This Beautiful Russian Duchess Died in Agony Because of Lenin
And so Elizabeth Feodorovna became a martyr
Some 150 years ago there lived German princess Elisabeth of Hesse. She was one of the most beautiful women of her time and many VIPs courted her. Also, her grandmother was Queen Victoria, the most influential person of the 19th century.
At the age of 20, Elisabeth married a Russian Grand Duke and her new subjects adored her. Later she gave up her royal privileges to become an abbess and help the poor of Moscow.
Every year on July 5, millions of Russians celebrate her as Holy Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna. They believe her relics heal the sick. But you don’t become a saint if you just die one day in a convent. You have to suffer.
But let me tell you that story from the beginning.
She was born in today’s Germany on November 1, 1864, as Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine. Her father was German Grand Duke Ludwig IV, and her mother was Princess Alice — Queen Victoria’s daughter.
They were a typical family of European royalty — merging families for the sake of more property and peace. In this picture of the happy family, you can see Elisabeth on the far left, holding onto her dad’s arm. The mom looks a bit jaded though.
