Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (later Duchess of Edinburgh and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Russian: Мария Александровна; 17 October [O.S. 5 October] 1853 – 24 October 1920) was the fifth child and only surviving daughter of Emperor Alexander II of Russia and his first wife, Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine. She was the younger sister of Alexander III of Russia and the paternal aunt of Russia's last emperor, Nicholas II.In 1874 Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna married Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; she was the only Romanov to marry into the British royal family. The couple had five children: a son, Alfred, and four daughters: Marie, Victoria Melita, Alexandra, and Beatrice. For the first years of her marriage, Maria Alexandrovna lived in England. She neither adapted to the British court nor overcame her dislike for her adopted country. She accompanied her husband on his postings as an Admiral of the Royal Navy at Malta (1886–1889) and Devonport (1890–1893). The Duchess of Edinburgh travelled extensively through Europe. She visited her family in Russia frequently and stayed for long periods in England and Germany attending social and family events.In August 1893 Maria Alexandrovna became Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha when her husband inherited the duchy on the death of his childless uncle, Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She enjoyed life in Germany, where she became active in cultural endeavours and charitable work. To her daughters she gave every support, but she was critical of her wayward son, who died young in 1899. Her husband died the following year.In her widowhood Maria Alexandrovna continued to live in Coburg. The outbreak of World War I divided her sympathies. She sided with Germany against her native Russia. Her only surviving brother, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich, her nephew Tsar Nicholas II and many other relatives were killed during the Russian Revolution and she lost her considerable fortune. From 1893 until her death, she had the distinction of being an Imperial Russian grand duchess (by birth), a British royal Duchess (by marriage), and the consort (and later widow) of a German sovereign Duke.
After World War I, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the duchy which her husband and nephew had ruled, ceased to exist in November 1918. Maria Alexandrovna died two years later while living under reduced circumstances in exile in Switzerland.
Song:If you should fall - Craig Armstrong
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Adagio pour piano - Saint-Preux
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Я люблю тебя - Катя Лель
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Royal: Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna Romanova of Russia,Duchess Maria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
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