Alexandra Feodorovna

Who was Alexandra Feodorovna?

Alexandra Feodorovna, born Princess Charlotte of Prussia, was Empress consort of Russia. She was the wife of Emperor Nicholas I, and mother of Emperor Alexander II.

Born as Princess Charlotte of Prussia, she was the eldest surviving daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia, and Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Her childhood was marked by the Napoleonic wars and the death of her mother when Princess Charlotte was twelve years old.

In 1814 her marriage was arranged for political reason with Grand Duke Nicholas Pavlovich of Russia, the future Tsar Nicholas I. They fell in love with each other and married in 1817. Upon her marriage, Princess Charlotte converted to Russian Orthodoxy, and took the Russian name Alexandra Feodorovna. Ideally match with her husband, she had a happy marriage that produced a large family; seven children survived childhood.

At the death of her brother in law, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, in December 1825, Alexandra’s husband became the new Russian Emperor. Alexandra enjoyed her husband’s confidence in affairs of state, but she had no interest in politics other than her personal attachment to Prussia, her native country.