Chapter 1
Volume IV

His Imperial Highness
Grand Duke Tsessarevich
Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia
( 1843 - 1865 )

Essentials:

Born: At Peterhof, September 20th, 1843.
Christened:
Godparents: Emperor Nicholas I Pavlovich, Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and by Rhine, Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna Queen of the Netherlands and Grand Duchess Olga Nicolaevna.
Name day: December 6th o.st. ( 18th n.st.) - St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycia.
Nickname: Nixa.
Parents: Grand Duke Tsessarevich Alexander Nicolaevich and Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine Grand Duchess Tsessarevna Maria Alexandrovna.
Engaged: September 28th, 1864 to Princess Dagmar of Denmark.
Died: At Nice, on April 24th, 1865.
Buried: In St. Petersburg, Saints Peter-and-Paul Cathedral on June 9th, 1865.
Relationship to author: First Cousin of Grandfather.
Principal residence in Russia: St.Petersburg, Winter Palace.
Diaries: ?
Biography: Charlotte Zeepvat - Romanov Autumn - My source 8421.

Episodic Biography: 11897 words.
1. Reproduction of painting. Oath of allegiance, 1859.
2. Photograph: Dateable circa 1861/2
3. Reproduction of portrait executed in 1866.
4. Photo: Memorial church in Nice.
5. Photo Horse Guards Uniform

Immediate Ancestors of Nicholas:
1. Nicholas

First Generation:
2 Emperor Alexander II Nicolaevich (1881-1881).
3 Empress Marie Alexandrovna ( Princess Marie of Hessen and by Rhine ( 1824-
1880 ).

Second Generation:
4 Emperor Nicholas I Pavlovich (1796 -1855).
5 Princess Charlotte of Prussia - Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia
(1798 -1860).
6 Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hessen and by Rhine (1777-1848).
7 Princess Wilhelmine of Baden (1788 -1836).

Third Generation:
8 Emperor Paul I Petrovich (1754-1801).
9 Princess Sophie of Württemberg - Empress Marie Feodorovna (1759-1828).
10 King Friedrich-Wilhelm III of Prussia (1770-1840).
11 Princess Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1776-1810).
12 Grand Duke Ludwig I of Hessen and by Rhine ( 1753-1830).
13 Landgravine Louise of Hessen-Darmstadt (1761-1829).
14 Hereditary Prince Karl-Ludwig of Baden (1755 - 1801).
15 Landgravine Amalie of Hessen-Darmstadt (1754 - 1832).

Fourth Generation:
16 - Emperor Peter III Feodorovich - Duke Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp
(1728-1762).
17 - Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst - Empress Catherine II Alexeevna 'the
Great' - (1729-1796).
18 - Duke Friedrich II Eugen of Württemberg (1732-1797 ).
19 - Markgravine Friederike Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1736-1798).
20 - King Friedrich-Wilhelm II of Prussia (1744-1797).
21 - Landgravine Friederike of Hessen-Darmstadt (1751-1805).
22 - Duke Karl-Ludwig of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1741-1816).
23 - Princess Friederike Caroline of Hessen-Darmstadt (1752-1782).
24 - Landgrave Ludwig IX of Hessen-Darmstadt (1719 -1790).
25 - Palatine Countess Karoline of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld ( 1721 - 1774).
26 - Landgrave Georg-Wilhelm of Hessen (1723 - 1782).
27 - Louise Countess of Leiningen-Dachsburg, Heiress of Broich (1729 - 1818).
28 - Markgrave Karl-Friedrich of Baden-Durlach (1728 - 1811).
29 - Landgravine Karoline-Louise of Hessen (1728 - 1783).
30 - Landgrave Ludwig IV of Hessen-Darmstadt (1719 - 1790).
31 - Palatine Countess Caroline of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld ( 1721 - 1774).

Close relatives of suitable age (+/- 5 years )
Brothers:
Alexander -2
Wladimir -4

First Cousins in Russia:
Maria Maximilianovna Romanovsky, Duchess of Leuchtenberg, -2
Nicholas Maximilianovich Romanovsky, Duke of Leuchtenberg, =
Eugenie Maximilianovna Romanovsky, Duchess of Leuchtenberg, -2
Eugene Maximilianovich Romanovsky, Duke of Leuchtenberg, -4

First Cousins Abroad:
Henry of Hessen and by Rhine, +5
Maria Anna of Hessen and by Rhine, =
William of Hessen and by Rhine, -2

Second Cousins in Russia:
Alexandra of Oldenburg, +5
Nicholas of Oldenburg, +3
Alexander of Oldenburg, -1
Catherine of Oldenburg, -3
George of Oldenburg, -5

Second Cousins Abroad:
Louise of Prussia, +5
Charles-Theodore in Bavaria, +4
Charles of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, since 1866 Prince of Romania, +4
Margaret of Sachsen, +3
William of the Netherlands, +3
Marie in Bavaria, +2
Anton of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, +2
Frederick of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, =
Mathilde in Bavaria, =
Maurice of the Netherlands, =
Charles-August of Sax-Weimar, -1
Marie of the Netherlands, -2
Marie-Louise of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, -2
Sophie of Sachsen, -2
Archduke Ludwig-Victor, -3
Sophie in Bavaria, -4

1
Early Years

The firstborn child of the Tsessarevich Alexander Nicolaevich and of his eighteen year-old wife was a girl, and when the Tsessarevna's second pregnancy resulted in the birth of a boy, the satisfaction of the Imperial Family can be easily imagined.
Almost unavoidably the baby was named Nicholas, the second of five grandchildren of Emperor Nicholas I to be named in honour of his fearsome, even when affectionate, grandfather who was always present at the births of his grandchildren.
So it happened on August 4th, 1843 (n.st.) at the time of the birth of Nicholas of Leuchtenberg, first male born to Grand Duchess Maria Nicolaevna, so it was for the birth of the first male born to the Tsessarevich Alexander on September 20 1843 ( n.st.), and so it was on February 14th, 1850 (n.st.) for the birth of the first son of Grand Duke Constantine Nicolaevich. After the death of Nicholas I the tradition of naming Nicholas the firstborn male was respected by Grand Dukes Nicholas Nicolaevich and Michael Nicolaevich.
Even the 'Russified' Peter of Oldenburg, nephew of Nicholas I, named Nicholas his firstborn son. This being the situation, it is not surprising that the author of this work, happens to be the eighth Nicholas in the Romanov family.

The baby had an impressive list of godparents at his christening, Emperor Nicholas I leading the list. 5510

The new-born baby was gratified with a prodigious list of honours: He became Colonel-in-Chief of Guards Grodno Hussars, and was gazetted to the Preobrajensky, Semenovsky, Izmailovsky and Egersky Guards Infantry Regiments - in fact the whole of the 1st Guards Infantry Division.
He was also gazetted to the Grenadiers and Pavlovsky Guards Infantry Regiments and to the Chevaliers-Gardes, Horse-Guards, Hussars, Cuirassiers of His Majesty, Atamansky and Cossack, all Cavalry Guards Regiments.
And to complete the baby was also gazetted to the Guards Sappers Battalion and to the Convoy - the personal escort of the Sovereign ! 8388

In the meantime the Emperor had to communicate officially to all the Courts of Europe the happy news: The Heir to the throne had an Heir !
Courts of Europe ? European Monarchies ! Switzerland being the only Republic in Europe. So how did Europe appear then ?

The Europe of 1843 was not the Europe we know, but it was a very picturesque mosaic. To start without causing ill feelings and precedence quarrels, between Hohenzollerns, Savoias and all possible varieties of Bourbons let us start from the most picturesque of them all.
"A tout seigneur tout honneur" - Since 1841 Prince Florestan was happily reigning, but where? In the country of "La Belle au bois dormant", perhaps? Wrong. In Monaco and still without the roulette !
Germany and Italy were mere geographic notations, divided as they were into numerous kingdoms, Grand Duchies, Duchies and Principalities, with the Hohenzollerns and the Savoias in the lead.
Since 1831 in northern Italy reigned Carlo Alberto of Savoy, King of Sardinia, but not of Italy, while Savoy and Nice would become French only much later. In Modena reigned since 1806 Duke Francesco IV of Modena, Reggio and Mirandola, Archduke of Austria-Este etc.etc.
Marie-Louise, Archduchess of Austria, former Empress of the French, reigned as Sovereign Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla ably assisted by her third husband, Count Charles-René Bombelles.
In Lucca reigned since 1824 Duke Carlo Lodovico of the house of Bourbon-Parma. In Florence since 1824 His Imperial and Royal Highness Grand Duke Leopoldo II, Archduke of Austria, Prince of Hungary and Bohemia, has succeeded in creating the most efficient and best administrated state in the Italian peninsula.
Milan and Venice were under Austrian rule and Archduke Rainier was Viceroy of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom.
Pope Gregory XVI ( Mauro Capellari) ruled the States of the Church which encompassed even Bologna and Ferrara, and the papacy still held the temporal power it would loose entirely only in September 1870.
And in the south of the Italian peninsula, 33 years old King Ferdinand II reigned in Naples since 1830, on a kingdom oddly named Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in which his saintly Queen did much good in her short life.

Germany was an archipelago of states which included even several City states. It was dominated by Prussia, where reigned King Frederick-William IV, brother-in-law of Emperor Nicholas I.
In the three other Germanic kingdoms, reigned in Bavaria Ludwig I, father of King Otto of Greece. In Hanover, reigned Queen Victoria's uncle the Duke of Cumberland, now King George V of Hanover, in Saxony Frederick-Augustus and in Württemberg William I.
It would be a waste of time to give the names of all the various sovereigns of Germany, which technically included also the so-called Mediatized families, which kept their Sovereign status at least until 1848, and some of them even until 1918.
The German mosaic being far less picturesque than the Italian one, and definitely less dangerous than the Balkan one, I will insist on informing my readers about the hodgepodge Germany was in 1843.
To those interested in such an amenity as the list of mediated Houses, which in the past was of great importance to establish whether a marriage was of suitable rank, here is a list of the Germanic sovereign houses, as established by the Congress of Vienna:
Empire of Austria, Kingdom of Bavaria, Kingdom of Hanover, Kingdom of Prussia, Kingdom of Saxony, Kingdom of Württemberg, Duchy of Anhalt-Dessau, Duchy of Anhalt-Bernburg, Duchy of Anhalt-Koethen, Grand Duchy of Baden, Duchy of Brunswick, Electorate of Hessen, Grand Duchy of Hessen and by Rhine, Principality of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Principality of Liechtenstein, Principality of Lippe-Detmold, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Principality (Duchy) of Nassau-Usingen, Principality ( Duchy ) of Nassau-Weilburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, Principality of Reuss-Greitz, Principality of Reuss-Schleitz, Principality of Reuss-Lobenstein, Principality of Reuss-Ebersdorf, Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Duchy of Saxe-Gotha, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen ( later Saxe-Altenburg ), Duchy of Saxe-Saalfeld-Coburg, Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe, Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont.

To these were gradually added, other important Princely houses in 1829, among the "standesherren" having the right to be styled Most Serene Highness ( Durchlaucht ) and later that year also Countly houses recognised as "Standesherren" and styled Most Illustrious Highness ( Erlaucht ).
By 1835/1836 the prestigious Almanach de Gotha began to list these houses in separate sections of the almanac, so that soon all came to be considered as proper to furnish spouses to the Sovereign families of Germany and Austria, and in theory to all those sovereign houses which relied on the Almanach de Gotha to approve or disapprove of marriages.
I do not wish to bore readers by giving detailed and complete lists.
Most Serene Highnesses, listed in alphabetic order begin with such a very important family as Princes Arenberg and through the Princes Quadt zu Wykradt und Isny end with the just as important Princes Windisch-Graetz.
The lesser fry, the houses of Illustrious or Most Illustrious Counts, begin in alphabetic order, with Counts Castell-Remlingen, and then through Counts von Harrach zu Rohrau und Thannhausen, lords of the county of Rohrau, Freiherrs zu Prugg und Pürrhenstein, lords of Starkenbach, Jilenice, Sadowa & Storckow end with Counts von Wurmbrand-Stuppach.
Had enough ?
Russia, with its very Germanic notion of dynastic propriety, found itself accepting all the Almanach de Gotha rulings.
And so if some unfortunate Russian Grand Duke wanted to marry a Princess Obolensky, descendant of the Grand Dukes of Kiev, who reigned in Russia, at the time his Romanov ancestors were probably still lurking in the woods, draped in pelts or wading through the marshes of East Prussia or Pomerania, he would have had to change his plans.
That marriage would have been impossible, but an Austrian lady, say a daughter of an Illustrious Highness, Count von Harrach zu Rohrau und Thannhausen, lord of the county of Rohrau, Freiherr zu Prugg und Pürrhenstein, lord of Starkenbach, Jilenice, Sadowa & Storckow, would have been acceptable !
Leaving this medieval feudal labyrinth, which later made several Grand Dukes prefer single status, let us move away to less complicated countries, in the west of Europe, where often the only impediment for a Grand Duke of Russia in seeking a bride, was her belonging to the Roman Catholic religion.

The Austrian Empire, though no longer the Holy Roman Empire, was still closer to the XVIII-th century. Reigned there Emperor Ferdinand I.
Two Queens reigned in the Iberian peninsula: In Spain the abolition of the Salic law put Queen Isabella II on the throne and provoked the Carlista rebellion, while In Portugal reigned Queen Maria II da Gloria.

In England Queen Victoria was in the sixth year of her reign and had been married for three years.

Louis-Philippe was King of the French, his reign was soon to end, and he was still considered an usurper by Nicholas I, who would have preferred to have to deal with the Comte de Chambord usually sulking in Frohsdorf.
Charles-Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, the future Napoleon III, was in his third year of fairly mild imprisonment in the fortress of Ham, a place he called 'My University of Ham'. Three years later he would escape and a vertiginous career would be his: In 1848 President of the French Republic and on December 2nd, 1852 Emperor of the French.
In Denmark reigned Christian VIII and in Sweden and Norway Carl XIV Johan, the French Sergeant-Major who rose to be Marshal of France and finally king.
Leopold I was in his twelfth year of reign in Belgium and in the Netherlands reigned King William II, brother-in-law of Nicholas I.
In Greece King Otto, was in his tenth year on the throne, germanically efficient and practical but totally incomprehensible to the Greek people. He was about to loose his throne and two years later Prince William of Denmark would be asked to become King George I of the Hellenes.
The Balkans were considered by 'civilised' Europeans as a country of cut-throats, chiefs of petty clans permanently feuding or Dracula-style monsters.
The Balkans, including most of Northern Greece, Crete, most of the Aegean Sea islands, Bulgaria, Romania ( usually referred to as either Moldavia or Valachia ), where part of the Turkish Empire under Sultan Abdul-Medjid.
In Serbia the Skupshtchina had just elected as Prince, Alexander son of the locally notorious Black George - "Kara-Djordje", whose likeness I once saw visiting the great Hiliandar, the Serbian monastery on Mount Athos. On that 'portrait' Black George's ( severed ? ) head is facing the severed head of a wild boar, dripping with blood while, the hands of 'Black George' are hidden, because they too are probably dripping with blood. A subtle signal, perhaps.
In tiny Montenegro, on the 'Black Mountain' ( Black was fashionable in the Balkans of the time ) had just ended the long rule of Prince Bishop Petar II, alternatively priest, soldier and poet, author of a drama titled "The Serpent of the Mountain", another subtle signal, surely.
After his death, Stanko Petrovich-Njegosh took over, while his 2 year-old grandson Nikola was probably playing on the steps of his house with a pistol (no plastic toy pistols at the time ).
To complete our Balkan trip, in the year of the birth of Tsessarevich Nicholas, in Albania The Hereditary Governor of Mati, Xhelal Zogu Pasha was trying to gain the independence of Albania with the backing of Russia.
Across the Ocean, in the distant Americas, in the Unites States without Alaska a certain John Tyler was President, while Brazil had in dom Pedro II an Emperor. His full name probably made hoarse the bishop who baptised him. The Emperor's full name was: Pedro de Alcântara Joâo Carlos Leopoldo Salvador Bibiano Francisco Xavier de Paula Leocâdio Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga.

At the time of the birth of little Nicholas Alexandrovich, Europe was thought to be orderly and safe in a stately frozen-up picture.
Most monarchies were absolute, still modelled by the Congress of Vienna and definitely unaware that 1848 was behind the corner, ready to put the Vienna Congress back into the history books where it belonged. 9244

1845
On Monday November 3rd, 1845 Lady Bloomfield, the wife of the British Ambassador, saw the children of the Tsessarevich: "A nice little boy of about two years old, and his sisters." Lady Bloomfield errs, of course, mentioning two sisters, unless 6 months old Alexander was shown dressed up as a little girl, as was the fashion of the epoch,
Lady Bloomfield rather proudly noted that the children were attended by English nurses, greatly preferred in Russia. Such was the standing of an English nurse that a Russian lady, told Lady Bloomfield that a nurse she had for three years left for another job, being offered £70 per annum, besides quantities of presents. 1904

1849
By 1849 the three elder sons of the Tsessarevich: Nicholas 6, Alexander 4, and Wladimir 2, are given as a tutor a true Russian gentleman, General N. V. Zinoviev a former commander of the Corps of Pages who surrounded his pupils with a simple and soulful Russian atmosphere.
According to V. V. Nazarevsky, a deep friendship united the two elder boys. Nicholas passed to Alexander any knowledge the younger brother had not learned, while Alexander with his practical mind contained the elder boys dreamy enthusiasms.
The two elder brothers had teachers in common: Religion was taught by Bazanov and Rojdestvensky, M.E. Dragomirov taught military history and tactics ( Probably considered indispensable knowledge to boys aged 6 and 4 ! ) while the famous K. P. Pobednosstsev taught jurisprudence and S.M. Soloviev Russian History.
There is some degree of confusion in that information, as I cannot imagine jurisprudence being taught boys aged 6 and 4, while military history and tactics were surely considered obligatory by grandfather Emperor HP

On October 1st 1949 (n.st.) "Nixa" as the boy was known in the family, was granted yet another military honour and added yet another diminutive uniform to his military wardrobe, when he was gazetted to the Uhlans Guards cavalry regiment. 8388

1851
On July 8th, 1851 n.st., four Guards Cavalry Regiments: Uhlans, Uhlans of the Tsessarevich, Horse Guards and Horse Grenadiers, were aligned in front of the Peterhof Palace as they were to be given new standards........

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The Bibliography will be found at the end of the Episodic Biography

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