has gone further and appointed a commissary to "supervise the detention of the imperial family."
One of the most characteristic features of the revolution which has just overthrown tsarism is the immediate and total void created around the threatened sovereigns.
This was all brought home to me again when I was dining privately with Madame R----- this evening. By birth or employment all the guests, a dozen or so, held high positions under the vanished regime.
At table the conversations a deux very quickly petered out and a general discussion on the subject of Nicholas II began. In spite of his present misery and the terrifying prospects of his immediate future, the company passed the severest judgments upon all the acts of his reign; he was overwhelmed with a torrent of reproach, for old and recent grievances. And when I expressed regret at seeing him so speedily abandoned by his family, guard and court, Madame R----- fired up:
"But it is he who has abandoned us! He has betrayed us; he has failed in all his obligations, and he alone has made it impossible for us to defend him! Neither his family, nor his guard nor his court has failed him: it is he who has failed all his people!"
The French emigres talked in exactly the same strain in 1791; they too considered that Louis XVI, having betrayed the royal cause, had only himself to blame for his misfortunes. His arrest, after the flight to Varennes, affected them hardly at all.
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Carreen
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From the March 23rd, 1917 entry of French Ambassador Maurice Paleologue's diaries:
This morning Buchanan has announced that King George, with the advice and approval of his ministers, offers the Emperor and Empress the hospitality of British territory; but he refuses to guarantee their safety and confines himself to a hope that they will remain in England until the end of the war.
Miliukov is obviously greatly touched by this announcement, but he added sadly:
"But I fear it comes too late!"
In yesterday's Petrograd Gazette the Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovitch has had a long interview published in which he attacks the fallen sovereigns:
"I have often wondered, he says, whether the ex-Empress were not in league with William II, but each time I have forced myself to dismiss so horrible a suspicion."
Who can tell whether this treacherous insinuation will not before long provide the foundation for a terrible charge against the unfortunate Tsarina? The Grand Duke Cyril should know or be reminded that the most infamous calumnies which Marie Antoinette had to meet when she faced the Revolutionary Tribunal first took wing at the elegant suppers of the Comte d'Artois.
This Cyril was piece of work! He was the one who left the Tsarina and the girls unprotected and pleaded alliance to the Provisional Government. He also caused trouble for Nicholas (like other Romanovs) by marrying a cousin (maternal cousin to Cyril and Nicky, paternal cousin to the Tsarina), who was also the divorced wife of the Tsarina's brother (one of Queen Victoria's less fortunate match-making efforts). Cyril and his wife Victoria Melita were imho opportunists who looked out only for themselves. And they knew the Tsarina well enough to know exactly that she had not the slightest sympathy for either Wilhelm or Germany in the war. She had a deep love for Russia and believed she did what was best for Russia - mistakenly, but she would never have alleged herself to Germany. She said she'd rather die in Russia than live through German help. What an infamous remark. |
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miliosr
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From the April 4th, 1917 entry of French Ambassador Maurice Paleologue's diaries:
The Minister of justice, Kerensky, yesterday paid a visit to Tsarkoie-Selo to see for himself the arrangements made for guarding the ex-sovereigns. He found everything in order. [Note: Alexander Kerensky, pivotal figure in Russian government between the two revolutions in 1917. Relied on the Bolsheviks to ward off a coup from the right during the summer of 1917 only to have the Bolsheviks seize power in the fall of the same year.]
Madame Virubova, who was also residing in the Alexander Palace, has been forcibly removed and confined in the Fortress of SS. Peter and Paul. [Note: Anna Vyrubova, best friend to the Empress Alexandra. She was described as Rasputin's, "fanatical admirer, the driving force of his cult, and was the head of his loyalists."]
Kerensky had a talk with the Emperor. In particular he asked him if it were true, as the German papers reported, that William II had frequently advised him to adopt a more liberal policy.
"Quite the reverse!" the Emperor protested. The conversation continued for some time and was marked by the greatest courtesy. In fact, Kerensky succumbed to the affability which is Nicholas II's natural charm and several times caught himself addressing him as Cosoudar (Sire)!
But the Empress was as frigid as she could be.
Madame Virubova's departure has not affected her, at any rate in the way that might have been expected. After all her passionate and jealous attachment to her, she has suddenly made her responsible for all the evils which have overtaken the Russian imperial family.
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miliosr
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From the April 11th, 1917 entry of French Ambassador Maurice Paleologue's diaries:
At Tsarskoie-Selo a closer watch is being kept over the fallen sovereigns.
The Emperor still presents an extraordinary spectacle of indifference and imperturbability. He spends, in his calm and and casual way, his day skimming the papers, smoking cigarettes, doing puzzles, playing with his children and sweeping up snow in the garden. He seems to find a kind of relief in being at length free of the burden of supreme power.
The Empress, on the other hand, has taken to mystical exaltation, she is always saying:
"It is God who has sent us this ordeal; I accept it thankfully for my eternal salvation."
But she cannot refrain from outbursts of indignation when she sees how strictly those orders are carried out which deprive the Emperor of all freedom of movement, even within the confines of the palace. Sometimes a sentry refuses to allow him to pass into a gallery; sometimes the officer on duty, at the end of a meal taken in common, gives him orders to retire to his room. Nicholas II always obeys, without a word of reproach. Alexandra Feodorovna, rages and protests as if she had been insulted, but soon she recovers her self-control and calms down, murmuring:
"We must submit to this too . . . Did not Christ drink the cup to the very dregs?"
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CyrilSebastian
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Tsar Paul I had a strict order of succession by proclaiming that the eldest son of the monarch shall inherit the throne.
How could Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna have inherited the throne? Could Tsar Nicholas II on his own have changed the Pauline Laws?
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lilyrose
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Tsar Paul I had a strict order of succession by proclaiming that the eldest son of the monarch shall inherit the throne.
How could Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna have inherited the throne? Could Tsar Nicholas II on his own have changed the Pauline Laws?
I believe toward the end of 1912 or early 1913, there was a lot of talk that Nicholas was considering a betrothal between Olga and Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich and then altering the succession laws to allow women to succeed. This was considered for two reasons--Alexei's near-death experience at Spala in October 1912 and Grand Duke Michael's abrupt marriage to Natalia Wulfert during the same time. Michael was still in the line of succession, but if Alexei died before he could marry and have a son of his own, there might be discussion about Michael's suitability as heir, and I really don't think Nicholas wanted to view any of the Vladimirovichi brothers as his heir. If Olga married Dimitri, I think there was really nothing stopping Nicholas from changing the Pauline Laws aside from the grumbling from his various uncles and cousins. Certainly Maria Pavlovna the Elder would have had a fit if any of her precious sons were denied their succession rights. Although I always used to imagine Alexei would have married her granddaughter Elizabeth and united the two branches of the family. |
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CyrilSebastian
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Tsar Paul I had a strict order of succession by proclaiming that the eldest son of the monarch shall inherit the throne.
How could Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna have inherited the throne? Could Tsar Nicholas II on his own have changed the Pauline Laws?
I believe toward the end of 1912 or early 1913, there was a lot of talk that Nicholas was considering a betrothal between Olga and Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich and then altering the succession laws to allow women to succeed. This was considered for two reasons--Alexei's near-death experience at Spala in October 1912 and Grand Duke Michael's abrupt marriage to Natalia Wulfert during the same time. Michael was still in the line of succession, but if Alexei died before he could marry and have a son of his own, there might be discussion about Michael's suitability as heir, and I really don't think Nicholas wanted to view any of the Vladimirovichi brothers as his heir. If Olga married Dimitri, I think there was really nothing stopping Nicholas from changing the Pauline Laws aside from the grumbling from his various uncles and cousins. Certainly Maria Pavlovna the Elder would have had a fit if any of her precious sons were denied their succession rights. Although I always used to imagine Alexei would have married her granddaughter Elizabeth and united the two branches of the family. Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna's granddaughter Elizabeth was the daughter of Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna and Prince Nicholas of Greece. |
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Kristallinchen
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Tsar Paul I had a strict order of succession by proclaiming that the eldest son of the monarch shall inherit the throne.
How could Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna have inherited the throne? Could Tsar Nicholas II on his own have changed the Pauline Laws?
I believe toward the end of 1912 or early 1913, there was a lot of talk that Nicholas was considering a betrothal between Olga and Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich and then altering the succession laws to allow women to succeed. This was considered for two reasons--Alexei's near-death experience at Spala in October 1912 and Grand Duke Michael's abrupt marriage to Natalia Wulfert during the same time. Michael was still in the line of succession, but if Alexei died before he could marry and have a son of his own, there might be discussion about Michael's suitability as heir, and I really don't think Nicholas wanted to view any of the Vladimirovichi brothers as his heir. If Olga married Dimitri, I think there was really nothing stopping Nicholas from changing the Pauline Laws aside from the grumbling from his various uncles and cousins. Certainly Maria Pavlovna the Elder would have had a fit if any of her precious sons were denied their succession rights. Although I always used to imagine Alexei would have married her granddaughter Elizabeth and united the two branches of the family. I remember reading that their was already one attempt (or at least talk about) making Olga the heir before Alexei's birth. But then the baby turned out to be a boy and the attempt was forgotten. Maybe Nikolai would've gone ahead, if Alix had given birth to a fifth girl. Her health was by then already failing and who knows, if she would've endured a sixth pregnancy. Then already during the war, since Olga was becoming depressive and Alexei ill, there was talk of making Tatiana the heir. |
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CyrilSebastian
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Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna was christened on November 14, 1895, which was her parent's wedding anniversary and Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna's forty-eighth birthday.
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miliosr
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That photo of Alexandra is "famous" of sorts because it's one of the few where she's actually seen smiling. |
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