Nicholas II and Alexandra: a 23-year-long honeymoon

They met when they were teenagers. He had dreamed of marrying her for many years. They had an exemplary family and five children. And they died on the same day, just as they dreamed. The Russian emperor did not just love his wife. He was in love with her.

Such letters were written by Nicholas II to his wife Alexandra Feodorovna. The last Russian emperor did not just love his wife — he was in love with her. Alexandra Feodorovna (in her pre-Russian life, her granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England was called Alice) she also loved her husband.

Their story ends terribly, but still with the textbook "and died in one day", which is what they both dreamed of.

They said about Alice: a beautiful and intelligent girl. She loved to study, knew European literature well, loved history and geography, and already in adolescence was well versed in politics. She even had a doctorate in philosophy. Alice, Alix was terribly shy, like all book girls, so she always kept aloof and seemed cold, but she looked around with friendly curiosity.

She met Nikolai for the first time at the age of 12 — her older sister was marrying his uncle. Nikolai was 16. It was just a childish meeting that did not leave a big trace in the girl's heart. And Nikolai remembered her. And when Alice came to visit her sister a few years later, he looked at her with completely different eyes.

He was in love and glad, his father, Alexander III, was not happy. He had his own plans for the marriage of his son — he wanted to marry Nicholas for the benefit of the Empire, for its economy and foreign policy. His son's wife was to be the daughter of Count Louis Philippe of Paris, Elena Louise Henrietta. But Nikolai didn't even want to talk about anyone but Alix. His father sent him on a trip around the world — Nikolai returned the same in love with Alice.

Some historians believe that it was Alexander III who came up with the idea to introduce Nicholas to the ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya. It was he who brought his son to the concert, which at the same time was the final exam at the theater school, it was he who in every possible way singled out Matilda from a number of other ballerinas, it was he who sat them down next to each other at dinner.

At first, Nikolai did not fall for this ballet bait, in his diary he wrote dryly that they had dinner at the theater school, watched the ballet and the play, everything went well. But Matilda fell in love right away, as she later said "from the first time we met."

Then they met several more times, and the puzzled heir to the Russian throne confessed to the diary:

The novel began, but also Nikolai and Matilda knew it wouldn't be for long, he would marry someone else anyway. But Matilda was ready to do anything just to be near such a person, and he experienced the best moments of his youth next to her… Although he remembered all the time that the best part of his heart belongs to another girl.

When Alexander III became seriously ill, he somehow softened towards his son and his choice of a bride. Nikolai rushed off to propose to Alice. She already knew how the groom's father treated her, and then there was this story with Matilda. Alix thought for three days, but then she finally agreed.The next time they met in Crimea, where Alexander III was treated. Nikolai summoned the bride by telegram. They drove past villages where they were greeted with flowers and bread and salt, the dazzling sun was shining... it seemed that all life would be like this — like inside a fairy tale.

Alexander III managed to bless the young. They were married three weeks after his death. The bride was worried about the "unfamiliar things" that she had to wear: an unthinkable diamond necklace, heavy diamond earrings. But she was beautiful. Alice became Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova. So this exemplary family began.

All their lives they left each other cute notes in which they did not skimp on all these "sunshine" and "honey". When the children appeared, nothing changed, just the halo of love and affection expanded: they still loved spending time together more than anything else, but not just two, but all of them. Alexandra tried her best to be a reliable rear for her husband, and he could always rely on her.

When Nikolai was ill, she worked with documents, singled out the main thing in them so that he would not waste time on the rest. She tried to protect him from wrong actions caused by excessive gentleness of character. From the outside, it could sometimes look like the notorious "pilezh". During the First World War, she wrote strictly to him, the commander-in-chief of the Russian troops:

She wanted her husband's authority in the state to be unconditional, and, probably, she would be glad to see him different — more resolute, firm, confident. In response, he patiently asked not to treat him like a child.But in the most difficult moments of her life, she unconditionally accepted him as he is, and took his side. When Nicholas abdicated, Alexandra wrote to him:

Nikolai did not know that before that she had been crying all night and burning their correspondence so that it would not fall into the wrong hands. But even these days they did not change themselves and celebrated the anniversary of their engagement. Because that was the main thing in their lives.

Until the last day of Nicholas, his wife remained the main character of his diary. They were shot in July 1918.