Princess Elisabeth Alexandra Louise Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt was born in Germany on November 1, 1864. In 1884, she married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the younger brother of Emperor Alexander III, in the Winter Palace’s Cathedral. The princess converted to Christianity and took the name Elizabeth Feodorovna.
The newlyweds settled in the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace bought by Sergei Alexandrovich, which became known as the Sergievsky Palace. They spent their honeymoon in the Ilyinskoye estate near Moscow.
At the insistence of Elizabeth Feodorovna, a hospital was set up and charity fairs were held for the benefit of the peasants in Ilyinskoe. The Duchess mastered the Russian language to perfection and spoke it almost without an accent. Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizabeth Feodorovna had no children of their own, but they raised Maria and Dmitry — children of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, Sergei’s brother. Their mother died during childbirth.
In 1891, Sergei Alexandrovich was appointed Governor General of Moscow. In Moscow, Elizabeth Feodorovna organized the Elizabethan Charitable Society to “take care of legitimate infants of the poorest mothers, placed, though without any right, in the Moscow Orphanage under the guise of illegitimate ones.”
Elizabeth Committees were established at all Moscow church parishes and in all the district towns of the Moscow Governorate. In addition, Elizabeth Feodorovna headed the Ladies’ Committee of the Red Cross, and after the death of her husband, she was appointed chairwoman of the Moscow Red Cross. The Grand Duke was assassinated by the terrorist Ivan Kalyayev on February 4, 1905.
Soon after her husband’s death, the Grand Duchess sold her jewelry, giving to the Treasury a part of it, which belonged to the Romanov dynasty. With the raised funds she purchased an estate with four houses and a vast garden on Bolshaya Ordynka Street, where she founded the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy in 1909. The sisters were engaged in charity and medicine. Having settled in the convent, Elizabeth Feodorovna spent her nights caring for the seriously ill or reading the Psalms over the dead, while during the day she worked with the sisters, going around the poorest quarters of the city.
In 1918, Elizabeth Feodorovna was put under arrest and mercilessly murdered: she was thrown into a mine, which was then blown up. In 1992, the Grand Duchess was canonized.
The newlyweds settled in the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace bought by Sergei Alexandrovich, which became known as the Sergievsky Palace. They spent their honeymoon in the Ilyinskoye estate near Moscow.
At the insistence of Elizabeth Feodorovna, a hospital was set up and charity fairs were held for the benefit of the peasants in Ilyinskoe. The Duchess mastered the Russian language to perfection and spoke it almost without an accent. Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizabeth Feodorovna had no children of their own, but they raised Maria and Dmitry — children of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, Sergei’s brother. Their mother died during childbirth.
In 1891, Sergei Alexandrovich was appointed Governor General of Moscow. In Moscow, Elizabeth Feodorovna organized the Elizabethan Charitable Society to “take care of legitimate infants of the poorest mothers, placed, though without any right, in the Moscow Orphanage under the guise of illegitimate ones.”
Elizabeth Committees were established at all Moscow church parishes and in all the district towns of the Moscow Governorate. In addition, Elizabeth Feodorovna headed the Ladies’ Committee of the Red Cross, and after the death of her husband, she was appointed chairwoman of the Moscow Red Cross. The Grand Duke was assassinated by the terrorist Ivan Kalyayev on February 4, 1905.
Soon after her husband’s death, the Grand Duchess sold her jewelry, giving to the Treasury a part of it, which belonged to the Romanov dynasty. With the raised funds she purchased an estate with four houses and a vast garden on Bolshaya Ordynka Street, where she founded the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy in 1909. The sisters were engaged in charity and medicine. Having settled in the convent, Elizabeth Feodorovna spent her nights caring for the seriously ill or reading the Psalms over the dead, while during the day she worked with the sisters, going around the poorest quarters of the city.
In 1918, Elizabeth Feodorovna was put under arrest and mercilessly murdered: she was thrown into a mine, which was then blown up. In 1992, the Grand Duchess was canonized.
