Meet Nicholas And Alexandra: The Most Romantic Royal Love Story You’ve Likely Never Heard Of

We love historical love stories for the romanticism of the past, but the element of royalty makes these love stories seem like a fairytale. Though we know plenty of royal love stories, the story of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia is the most romantic story you’ve likely never heard of. You’ve probably heard elements of their story, from the rise of Rasputin to the legend of their youngest daughter, Anastasia, but their love story is a beautiful example of a couple sticking together until the very end of their lives. From meeting as teenagers to dying together as the last of the Romanov dynasty, their love story is one for the ages.

Early Years, Engagement, and Wedding

Nicholas was the eldest son of Tsar Alexander III and Tsarina Maria Feodorovna. Born in 1868, he was the opposite of his burly and domineering father. Though he was intelligent, Nicholas was the type of man who followed his heart before his head, which would shape his personality for the rest of his life.

As for Alexandra, she was born Alix of Hesse in 1872, the daughter of Alice of the United Kingdom and Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse. When Alix was six years old, her mother and younger sister died of diphtheria, leaving Alix and the rest of her siblings to spend the majority of their time with their maternal grandmother, Queen Victoria, in England. Though Alix was born in Germany, Alix was English through and through.

Nicholas and Alix first met at the 1884 wedding of Alix’s sister Elizabeth and Nicholas’ uncle Sergei, when Alix was 12 and Nicholas was 16. It’s believed that they loved each other at first sight and kept in touch by letter until they met once again in 1889 (when Alix was now 17 and Nicholas was 21) when she visited her sister in Russia for six weeks.

They spent plenty of time together during these six weeks, from going to social events in St. Petersburg to carving their initials in a palace window, making the day of Alix’s departure difficult for both of them. Their love blossomed as they wrote letters to each other. In 1892, Nicholas wrote in his diary, “My dream is to one day marry Alix H. I have loved her for a long time, and still deeper and stronger since 1889, when she spent six weeks in St. Petersburg. For a long time, I resisted my feeling that my dream would come true.” 

Both were head over heels for each other, but neither of the families approved of the match for political reasons. Tsar Alexander III hated the idea of having a German-born woman as the future empress, and his dislike for Queen Victoria (who wasn’t a fan of him either) didn’t make matters any easier. After Nicholas made it clear that he would “rather become a monk” than marry someone else, he was granted permission to propose to Alix in April 1894.

Alix was initially hesitant to accept Nicholas’ proposal because it meant she would have to convert from the Lutheran Church to the Russian Orthodox Church, but she accepted the proposal a day later. After they got engaged, Alix wrote in a letter to Nicholas, “I am yours, you are mine, of that be sure. You are locked in my heart, the little key is lost and now you must stay there forever.”

On the day of their engagement, Nicholas wrote in his diary, “A marvelous, unforgettable day in my life. The day of my engagement to my precious, beloved Alix. Walked around the entire day in a haze, not fully conscious actually of what happened to me.” He underlined the date of their engagement three times in his diary to remember the day forever.

Unfortunately, their happy engagement was short-lived – Tsar Alexander III died just months later in November 1894, precipitating their marriage and coronation as rulers of Russia. Alix was christened Alexandra Feodorovna by the Russian Orthodox Church, and the couple married on November 26, 1894. Due to still being in the official mourning period, there was no wedding reception, and Alexandra wrote to her sister that the wedding “seemed to me a mere continuation of the funeral liturgy of the dead tsar, with one difference; I wore a white dress instead of a black one.”

Early Years of Marriage, Alexei, and Rasputin

Nicholas and Alexandra had their first four children in quick succession: Olga (born November 15, 1895), Tatiana (born June 10, 1897), Maria (born June 26, 1899), and Anastasia (born June 18, 1901). Though Nicholas and Alexandra doted on their four beloved daughters, they needed a son to inherit the throne due to the Pauline Laws of Succession, which made it illegal for a daughter to inherit the Russian throne. 

Their luck seemed to turn when their son, Alexei, was born on August 12, 1904, but their happiness was cut short when he was diagnosed with hemophilia, a genetic disorder that prevents blood from clotting normally. Since the disease is passed down from mother to son, Alexandra blamed herself for her son’s illness and spent the majority of her time worrying about her son.

Not only was Alexei’s hemophilia a disaster for Nicholas and Alexandra as a couple, but it also came with severe political ramifications. The Russian Revolution of 1905 left the monarchy in a vulnerable position, meaning that the monarchy’s survival was in Alexei’s hands. When conventional medicine failed them, Nicholas and Alexandra resorted to the mysterious healing powers of the mystic Grigori Rasputin.

Rasputin’s presence not only calmed Alexei but seemed to reduce his worst symptoms of hemophilia. We know now that this is likely because Rasputin often told doctors to stop giving Alexei medicine and the aspirin they were giving him likely worsened his symptoms, but Nicholas and Alexandra (particularly Alexandra) believed that Rasputin was a miracle worker.

Though the Romanovs believed Rasputin was a saint, he had a reputation for heavy drinking and promiscuity. He allegedly “pulled down his trousers and, as one eyewitness put it, waved his ‘reproductive organ’ in a restaurant.” Since very few outside their inner circle knew of Alexei’s condition, many Russians began to question why such a crude man was in the presence of the royal family. Things would only get worse at the start of World War I.

World War I, The Russian Revolution and Their Final Days

World War I began in 1914, and Rasputin’s influence grew when Nicholas went to the front in 1915. With Alexandra in charge, she trusted Rasputin with political matters. 

Despite the stress of the war, Nicholas’ and Alexandra’s letters show that they were as devoted to each other as ever. In December 1915, Alexandra wrote, “Off you go again alone, and it's with a very heavy heart I part from you. No more kisses and tender caresses for ever so long – I want to bury myself in you, hold you tight in my arms, make you feel the intense love of mine. You are my very life, Sweetheart, and every separation gives such endless heartache… Goodbye, my Angel, Husband of my heart, I envy my flowers that will accompany you. I press you tightly to my breast, kiss every sweet place with tender love… God bless and protect you, guard you from all harm, guide you safely and firmly into the new year. May it bring glory and sure peace, and the reward for all this war has cost you. I gently press my lips to yours and try to forget everything, gazing into your lovely eyes – I lay on your precious breast, rested my tired head upon it still. This morning I tried to gain calm and strength for the separation. Goodbye wee one, Lovebird, Sunshine, Huzy mine, Own!”

As the war grew worse for the Russian people and the economy, blame was directed at Rasputin’s influence over the monarchy. Rasputin’s influence also inspired rumors that Alexandra and Rasputin were having an affair, but the love letters between Nicholas and Alexandra at the time prove that they were as devoted to each other as ever. This didn’t stop fellow aristocrats from assuming the worst and taking justice into their own hands. On December 29, 1916, Prince Felix Yusupov and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich and a group of their friends decided to kill Rasputin. After they tried and failed to poison him, they shot him and tossed him in a river.

Shortly after Rasputin’s murder, the Russian Revolution began, and Nicholas was forced to abdicate the throne. The entire family was imprisoned for 15 months before they were murdered on July 17, 1918, by Bolshevik guards under the order of Vladimir Lenin and the Soviet government. Though their tragic deaths lead to one of the most brutal regimes of all time, the story of Nicholas and Alexandra loving each other and sticking it through to the end has stood the test of time. You could argue that this tale is overly romanticized, but it’s hard not to fall for such a beautiful love story. 

Their story is one of tragedy, but their love for each other is inspiring. Virginia Rounding, historian and author of Alix and Nicky: The Passion of the Last Tsar and Tsarina, says, “They were certainly devoted to one another. It did give them great strength in their last months. I think at times they drove each other mad – certainly, Alix drove Nicky mad on many occasions by being so difficult or you got the sense that she’d write these great passionate letters when he was at the front, he’d come back for a few days, and she’d be in bed with a migraine and didn’t want him to go anywhere near her. You can work with that conflict between reality and imagination so I think she was…in certain ways. But they were still completely devoted to each other within a context of very firm Christian belief that whatever else it gave them, it supported them together in those last weeks. That’s partly why they are so loved by the Orthodox faith now.”

Closing Thoughts

Though Nicholas and Alexandra aren’t as well-remembered as other royal couples like Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, their story serves as a reminder of the beauty in sticking together until the end. In a culture that promotes fleeting happiness over lifelong love and commitment, Nicholas and Alexandra are proof that true love never goes out of style.

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