One 'Forgotten' Romanov Sister's Good Looks Weren't Enough To Save Her From A Chilling End
We think of many royals as being born with a silver spoon in their mouths, but Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia has a radically different story. Born into royalty toward the end of the Russian Empire, her all-too-brief life was dedicated to nursing, caretaking, and dreaming about her future. But, in her late teens, this all came crashing down as the Empire's political climate took a turn for the worse.
The beautiful royal daughter
In 1897, Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova was born into a crumbling Russian Empire that was on the brink of revolution. Her father was Tsar Nicholas the Second, the last Tsar of Russia. Though the Romanovs are most remembered today thanks to stories surrounding Tatiana's little sister Anastasia, Tatiana was beloved in her own right — just not at first.
A slight disappointment
At a time shortly after delivering Tatiana into the world, her mother, Empress Alexandra, looked around after waking up and saw anxious faces all around her. She knew what troubled them because it also troubled her. Their expressions said it all. “My God," she cried, "It is again a daughter. What will the nation say, what will the nation say?"
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Made her mark
Despite her mother's fears in those early days, Tatiana showed a strong acumen and impressive presence from a young age. Her parents raised her under somewhat harsh conditions in order to build character. While sleeping on barren cots to taking cold showers, Tatiana excelled at keeping her chin up and making the most of a bad situation.
One of five
Back then, Tatiana stood out as the most famous of Tsar Nicholas' daughters, but she wasn't alone in her upbringing. First came her older sister, Grand Duchess Olga. She also had three younger siblings: Grand Duchess Maria, Grand Duchess Anastasia, and Tsarevich Alexei, who was the youngest Romanov. Tatiana shared a special bond with one of her siblings.
