The Tsar's Mother
Marie Feodorovna (1847-1928)
By Arturo Beéche
One of
the most tragic figures of European royalty is the Empress Marie-Feodorovna,
widow of
Alexander
III, and mother of Nicholas II of Russia. Her parents were the impoverished
Prince and
Princess
Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg. A family of modest
means, the
Glucksburg,
as they were commonly known, raised their numerous progeny in an unostentatious,
pious,
yet carefree environment. Not one person would have imagined that the Glucksburg
children
would
rule in Denmark, Greece and Norway. The family also provided royal consorts
for the
thrones
of Russia, Great Britain, Hanover, Romania and Spain. In fact, their progeny
would extend
its influence
throughout the European continent, giving Prince Christian and his wife,
the title of
"grandparents
of Europe."
One of
these marrying Glucksburgs was none other than Princess Dagmar of Denmark,
better
known
as the Empress Marie-Feodorovna. Small-framed and vivacious, Dagmar was
born at the
family's
modest home, the "Yellow Palace," in Copenhagen on November 26, 1847. At
the time of
Dagmar's
birth her father served in the small Danish army, while her mother, born
Princess Louise
of Hesse-Kassel,
tended to the growing family. The family's finances were so strained that
both
parents
actively participated in the education of Dagmar and her other siblings.
Empress Maria-Feodorovna (1847-1928)
The Glucksburgs'
fortunes began to improve when the childless, and scandal-prone, King
Frederick
VII of Denmark recognized Prince Christian as his heir in 1852. Since the
main line of
the Danish
royal family would become extinct upon Frederick VII's death, a royal heir
had to be
found.
Prince Christian was not the closest relative to the throne, but his image
was the least
compromised
by foreign entanglements. In the meantime, Dagmar and her ravishing elder
sister,
Alexandra,
continued their education at the Yellow Palace.
The early
1860's witnessed three events that brought the Glucksburgs to international
prominence.
First,
Alexandra of Denmark married Edward, Prince of Wales; secondly, William
of Denmark
was chosen
as the new King of the Hellenes, he adopted the name George I; and lastly,
King
Frederick
VII died and was succeeded by Prince Christian under the name Christian
IX. Suddenly,
the matrimonial
prospects of Princess Dagmar of Denmark were considerably improved. Her
mother,
now Queen Louise, has remained in contact with the Imperial Russian court,
where she
had wanted
to find a substitute husband for her eldest daughter in the event that
an alliance with
Great
Britain did not materialize. It is also important to note that Queen Louise
and the Empress
Marie-Alexandrovna,
wife of Tsar Alexander II, came from two branches of the old German
princely
family of Hesse.
Once Alexandra
was safely married to the Prince of Wales, Louise directed her endless
enthusiasm
and perseverance, as well as her extended family connections, on attracting
the
attention
of her Romanov cousins. By the end of 1864, her enterprise seemed complete
when it
was announced
that Princess Dagmar of Denmark would marry the Tsarevich Nicholas
Alexandrovich,
heir of Tsar Alexander II. The Glucksburgs' matrimonial web seemed unstoppable,
causing
shudders in the Berlin chancellery where Otto von Bismarck ruled supreme.
In 1863, after
the death
of Frederick VII, Bismarck orchestrated a war with Denmark over the control
of the north
German
provinces of Schleswig and Holstein. By routing the Danish armies, Bismarck
not only
gained
an important portion of territory, but also became the recipient of the
undeterred hatred of
the Glucksburgs.
As the chancellor of the Prussian Hohenzollerns, Bismarck had solidified
the
Glucksburgs'
deep dislike for anything close to Prussia. This dislike, as well as deep
suspicion,
would
be passed along from Christian IX's children to his grandchildren, among
them Tsar
Nicholas
II and King George V of Great Britain.
Tragedy
struck poor Dagmar when the Tsarevich suddenly fell sick and died in 1865.
At barely
eighteen
years of age, Dagmar found herself without her dashing groom. None too
soon her mother
and future
mother-in-law decided to marry Dagmar off to the new Tsarevich. Grand Duke
Alexander
Alexandrovich of Russia was a tall, well-built, strong man. Remembered
by his family
for his
ability to bend iron rods, Alexander had been secretly in love with his
deceased brother's
future
wife. Replacing Nicholas with Alexander was not to be a difficult task.
On the other side,
Dagmar
slowly developed an intense love for her bear-like handsome new prince.
Following
Romanov
court custom, Dagmar adopted the Orthodox religion under the name of
Marie-Feodorovna.
Soon after, Alexander and the newly baptized Marie were married in a
sumptuous
ceremony in St. Petersburg attended by many other royalty.
Marie and
Alexander's married life followed a leisurely path only interrupted by
the arrival of
children:
Alexander inn 1867, Nicholas in 1868, George in 1870, Xenia in 1872, Michael
in 1878
and Olga
in 1882. Of the six imperial children, Alexander did not survive infancy,
George died of
tuberculosis
in 1898, and Nicholas and Michael were killed during the Russian Revolution.
During
the bitter cold winter of 1881, this peaceful existence came to an abrupt
end at the hands of
terrorists.
In the afternoon of March 13, 1881, Tsar Alexander II was assassinated
outside the
Winter
Palace by leftist revolutionaries. His bomb-torn body was carried almost
lifeless into the
vast confines
of the palace, and by darkness Russia had a new monarch, Alexander III.
Tsar Alexander III of All the Russias (1845-1894)
As a general
rule, Marie-Feodorovna relished her role as the wife of Europe's most powerful
monarch.
She became the most elegant empress St. Petersburg had ever witnessed,
and society
followed
her every whim. Marie-Feodorovna fulfilled her role to perfection, bringing
an enormous
degree
of elegance to a court sorely famous for its wasteful decadence. The new
empress also,
though
indirectly, influenced her husband's deep suspicion of Bismarck and Hohenzollern
Germany.
Hatred of all things German, anyhow, had become a trademark of the Glucksburgs.
Like her
sister Alexandra of Wales, Marie-Feodorovna was a devoted, doting mother
who spoiled
her children.
She refused to let her five surviving children to grow, particularly her
eldest son, the
future
Nicholas II. Consequently, the imperial children were completely unprepared
for the role
history
had in store for them. Tsarevich Nicholas was most unsuited for the role
of Tsar of Russia,
a reality
expressed by Nicholas himself soon after his father's death when he lamented
"what is
going
to happen to Russia?....I am not prepared...I know nothing of the business
of ruling."
When Tsarevich
Nicholas Alexandrovich asked his parents for permission to marry Princess
Alix
of Hesse
and by Rhine, Marie-Feodorovna opposed her son's wishes. She feared that
the arrival of
this German
princess, who was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, was going to diminish
her
influence
with Nicholas, and even displace her from her son's adoring heart. Nicholas
nonetheless
insisted
on his choice. Physically exhausted, and fearing that their opposition
to Alix would
estrange
them from Nicholas, Alexander and Marie-Feodorovna were forced to relent.
The fact
that Tsar
Alexander III was at death's door played no small role in Marie-Feodorovna's
decision.
Alexander
III's reign came to an abrupt end on November 1, 1894. The Tsar had been
suffering
from nephritis
and his massive body was unable to fight off the disease. Transported to
the Black
Sea imperial
palace at Livadia, Alexander lingered for weeks while clinging to the last
shreds of
his once
bear-like frame. It was at Livadia that Alexander's reign ended and Nicholas'
began.
Shortly
before Alexander III's death, Princess Alix had hurriedly traveled to Livadia
to be near her
future
husband and in-laws. Alix converted to the Orthodox religion and adopted
the name
Alexandra-Feodorovna.
The couple married on November 26, 1894, in St. Petersburg. The
Imperial
court was still in mourning for the death of Tsar Alexander III. It was
not an auspicious
beginning
for the new reign.
Alexandra-Feodorovna
came from the minor German court at Darmstadt. Her mother, Princess
Alice
of Great Britain, had died in 1878 when Alexandra-Feodorovna was but six
years of age.
Consequently,
Alexandra-Feodorovna was raised under the supervision and strict guidance
of her
grandmother,
Queen Victoria. Needless to say, poor Alexandra was not well-suited to
fill the role
left empty
by her dashingly glamorous mother-in-law. Nor was Marie-Feodorovna willing
to
abandon
her position as the glittering doyen of St. Petersburg society. Her coldness
toward
Alexandra
contributed to the latter's further alienation from the Russian imperial
court. Alexandra,
who did
not have an ounce of frivolity in her character, was only too happy to
allow her husband's
mother
the space Marie-Feodorovna's imposing figure demanded. While the Dowager
Empress, as
Marie-Feodorovna
was known after her husband's death, ruled St. Petersburg, Empress Alexandra
dedicated
all her time to securing her husband's complete love, trust and devotion.
This
interdependence
between Nicholas and Alexandra would alienate them from the Imperial family
and doom
their reign as Russian monarchs.
The rift
between the imperial couple and the imperial family contributed to the
rising instability
within
Russia. Nicholas was torn between his family's constant meddling in affairs
of state, and his
wife constant
prodding to act more decisively. Alexandra's inability to produce a male
heir, after
the birth
of four beautiful daughters, led to considerable rumblings against her.
And to worsen the
situation,
once the heir arrived in 1904, the poor little boy was afflicted with the
dreaded "royal"
disease,
hemophilia. In what became the worst mistake ever made by the imperial
couple,
Nicholas
and Alexandra decided to keep their son's disease a secret, robbing themselves
of the
understanding
and compassion of the Russian people. Instead, as the imperial couple's
life became
more secluded
and secretive, the rumor mills gained speed. Slowly, but surely, Alexandra
and
Nicholas'
reputation was eroded by wild tales about the child's afflictions.
Further
erosion of Nicholas and Alexandra's prestige came about with the arrival
of the mysterious
monk commonly
known as Rasputin. Grigori Efimovich, a Russian peasant, claimed to hold
mystical
powers capable of curing every illness. Alexandra, counseled by the mysticism-prone
Grand
Duchesses Militza and Anastasia, daughters of King Nicholas of Montenegro,
allowed
Rasputin
entry into the imperial apartments. Mystical or not though, Rasputin's
presence
transported
the young Tsarevich Alexis into a stupor which would stop his profuse bleedings.
As
she sough
to keep her son alive, Alexandra fell under the spell of the pernicious
monk.
Unfortunately
for Alexandra, Nicholas and their children, and due to the secretive nature
of the
Alexis'
illness, Russia was never allowed to understand Rasputin's soothing role.
Gossip mongers
at court
spread all sorts of rumors alleging serious sexual improprieties between
Alexandra, her
daughters
and Rasputin. Secluded in the vast confines of the Alexander Palace at
Tsarskoe Selo,
Alexandra
continued her secluded existence, unknowingly allowing the rumors to spread.
In the
meantime, The Dowager Empress Marie-Feodorovna realized her complete inability
to exert
any further
influence with her son. She could no longer convince Nicholas II to eradicate
Rasputin's
influence from the imperial household. Nicholas, mortified by his son's
suffering and
blinded
by his devotion to Alexandra, refused to heed the advice of his mother.
The gulf between
the Tsar
and his family gradually widened until it was unbridgeable.
After her
husband's death, forty-seven year old Marie-Feodorovna spent a considerable
amount of
time carrying
out her duties as Dowager Empress. Her charities consumed great efforts,
as did her
involvement
in Petersburg society. More often than not, Marie-Feodorovna spent a considerable
amount
of time traveling to Europe to visit family in Copenhagen, London and Athens.
She also
acquired
a villa, Hvidore, in the Danish countryside where she usually retired with
her sister
Alexandra.
Summers would find her cruising the seas aboard her luxurious yacht, the
Polar Star.
It was
during this period when the adventures of her children gave her much to
worry about. Grand
Duchess
Xenia had married the Grand Duke Alexander Michaelovich, her father's first
cousin.
Grand
Duke Michael had resisted contracting a royal marriage and finally opted
to elope with a
twice-divorced
woman by the name of Natasha Wulfert, his longtime mistress. The Dowager
Empress
felt yet another disappointment when the marriage she had arranged for
her youngest
daughter
Olga, to Duke Peter of Oldenburg, collapsed. Marie-Feodorovna had arranged
this
marriage,
much to Olga's opposition, to keep her daughter within Russia. Peter on
the other hand, a
known
homosexual in St. Petersburg, saw the opportunity represented by an arranged
marriage to
Olga:
an enormous dowry and social position as the Tsar's brother-in-law. Needless
to say, the
marriage
of Olga and Peter brought nothing but disappointment and frustration to
all involved.
The war
years saw Marie-Feodorovna contributing to the Russian war efforts as head
of the
Russian
Red Cross. She continued her charities and was constantly seen visiting
hospitals and
comforting
wounded soldiers. It was during this time, when Russia's government seemed
adrift,
that the
Dowager Empress lost complete faith in her daughter-in-law's involvement
in governing
the empire.
Like many other Romanovs, Marie-Feodorovna desperately tried to convince
her son
that Alexandra's
involvement in affairs of state was eroding the monarchy's support. As
Russia's
military
woes piled and the army turned into a disorganized embarrassment, Nicholas
and
Alexandra
were blamed for the disasters affecting the country. Marie-Feodorovna even
brought to
her son's
attention the pernicious rumors caused by Alexandra's relationship with
the dirty
Rasputin.
All her complaints were brushed aside by Nicholas, who rarely wavered his
support for
Alexandra.
The
Russian Imperial Family: Back row: Grand Duchess Maria Nicholaievna;
Empress Alexandra-Feodorovna. Front row: Grand Duchess Olga
Nicholaievna; Nicholas II; Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicholaievna; Tsrevich
Alexei Nicholaievich; Grand Duchess Tatiana Nicholaievna.
The revolution
that toppled the Romanovs came as no surprise to many members of the imperial
family.
Only Nicholas and Alexandra seemed shocked by the Russian people's decision
to
overthrow
a regime that had epitomized inefficiency and corruption. Marie-Feodorovna
had one
opportunity
to see Nicholas II just after his abdication in early 1917. After a brief
encounter with
her son,
the Dowager Empress headed towards one of the imperial villas in the Crimea.
While
revolution
spread throughout Russia, Marie-Feodorovna was joined in her seaside refuge
by
Grand
Duke Alexander and Grand Duchess Xenia, their six sons, Prince Youssoupov,
his parents
and his
wife Grand Duchess Irina, daughter of Xenia and Alexander, and Grand Duchess
Olga and
her new
husband Colonel Koulikovsky. Nicholas and Alexandra, along with their children,
were
sent into
exile in the province. They were all assassinated by Bolshevik guards in
Yekaterinburg in
July 1918.
Grand Duke Michael was also apprehended and eventually executed while in
prison.
Marie-Feodorovna
and her surviving family left Russia in the spring of 1919. They boarded
the
British
ship HMS Marlborough and never again set foot in their country. For a time
Marie-Feodorovna
stayed in London, the guest of her sister Alexandra and her nephew George
V.
Eventually
she returned to Denmark where she occupied rooms at the royal palace in
Copenhagen
and spent
quiet times at Hvidore. She never accepted the fate of her sons and grandchildren,
and in
fact continued
hoping that they all had managed to survive the revolution. Yet around
her, life
seemed
to have frozen as all her loved ones slowly disappeared. Only the faint
memories of her
glamorous
life in Russia remained, for by the time she died even her looks and mind
seemed to be
but a
memory. Marie-Feodorovna passed away quietly on October 13, 1928.
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