19-20th Cent. Maria Feodorovna, Empress Consort of All the Russias.

Princess Marie Sophie Fredrica Dagmar was born 26 November 1847, in the Yellow Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark. She was the daughter of Louise of Hesse-Cassel, Queen Consort of Denmark (7 September 1817 - 29 September 1898) and Christian IX, King of Denmark (8 April 1818 - 29 January 1906). Her maternal grandparents were Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark (30 October 1789 - 28 March 1864) and Landgrave William of Hesse-Kassel (24 December 1787 - 5 September 1867). Her paternal grandparents were Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel (28 September 1789 - 13 March 1867) and Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (4 January 1785 - 17 February 1831). Dagmar's parents were married 26 May 1842, at the Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen. Her siblings were: Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark (3 June 1843 - 14 May 1912), Princess Alexandra of Denmark (1 December 1844 - 20 November 1925), Prince Vilhelm of Denmark (24 December 1845 - 18 March 1913), Princess Thyra of Denmark (29 September 1853 - 26 February 1933) and Prince Valdemar of Denmark (27 October 1858 - 14 January 1939). Dagmar was very close to her older sister, Alexandra. Alexandra married Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (9 November 1841 - 6 May 1910) on 10 March 1863, at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Dagmar was betrothed to Grand Duke Nicholas Alexandrovich on 28 September 1864. Nicholas died from tuberculosis on 22 April 1865. Dagmar returned to Denmark. In June 1866, the Tsesarevich Alexander asked Princess Dagmar for her hand while on a visit to Copenhagen. Dagmar and Alexander became engaged on 23 June 1866. Princess Dagmar left Copenhagen on 1 September 1866. She converted to the Russian orthodox faith and was granted the title, Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna of Russia. Maria and Alexander were married on 9 November 1866, in the Imperial Chapel of the Winter Palace, in St.Petersburg. After the wedding night, Alexander wrote in his diary, "I took off my slippers and my silver embroidered robe and felt the body of my beloved next to mine... How I felt then, I do not wish to describe here. Afterwards we talked for a long time." The newlyweds moved into the Anichkov Palace in St.Petersburg. They had four sons and two daughters.

The Children of Maria Feodorovna and Alexander III:
Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia (18 May 1868 - 17 July 1918)
Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich of Russia (7 June 1869 - 2 May 1870)
Grand Duke George Alexandrovich of Russia (6 May 1871 - 9 August 1899)
Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia (6 April 1875 - 20 April 1960)
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich (28 November 1878 - ca 12 June 1918)
Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia (13 June 1882 - 24 November 1960)

Her father-in-law, Alexander II was assassinated on 13 March 1881, by a bomb on the way to the Winter Palace. In her diary, Maria Feodorovna later wrote, "His legs were crushed terribly and ripped open to the knee; a bleeding mass, with half a boot on the right foot, and only the sole of the foot remaining on the left." He was succeeded by his son, as Alexander III. Maria wrote in her diary, "Our happiest and serenest times are now over. My peace and calm are gone, for now I will only ever be able to worry about Sasha." Maria and Alexander III were crowned on 27 May 1883, at the Kremlin, in Moscow. After the coronation Maria and Alexander III moved to the Gatchina Palace. In July 1894, her sister Alexandra visited Maria at Gatchina Palace. Her son, Nicholas wished to marry Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt (6 June 1872 - 17 July 1918). She was the daughter of Princess Alice of England (25 April 1843 - 14 December 1878) and Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and the Rhine (12 September 1837 - 13 March 1892). Alexander III died on 1 November 1894, at Livadia. According to the diary of Maria, "I am utterly heartbroken and despondent, but when I saw the blissful smile and the peace in his face that came after, it gave me strength." At the end of November 1894, Maria moved into the Anichkov Palace in St.Petersburg. Her mother, Louise of Hesse-Kassel died on 29 September 1898, in Bernstorff Palace, Gentofte, Denmark. Her father, Christian IX died on 29 January 1906. He was succeeded by her brother, as Frederick VIII. In March 1917, Revolution broke out in Russia. After Maria left Russia, she received reports that her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren had been murdered. She wrote in her diary, "I am sure they all got out of Russia and now the Bolsheviks are trying to hide the truth." Her sister, Alexandra died on 20 November 1925, at Sandringham House, Norfolk. She was buried on 28 November 1925, at St. George's Chapel, Windsor. Maria Feodorovna died aged 80, on 13 October 1928, in Hvidøre, near Copenhagen. She was interred on 19 October 1928, at Roskilde Cathedral. A statue of Maria Feodorovna was unveiled on 26 September 2006, in Peterhof. She was interred on 28 September 2006, next to her husband Alexander III in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Maria Feodorovna once wrote in a letter to her son Nicholas II, "You know that my thoughts and prayers never leave you. I think of you day and night and sometimes feel so sick at heart that I believe I cannot bear it any longer. But God is merciful. He will give us strength for this terrible ordeal." Her daughter, Olga Alexandrovna said, "Yet I am sure that deep in her heart my mother had steeled herself to accept the truth some years before her death."

"Everything will be all right..." Maria Feodorovna