Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse)
Engagement
When his health failed in 1894, Alexander III decided to allow Nicholas to marry Alix so that he could secure the succession. Maria reluctantly permitted Nicholas to propose to Alix. Nicholas was ecstatic and immediately inquired about Alix.
Rejection by the Russian people
It is often said that she struggled with Russian and did not learn it until she became Empress. This is however untrue. Her teenage diaries show that she had some Russian lessons prior to visiting her sister Ella in Russia. She began learning Russian in earnest after her engagement to Nicholas, and during the period of her engagement wrote long passages to him in Russian - with some minor errors, but improving over time. She learned to speak Russian very well. The letters between Alexandra and her son Alexei were almost without exception in Russian.
Imprisonment (1917–1918)
On Sunday 14 July 1918 two priests came to the Ipatiev House to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. One of them, Father Storozhev, later recalled:
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