The Romanovs 1818-1959 by John Van der Kiste

Author:John Van der Kiste [Kiste, John Van der]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780752499307
Publisher: The History Press
Published: 2013-07-15T12:00:00+00:00

9

‘Morally high and sensible’

Well aware that the least lapse in vigilance could cost him his life as it had that of his father, the Tsar found it difficult to relax properly in Russia. Activities in the country with his children helped him to unwind more than anything. Yet only on foreign trips could he really feel at ease. Away from home, he was prepared to put up with the grandeur appropriate to his station as he, his wife, family and suite set sail each summer aboard the royal yacht for family reunions at Fredensborg or Bernstorff hosted by his parents-in-law, King Christian IX and Queen Louise of Denmark. No expense was spared for once, with over a hundred servants accompanying them, and twenty railway trucks taking their luggage from Peterhof to St Petersburg and from there by barges to Kronstadt. Even some of the pets came too, although the Tsar and Tsarina drew the line at bringing Olga’s pet hare and wolf cub. All the same, a cow was taken on board as the Tsarina considered fresh milk essential during the three day voyage, and the yacht was said to resemble Noah’s Ark. The family gatherings included relatives from England, Greece, Germany and the other Scandinavian countries. As there were so many guests the children usually slept on camp beds (part of the luggage) in huts in the park.

Political discussion was strictly forbidden on these holidays. The Fredensborg reunions, Olga recalled many years later, were ‘a wedding market’ if anything, but Bismarck’s grumblings about a ‘whispering gallery’ were mere paranoia. In Denmark, the family experienced much greater freedom. No members of the Okhrana were there to prevent the younger Grand Dukes and Duchesses from driving into Copenhagen to wander about the streets or go into shops and buy things over the counter, like any ordinary citizen. It was more than fun, they thought; it was an education. Such behaviour at home in Russia was out of the question without stringent security. Well might Tsar Alexander III of Russia declare from the depths of his soul that he wished he was King of Denmark instead.

Indeed, none of the visitors seemed to relish being in Denmark more. The Tsar seemed ten years younger as he led his children into muddy ponds to look for tadpoles, or into orchards to steal King Christian’s apples, or turned a hose on the pompous unpopular King Oscar II of Sweden. He joined in all their games and made them late for meals, and their hosts never minded. If His Imperial Majesty was responsible, it was impossible for anybody to complain. Once the children solemnly handed him a document informing him that he was ‘too corpulent to take part in the excursions and activities’ of their cycling club, but they would make him Honorary President. He took the joke in good part, pretending to treat this promotion in all seriousness and gravely reading the letter regarding his presidency out loud to the other adults. ‘I always felt

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