Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna | |
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Duchess of Edinburgh | |
Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | |
Tenure | 22 August 1893 – 30 July 1900 |
Born | 17 October [O.S. 5 October] 1853 Alexander Palace, Tsarskoye Selo, Russian Empire |
Died | 24 October 1920 Zürich, Switzerland |
(aged 67)
Burial | Friedhof am Glockenberg , Coburg |
Spouse | Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (m. 1874; d. 1900) |
Issue |
Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Marie, Queen of Romania Victoria Melita, Grand Duchess of Russia Alexandra, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg Princess Beatrice, Duchess of Galliera |
House | Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov |
Father | Alexander II of Russia |
Mother | Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse) |
Religion | Russian Orthodoxy |
Royal styles of Maria Alexandrovna, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha |
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Reference style | Her Imperial and Royal Highness |
Spoken style | Your Imperial and Royal Highness |
Alternative style | Ma'am |
Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (later Duchess of Edinburgh and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Russian: Мари́я Алекса́ндровна; 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 Emperor 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 first and 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.