Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia

Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, born on October seventeenth, eighteen fifty-three, was the sixth child and only surviving daughter of Alexander II of Russia and Marie of Hesse and by Rhine. She became Duchess of Edinburgh and later Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha through her marriage to Prince Alfred, the second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. As the younger sister of Alexander III of Russia, she was also the paternal aunt of Nicholas II, the last emperor of Russia.

In eighteen seventy-four, Maria married Alfred, and together they had five children: Alfred, Marie, Victoria Melita, Alexandra, and Beatrice. Initially residing in England, Maria struggled to adapt to the British court and harbored a dislike for her adopted country. She accompanied her husband during his naval postings in Malta and Devonport, while also traveling extensively throughout Europe, frequently visiting her family in Russia and attending social events in England and Germany.

Maria became Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in August eighteen ninety-three after her husband's uncle passed away. Embracing life in Germany, she engaged in cultural and charitable activities, providing unwavering support to her daughters while being critical of her son Alfred, who tragically died in eighteen ninety-nine. Following her husband's death in nineteen hundred, Maria continued her life in Coburg, navigating the complexities of widowhood.

The onset of World War I created a rift in her loyalties, as she sided with Germany against her homeland of Russia. The war brought personal losses, including the deaths of her brother Paul and nephew Nicholas II, and led to the loss of her considerable fortune. With the dissolution of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in November nineteen eighteen, Maria found herself living in reduced circumstances. She passed away in nineteen twenty while in exile in Switzerland.