From Left to Right: Tatiana, Anastasia, Alexsei, Marie, and Olga
The Romanov children were born into a life of immense luxury. Their father was undoubtably one of the most powerful monarchs in Europe, and their mother, the beautiful Tsarina, was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England. And yet, none of them were totally spoiled. Nicholas and Alexandra brought them up to be polite, well behaved, kind hearted individuals, who could do things for themselves instead of relying on servants.
Every morning, the children would begin their day with a cold bath. They slept on hard camp beds with firm pillows. All four grand duchesses shared a room together. Their servants addressed them in simple Russian fashion, as in Olga Nicholaievna, Alexsei Nicholaievna. They asked politely for what they wanted, and they cleaned their own rooms, and made their own beds.
Nicholas and Alexandra had five children, four girls, and one boy, the heir to the Russian Throne. The girls, Olga, Tatiana, Marie and Anastasia all carried the title of Grand Duchess, which was a higher rank than that of a princess. Alexsei was the Tsarevich. Few siblings have been closer than the Romanov children.
Grand Duchess Olga Nicholaievna Romanova:
born 1895
Olga was the eldest child of Nicholas and Alexandra. She was a short blond haired girl with blue eyes and a short nose she called, "my humble stubb". Olga was a bright, intelligent girl, very serious and mature in demeanor. Olga, however, was often quarrelsome. She would argue with her mother frequently, thought they were only minor disagreements. Olga was also very sensitive. She donated money from her own personal funds to pay for a peasant boy's surgery once. When she heard the news of the Revolution, she had a minor nervous breakdown. Olga was closest with her father. But she always looked after her mother, even in their most troublesome disagreements, and would even check out the books her mother wished to read first, to make sure they were appropriate
Grand Duchess Tatiana Nicholaievna Romanova:
born 1897
If Olga was closest to her father, then Tatiana was definetly most affectionate with Alix. Tall and slim, with large gray eyes she was thought to be the prettiest of the four girls. She was very stylish, and had good taste in clothing. She was considered a superior pianist to her sisters, but lacked emotion and desire to play. Tatiana was very diplomatic, and all of her sisters called her, "the Governess." She was undoubtably the leader of the pack. Even Olga did not mind, even though she was the oldest. The two sisters were devoted to one another. They were called, "the big pair."
Grand Duchess Marie Nicholaievna Romanova:
born 1899
Even though most people thought Tatiana to be the prettiest, there is no doubt that Marie was just as attractive, if not more so, than her three sisters. With her long, thick, wavy blond hair and her huge blue eyes that the entire family dubbed, "Marie's saucers", Marie was the fairy tale princess of legends. She was small and plump, and her elder sisters called her, "fat bow-wow". Marie was the angel of the family. Once, after making some mischief, her father laughed and said he was glad to find out that she was human afterall, because he was afraid that she would one day sprout wings! Marie was soooo good, her sisters said, and so they called her their stepsister. Marie was also an incurable romantic. She had crush after crush on her handsome cousins and the Russian soldiers. Her first cousin, Louis, Lord of Mountbatten was madly in love with her, and kept her picture beside his bed until the day of his death in 1979. Marie was closest to Anastasia. She wanted nothing more than to marry a soldier and to have lots of children. She loved babies and loved to hold them. Marie would have made an excellent wife and mother. She was also very brave, accompanying her parents to Ekaterinberg before the others.
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nicholaievna Romanova:
born 1901
The youngest daughter and the most notorious, Anastasia was definetly the family prankster, a tomboy and a clown. She loved to climb trees to the highest branches, only coming down by her father's orders. Her family called her shvibzik, Russian for imp. She and Marie were very close. Anastasia was also closest to her younger brother Alexsei, and would often make him forget his pains by making him laugh. A short, somewhat chubby little girl with large grey blue eyes and strawberry blond hair, most predict that Anastasia would have grown into quite a beauty, had she lived. She loved animals, as did her sisters, and died with her dog, Jemmy. Anastasia was the center of the Romanov legends, rumors circulating that she had survived. Her pranks were known throughout the family, although they sometimes got out of hand. Her Aunt Olga remembers that Anastasia would rarely cry, even when Olga slapped her for teasing other children quite rudely. It was only when, during a snowball fight got bad that Anastasia broke down. She rolled a rock into a snowball and threw it at Tatiana. It hit her elder sister in the face, and knocked her to the ground. Seeing Tatiana lying stunned, Anastasia finally cried.
The Tsarevich, Alexsei Nicholaievich Romanov, Heir to the Russian Throne:
born 1904
The youngest Romanov child, and the only son, Alexsei was a sweet, gentle child, with bright blue eyes and a dazzling smile. Unfortunatley, his life was fraught with pain, due to his hemophilia. However, Alexsei never let his illness stop him from having fun. He was a typical boy, and loved to hang out with his father at military headquarters. He was closest to his sister Anastasia, who had a way of making him laugh and forgetting his pain. Alexsei knew he would one day be the Tsar, but this did not affect his sweet, well mannered nature. However, on occasion, he did recognize his high status and that he was higher than his sisters. Sometimes he could be rude and demanding, but not to an extreme. Rather, he was a typical child. Alexsei, like his sister Anastasia loved to play pranks, and Nicholas joked about how Russia would shudder in terror of Alexsei the Terrible. However, he remained unaffected and good natured all of his life. Perhaps if Alexsei had succeeded his father, Russia would be in a better state now.
