I have three sisters and one brother. If you'd like to see a big picture of me with my sisters and mother go here. I will start with my brother, Aleksey - or Alexis, as non-Russians sometimes spell his name. He is the youngest in our family and was born at the Farm Palace at Peterhof on July 30, 1904. My parents had long been waiting for a boy, when I was born I've heard my father was disappointed. Someone told me he took a long walk in the park immediately after I was born. Oh well, it doesn't matter. Papa loves me all the same. In the family we call Aleksey by lots of nicknames. Mama and papa mostly call him Sunshine or Baby. We think he is a beautiful child; he has dark blond hair, blue eyes and takes after mother's side of the family.

My brother is the Heir to the throne, Naslednik, as we say in Russian. He is also Tsarevich, which means he was born to a reigning Russian Tsar. Aleksey and I are VERY close. Sometimes I think we communicate by ESP. I feel like I know his thoughts. It is terrible that my brother is sick much of the time. He has a sickness that comes through mother's English relations - from Queen Victoria herself. It's called haemophilia and it means my brother doesn't have the thing you need in your blood to stop bleeding if you cut or bruise yourself. When he is sick he is often in great pain. I am the only one in the family who can make my brother forget he is sick or in pain. I do it with my jokes and funny stories, but we also have something special. Sometimes I feel like I can take his pain away in a mysterious way. Aleksey has his own rooms in the palace. He has loads of toys and especially loves his American Indian canoe and tee-pee.

Olga is my oldest sister, she was born in mother's bedroom here at the Alexander Palace on November 3, 1895. She is six years older than I am. Olga is tall and blond, with blue eyes like me. Olga reads all the newspapers and magazines that come to us, even the political ones, which are a great bore. Olga gets nervous sometimes and can get mad easily. Mother worries about her being too withdrawn and pensive. It's true; sometimes Olga likes to be alone, away from the rest of us sisters, which is a bit odd. Papa spends more time with Olga than the rest of us and lets her read things in his study. Our teachers love her and are constantly telling us we should be as good as Olga at this or that subject. How annoying! She has a cat, named Vaska. Our parents took us to Romania once to see our relatives. Olga found out there was talk about her marrying the Romanian Crown Prince, Carol, and made a big scene. She says she wants to marry a Russian boy and stay here.

Tatiana shares a room with Olga. She was born on May 29,1897, making her a year and a half younger than Olga. They are very close and are best friends. Everyone says Tatiana is the beauty in the family; she has dark hair and eyes - and she is so thin you figure a strong wind would blow her fast away. My sister loves clothes and everything looks great on her. I wish that were true of me, too. We have heard that some stupid people are saying that my sister might marry David, Prince of Wales and become Queen of England one day. What an idea! When we are asleep at night all of us sisters are kept awake by Ortino, Tatiana's French bulldog, who snores. We have tried everything, but nothing works. Tatiana insists on having him sleep on her bed. He and Vaska get into fights. I suppose I shouldn't complain about Ortino. I have had two dogs, the first was named Shvybzik (he died) and now Jimmy. Jimmy is a 'mersavetz', as we say in Russian, an "evil one". He does the 'governor' on mama's carpets and I have a silver shovel and bucket to clean it up.

Maria is my roommate and a real dear. You should see her giant blue eyes and lush blond hair. I think she looks very funny and I am constantly teasing her about her looks while I am brushing her hair. Yes, she is pretty! We call her the 'big bow wow' and she is quite clumsy. Maria seems like she is constantly slipping and falling somewhere. She is my tennis partner and we play right in our rooms, whacking balls against the walls and knocking stuff about. Now that is great fun! Maria has boyfriends, mama and papa tease her about her crushes. We hear Aunt Victoria in England wants Maria to marry her son, Louis Mountbatten. They are both too young for this kind of talk. Maria thinks cousin Louis is very handsome.

--Would you like to read some more about my sisters? There is another page on the Alexander Palace Time Machine about them and it also has a part about me. There is also another photograph taken of us when we were little. You can find it here.

Now back to ME! Would you like to know the things I like?