Alexandra

/al'ig zan"dreuh, -zahn"-/, n.

1. 1844-1925, queen consort of Edward VII of England.

2. Class. Myth. Cassandra (def. 1).

3. a female given name: derived from Alexander.

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I

Russian Aleksandra Fyodorovna orig. Alix, Princess von Hesse-Darmstadt

born June 6, 1872, Darmstadt, German Empire

died July 16/17, 1918, Yekaterinburg, Russia

Consort of Russia's Tsar Nicholas II.

A granddaughter of Queen Victoria, she married Nicholas in 1894 and sought to restore absolute power in the monarchy. Desperate to help her hemophiliac son, Alexis, she turned to the hypnotic powers of Grigory Rasputin, who became her spiritual adviser. In 1915 Nicholas left Moscow to command Russian forces in World War I, and Alexandra dismissed capable ministers and replaced them with nonentities favored by Rasputin. Her misrule contributed to the collapse of the imperial government. After the Bolshevik takeover in the Russian Revolution of 1917, the royal family was imprisoned and later executed.

II

(as used in expressions)

Danilova Alexandra Dionisyevna

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary

Gertrud Alexandra Dagmar Lawrence Klasen

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▪ New Zealand

      town, south-central South Island, New Zealand. It lies at the junction of the Clutha and Manuherikia rivers and is surrounded by three mountain ranges. Originally known as Lower Dunstan and Manuherikia, the settlement was named Alexandra South in 1863 to commemorate the marriage of the Danish princess Alexandra to Edward, prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. The name was subsequently shortened to Alexandra, and the town was constituted a borough in 1867.

      Alluvial gold deposits in the Alexandra area, found in 1862, were mined until 1963. The surrounding countryside supports sheep pastures and fruit orchards; fruit packing is an important seasonal activity. Alexandra lies on rail and road lines to Dunedin (about 120 miles [190 km] southeast) and is also a holiday resort. Pop. (2001) 4,404.

▪ empress consort of Russia

Russian  in full Aleksandra Fyodorovna,  original name  Alix, Princess (prinzessin) von Hesse-Darmstadt  

born June 6, 1872, Darmstadt, Ger.

died July 16/17, 1918, Yekaterinburg, Russia

 consort of the Russian emperor Nicholas II. Her misrule while the emperor was commanding the Russian forces during World War I precipitated the collapse of the imperial government in March 1917.

      A granddaughter of Queen Victoria and daughter of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, Alexandra (German name Alix) married Nicholas in 1894 and came to dominate him. She proved to be unpopular at court and turned to mysticism for solace. Through her near-fanatical acceptance of Orthodoxy and her belief in autocratic rule, she felt it her sacred duty to help reassert Nicholas' absolute power, which had been limited by reforms in 1905. In 1904 the tsarevich Alexis was born; she had previously given birth to four daughters. The tsarevich suffered from hemophilia, and Alexandra's overwhelming concern for his life led her to seek the aid of a debauched “holy man” who possessed hypnotic powers, Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin (Rasputin, Grigory Yefimovich) (q.v.). She came to venerate Rasputin as a saint sent by God to save the throne and as a voice of the common people, who, she believed, remained loyal to the emperor. Rasputin's influence was a public scandal, but Alexandra silenced all criticism. After Nicholas left for the front in August 1915, she arbitrarily dismissed capable ministers and replaced them with nonentities or dishonest careerists favoured by Rasputin. As a result, the administration became paralyzed and the regime discredited, and Alexandra came to be widely but erroneously believed to be a German agent. Yet she disregarded all warnings of coming changes, even the murder of Rasputin. After the October Revolution (1917), she, Nicholas, and their children were imprisoned by the Bolsheviks and were later shot to death.

▪ queen consort of Great Britain

in full  Alexandra Caroline Mary Charlotte Louisa Julia,  also called  (1844–63) Princess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, or (1863–1901) Princess of Wales  

born Dec. 1, 1844, Copenhagen, Den.

died Nov. 20, 1925, Sandringham, Norfolk, Eng.

 queen consort of King Edward VII of Great Britain.

      The eldest daughter of Christian IX of Denmark, Alexandra was married to Edward (then Albert Edward, prince of Wales) in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, on March 10, 1863. The exceptional beauty and graceful manner of the princess made her an immediate and lasting favourite with the British public. She had six children: Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence; George, Duke of York, afterward King George V; Louise, afterward Duchess of Fife; Victoria; Maud, afterward queen of Norway; and John, who died in infancy.

      A serious illness in 1867 left Alexandra lame and accentuated a hereditary deafness. As queen she devoted much of her income and time to the poor and suffering; she founded the Imperial Military Nursing Service in 1902 and started Alexandra Rose Day to raise funds for British hospitals.

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