Nicholas II & Family

[CyrilSebastian]

Empress Alexandra with her best friend Anna Vyrubova, circa 1915   
http://www.gettyimages.com/license/820862458

[CyrilSebastian]

Empress Alexandra's Name Day in Livadia on April 23, 1912   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ69Fyykp7Y

[CyrilSebastian]

Tsarevich Alexis at Darmstadt in 1910     
http://the-romanovs.tumblr.com/image/87732532874

[CyrilSebastian]

encyclopedia.com states:   
Grand Duchess Olga had been briefly engaged to one of the men who killed the monk, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, back in 1912, but they drifted apart.   
http://www.encyclopedia.c...d-duchess-olga-nikolaevna

[Kristallinchen]

encyclopedia.com states:   
Grand Duchess Olga had been briefly engaged to one of the men who killed the monk, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, back in 1912, but they drifted apart.   
http://www.encyclopedia.c...d-duchess-olga-nikolaevna

Olga was never engaged.

[Celia]

encyclopedia.com states:   
Grand Duchess Olga had been briefly engaged to one of the men who killed the monk, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, back in 1912, but they drifted apart.   
http://www.encyclopedia.c...d-duchess-olga-nikolaevna

Olga was never engaged.

Dmitri was apparently interested, but Alexandra would never have accepted him.  Too louche, his friends were suspect (Felix Yousoupov anyone?), his father was morganatically married, etc.

[Principessa]

According to Olga's English wikipage:


...There were rumors that Olga and her first cousin once removed Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia were romantically involved. As an orphan, Dmitri was very close to Olga's parents, which provoked more speculation that he would marry Olga. Arthur Cherep-Spiridovich wrote, "Such was the emperor's affection for him that all the entourage already saw in him the future fiancé of one of the grand duchesses. Alexandra Bogdanova, the wife of a general and hostess of a monarchist salon, wrote in her diary on 7 June 1912 that Olga had been betrothed the previous night to Grand Duke. The Washington Post reported that Olga had refused Prince Adalbert because "she had given her heart to her cousin Grand Duke Dmitri Paulovitch." In August 1912, Meriel Buchanan, the British ambassador's daughter, wrote in her diary, "I heard a rumour yesterday that a certain person is going to marry the Emperor's eldest daughter. I can't quite believe it considering all the high and mighty people who are panting to marry her. Of course she may have a coup de foudre for him and insist on having her own way." In his book The Rasputin File, Edvard Radzinsky speculates that the betrothal was broken off due to Dmitri's dislike for Grigori Rasputin, his association with Felix Yussupov and rumors that Dmitri was bisexual...




....In 1913, Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin asked Alexandra about a potential marriage between the 18-year-old Olga and her own 38-year-old son, Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia. Alexandra was horrified, because "the idea of Boris is too unsympathetic." She refused to allow "a pure, fresh girl" to marry "a well-used, half worn out, blasé young man" and "live in a house in which many a woman has shared his life."....



It seems there were rumours about an engagement of Olga and Dimitri, but it was never officially announced

[fairy]

I bet rumours were almost as rampant back then as they are today.
There is a reason, why girls were guarded like raw eggs, from many accounts, just being seen smiling too much or dancing twice with a young man could lead to having your reputation being gossiped about mercilessly.
And in case of the very pretty emporer's eligable young daughters, I can imagine that rumours and gossip were insane. After all, the merest gossip about being considered a favorable suitor for the emporer's daughter would have raised the reputation of any young man, so I can easily imagine that quite a few ambitious swans and their mamas brought their names up themselves.

[Principessa]

I bet rumours were almost as rampant back then as they are today.
There is a reason, why girls were guarded like raw eggs, from many accounts, just being seen smiling too much or dancing twice with a young man could lead to having your reputation being gossiped about mercilessly.
And in case of the very pretty emporer's eligable young daughters, I can imagine that rumours and gossip were insane. After all, the merest gossip about being considered a favorable suitor for the emporer's daughter would have raised the reputation of any young man, so I can easily imagine that quite a few ambitious swans and their mamas brought their names up themselves.

So true

[Lady Alice]

GD Dmitri would have been a great match, but yes, too wordly for the Empress, and beyond the understanding of her sheltered daughters.

According to Olga's English wikipage:

....In 1913, Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin asked Alexandra about a potential marriage between the 18-year-old Olga and her own 38-year-old son, Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia. Alexandra was horrified, because "the idea of Boris is too unsympathetic." She refused to allow "a pure, fresh girl" to marry "a well-used, half worn out, blasé young man" and "live in a house in which many a woman has shared his life."....

This was because GD Marie had BIG ambitions. She felt she was a far better candidate as empress than Alix but that was never going to happen... but with Alexei's illness, the removal of GD Michael from the succession, her boys were next, and so why not push for a match with one of the Tsar's daughters?  That would give a potential succession even more legitimacy.

The Vladimirovichi were, and still are, rather deluded. They haven't changed (see Mrs. Hohenzollern and her son The Generalissimo).

[Kristallinchen]

GD Dmitri would have been a great match, but yes, too wordly for the Empress, and beyond the understanding of her sheltered daughters.

According to Olga's English wikipage:

....In 1913, Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin asked Alexandra about a potential marriage between the 18-year-old Olga and her own 38-year-old son, Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia. Alexandra was horrified, because "the idea of Boris is too unsympathetic." She refused to allow "a pure, fresh girl" to marry "a well-used, half worn out, blasé young man" and "live in a house in which many a woman has shared his life."....

This was because GD Marie had BIG ambitions. She felt she was a far better candidate as empress than Alix but that was never going to happen... but with Alexei's illness, the removal of GD Michael from the succession, her boys were next, and so why not push for a match with one of the Tsar's daughters?  That would give a potential succession even more legitimacy.

The Vladimirovichi were, and still are, rather deluded. They haven't changed (see Mrs. Hohenzollern and her son The Generalissimo).

Maria had the delusion that, because her son's grandfather - Tsar Nikolai I - had been a third son, her husband as third son was destined to rule as well.