#Emperor Nicholas I

[adini-nikolaevna]

“At 7 in the morning, the first signs of premature birth occurred.

At 8 o'clock the distinguished young woman [Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna] took Holy Communion according to the rite of the Greek Church. Her confessor had demanded to see her, and so the Grand Duchess' desire for the ordinance was brought about in a natural way. According to the custom of the Greek religion, the sick woman asked not only her parents present but also her husband's forgiveness for any slights. This was so touching for the young gentleman, who was not used to this ecclesiastical form, that he knelt by the bed and also asked for forgiveness for any worries that he had caused her during the short time of their marriage.

An hour later she gave birth almost painlessly and unusually easily to a boy who screamed loudly and audibly, although he was only 25 weeks old. I went with the child and all members of the august family, except her father and mother, into the next room, where I wrapped him in warm cotton wool to await the baptism. All the members gradually approached the basket to see their sister's child . The prince [Friedrich Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel] also approached and seemed deeply touched with fatherly joy, which dwindled with each passing moment.”

A Protestant priest had been sent to perform the baptism. However, when he had not arrived after three quarters of an hour, and the weak spark of life threatened to go out at any moment, the fear arose in the entire circle of those present that the child might die without the sacrament of baptism. Someone, I think it was the Duke of Leuchtenberg, had opened the door of the sick room and saw the emperor kneeling beside the bed. No one dared to disturb this moment, and yet danger was imminent.

I handed over the care of the young prince to a very capable chambermaid, entered the mother's room and actually saw the emperor [Nicholas I] at her bedside, holding both of her hands in his in a half-kneeling position.

To get his attention I made a small noise, but he would not look up, and I was forced to wave. He immediately got up, came toward me, led me to the doorway and asked,

“What do you want?”

“The child is in danger of dying any minute; the clergyman has not come. Does Your Majesty wish to baptize your grandson yourself, lest he die without the ordinance?”

“Yes, yes. Certainly.”

The emperor immediately went into the next room and entered the circle of his family surrounding the basket with the child. When the bowl of water was given to him as ordered, he performed the baptism with a dignity and emotion that made the deepest impression on me. Everyone knelt around the great emperor, who was baptizing his youngest grandchild. Then, without another word, he left the room and returned to his daughter’s bedside.

After a good half hour the summoned clergyman finally appeared in full regalia, decorated with several medals. The child was barely alive; but he performed the baptism according to the regulations of the Protestant church.

Of these two baptisms, that of the grandfather of his grandson was certainly recorded in heaven.”

— Imperial physician Dr. Martin von Mandt on the premature birth of Prince Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel, the short-lived son of Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia.”

[loiladadiani]

Emperor Nicholas I (1796 - 1855) and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (1798 -1860 - nee Princess Friederike Luise Charlotte Wilhelmine of Prussia

Nicholas I, the Iron Tzar, and his sons

This couple was the first “Nicholas and Alexandra” in the Romanov Dynasty. They were Nicholas II's great grant-parents.

It was said that he was the best-looking man in Europe. She was tall and fair and enjoyed jewels, gowns, and balls. They loved each other, and their union was not unhappy, but he did not remain faithful to her (after he died, his last mistress was employed as Alexandra’s lectrice, and they became friends.) Nicholas and Alexandra had seven children, four sons, and three daughters. Those four sons would ensure that the generation of Romanovs following them would not want for male heirs. As a matter of fact, there would be too many Grand Dukes, making it necessary for his grandson, Alexander III, to change the Pauline laws, re-defining who would be considered a Grand Duke or Duchess, among other things (only grandsons/grandaughters of a Tzar would be Grand Duke/Duchesses; great-grandsons and so on would be Princes and Princesses of the blood).

Nicholas I with his four sons: Tsarevich Alexander Nikolayevich (1818 - 1881 - future Alexander II), Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich (1827 - 1882), Grand Duke Nikolay Nikolayevich (1831 - 1891), and Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich (1832- 1909.)

According to the literature, Nicholas raised his two elder sons very strictly but had more of a paternal relationship with the younger two. His priority was to bring them up so that they were true soldiers and so that when Alexander inherited the throne, the other three would help and support him. And they did. Nicholas I adored his daughters and was devastated when his youngest daughter Alexandra (better known as Adini), died. (His daughters would be discussed in another post.)

Below are the sons of Nicholas I and their spouses:

1. Emperor Alexander II and his first wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna (born Princess Wilhemine Marie of Hesse); Issue listed below (Only legitimate issue surviving to adulthood listed; not in birth order)

Grand Duchess Marie

Grand Duke Nicholas Alexandrovich

Alexander III

Grand Duke Vladimir

Grand Duke Alexei

Grand Duke Sergei

Grand Duke Pavel

2. Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich and Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna (Princess Alexandra of Saxe Altenburg); Issue listed below (Only legitimate issue surviving to adulthood listed; not in birth order) - They would be known as the "Konstantinovichi"

Grand Duke Nicholas

Grand Duke Konstantin

Grand Duke Dmitry

Grand Duke Vyacheslav

Grand Duchess Olga

Grand Duchess Vera

3. Grand Duke Nikolay Nikolayevich (the Elder) and Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna of Russia, born Duchess Alexandra Frederica Wilhelmina of Oldenburg. Issue listed below (Only legitimate issue surviving to adulthood listed; not in birth order); Known as the "Nikolayvichi”

Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolayevich

Grand Duke Peter Nikolayevich

4. Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich and Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna (nee Princess Cecilie of Baden) Issue listed below (Only legitimate issue surviving to adulthood listed; not in birth order) They were known as the "Mikhailovichi" (although they preferred to be called the "Michels;" the family called them the "Wild Caucasians" because they grew up in the Caucus and had strong opinions that they voiced loudly)

Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna

Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich

Grand Duke Mikhail

Grand Duke George

Grand Duke Alexander

Grand Duke Sergei

Grand Duke Alexei

The children and grandchildren of these couples would be directly involved in one way or the other in the Great War, the Russian Revolution, the Civil War in Russia, and the overthrow of the monarchy and the Romanov Dynasty. Some would lose their lives, others would lose children, brothers, and spouses, and all would lose their country, status, and privileges.

[fitzrove]

The willy nicky letters are so funny 😭

"I like you so much xoxo but also tf was that with your naval officers spying on me 🙄 that is very naughty and rude"

[seagullcharmer]

two old guys i love to hate

[whodunnett1526]

[boudicca]

i love referring to historical figures by their first name. it keeps them humble in the grave. i am not calling your ass his imperial majesty tsar nicholas ii emperor of all russias. your name is nicky you dead fucking loser

[magical-grrrl-mavis]

There have been 82 Doctors at this point!

Keep reading line because the list is so damn long.

Main Continuum

(In order of appearance)

Classic Who

First Doctor (William Hartnell 1963 – 1966, Richard Hurdnall 1983, David Bradley 2017, 2022)

Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton 1966 – 1969)

Third Doctor (John Pertwee 1970 – 1974)

Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker 1974 – 1981)

Fifth Doctor (Peter Davidson 1981 – 1984)

Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker 1984 – 1986)

Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy 1987 – 1989)

Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann 1996 movie)

Nu Who

Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston 2005)

Tenth Doctor (David Tennant 2005 – 2010)

Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith 2010 – 2013)

The War Doctor (John Hurt 2013)

Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi 2013 – 2017)

Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker 2017 – 2022)

Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant 2023)

Fifteenth Doctor (Ncutu Gatwa 2023 - ?)

Pre - Memory Doctors

(Timeless child my beloathed)

Morbius Doctors (Robert Holmes, Graeme Harper, Douglas Camfield, Philip Hinchcliffe, Christopher Baker, Robert Banks Stewart, George Gallaccio and Christopher Barry 1976)

The Other (Sylvester McCoy, 1990)

The Fugitive Doctor (Jo Martin 2020)

The Timeless Child(ren) (TBA, Grace Nettle, Leo Tang, Jac Jones, TBA, Jesse Deyi 2020)

Brendan (Evan McCabe 2020)

Possible Future Doctors

(italicized parts of names are the title of that Doctor's first appearance, if I can't find a better name)

Father of Time (No Actor, 1987)

"Merlin" or The Battlefield Doctor (No actor, 1991)

The Army of Shadows Doctor (No actor, 1991)

"Fred" (No actor, 1993)

The Relic (no actor 1997, 2002)

The Storytelling Doctor (Tom Baker 1999)

The Web of Caves Future Doctor (Mark Gatiss, 1999)

The Blue Angel Future Doctor (No Actor, 1999)

The Curator 1 (Tom Baker, 2013)

The Curator 2 (Collin Baker, 2022)

Pseudo-Doctors

The Watcher (Adrian Gibbs 1981)

The Valyard (Michael Jayston 1986)

The Obverse Eight Doctor (No actor, 1999)

The Metacrisis Doctor (David Tennant 2008)

The DoctorDonna (Catherine Tait 2008)

The Dream Lord (Tony Jones 2010)

The Ganger Doctor (Matt Smith 2011)

The Spriggan (David Tennant 2022)

Alternate Realities

Dalek Films

Dr. Who (Peter Cushing 1965, 1966)

The Inferno Universe

The Leader (Jack Kine, 1970)

Doctor Who and the Daleks in Seven Keys to Doomsday

The Doctor (Trevor Martin 1974)

Previous Doctor (Nocholas Briggs 2008)

The Lenny Henry Show

The Seventh Doctor (Lenny Henry 1986)

What If?

The Eighth Doctor (No actor, 1997)

The Infinity Doctors

The Infinity Doctor (No actor, 1998)

The Curse of Fatal Death

The Doctor (Rowan Atkinsen 1999)

The Quite Handsom Doctor (Richard E Grant 1999)

The Shy Doctor (Jim Briadbent 1999)

The Handsom Doctor (Hugh Grant 1999)

The Female Doctor (Joanna Lumley 1999)

The Chronicles of Doctor Who?

The Doctor (no actor, 2000)

Klein's Story

Johann Schmidt (Paul McGann, 2010)

Father Time

The Emperor (No actor, 2001)

Scream of the Shalka

The 9th Doctor (Richard E Grant 2003)

Doctor Who Unbound

The Doctor (Geoffrey Bayldon 2003)

The Unbound Doctor (David Warner 2003)

The Heartless Doctor (David Collings 2003)

The New Heartless Doctor (Ian Brooker 2003)

Martin Bannister (Derek Jacobi 2003)

The Victorious Valyard (Michael Jayston 2003)

The Previous Doctor (Nicholas Briggs 2003)

The Exile Doctor (Arabella Weir 2003)

The Warrior (Collin Baker 2022)

Gallifrey - Disassembled

Lord Burner (Collin Baker 2011)

Gallifrey - Regenerators

Commentater Theta Sigma (Collin Baker, 2011)

False Negative

The Doctor (No actor, 2017)

The People Made of Smoke

The Sixth Doctor (Dan Starkey, 2020)

Unspecified Doctors

Yeah sometimes they just say "The Doctor" and don't bother specifying...

The Cabinet of Light Doctor (No Actor, 2003)

The Dalek Factor Doctor (No actor, 2004)

[englishsub]

book rec by me

so you want to get back into reading books but have no idea where to start and disdain booktok (if you get me started on this however i will become an unskippable cutscene so that's for another day). understandable. there is so much out there and it is all so overwhelming and you don't even know what you like now that you've been a decade out of the game. again, understandable. it does not have to be scary. i will help you. below i have created some categories that can get you started.

i want to read Literature

literary fiction, with crossover from historical fiction and magical realism

PEACH BLOSSOM SPRING by melissa fu

THE VASTER WILDS by lauren groff

THE FAMILY CHAO by lan samantha chang

OUTER DARK by cormac mccarthy

SEVERANCE by ling ma

LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS by ryka aoki

IDENTITTI by mithu m. sanyal

PIRANESI by susanna clarke

i want to read sci-fi/fantasy that won't break my brain

sci-fi and fantasy that is gentler on the brain cells. easier to grasp magic systems with multiple but not an overwhelming number of overlapping plotlines

EMILY WILDE'S ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF FAERIES by heather fawcett

KINGS OF THE WYLD by nicholas eames

THE JASMINE THRONE by tasha suri

THE CITY OF BRASS by s.a. chakraborty

A RIVER ENCHANTED by rebecca ross

JUNIPER AND THORN by ava reid

BLACK SUN by rebecca roanhorse

THE FINAL STRIFE by saara el-arifi

THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER by andrea stewart

i want to read sci-fi/fantasy that forces me to lock the fuck in

i would not recommend picking these up as your first foray back into books after many years of not reading recreationally, but i'm not your mom.

THE SPEAR CUTS THROUGH WATER by simon jimenez

JADE CITY by fonda lee

THE FIFTH SEASON by n.k. jemisin

THE RAGE OF DRAGONS by evan winter

A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE by arkady martine

GIDEON THE NINTH by tamsyn muir

THE ART OF PROPHECY by wesley chu

THE GRACE OF KINGS by ken liu

horrify me!

there is far more to the horror literary canon than stephen king and dean koontz, i promise. consider looking up warnings for these.

TENDER IS THE FLESH by agustina bazterrica

THE RUINS by scott smith

CONFESSIONS by kanae minato

EPISODE THIRTEEN by craig dilouie

REPRIEVE by james han mattson

MARY by nat cassidy

DEAD SILENCE by s.a. barnes

AUDITION by ryu murakami

THE SALT GROWS HEAVY by cassandra khaw

don't care, i want romance

some of these feature crossover genres, like fantasy and horror.

VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE by isabel cañas

DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS by sue lynn tan

SEVEN DAYS IN JUNE by tia williams

HAPPY PLACE by emily henry

ONE DARK WINDOW by rachel gillig

i want QUEER romance

again, a mix of historical, fantasy, and contemporary crossover genres.

WE COULD BE SO GOOD by cat sebastian

IN MEMORIAM by alice winn

MOST ARDENTLY by gabe cole novoa

A STRANGE AND STUBBORN ENDURANCE by foz meadows

A MARVELLOUS LIGHT by freya marske

THE EMPEROR AND THE ENDLESS PALACE by justinian huang

SPELL BOUND by f.t. lukens

SORRY, BRO by taleen voskuni

ONE LAST STOP by casey mcquiston

DELILAH GREEN DOESN'T CARE by ashley herring blake

i haven't felt anything since i read percy jackson/the hunger games in middle school/high school

adventure is still out there.

SCYTHE by neil shusterman

WE HUNT THE FLAME by hafsah faizal

SIX OF CROWS by leigh bardugo

GEARBREAKERS by zoe hana mikuta

i'll read anything that's not straight or white

many books in the above categories fit this, but here's even more, across a variety of genres.

LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB by malinda lo

BABEL by r.f. kuang

WHEN THE RECKONING COMES by latanya mcqueen

THE UNBROKEN by c.l. clark

IF YOU'LL HAVE ME (graphic novel) by eunnie

LEGEND OF THE WHITE SNAKE by sher lee

THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone

SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN by shelley parker-chan

"all ya books suck"

like any other genre or book age group, there are duds and there are standouts. ya is not special in this regard. try some of these!

DIVINE RIVALS by rebecca ross

STRIKE THE ZITHER by joan he

THE RED PALACE by june hur

A STUDY IN DROWNING by ava reid

EMPIRE OF SAND by tasha suri

LEGENDBORN by tracy deonn

i check out and read a lot of these books for free via my local library by using the libby app (you can even add your friends' library cards to gain access to libraries in places you don't live). when i'm feeling like reading via audiobook, i use libro fm!

look, no one HAS TO read diversely. no one is going to be reverse fahrenheit 451'd and locked in a room with no fanfic and only books and not let out until they work their way through the entire literary canon. but reading, and reading widely, and reading diversely, is what teaches people to form their own opinions and question the things they are told. it's why they hang up stuff like "READ READ READ!!" in grade school classrooms.

we live under systems that increasingly benefit from going unquestioned. no, of course reading ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE by robin hobb is not going to dismantle these systems tomorrow, nor probably even in our lifetimes. but doing it will help set up a world capable of doing it in the future. and until further notice, we are all part of this wretched world. might as well read a good story while we're here.

anyway, i'm reading THE WEST PASSAGE by jared pechaček and the new cmq book this week.

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Scary Mountains

HP Lovecraft: Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this the tale of the mountains of madness Lovecraft: it's about a scientific expedition to antarctica that finds a terrifying ancient evil Clive Barker: is it penguins Lovecraft: Lovecraft: m-maybe

Lovecraft: look it's not just penguins Lovecraft: these penguins are really scary Lovecraft: for one thing, they're really big Barker: so emperor penguins Lovecraft: no i Lovecraft: you know what shut up

Lovecraft: the important thing isn't the penguins Lovecraft: the important thing is the mountains Barker: ah yes those mountains of madness Lovecraft: yes Barker: the ones alluded to in your title Lovecraft: yes Barker: those mountains Lovecraft: yes

Lovecraft: ok so these mountains Lovecraft: they're not like ordinary mountains Lovecraft: they're strange and sinister Lovecraft: like the strange and disturbing paintings of Nicholas Roerich King: Koontz: Poe: Barker:

Barker: "strange and disturbing paintings of nicholas roerich" huh Poe: clive don't start Barker: no no edgar tell me you don't want to hear this explanation Barker: because i want to hear it Barker: i think we all do King: i'd kinda like to hear it Barker: yeah i thought so

Nicholas Roerich: so i'm just gonna paint a nice pink mountain here Roerich: maybe put a happy little tree right there Roerich: gotta give him a friend Roerich: like I always say, 'everyone needs a friend' Lovecraft: horrifying!

Roerich: now we'll paint some happy little clouds Roerich: Remember how free clouds are Roerich: they just lay around in the sky all day long Lovecraft: ghastly!

Lovecraft: horrifying! look at those soft pastel hues! Barker: Lovecraft: the almost hypnotic sense of peace and tranquility! Barker: Lovecraft: a certain "asian" quality to those mountains Barker: there it is

[aerverics]

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

~Character Ai~

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

¦ Symbols Meaning ¦

(✧. ┊ ) fantasy AU

(ׂׂૢ) Work partners or so

(✰. ┊) modern / step / highschool au

(ꕥ) Start with angst

(ღ) Soft = sibling / lover / friendly

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

═ ⋆I take any requests for any characters⋆ ═

Barnabas Tharmr

✧. ┊A test to be his queen

Cidolfus Telamon

ׂׂૢ Cid wanted the nurse attention

Chris Redfield

ꕥ You catch Chris *cheated* on you

Cloud Strife

ꕥ Fall apart relationship

✰. ┊ Head teacher! Cloud x teacher! You

ׂׂૢ Cloud being drugged by a monster

ღ Cloud's girlfriend find him in a dress photo

Dante

ღ Your Husband save you

ׂׂૢ Dante your partner for Demon Hunter

ღ Dante comforting his wife after she's giving birth

✰. ┊  HIGHSCHOOL AU

ღ Dante find out his wife pregnant

ღ Dante being slightly overprotective to his wife

ꕥ He is worried about his wife

✧. ┊Ran from your royal life to be with your man

Dion Lesage

ׂׂૢ Finding a bride for Dion

Ellie Williams

ღ Ellie excited knowing her crush gonna treat her injuries

Ignis Scientia

ׂׂૢ Ignis's new assistant

ღ The advisor might have feelings for you

Izumi Miyamura

ꕥ You had a crush on him

Jin Kazama

✧. ┊ Vampire Au

ღ He find out you're pregnant

ׂׂૢ He keep showing up in your infirmary

✰. ┊Your Grumpy dorm mate's brother

Joshua Rosfield

ׂׂૢ Joshua confessed to his companion

ꕥ Pregnant with Joshua's

✰. ┊Joshua got jealous with his 'wife'

Leon S Kennedy

✧. ┊ Spiderman Leon

✧. ┊ Married to duke Leon

ׂׂ ღ Assassin x Agent Leon

ׂׂૢ Mission with Leon

✰. ┊Your annoying step-brother

Marius Von hagen

✧. ┊ Marius your annoying Emperor

Neuvillette

ꕥ Choose him please

Nicholas Leister

✰. ┊Your rude step-brother

ꕥ Annoying Ex boyfriend

ꕥ Frenemies with Nick

Noah Morgan

ღ Noah felt jealously

Noctis Lucis Caelum

LIST

Prompto Argentum

ღ Noctis's younger sibling

Reno Sinclair

ׂׂૢ Work partner with Reno

ღ Reno trying to talk after making you jealous

Scaramouche

✧. ┊ Spiderman Scaramouche

Sephiroth

ꕥ Sephiroth kidnapped you

ꕥ he manipulate your memories beforehand

Sleipnir Harbard

ღ Sleipnir tried to get along with you

Xavier

ꕥ He's going to lock you

Zack Fair

✧. ┊ Zack wake up in FFXV's universe after dying

Origanal Characters

Kazeric Kairen - ✧. ┊ Academic rival who help you during zombies attack in your school

Cherry - ✧. ┊ A little lady who safe you

[nadziejacher]

Monument to Emperor Nicholas I and Saint Isaac's Cathedral, Saint Petersburg

@nadziejaestel

[adini-nikolaevna]

Emperor Nicholas I of Russia riding in a sled by Sverchkov.

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Portrait of Empress Alexandra, consort of Emperor Nicholas I and their daughter Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna by Petr Sokolov, 1829.

[inky-duchess]

Do you know Tsar Nicholas II's full title? I remember it being very long, as it encompassed all the territories of Russia that he was Emperor/King/Duke/Prince of, but I can't seem to find it anywhere?

Tsar Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias, Tsar of Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod, Kazan, Astrakhan, of Poland, of Siberia, of Tauric Chersonese, of Georgia, Lord of Pskov, Grand Duke of Smolensk, of Lithuania, Volhynia, Podolia and Finland, Prince of Estonia, Livonia, Courland and Semigalia, Samogotia, Bialostock, Karelia, Tver, Yougouria, Perm, Viatka, Bulgaria, and other countries; Lord and Grand Duke of Lower Novgorod, of Tchernigov, Riazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Yaroslav, Belozero, Oudoria, Obdoria, Condia, Vitebsk, Mstislav and, all the region of the North, Lord and Sovereign of the countries of Iveria, Cartalinia, Kabardinia and the provinces of Armenia, Sovereign of the Circassian Princes and the Mountain Princes, Lord of Turkestan, Heir of Norway, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, of Storman, of the Ditmars, and of Oldenbourg.

But he preferred Nicky.

[thepaleys]

Through her visits to her mother's family, Alexandra was no stranger to Russia or for that matter to the Orthodox religion, in which she too had been brought up. Settling into a palace of their own behind the Church of the Annunciation on the Neva embankment in St Petersburg, Paul and Alexandra's closest friends and companions were Ella and Serge. In fact, the two young grand duchesses, Elisabeth Feodorovna and Alexandra Georgievna, not only became great friends but were like sisters, as close to one another as their husbands had always been. 'I do love her so dearly', Ella wrote on one occasion to Alexandra's brother Prince Nicholas of Greece and in a further letter referred to herself as 'your own sisters sister'. (...) After doing the rounds of the family sick beds [after a typhus epidemic in 1889], which she likened to visiting a 'real family hospital', Ella, whose own evidently robust state of health saw her safely through the epidemic, went to sit with Alexandra Georgiyevna, who was now four months pregnant with her first child. Seeing Paul ill, Ella wrote, 'makes her very nervous and she will think it worse than it really is'. To help distract her, Ella took Alexandra to the opera (...). A month later, the epidemic had started to pass and the sick were restored to health. Despite a very high wind which whipped up the waters of the Neva and the city's canals, Serge and Paul both ventured out of doors, albeit by carriage. Their destination was the Winter Palace where, during the first week of December, they took part in a reading of a forthcoming production of Tolstoy's Tsar Boris, in which they were both to appear. With the Emperor's permission, the play was staged in the Hermitage theatre at the end of January.

"Ella: Princess, Saint And Martyr" - Christopher Warwick

[crazykotyara12]

Romanovs and their crazy love stories

Historical background:

Aleksey Okhotnikov, a handsome young officer who had a secret love affair with empress Elizabeth Alexeievna and who most probably was a father of her second daughter. Alexander the Cuckold graciously claimed the girl as his own. She died soon anyway.

Okhotnikov and Elisabeth were pining for each other for a really long time, exchanging meaningful stares, sighing heavily and making all the slowburn appreciators go crazy.

(# forbidden love # mutual pining # slowburn # UST # RST)

Elizabeth left a diary where she described her love affair. When, after her and Alexander's death, this diary was read by emperor Nicholas I and his wife, they immediately decided to burn it. I guess, it was a little bit to spicy for their taste. They wouldn't survive ao3. Luckily, some parts of that diary still made their way to us.

There was a nice legend that Okhotnikov was killed by some shady guy who sneaked up on him in a dark alley when Okhotnikov left the theater (fr, dude, haven't you ever watched Batman?), and some people even said that the culprit was Grand Duke Konstantin (why?? to restore his brother's honor, I guess??? (lol, no, he totally didn't give a damn) maybe he had a secret crush on Alexander's wife?? I guess we'll never find out the truth)

For real, though, we'll never find out the truth, cause the latest researches found out that Okhotnikov was never attacked with a knife, he simply died from tuberculosis. It was just a legend. Admittedly, a nice one.