“The world is dark, and light is precious. Come closer, dear reader. You must trust me. I am telling you a story.” II The Romanovs and others II Glory to Ukraine
My cousin [Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich], who was then a young man of twenty-two, was a very keen soldier and a real sportsman; his jovial nature endeared him to all. [...] Misha hated oysters more than anything. One day for lunch Emperor Nicholas's chef prepared what he imagined to be a particularly savoury dish, consisting of boiled oysters covered with jelly. It looked "murderous". Misha was nearly sick when he looked at them. The Emperor asked him if he would eat three of these oysters for a wager. His brother hesitated; but the Emperor repeated his challenge, adding, "You can ask for whatever you like." Misha closed his eyes, and with disgust written all over his face, gulped down three oysters, one by one. After he had successfully performed the operation, and recovered, he declared that he wished to have a motor-boat as a reward for his feat. The Emperor, of course, kept his promise.
"Young girls, especially princesses, at marriageable age are to be pitied, poor creatures! The Almanach de Gotha lists your year of birth, and people come to see you like a horse being sold. If you don't give your consent immediately, you're accused of coldness, coquetry, or else they conjecture about you as if you were some kind of secret".
Grand duchess Olga Nikolaevna "The Golden Dream of My Youth"
At the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, one of the windowpanes in what was once the private study of Alexandra Feodorovna, still carries a delicate diamond-etched inscription made on 7 March 1902 by the empress herself.
It reads, “Nicky looking at the Hussars,” referring affectionately to her husband, Nicholas II, as he watched a regiment of the Imperial Guard’s hussars, the elite light cavalry known for their brilliant uniforms and ceremonial presence.
Such informal engravings were a quiet Romanov habit, turning palace windows into private diaries. This small, intimate trace contrasts strikingly with the grandeur of the palace, preserving a fleeting domestic moment from the final years of imperial Russia.
Review of the Yelisavetgrad Hussars on August 5, 1913, led by Tsar Nicholas II and Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana.
On August 5, 1913, Tsar Nicholas II reviewed the 8th Voznesensky Uhlan Regiment and the 3rd Yelisavetgrad Hussar Regiment in Peterhof. Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna was the Chief of the Hussar Regiment, while Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna was Chief of the Uhlan Regiment.
Nicholas II called it a "memorable day" for Olga and Tatiana in his diary:
"The Voznesensky Uhlans and Yelisavetgrad Hussars presented themselves smartly and superbly in their winter parade uniforms. Both Chieftains walked gallantly at the head of their regiments and executed the ride around excellently. We had breakfast with the officers and ladies in the palace and then took a group photo. Around 4 o'clock, both regiments entered Alexandria on foot, I led them to our house, where the singers sang a few songs with Alix sitting in a pram. I walked them with my daughters along the sea to the gates and bade them farewell."
It was on this very day that photographs of the tsar's daughters as the heads of their patronized regiments were taken.
It is also worth noting that since everything at the Russian Imperial Court was built on the principle of precedent, it was no coincidence that Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna became the Chief of the 3rd Yelisavetgrad Hussar Regiment, as in 1845 her exact namesake, the daughter of Nicholas I, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, was the Chief of this very regiment.
The newly-minted "Uhlan" and "Hussar" were proud of their remarkably beautiful uniforms, willingly posed for photos and began participating in the regimental celebrations of their patronized regiments.
The last Grand Duchess to become Chief of the 9th Kazan Dragoon Regiment of the Russian army was Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna.
From the memoirs of Gavriil Konstantinovich:
"On August 5, 1913, the Sovereign reviewed the 8th Voznesensky Uhlan and 3rd Yelisavetgrad Hussar Regiments in Peterhof. The Chief of the Hussar Regiment was Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, and of the Uhlan Regiment - Tatiana Nikolaevna - the Tsar's elder daughters.
Olga and Tatiana Nikolaevna arrived before the Sovereign and mounted their horses side-saddle. They were in the uniforms of their regiments, with the rank of Colonel. Nicholas Nikolaevich rode with Olga Nikolaevna to the Hussar Regiment. I heard him say to her: 'Gallop!' Olga Nikolaevna raised her beautiful black horse into a gallop, and along with Nicholas Nikolaevich, rode up to her regiment. The regimental commander, Gen. Martynov, rode out to meet her. Olga Nikolaevna greeted the regiment and rode around it accompanied by Nicholas Nikolaevich. Then she took her position on the right flank of the regiment.
Nicholas Nikolaevich returned at a wide gallop for Tatiana Nikolaevna and also rode up to her Uhlan Regiment with her, where she greeted it and took her position on its right flank. After this, the Sovereign arrived. The Sovereign could not attend the review due to illness and thus did not see her two elder daughters before their regiments.
The heir and his two younger sisters watched the parade from a tent. When the Emperor rode around the regiments, the ceremonial march began; the grand duchesses rode in front of their regiments in the place of the chief, that is, in front of the regimental commander.
The Uhlan regiment was the first to pass. In front of Tatiana Nikolaevna rode the general commanding the consolidated brigade. Oranovsky on an ugly red horse that followed the reins. The two Grand duchesses galloped up to the Emperor's house, but Olga Nikolaevna cut the circle short.
They were both lovely and very hardworking. I think that the Emperor was very worried when he saw his daughters for the first time — and alas! "last time in the ranks." {x}
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