Romanovs' descendants to seek rehabilitation for Great Duchess Elisabeth
Moscow, November 10, Interfax - The House of Romanovs intends to achieve recognition as victims of political repressions for all members of the imperial family executed by the Bolsheviks after revolution including the founder of Sts Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy Great Duchess Elisabeth (Yelizaveta Fyodorovna Romanova).
Yes, that's true I totally agree. They both have the Hessian appearance. Irene also has it too, and so does Victoria. It came from their mother Alice. She was a remarkable beauty, just like her mother and sisters. Grand Duchess Tatiana favors her mother Alix so much.
Ella and Alix really look alike......
its a shame that such a good soul as Ella was married to that scoundrel Serge.....
He really wasn't a scoundrel, per say, and the marriage was accepted by both of them, eyes wide open. See that book I told you about, Christopher Warwicks's for more information.
I read somewhere that after Ella and the others were thrown down inside the mine shaft, they remained alive for several days, according to the recollection of the peasants who would hear them singing religious songs and asking for help. And her remains were found trying to reach the outside,climbing within the shaft.
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We men build too many walls and not enough bridges. Sir Isaac Newton
I read somewhere that after Ella and the others were thrown down inside the mine shaft, they remained alive for several days, according to the recollection of the peasants who would hear them singing religious songs and asking for help. And her remains were found trying to reach the outside,climbing within the shaft.
Massie's book, "Nicholas and Alexandra" says that. I have yet to finish Warwicks to see if it collaborates.
Her remains are now in the Russian Orthodox Church of Maria Magdalene in Jerusalem along with those of Princess Alice (Princess Andrew of Greece), Prince Philip's mother.
To reply to some earlier posts- yes, Queen Victoria was defintely not a great fan of the Romanovs. This seems to have started after the Crimean War since as a young woman Queen Victoria met the young Alexander II in England and noted in her diary she liked him and he was handsome. Queen Victoria never lived to see Victoria Melita's marriage to Kyril, so all she knew was that two grand daughters married Russians, not three, though as Victoria Melita was half Russian on her mother's side, it wouldn't have surprised Queen Victoria.
Ella was indeed lovely and when young interested in parties dresses and the like, while Alexandra never really was. Ella's life after her husband's death was much different than her earlier life- if not for that, she would be remembered in a different light, one feels, more as just another royal. I feel Sergei and Ella loved one another, but that it was a different kind of love, not like the love Nicholas and Alexandra shared. Sergei was a real mystery, now and then.
I think part of the dislike Victoria had for Russia stemmed from Marie's marriage to the Duke of Edinburgh. Missie (Queen Marie of Roumania) said her mother was an Imperial Highness in Russia, but lower down on the scale in England and that bit her to the quick. I'm sure there was tension because of that. And Queen Marie writes in her bio. that her parents weren't all that happy.
Ella indeed loved parties and had a flirtation with "Greek Nicky".
Sergei was indeed a mystery, some people hated him, some loved him. I'll have to check the bio.I have on Ella to see if she burned his diary after his death.
Also, Victoria looked down on the Russian court's loose morals. Alexander III and Nicholas II were the only tsars to have never cheated on their wives. Perhaps if Victoria's Hanoverian traits were still dominant, she wouldn't have minded so much. But Albert had a profound impact and Alexandra inherited these Victorian morals, making her an unpopular tsarina.
I think Victoria was very moralistic from the begining of her life, even before Albert, remember the incident with the lady in waiting ( Flora something) she thought might be pregnant( by Sir John Conroy, her mother's hated advisor) at the begining of her reign before Albert came into the picture? Her reaction there was not Hanoverian. I think the Crimean War really did in Victoria's opinions on Russia though.
She was opposed to Marie and Alfred's marriage before it took place because Marie was Russian and a Romanov, although seeing the unhappiness of it no doubt increased her reluctance about Russian marriages.Ella's marriage to Sergei turned out happily enough, it seems, and indeed, Ella's marriage to Sergei benefited Russia ( unlike Alexandra's marriage, which did not benefit Russia). I do believe Ella burned her diaries- none survive at least. But, Sergei's diaries do survive ( some of them at least) and have been published only in Russian. I read this on another royalty forum. But his diaries are pretty boring and don't have any personal feeling in them, it' s like Nicholas II's diaries, just the day's activities and stuff I gather from descriptions of them people gave.
Grand Duchess Ella
.. the National Portrait Gallery has finally given access to its extensive collection of rare photos & art works -
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