Biography
Her Imperial Highness, The Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna Romanova was born on June 26, 1899. She was the third daughter of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra. She had two older sisters - Olga and Tatiana, one younger sister - Anastasia, and one younger brother Alexei. Maria's siblings usually called her Marie or Mashka. She was the angel of the family, and she was very loving and warm. She said that she wanted to marry a Russian soldier and have 20 children. She was a pretty girl with light brown hair and large blue eyes, which her family called "Marie's saucers." Maria was pretty close to her younger sister Anastasia, who were known as "The Little Pair", while her older sisters Olga and Tatiana, were called "The Big Pair." As well as their older sisters, they shared a bedroom and Maria tended to be dominated by Anastasia because of her energy and enthusiasm. Maria's other sisters referred to her as their "stepsister" because she was so good and never got into trouble. Maria was a plump girl in her childhood but she became very thin after the attack of measles she and her siblings had. When her father abdicated, for himself and for Alexei, Maria and her family were prisoners of the Revolution, in Tobolsk. After that, Maria, her father and mother went to Ekaterinburg, leaving her sisters - Tatiana, Olga and Anastasia - with her younger brother Alexei who got very hurt. After Alexei was well enough to be moved, Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia, Alexei and some of their employees went to Ekaterinburg, to be with Maria and their parents. In Ekaterinburg the Romanovs lived in a place called "The House of Special Purpose." Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia all shared one room, while her father, mother, and Alexei shared another. On July 17, 1918 the Romanovs, their doctor, and others were set up in a basement in "The House of Special Purpose." Then, 11 executors entered and started firing. Maria and her family and servants all died. Maria was only 19 years old when she died. But, when they found the bodies of the Romanovs and their servants they realized there were two missing, Alexei and either Maria, Tatiana, or Anastasia. Recently, the Russian Orthodox Church has canonized the Romanovs as saints.
