Tsar Nicholas II of Russia

[LouisFerdinand]

Tsar Nicholas II aboard the Standart.   
Tsar Nicholas II & His Family aboard their yacht "Standart" - YouTube

[LouisFerdinand]

Tsar Paul I had a strict order of succession by proclaiming that the eldest son of the monarch shall inherit the throne. How could Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna have inherited the throne? Could Tsar Nicholas II on his own have changed the Pauline Laws?

[Curryong]

In theory the Tsars, being virtual autocrats, could do whatever they wished. In practice however, it is clear that Nicholas did not change the Romanov House Rules as, when he abdicated for himself and his heir in 1917, his brother Michael was named as the next in line.

Possibly, had there been no World War and if Alexei had died in childhood, then something might have been done, especially if Michael had no wish to be Tsar.

However, Alexi's condition remained a secret from all but a very few, and as far as the Russian people were concerned he was a healthy child.  A huge number of explanations would be necessary and Nicholas would have had to have taken the rest of the Romanovs, a rumbunctious crew, and the Russian nobility with him, on such a path.

[QueenAlex]

In theory the Tsars, being virtual autocrats, could do whatever they wished. In practice however, it is clear that Nicholas did not change the Romanov House Rules as, when he abdicated for himself and his heir in 1917, his brother Michael was named as the next in line.

Possibly, had there been no World War and if Alexei had died in childhood, then something might have been done, especially if Michael had no wish to be Tsar.

However, Alexi's condition remained a secret from all but a very few, and as far as the Russian people were concerned he was a healthy child.  A huge number of explanations would be necessary and Nicholas would have had to have taken the rest of the Romanovs, a rumbunctious crew, and the Russian nobility with him, on such a path.

but the problems of the Haemophilia would still be there.  Even if people didn't  know that much about haemophlila by that time I think there was a rough idea that there was something to do with the mothers and so I think that other royals and nobles would have been wary of marrying Olga or the other girls...

[Curryong]

Before WW1 broke out Olga was taken by her parents to 'accidentally' meet Crown Prince Carol of Romania. His mother Marie was apparently quite keen on a potential match. However Olga didn't like the young man, he wasn't particularly attracted to her and so everything fizzled out. And, somewhere in my memory there's a story of an older man, a Romanov, actually putting himself forward as a suitor for Olga's hand.

Alex was horrified at the thought of her innocent flower being given in marriage to a blas? and rather debauched individual. I'll have to look up who it was. I remember reading it on the Alexander Palace Forums years ago, and Alexandra's reaction was quoted.

Neither man was suitable of course but the point was that the haemophilia link doesn't seem to have come into consideration with those projected matches and no doubt there were others who wanted to marry Olga. .

Also, Lord Mountbatten had a tendresse for the Grand Duchess Marie for years and kept her photo by his bedside until he died. It would have been a very unequal match and no doubt it wouldn't have been considered had she lived, but it doesn't appear that the chance that she (or her sisters) may have been genetic  carriers of the condition put him off. And Marie was the one who underwent a dental operation and bled so copiously that the doctors in attendance were terrified.
Double post auto-merged: May 08, 2020, 05:47:39 PM

Later--looked it up. The debauched individual (in his late 30s) was apparently the Grand Duke Boris, whose mother, the GDchess Maria Pavlovna, was referred to by Alix as Aunt Meichen.

Another to be considered was the GD Michael's son Dimitri, the foster child of Sergei and Ella for most of his and his sister's childhoods. Dimitri grew to be a bit of a war hero, was appointed ADC to the Tsar and given a high honour by him. However, Dimitri enjoyed running around with Felix Yusopoff and the two were involved in Rasputin's death, so that was the end of that.

Both Nicholas and Alexandra seem to have been quite amenable to CP Carol. Before he and Olga met in June 1914 Prince Christopher of Greece asked the Tsar whether he could be considered for Olga. Nicky however put him off, saying she was too young. That was in May 1914, a month before the meeting with Carol!

Olga's parents were apparently a bit disappointed that Olga and Carol didn't hit it off (in fact he quite fancied Marie) but God knows what sort of a life she would have had with him. Better than being shot dead in a cellar by revolutionary thugs, but only just.

If there had been no war and no death of Rasputin, I think Olga may have ended up with her cousin Dimitri.
Double post auto-merged: May 08, 2020, 06:16:51 PM

Dimitri was of course the son of GD Pavel not Michael! Typed too fast!

[LouisFerdinand]

This picture taken in 1910 shows Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra on board the yacht Standart.   
An exhibition Nicholas II. Family Album Stock Photo - Alamy

[LouisFerdinand]

Tsar Nicholas II participated in the Borodino ceremonies which were a centenary celebration of the battle before Moscow in 1812 when Kutuzov's army gave battle to Napoleon.   
Nicholas attended cathedral services, receptions, parades, and processions.