Tsarevitch Nicholas (Nixa) (1843-1865), the first fiancé of Marie Feodorovna

[ysbel]

Hello,

I'd like to start a thread on Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich, the eldest son of Alexander II and Marie of Hesse who was called Nixa by his family.

Nixa was born 20 September 1843 at Tsarskoe Selo, and died at the age of 21 on the 24 of April 1865, at Villa Bermon, Nice.

He was considered handsome, elegant, gregarious, very well educated and was very popular during his short lifetime.

Nixa was the first fiance of the young princess Dagmar of Denmark. At the age of 16, Nixa was declared of age and his parents searched for a bride for him. They first set their eyes on the captivating Alexandra of Denmark however, Alexandra married the Prince of Wales and the Russians began to look at her younger sister, Dagmar. Nixa played the suitor and visited the Glucksborgs in Copenhagen where he impressed everyone with his dashing good looks and courtly manner. Dagmar fell deeply in love (although as little as they apparently knew each other, one wonders whether it was puppy love. Nixa was certainly a dashing figure to turn a young girl's head) Dagmar travelled to Russia the fall of 1864 to meet her fiance. However, during a wrestling match with his younger brother Grand Duke Alexander, (the future Alexander III called Sasha by the family) Nixa received a blow to the stomach from which he never recovered and he contracted a brochial illness over the winter. Sasha had to take his brother's place in the cotillion dance planned to honor Dagmar's arrival and Nixa died the next spring.

Some pictures:

Àðõèâû Ðîññèè. Ëåòîïèñü ñîáûòèé. Âûñòàâêè

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v616/Romanov/Scans/Nicholas.jpg

 

[Russophile]

I don't think he's very dashing, but then again, my taste is the 21st century and not the 19th!
Ysbel, Nixa? Why is that? It seems, to me, an unusual nickname.
Do you speak/write Russian??
It's been awhile since I've read about the IF, what happened with the blow to the stomach? Who gave it?
Does this remind you of the Tudors?

 

[ysbel]

Well the Russian nicknames tended to end in a Sasha, Nixa, Mischa.

The weird thing was that the future Alexander III gave the blow to the stomach when the brothers were wrestling so it did seem odd that he delivered the fatal blow that made him the heir to the Russian throne.

I was always struck by how in love Minnie seemed to be with Nixa and how heartbroken she was when he died. And then how easily she switched her love to Sasha who was a totally different kind of man.

I can't say he reminds me of the Tudors (he's too thin for Henry VIII) but he does remind me in manner and looks to his father Alexander II.

I know a few words of Russian that is it. I just know French and German.

 

[Russophile]

Sorry, that's my ADD getting the better of me. It's plain to ME that the situation, future queen going to distant land, betrothed, husband dies, brother next in line takes his place. I'm sure all I left unsaid wasn't as clear!
I thought they would call him Nicky. Like Nicholas II?
Back in those days, they "did their duty" so it doesn't surprise me that Dagmar went to the next in line. (Wasn't it Victoria that said that "Well, Girls HAVE to marry?") However, what was the situation in DenmarK? If Dagmar just went home, would that have been okay? Or would there have been a scandal?

 

[lexi4]

After Nixa's death, a heartbroken Minnie went home where she remained until ca 1866. Nixa died from tuberculosis.

 

[ysbel]

Sorry, that's my ADD getting the better of me. It's plain to ME that the situation, future queen going to distant land, betrothed, husband dies, brother next in line takes his place. I'm sure all I left unsaid wasn't as clear!
I thought they would call him Nicky. Like Nicholas II?
Back in those days, they "did their duty" so it doesn't surprise me that Dagmar went to the next in line. (Wasn't it Victoria that said that "Well, Girls HAVE to marry?") However, what was the situation in DenmarK? If Dagmar just went home, would that have been okay? Or would there have been a scandal?

Your ADD is no worse than mine!

I always thought Nicky was the English nickname for Nicholas like Alex is for Alexander. I thought that Alix gave Nicholas his nickname rather than his family and she was raised more English than German.

So in English, we have Nicky, Alex (or Alec), and Mike whereas in Russian they have Nixa, Sasha and Mischa. BTW when Jacqueline Bisset dated Alexander Gudonov she always called him Sasha in private, never Alex. She said Alex was not his name.

I'm sure that Minnie did the accepted thing by marrying Sasha but it surprised me how much she seemed to throw her heart into loving first Nixa and then Sasha. Queen Mary seemed to first dutifully stand by the Duke of Clarence and then George V but she didn't seem to throw her heart into each relationship as Minnie did.

 

[ysbel]

After Nixa's death, a heartbroken Minnie went home where she remained until ca 1866. Nixa died from tuberculosis.

Yes that's right. I remember reading that. Was it tuberculosis of the spine? I don't know if the blow to the stomach caused his spine to get out of whack or what happened but it appeared that the wrestling injury caused some chain reaction that culminated in his death the next spring.

 

[Russophile]

It seems that TB was a constant death threat back then. Was it rampant? Like a neo-plague?

 

[ysbel]

Tuberculosis of the lung was very common, didn't Nicky's brother George have it? I don't know about tuberculosis of the spine though.

 

[Russophile]

I believe he did from what I remember. Also Roussodana Sert got it in the 20's? or 30's? She married Jose Maria Sert who was married to Misia Sert pal to Coco Chanel. I only say it because she was Russian as well. Did they not have inoculations then? When did the TB "cure" come out? I would have thought that since they were royalty, they would have had better care than the general public.

 

[ysbel]

I think what fascinates me so much about Nixa is the similarity with his father Alexander II.

They had a great physical similarity but beyond that Alexander II seemed very educated, enlighted, and was called the Tsar-Liberator. He wasn't as liberal as people thought but he was far more forward-thinking than any of his relatives. Nixa seemed to have not only Alexander's physical appearance but he also seemed to have some of Alexander's learning and his forward-thinking outlook which Sasha didn't have.

Sasha was a solider; he was pragmatic, followed orders and gave orders well but he wasn't a visionary. Nicky, his son, didn't seem to be a visonary either. However, from what I can read of Alexander II and Nixa they both had that visionary talent which makes you wonder what would have happened if Nixa hadn't died.

 

[ysbel]

I believe he did from what I remember. Also Roussodana Sert got it in the 20's? or 30's? She married Jose Maria Sert who was married to Misia Sert pal to Coco Chanel. I only say it because she was Russian as well. Did they not have inoculations then? When did the TB "cure" come out? I would have thought that since they were royalty, they would have had better care than the general public.

I think it wasn't until the 30s. Before penicillin the rich were taken care of more comfortably than the rest of us but they didn't stand a better chance of getting healed of certain diseases like TB.

These diseases were killers no matter your social strata.

 

[Russophile]

I think what fascinates me so much about Nixa is the similarity with his father Alexander II.

They had a great physical similarity but beyond that Alexander II seemed very educated, enlighted, and was called the Tsar-Liberator. He wasn't as liberal as people thought but he was far more forward-thinking than any of his relatives. Nixa seemed to have not only Alexander's physical appearance but he also seemed to have some of Alexander's learning and his forward-thinking outlook which Sasha didn't have.

Sasha was a solider; he was pragmatic, followed orders and gave orders well but he wasn't a visionary. Nicky, his son, didn't seem to be a visonary either. However, from what I can read of Alexander II and Nixa they both had that visionary talent which makes you wonder what would have happened if Nixa hadn't died.

Wasn't it a given that the second son automatically went into the military? Though all of them seemed to have military training.
What was Nixa's military background?

 

[lexi4]

Yes that's right. I remember reading that. Was it tuberculosis of the spine? I don't know if the blow to the stomach caused his spine to get out of whack or what happened but it appeared that the wrestling injury caused some chain reaction that culminated in his death the next spring.

You know, I don't know if it was tuberculosis of the spine. I just remember reading tuberculosis.
I've often wondered how different Russia would have been had Nixa lived. I think he was more like his father. When Alexander III became tsar he basically reversed all of the reforms his father made and became more of an autocrat. I think that helped set the stage for the revolution.f

 

[ysbel]

Wasn't it a given that the second son automatically went into the military? Though all of them seemed to have military training.

Yes and that was true of other famous second sons like George V of England who started as a Navy man when he was just 14 and was quite put out to find out that he was going to be King of England.

 

[Russophile]

Hmm. Interesting that. It seems now that Prince William is getting military training AND training in Kingship. Did Nixa have the same?

 

[lexi4]

You know, I don't know. I assume he did, but there doesn't seem to be a lot written about him.
Lexi

 

[lexi4]

Good idea.
He died so young, he really didn't have much of a change to accomplish anything noteworthy, I don't think.
Lexi

 

[ysbel]

Well Nixa was photographed in a military uniform but that may have been honorary.

There are some pictures of Nixa clowning around with his brothers but I can't seem to find them.

I've read some contradictory stories about their upbringing. First I read that Marie of Hesse doted on Nixa and saved the best tutors and instructors for him. With Sasha and the other brothers, I read she gave them less skilled instructors and more boring education so that their education and learning would not outshine Nixa's. I read that she apparently didn't want the brothers to challenge Nixa for authority and power when it came his chance to rule Russia.

However another story I read about Nixa and Sasha was that they were extremely close and they shared the same tutor. That same article mentioned that Nixa secretly taught his younger brother some things from his studies which would lead one to believe that they didnt' have the same tutors.

But if Marie of Hesse destroyed the younger sons training and education in favor of Nixa, you can see how vulnerable the Russian Imperial Family were when Nixa died.

I think for the Russian Imperial Family, this may have almost been a tragedy comparable to Alexis having hemophilia.

 

[lexi4]

Isn't it frustration when you read conflicting accounts like that? The one I am most familiar with is that Marie of Hesse doted on Nixa, he was the favorite.
I am certain that Nixa was better prepared for ruling that his brother. Since he was not in poor health and was so robust, there was no reason to think he would have an early death. Marie of Hesse and her relationship with her husband is an interesting discussion too. Maybe another thread?
Lexi

 

[Russophile]

Now why would she do that to the future of Russia? Didn't Catherine the Great take all her grandsons (not that THAT was the thing to do!!) and have them all taught equally from the best?? That, it seems to me, to be the most logical way to go about it!

 

[ysbel]

Because she thought the future of Russia was in Nixa, not the other sons.

If you read about the genesis of primogeniture, its really fascinating. In the beginning, kings would divide their kingdom equally between their sons. That way Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious split up his vast empire between his three sons and Italian noble families split up their inheritance equally between all sons until well into the Renaissance.

However, splitting up property between all one's sons meant that in a few generations after equal splitting of the kingdom between several sons meant that each son's kingdom became smaller and smaller with each generation. After a few generations when the ties of blood became weakened, the cousins would fight bloody battles with each other and the kingdoms became too small to govern effectively.

So it became standard for kings to name one son as the sole heir to the throne. This was the premise of the movie The Lion In Winter, where Henry II of England had to choose his heir among his 3 sons. After awhile even that became less stable as kings on a whim changed who their heir was going to be.

In fact Peter the Great still maintained the right of naming his own heir but by his time, most kings left their kingdoms to the oldest son for the sake of security. People knew who the heir was, he had a lifetime to prepare, and the plan was that there were fewer surprises.

This worked overall surprisingly well, except when the oldest son died. As for why Marie and Alexander stunted the growth and education of their youngest sons I can only think it had to do with the fact that up till a few years previously, the crown of Russia didn't necessarily go to the eldest son. Peter the Great set expectations that his eldest son would not succeed him, Catherine the Great overthrew her husband, Peter the Great was succeeded by his wife Catherine I.

So the tradition of the first son inheriting the throne I don't think was as firmly ensconced in Russia and so Marie and Alexander may have genuinely worried that some of Nixa's brothers would try to overthrow him from the throne and so they sought to blunt their education and make them unimaginative dull creatures so that they would never even think of overthrowing their oldest brother Nixa.

Certainly if Nixa had been alive, the rather unpretentious and methodical Sasha would have never (I believe) led a coup to overthrow his brother. And I think that was the purpose of the difference in education.

However, when Nixa died, it had tragic side effects.

 

[lexi4]

Thank you Ysbel, for putting all of that together. I do think all hopes were pinned on Nixa because he was the oldest. You mentioned A Lion in Winter...what a wonderful movie I still enjoy.

 

[Russophile]

Oh ditto Lex and Y!! (Or X and Y? )
Love, Love, LOVE the movie. Hepburn was FANTASTIC!!
But wouldn't they have wanted to marry off the men a la Albert to strengthen ties with other countries?

 

[Grace Angel]

Your ADD is no worse than mine!

I always thought Nicky was the English nickname for Nicholas like Alex is for Alexander. I thought that Alix gave Nicholas his nickname rather than his family and she was raised more English than German.

So in English, we have Nicky, Alex (or Alec), and Mike whereas in Russian they have Nixa, Sasha and Mischa. BTW when Jacqueline Bisset dated Alexander Gudonov she always called him Sasha in private, never Alex. She said Alex was not his name.

I'm sure that Minnie did the accepted thing by marrying Sasha but it surprised me how much she seemed to throw her heart into loving first Nixa and then Sasha. Queen Mary seemed to first dutifully stand by the Duke of Clarence and then George V but she didn't seem to throw her heart into each relationship as Minnie did.

I think Queen Mary did throw her heart into marrying George V actually, but she didn't show it as much because she wasn't that type of person. She was more reserved than Marie F. Marie F loved both brothers, but I think their shared grief over Nixa's death was one thing that really helped MF and Alexander III create a shared bond in the first place, whereas Queen Mary defintely wasn't in love with Eddy, but in time was indeed in love with her husband George V, their's was a very happy marriage as revealed if you read biographies of them and his letters to her to quoted in them. MF was lucky in finding a bond with both of the brothers she was supposed to marry, whereas Alexander III, in love with a court lady before his brother's death, had to work harder to love MF, although eventually it's obvious they loved each other equally. Nixa's death was likely more of a tragedy for Russia given his future potential for Russia, than a personal tragedy for MF or the Romanovs.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Portrait of Tsarevich Nicholas in a military uniform
http://www.alamy.com/portrait-of-ts...sian-state-library-moscow-image212259105.html

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

OMG Nixa!!!!!! I love that name.
Yeah he's not that dashing. I was expecting someone who looks like King Leopold I of Belgium. Its sad that Nixa was educated better than the others, one thing studying history of royals has taught me is to not put all your eggs in one basket.

 

[Friedrich Karl II]

OMG Nixa!!!!!! I love that name.
Yeah he's not that dashing. I was expecting someone who looks like King Leopold I of Belgium. Its sad that Nixa was educated better than the others, one thing studying history of royals has taught me is to not put all your eggs in one basket.

It was very unfortunate for Russian Empire that he died before him became tsar. He was much more progressive than his younger brothers so he could had been able to make needed reforms and probably avoid revolution. Russia might even be more prepared to the World War.

 

[lucien]

OMG Nixa!!!!!! I love that name.
Yeah he's not that dashing. I was expecting someone who looks like King Leopold I of Belgium. Its sad that Nixa was educated better than the others, one thing studying history of royals has taught me is to not put all your eggs in one basket.

It is ,or rather was,Niksa btw.With KS

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Ernst Hartmann's rendition of Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich
http://www.maryevans.com/history/10446052