page_title: Alexander Palace
section_title: Under Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna
hierarchical_section_title: Alexander Palace / Under Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna
context_page_description: The Alexander Palace is a former imperial residence near the town of Tsarskoye Selo, on a plateau about 30 miles south from the imperial capital city of St. Petersburg. It is known as the favourite residence of the last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II, and his imperial family, and served as their initial place of imprisonment after the first of two Russian Revolutions in February of 1917 that overthrew the Romanov during World War I. The Alexander Palace is situated in the Alexander Park, not far from the larger, more elaborate Catherine Palace, begun in 1717 by Empress/Tsarina Catherine I of Russia and significantly expanded by Catherine the Great. Today it is undergoing renovation as a state museum housing relics of the former imperial dynasty.
context_section_description: Alexander III and his Danish born wife Maria Feodorovna had their apartments in the right-hand or western wing of the palace near the gardens. Before their accession to the imperial throne, Maria gave birth to their eldest child, the future Nicholas II, at the Alexander Palace. In his diary, the then Tsarevich Alexander recorded the momentous event of the birth of his first child,
  Around 12.30 my wife came to the bedroom and lay down on a couch where everything was prepared. The pains became stronger and stronger, and Minny suffered very much. Papa ... helped me hold my darling the whole time. Finally, at 2.30, the last minute came and suddenly all her suffering stopped. God sent us a son whom we named Nicholas. What a joy it was! It is impossible to imagine. I sprang to embrace my darling wife, and she instantly became cheerful and was terribly happy. I had been weeping like a child but suddenly my heart became light and cheerful.
  The entire imperial family was present at the birth of Alexander and Maria's first child. In a letter to her mother, Queen Louise, the Tsarevna wrote,
  .. this bothered me immensely! The Emperor held me by one hand, my Sasha by the other, whilst every so often the Empress kissed me.
  After Alexander III's death, Maria Feodorovna would stay at the palace in their rooms while visiting her son (Tsar Nicholas II) and daughter-in-law (Alexandra Feodorovna). As the estrangement with Alexandra Feodorovna became more apparent, the visits of the Dowager Empress became fewer.
caption: Emperor Alexander III and his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna on holiday in Copenhagen in 1893.
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