![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Handsome 21-year-old Alexander paid London a visit and seemed to appear as Prince Charming to Victoria. When 20-year-old Victoria met Alexander Nikolayevich, the Russian tsarevich and future Emperor Alexander II in 1839, she had already been a Queen for two years and the royal family was actively looking for a husband. Young Alexander II, back then - tsarevich and heir to the Russian throne. She always signed all documents using the name under which she went down in history: Victoria. ![]() Nevertheless, the Queen never was fond of her first name and preferred to drop it as soon as she sat on the throne in 1837. “It was a nice gesture, symbolizing glory: the Russians and the British had just defeated 'that monster Napoleon'. “Alexander I was absent during the ceremony, yet he allowed the heiress to be named after him,” explained historian Natalia Basovskaya. It didn’t mean he was present during her christening, though: Alexandrina was just one of the names her elder relatives chose and during the ceremony Alexander I was represented by her uncle, the Duke of York. Queen Victoria, born 200 years ago, on May 24, 1819, was christened as Alexandrina Victoria, inheriting her first name from her godfather, Alexander I of Russia. In case you’re trying to remember any Russian Emperor named Victor, don’t. Portrait of Emperor Alexander I - Alexandrina Victoria was actually named after him. ![]()
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