Most of all I remember the famous Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, the sister of the Empress, one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. They had a striking resemblance to each other, but the Grand Duchess Elizabeth had a thinner oval face, which is why those who knew her said that she surpassed her younger sister in appearance. She had charming manners, a sweet smile and a charming voice. She had amazing taste in clothes, and she was one of those people who create their own atmosphere around themselves. She became the personification of what a princess should be: charming, amiable, finding a kind word for everyone. When someone saw her after a bereavement in the gray clothes of a nun, calm, sweet, serene, she was the embodiment of practical charity, and looking into her eyes, one could feel in them an understanding of all human pain and suffering.
Baroness Sofia Karlovna Buksgevden, “Before the storm”
