Nicholas II
Nicholas II was bornon 18 May 1868 in Tsarskoye Selo, Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, Alexander Palace, Russian. The last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II was an infamous king who was executed at the age of 50. Ascending to the throne at the age of 26, after the unexpected death his father, Nicholas proved to be an incapable emperor for the vast and sprawling kingdom of Russia. In fact, the Tsar himself admitted his disinterest and inability to rule and confided in his close friend/associate “I am not prepared to be a tsar. I never wanted to become one. I know nothing of the business of ruling.” To add to his encumbrance, this ill-fated emperor was to face the World War I, the outcome of which proved to be fatal for him and his family. His failure in representing the Russian army effectively in the war was the turning point of his life, where most of his ministers turned against him and he earned the wrath of the public. On his return from the war, he was forced to abdicate his title and was put under house arrest, before being executed. He has been, time and again, condemned for his lack of intellect in the political affairs and has been criticized as a “tyrant, who paid with his life for the age-old repression and arbitrary rule of his ancestors over the Russian people, over the impoverished and blood-soaked country”.
In 1981, Nicholas II and his family were canonized (as martyr saints) by the ‘Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia’
After the fall of the Tsar and following a period of house arrest, the whole family was shot dead by the Bolsheviks on 17 July 1918
In 1904, the Empress gave birth to their only son Alexei
In 1901, Anastasia, their fourth daughter, was born
Their first child, Princess Olga, was born in 1895, followed by Tatiana, their second daughter in 1897 and Maria, their third daughter, who was born in 1899
They were formally married on 26 November 1894, following Alix’s conversion from Lutheranism to Russian Orthodoxy, a few months earlier
His grandfather Alexander II was assassinated in 1881, when Nicholas was 13 years old and his father ascended the throne as Alexander III
Nicholas was born on 18 May 1868, to the Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia
