By Helen Azar
The Romanov family members loved to play games, even as adults. Various games are mentioned in their diaries and letters, and readers often would like to know exactly what these games were. I will use Tatiana’s own writing to discuss some of the games.
From the 1916 memoirs of Semyon Pavlov, a patient at the royal infirmary: Read more ROMANOV FAMILY GAMES
The four Russian grand duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, or OTMA as they often referred to themselves, loved and respected each other, as well as other members of their family: their mother, father and little brother, Tsesarevich Alexei. “We 7” is how every member of the close knit Romanov family referred to themselves collectively. Read more EMPRESS ALEXANDRA – “MAMA” AND HER GIRLS (OTMA)
All members of the Romanov family were avid photographers. Luckily for us, because they left behind hundred upon hundreds of photographs! They often mentioned photographs in their diaries and letters, as well as one of their favorite past times: “pasting” their photographs into albums. Read more ROMANOV FAMILY AND THE CAMERA
A very large baby girl joined the Romanov family on November 15 (Old Style: November 3) 1895, in St Petersburg, Russia. On that day her father, Tsar Nicholas II, wrote in his diary: “A day I will remember forever . . . at exactly 9 o’clock a baby’s cry was heard and we all breathed a sigh of relief! With prayer we named the daughter sent to us by God ‘Olga’!”
Baby Olga’s aunt, the Grand Duchess Ksenia’s diary entry for 3 November was a bit more cynical: “The birth of a daughter to Nicky and Alix! A great joy, although it’s a great pity it’s not a son! . . . The baby is huge – weighing 10 pounds – and had to be pulled out with forceps!”
Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna Romanov was the first of Tsar Nicholas II’s and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna’s five children. Born at the Anichkov Palace where the newlywed Russian imperial couple initially settled, the first of four daughters, Olga Romanov was born “in the purple” – during the imperial reign of her parents. Her Russian title “Velikaya Knyazhna” is most precisely translated as “the Grand Princess”, which means that Olga Romanov, as an “Imperial Highness”, was higher in rank than other princesses in Europe who were merely “Royal Highnesses”. “Grand Duchess” is the more common English translation. Read more OLGA ROMANOV: GRAND DUCHESS OLGA NIKOLAEVNA OF RUSSIA
Every summer prior to the war, the Romanov family boarded their imperial yacht “The Standart” and headed for a holiday on the Finnish skerries. The time they spent in Finland was always one of their fondest memories.
From Grand Duchess Olga’s 1913 diary: Read more ROMANOV FAMILY IN FINLAND
