As you know, in 1918 the entire royal family was shot in the Ipatiev house, in Yekaterinburg. There is still debate about whether the emperor himself, his wife and their children could have avoided a terrible fate. But researchers' special attention is drawn to the eldest daughters of Nicholas II, who at the time of the massacre were already old enough, and marriage, perhaps, would have saved their lives. Why did none of the grand duchesses go down the aisle?
Olga
The eldest daughter of Nicholas II at the time of the execution was already 22 years old. Of course, even for such a short life, Olga fell in love and even more than once. Surely, all her hobbies are unknown to this day. But the fact that in 1912 the engagement of the Grand Duchess with the cousin of Nicholas II Dmitry Pavlovich was to take place is a fact. However, the mother of the future bride turned out to be categorically against this marriage, and not at all because of the close relationship of the spouses. Alexandra Feodorovna did not tolerate Dmitry Pavlovich for his hatred of Rasputin. Later, the prince really took part in the murder of the royal elder.
4 years later, in 1916, Olga almost got married again. By the will of his own mother, another Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich became a contender for the hand and heart of the tsar's eldest daughter. But Alexandra Feodorovna rejected this proposal too. In the opinion of the empress, Boris was not worthy of Olga. He was famous for his love affairs, and Alexandra Feodorovna was sure that her daughter would still not agree to link her life with such a rake.
Tatyana
The second imperial daughter Tatiana turned 21 in 1918. At first, they wanted to marry Tatyana to the son of the Serbian king Alexander. The families even met about this, but the First World War began, and engagement negotiations became irrelevant. And Tatyana herself, together with her mother and sisters, began to care for the wounded in the hospital. It seemed that the girl had no time for amorous affairs.
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But it was within the hospital walls that the Grand Duchess met a cornet named Dmitry Malama. Tatyana became so attached to Malama that those around her began to notice her feelings. Moreover, the cornet also showed signs of attention to Tatiana. In particular, knowing about the imperial daughter's love for animals, he presented her with a dog, a French bulldog. It is noteworthy that Alexandra Feodorovna also treated Malama with warmth, but, of course, this relationship had no future.
Maria
Maria Nikolaevna was 19 when she died. Maria dreamed of marriage and children and often fell in love. The future King of Romania, Karol II, wanted to marry the Grand Duchess at one time. But Nicholas considered that at that time Maria was still very young for marriage.
In general, everyone considered Maria a child until her death. Even when the girl met the officer Nikolai Demenkov, who commanded the ships that guarded the members of the royal family, the sisters only laughed at Maria and even at Demenkov himself, calling him "fat". Maria corresponded with her lover, talked to him on the phone and even sewed a shirt for him herself. But that was the end of it.
Anastasia
Anastasia, the youngest of the Romanov sisters, was killed at the age of 17. She was no longer a little girl. But the surviving memories of Anastasia suggest otherwise. The girl was already a little shy of her dense figure, and the sisters often called her "the egg-box". Nevertheless, she remained childishly cheerful, perky and could easily make anyone laugh.
On the night of July 17, 1918, Anastasia, however, like Olga, and Tatiana, and Maria, and Tsarevich Alexei and their parents were gone.
Yulia Popova