Maria: Countess Tarkhan-Romanovskaya
Despite being the Emperor's third child, the Grand Duchess Maria's was the first
wedding set when she became engaged to her longtime 'soldier boyfriend' Ivashko
Tarkhan. The young lieutenant and the grand duchess met in 1914, shortly
before the war, and corresponded throughout. After the war (and would-be
revolution), Nicholas granted them permission to marry, and also granted his
daughter's fiance the title of Count Tarkhan-Romanovsky so the marriage looked
more 'proper' in court circles. Regardless of some of her extended family's
objections to Maria marrying a commoner, the marriage was (and is) popular with
the Russian people. The two married on 8/21 June 1918, shortly after the
Tsar's fiftieth birthday celebrations. The happy couple have their own home in
Tsarskoe Selo and two children: HH Princess Natalia Ivashkovna, born 25
December 1919/7 January 1920; and a son, HH Prince Nikolai Ivashkovich,
born 25 April/8 May 1921 and named after the Tsar. Technically by birth a
countess and count, Natasha and Kolya (along with any futher children) were
granted the title of Prince/ss and style of "Highness" by their grandfather.
The Tsar often turns to his perceptive and clever son-in-law--now a colonel--for
advice, who as a result has become quite influential in the government.
Tatiana: Princess Christopher of Greece and Denmark
The Grand Duchess Tatiana was engaged to Prince Christopher of Greece and
Denmark, a relative through the Russian and Danish families. They were married
on 21 July/3 August 1919, during the celebration of the peace. A frequent
visitor to Russia who was originally interested in Olga Nikolaevna, in our story
he fell hard for Tatiana Nikolaevna on his 1916 visit to the family. He proposed
to her while he was in Russia for Maria's wedding in 1918. As he was the youngest
son, he was allowed to pack up his things and go, and thus Tatiana agreed to
marry him so she could stay in Russia with her mother. Tatiana finds herself
at a slight loss at her bespectacled bridegroom. Known for his fascination with
the occult, talent on the piano, and sense of humor, Christo adores his bride,
but is not exactly a Prince Charming. The mis-matched couple welcomed their first
child into the world on 15/28 July 1920: HRH Princess Alexandra of Greece,
called Sandra. She was named in honor of Empress Alexandra as well as
Christo's deceased sister Alexandra Georgievna, mother of Maria Pavlovna and
Dmitri Pavlovich. The little Greek princess was born in Baltimore, Maryland,
while the Imperial Family were on a state visit of the United States, and thus
has American citizenship. Their second child, HRH Prince Michael (Michalis
in Greek, called Mikhos and Misha), was born on 27 May/9 June, 1922. While there
are the occasional, perfunctory visits to Greece, Tatiana and Christo reside
primarily in a mansion in Tsarskoe Selo, Tatiana making frequent, if not daily, visits to her
mother at the Alexander Palace.
Olga: Alexandra, Princess of Wales
The Grand Duchess Olga was engaged to Edward (known in the family as David),
Prince of Wales, in July of 1920. Handsome, charming and arrogant, David is
hugely popular with the British public and close friends with Olga's cousin Louis
Mountbatten. While not exactly strangers--David had flirted with Olga on the
Imperial Family's visit to Cowes in 1909--the marriage was essentially a political
match. The marriage was primarily the scheme of the look-a-like cousins King
George V and Tsar Nicholas II himself. Although heartbroken at the thought of
losing his much-loved eldest daughter, the Tsar felt the match was much too
politically beneficial to Russia to pass up. Olga and David were married in a
grand ceremony on 2/15 April, 1921, Olga having converted to the Anglican
Church, taken the name Alexandra Alice Augusta Victoria Olga and becoming the
Princess of Wales. She mourns the separation from her family, country, and
deeply-felt faith, but is trying to adjust to life as the British heir's wife.
It helps the situation somehwat that Olga has found a great friend and support
in David's sister, The Princess Mary. The Prince and Princess of Wales' first child,
HRH Princess Catherine Alexandra Victoria Mary Anna of Wales, was born on
22 January 1922. "Kate's" birth had brought the Prince and Princess closer
together, and granted Olga a measure of happiness she didn't expect to find in England.
Anastasia: Duchess of Gloucester or Crown Princess of Belgium?
The Grand Duchess Anastasia, now 20, is still unattached.
She tried (as gently as possible) to rebuke the romantic intentions of
David's younger brother Prince Henry. Ironically, it was none other than Harry
who introduced her to his former Eton schoolmate Leopold, the Crown Prince of Belgium.
Despite the Tsar's youngest daughter's dislike of the French language, she can't
help but be drawn to the athletically handsome Leopold, who apprieciates "Anastasie's"
sense of humor.
Alexei and the future Tsaritsa Elizaveta Nikolaevna?
For his part, the teenage Tsesarevich has recently discovered that his newfound
feelings for his pretty cousin, Princess Elizabeth of Greece, were not only
welcomed, but reciprocated by the princess in question. Elizabeth and her sisters
Olga and Marina, daughters of Nicholas II's cousins Prince Nicholas of Greece and Elena
Vladimirovna, played with OTMA and Alexei as young children, and were reuinted with
their cousins at the wedding. The tense political and military situation in Greece
has the Tsesarevich greatly anxious for the safety of his new sweetheart and her
family.
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