Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia

Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (;  – 22 October 1920) was Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1893 to 1900 as the wife of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She was the fifth child and only surviving daughter of Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna. She was also the younger sister of Emperor Alexander III and the paternal aunt of Tsar Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia.

In 1874, Maria married Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, becoming the only Romanov to marry into the British royal family. They five children together named Alfred, Marie, Victoria, Alexandra, and Beatrice. For the first years of her marriage, Maria lived in England with her husband and did not adapt to the British court. As Duchess of Edinburgh, she 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 became Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha when her husband inherited the duchy on the death of his uncle, Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She enjoyed life in Germany, where she became active in charitable work. Her husband died in 1900 and was succeeded as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha by his nephew Charles Edward.

In her widowhood, Maria continued to live in Coburg. During the outbreak of World War I, she sided with Germany against her native Russia. Many of her relatives, including her brother Paul and her nephew Nicholas II, were killed during the Russian Revolution. After World War I, the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha collapased in November 1918. Maria later died in 1920 while living in exile in Switzerland.

 Honours 

 : Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Catherine, 17 October 1853
 :
 Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, 1st Class
 Companion of the Order of the Crown of India, 1 January 1878
 Lady of Justice of the Order of Saint John
 : Dame of the Order of Louise, 1st Class
  Hesse and by Rhine: Dame of the Order of the Golden Lion, 1 May 1896
 : Dame of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa, 20 May 1888
 : Dame of the Order of Saint Isabel, 28 February 1894

 References 

Category:1853 births
Category:1920 deaths
Category:House of Romanov
Category:House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
Category:House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha