Nicholas II had a younger brother, who, according to the court, was better suited for the role of monarch. A series of strange tragic circumstances and the sudden death of this young man shocked everyone.
A brief biography of our hero fits in three lines. This will not surprise anyone who is familiar with statistics regarding life expectancy in the Russian Empire. However, contemporaries considered the early death of the prince very strange, and his mother claimed that it was not politics involved, but mysticism.
Birth
The wedding of the future emperor Alexander III and the Danish princess Dagmara could not be called a happy event. The groom was ready to give up his rights to the throne for the sake of an alliance with Maria Meshcherskaya - one of the maids of honor of the court. The bride had already survived the tragedy - initially she was married to Alexander's elder brother, but he died in 1965. At the bedside of a dying woman, she met her future husband, and the following year this strange wedding took place.
Dagmara received the Russian name Maria Fedorovna. The Dane was pretty in appearance, was fond of music, was able to win over people. It was not difficult for her to melt the heart of her husband. Soon she pleased the imperial family with the birth of her first child. In subsequent years, the family of Alexander Alexandrovich rapidly increased. George became the third son of this couple. He was born in the spring of 1871, shortly after the death of the second child of the crowned couple.
The eldest sons of Alexander III Nikolai and George
Parenting
The all-Russian autocrat was a strange father. He never allowed himself to yell at the children, or scold them. But the daily routine and living conditions of the kids were far from ideal. Their rooms were furnished with very modest furniture, there was a strict discipline of soldiers, the diet was very different from the menu of the feast. Physically strong and tall, George, who easily endured all the hardships of such a life, immediately became daddy's favorite. Perhaps it was Spartan conditions that caused irreparable damage to the body of this boy.
Emperor Alexander III with his family
Potential heirs to the throne were to receive not only a good education, but also learn independence. Alexander III hired the best teachers for his sons, most of whom were famous scientists of their time. So that the sons could not use each other's tips during classes, lessons for each of them were conducted in a separate room. Maria Fedorovna was not enthusiastic about the rules established by her husband, but could not do anything about it.
Family relationship
In addition to outstanding physical data, George had a strong character. In the company of his brothers and sisters, he was a leader. The elder brother of Nikolenka often wrote down the tricks of George, carefully kept them and reread them to cheer. The younger - Michael, looked next to him with mediocrity.
In adolescence, our hero was carried away by stories of distant wanderings and the East. This passion related him to Nikolai and it is not known which of the young men was the first in her. Parents believed that George could make a brilliant career in the Navy. A gift for the future admiral was the opportunity to make a cruise to Japan on the ship "Memory of Azov". He could not go on a journey without his best friend - his older brother Nikolai.
Grand Duke George Alexandrovich
Omen
In 1890, when young people had already entered the deck of the cruiser and left our native land, the emperor presented his wife with an unusual souvenir - Faberge's egg “Memory of Azov”. Maria Fedorovna found a frightening detail on a trinket - it seemed to her that the button opening this box looked like a drop of human blood. They didn’t have time to send the jewelers their work back, so that they would replace the ruby with a stone of a different color - terrible news came to the palace.
Faberge Egg "Memory of Azov"
The voyage of the princes turned into a real nightmare. In Bombay, Georgy Romanov became very ill after a fight with his brother. The best doctors who diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis were called to him. On all plans, the young man had to put an end to. A skirmish victim was sent home. Nikolai continued his journey and reached the end point of the route - the land of the Rising Sun. He rested in the company of the Greek and Japanese heirs to the throne when a man with a samurai sword attacked him. Cesarevich was wounded in the head.
