Maria Feodorovna

Maria Feodorovna märēˈä fyôˈdərəvnə [key], 1847–1928, czarina of Russia, consort of Alexander III and mother of Nicholas II. Originally named Dagmar, she was the daughter of Christian IX of Denmark and the sister of Queen Alexandra of Great Britain. She devoted herself to philanthropic and educational activities, especially the Red Cross. Detained (1917) in the Crimea by the revolutionaries, she was freed by German forces and immigrated to England and then to Denmark, where she spent her last years. Her remains were moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2006. Her letters to Nicholas II were published in The Secret Letters of the Last Tsar (tr. 1938).

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