Alix Hessen with her Father Ludwig IV

Alix Hessen (future Empress of All Russia, wife of Nicholas II) with her father Ludwig IV, late 1880s.

In 1880, Princess Alix of Hesse, later known as Alexandra Romanov, was just a young girl of about 6 years old. Born on June 6, 1872, Alix was the second daughter of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria’s second daughter. Alix’s father, Louis IV, was the Grand Duke of Hesse and a significant figure in the German aristocracy, but his role was primarily focused on the grand duchy and European diplomacy.

At the time, Alix's family was part of the broader network of European royalty, and her father, Grand Duke Louis IV, was an important political figure in Hesse. Alix’s early years were marked by a loving and close-knit family environment. Her mother, Princess Alice, was particularly devoted to her children, and her upbringing was characterized by a strong sense of duty, discipline, and deep moral values, influenced by both British and German royal traditions.

In 1880, Alix was still quite young, and her life was primarily shaped by her family. Louis IV, although a respected ruler, had a somewhat difficult reign, especially dealing with the economic issues facing Hesse during that time. However, Alix would have been shielded from the political turbulence as she spent time with her siblings and her parents.

Though she was not yet aware of the political challenges that would later shape her life, Alix’s upbringing in such a royal family meant that she was being prepared for a future that would take her far from her childhood home. In her early years, she was groomed for a royal marriage, which would eventually lead her to her engagement to Tsar Nicholas II of Russia in 1894, a union that would significantly alter the course of her life.

The bond between Alix and her father, Louis IV, was strong. Louis was a caring and attentive father, but his reign in Hesse ended in 1879, with his untimely death. After his death, Alix's mother, Princess Alice, continued to raise the children, but this period of her life would remain marked by the loss of her beloved father and would shape her personality in the years that followed.

In 1880, Alix of Hesse, a young girl in the care of her father, was in the early stages of a life that would take her from the German duchy of Hesse to the Russian imperial court, eventually becoming Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia.