Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsesarevich of Russia

Nicholas Alexandrovich (Russian: Николай Александрович; 20 September [O.S. 8 September] 1843 – 24 April [O.S. 12 April] 1865) was tsesarevich—the heir apparent—of Imperial Russia from 2 March 1855 until his death in 1865.

For the son of Alexander III, who succeeded his father on the throne in 1894, see Nicholas II of Russia.
Nicholas Alexandrovich
Tsesarevich and Grand Duke of Russia
Nicholas Alexandrovich, c. 1864–65
Born(1843-09-20)20 September 1843
Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Died24 April 1865(1865-04-24) (aged 21)
Villa Bermond, Nice, Second French Empire
Burial
Peter and Paul Cathedral, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Names
Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov
HouseHolstein-Gottorp-Romanov
FatherAlexander II of Russia
MotherMarie of Hesse and by Rhine

Early life
Nicholas with his elder sister Alexandra, who died in childhood.

Grand Duke Nicholas was born on 20 September [O.S. 8 September] 1843, in the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo south of central Saint Petersburg, during the reign of his grandfather, Emperor Nicholas I. Nicknamed "Nixa", he was the eldest son of the Tsesarevich Alexander Nikolaevich, eldest son of Emperor Nicholas I, and the Tsesarevna Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. In 1855, his paternal grandfather died, and his father succeeded to the throne as Emperor Alexander II.

Nicholas was extremely well-educated and intelligent. His paternal uncle Grand Duke Konstantin called him "the crown of perfection."[1] His history teacher said, “If I succeeded in forming a student equal to Nikolai Alexandrovich once in ten years, I’d think I’d have fulfilled my duties."[2]

Nicholas had a close relationship with his younger brother, Grand Duke Alexander. He called Alexander "Pug." On his deathbed, he told his father, “Papa, take care of Sasha, he is such an honest, good man."[3]

Engagement
Tsesarevich Nicholas with Princess Dagmar of Denmark, engagement photograph, 1864

In the summer of 1864, Nicholas became engaged to Princess Dagmar of Denmark. She was the second daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel and was a younger sister of the Princess of Wales, later Queen Alexandra and wife of the heir-apparent to the British throne, Albert Edward, who reigned as Edward VII.

Nicholas was besotted with Dagmar after he saw a photograph of her. On 3 August 1863, he wrote to his mother: "I haven’t fallen in love with anyone for a long time. . . You may laugh but the main reason for this is Dagmar whom I fell in love with long ago without even seeing her. I think only about her.”[4] He was tremendously happy after he proposed to Dagmar in her native Denmark: “How can I not be happy when my heart tells me I love her, love her dearly?. . . How can I describe her? Pretty, direct, intelligent, lively yet shy.”[5] As he continued on his European tour, he wrote love letters to Dagmar every day.

Death

Until 1865, Nicholas was thought to have a strong constitution. During a tour in southern Europe, he contracted an ailment that was initially incorrectly diagnosed as rheumatism. Nicholas's symptoms at that time included back pain and a stiff neck, as well as sensitivity to noise and light. He thought little of his ailments, however, and continued his tour in Italy.

His health rapidly worsened, and he was sent to Southern France. This move, of course, brought him no improvement. It was eventually determined that he was suffering from cerebro-spinal meningitis, and it was speculated that this illness of his was caused by a previous accident in a wrestling match, in which Nicholas participated and was thrown down.[6] In the spring of 1865, Nicholas continued to decline, and he died on 24 April 1865, at the Villa Bermond in Nice, France.

On his deathbed, Nicholas expressed the wish that his fiancée become the bride of his younger brother and future tsarevich, Alexander. He "raised his right hand and took Sasha's [Alexander's] hand... and seemed to be reaching for Princess Dagmar's with his left."[7] In 1866, Alexander and Dagmar married.[8]

Nicholas's death at the early age of 21 thoroughly devastated his mother, who was said to have pored obsessively over all aspects of Nicholas's life. Empress Maria never recovered from his death.

In 1867, construction was begun on a chapel named in his honor (fr:Chapelle du tsarévitch Nicolas Alexandrovitch) in Nice, on the exact place where Nicholas was said to have died, and in 1868, the chapel was inaugurated, with his brother Alexander and his wife, the re-christened Maria Feodorovna, in attendance.

Honours

Ancestry

Notes
  1. Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Romanovs, p. 402
  2. Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Romanovs, p. 402
  3. Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Romanovs, p. 404
  4. Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Romanovs, p. 402
  5. The Romanovs, p. 403
  6. F. R. Graham (1883). Life of Alexander II: Emperor of All the Russias. London. p. 180.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Romanovs, p. 404
  8. "Med Guds Nåde WI ALEXANDER II". Finlands Allmänna Tidning (in Swedish). Helsinki: Grand Duchy of Finland (104): 1. 6 May 1865. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  9. Russian Imperial Army – Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich of Russia (In Russian)
  10. "A Szent István Rend tagjai" Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1862), "Großherzogliche Orden" pp. 33, 45
  12. Bayern (1864). Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Königreichs Bayern: 1864. Landesamt. p. 10.
  13. "Liste des Membres de l'Ordre de Léopold", Almanach Royal Officiel (in French), 1863, p. 52 – via Archives de Bruxelles
  14. Bille-Hansen, A. C.; Holck, Harald, eds. (1864) [1st pub.:1801]. Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1864 [State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1864] (PDF). Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender (in Danish). Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri. p. 4. Retrieved 16 September 2019 – via da:DIS Danmark.
  15. M. & B. Wattel. (2009). Les Grand'Croix de la Légion d'honneur de 1805 à nos jours. Titulaires français et étrangers. Paris: Archives & Culture. p. 515. ISBN 978-2-35077-135-9.
  16. Staat Hannover (1864). Hof- und Staatshandbuch für das Königreich Hannover: 1864. Berenberg. pp. 38, 79.
  17. Hessen-Darmstadt (1864). Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Hessen: für das Jahr ... 1864. Staatsverl. p. 10.
  18. Staat Oldenburg (1864). Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Oldenburg: für ... 1864. Schulze. p. 26.
  19. Bragança, Jose Vicente de; Estrela, Paulo Jorge (2017). "Troca de Decorações entre os Reis de Portugal e os Imperadores da Rússia" [Exchange of Decorations between the Kings of Portugal and the Emperors of Russia]. Pro Phalaris (in Portuguese). 16: 10. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  20. Luigi Cibrario (1869). Notizia storica del nobilissimo ordine supremo della santissima Annunziata. Sunto degli statuti, catalogo dei cavalieri. Eredi Botta. p. 116.
  21. Staatshandbuch für den Freistaat Sachsen: 1865/66. Heinrich. 1866. p. 4.
  22. "Caballeros de la insigne orden del toisón de oro", Guía Oficial de España (in Spanish), 1864, p. 155, retrieved 10 December 2019
  23. Sveriges och Norges Statskalender (in Swedish), 1864, p. 422, retrieved 2019-02-20 – via runeberg.org
  24. Württemberg (1862). Königlich-Württembergisches Hof- und Staats-Handbuch: 1862. Guttenberg. p. 30.

References
  • Zeepvat, Charlotte, Romanov Autumn, Sutton Publishing, 2000
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