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Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna Romanova (1875 - 1960) - Part 1 of 3

Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna was the fourth child and first daughter of Emperor Alexander III and his wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna. Her mother was eager to have a girl after her three boys, Alexander (who died as a baby), Nicky, and Georgy. Her parents and siblings received Xenia with great joy. 

Xenia was born into the lap of luxury, during a time when her parents, who were not yet Emperor and Empress, had less social and state commitments and more time to devote to their children. Her childhood was genuinely idyllic. She grew up surrounded by cousins, who became playmates and lifelong friends (such as Marie, Princess of Greece and Denmark and Victoria of Wales) and even found a husband (Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich) among these childhood companions.  European royalty of the time was almost all related, not only through Queen Victoria but also through Queen Louise and King Christian IX of Denmark, Xenia’s maternal grandparents, who were known as the “mother and father-in-law of Europe;” these extended families got together every year, and the royal children had a chance to form lasting relationships.

Xenia received the education typical of an aristocratic girl of her time, which concentrated on languages, drawing (she was as talented as her mother and sister Olga), and music. She took gymnastics lessons and was somewhat of a tomboy (despite her delicate and refined appearance.) She resembled her mother physically but her personality was not as gregarious; she was shy with strangers. In her letters, one can appreciate an intelligent, curious, friendly woman. All her life, she would be involved in many charitable causes (giving to others even when she was not in a position to do so anymore.) However, her generosity and good works did not seem to get as much publicity in her case as in that of other Russian female royals, perhaps because her roles were usually administrative and she did not have to wear a uniform. 

By the time Xenia was sixteen, she knew she wanted to marry her cousin Alexander Mikhailovich. It is possible that the appeal of such a union resided not only in the dashing person of Sandro but also on the fact that the marriage would allow Xenia to stay in Russia rather than result in her contracting a dynastic union outside of it.  Her parents made the couple wait until she was nineteen. Interestingly enough, Alexander was not the only Mikhailovichi who desired Xenia Alexandrovna’s hand in marriage. Sandro’s younger brother Sergei was also in love with the young grand duchess. Did Xenia ever questioned her choice of brothers later on in her life?

Xenia met and befriended Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine when they were both adolescents and they wrote to each other; it seems that Xenia did whatever she could to propitiate a union between the pretty princess and her brother Nicholas; the girls called each other “Chicken” (Xenia) and “Hen” (Alix). They would remain friendly even after their respective marriages, although the relationship eventually soured. 

Photographs:  1. Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna with her mother, Tsarevna Maria (she was born before her father became Tsar and her mother Tsarina); 2. Grand Duchess Xenia with her older brothers, the Grand Dukes Nicholas and George; 3. Grand Duchess Xenia with her younger brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich (I wish I knew the dog’s name); 4. Grand Duchess Xenia and her younger sister Grand Duchess Olga (the only one of Alexander III’s children to be born “in the purple;” 5. Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna with Xenia and Misha; 6. A nubile Xenia wearing Russian court dress; 7. Life- long friends Grand Duchess Xenia and her cousin Princess Marie of Greece and Denmark (the future “Grand Duchess George” after her marriage to Grand Duke George Mikhailovich who was an older brother of Xenia’s husband, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich); 8. Grand Duchess Xenia and her cousin, Victoria (”Toria”) of Wales; 9. From left to right, Olga, Nicholas, Xenia and the future George V; 10. Empress Maria Feodorovna (looking incredibly young) and Grand Duchess Xenia with Grand Duke Alexander (Sandro) Mikhailovich