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Alexandra Fyodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia)

Alexandra Feodorovna
Alexandra Fedorovna in yellow Russian dress (1836, A.Malyukov, Hermitage).jpg
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna
portrait by A. Maliukov, 1836,
Hermitage Museum
Empress consort of All the Russias
Tenure 1 December 1825 – 2 March 1855
Coronation 3 September 1826
Born Princess Friederike Luise Charlotte Wilhelmine of Prussia
(1798-07-13)13 July 1798
Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin, Prussia
Died 1 November 1860(1860-11-01) (aged 62)
Alexander Palace, Tsarskoye Selo, Russian Empire
Burial Peter and Paul Cathedral, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Spouse Nicholas I of Russia
Issue Emperor Alexander II of Russia
Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, Duchess of Leuchtenberg
Olga Nikolaevna, Queen of Württemberg
Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna, Princess of Hesse-Kassel
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich
Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich
Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich
House Hohenzollern
Father King Frederick William III of Prussia
Mother Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Religion Russian Orthodox
prev. Calvinism

Alexandra Feodorovna (Russian: Алекса́ндра Фёдоровна; IPA: [ɐlʲɪˈksandrə ˈfjɵdərəvnə]), born Princess Charlotte of Prussia (13 July 1798 – 1 November 1860), was Empress consort of Russia. She was the wife of Emperor Nicholas I, and mother of Emperor Alexander II.

Charlotte was born the eldest surviving daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia, and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Her childhood was marked by the Napoleonic wars and the death of her mother when she was twelve years old.

In 1814, her marriage was arranged for political reason with Grand Duke Nicholas Pavlovich of Russia, the future Tsar Nicholas I. They married on July 1, 1817. Upon her marriage, Charlotte converted to Russian Orthodoxy, and took the Russian name Alexandra Feodorovna. Ideally matched with her husband, she had a happy marriage that produced a large family; seven children survived childhood.

At the death of her brother in law, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, in December 1825, Alexandra’s husband became the new Russian emperor. Alexandra enjoyed her husband’s confidence in affairs of state, but she had no interest in politics other than her personal attachment to Prussia, her native country. She was the obedient and admiring supporter of her husband's views. Her personality was completely overshadowed by Nicholas I's strong character. As empress consort, Alexandra Feodorovna had no interest in charity work. Her chief interests were in family affairs, dancing, balls and jewels. After 1841 her health deteriorated. She spent long sojourns abroad in search for a respite to her frail constitution. As she became largely an invalid, Nicholas I took mistresses, but Alexandra retained her husband's love. She survived Nicholas I by five years and died in 1860.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was born as Princess Friederike Louise Charlotte Wilhelmina of Prussia, at the Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin on 13 July [O.S. 1 July] 1798. She was the eldest surviving daughter and fourth child of Frederick William III, King of Prussia, and Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and a sister of Frederick William IV and of William I, German Emperor. She was known as Charlotte, a name popular in the Prussian royal family, and nicknamed Lottchen by her family.


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