Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia

Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna
Photo, c. 1914
Born	(1899-06-26)26 June 1899[1] Peterhof Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Died	17 July 1918(1918-07-17) (aged 19) Ipatiev House, Yekaterinburg, Russian Soviet Republic
Burial	17 July 1998 Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
Full name Maria Nikolaevna Romanova
House	Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
Father	Nicholas ll
Mother	Alexandra Feodorovna
Religion	Russian Orthodox
Signature

Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (Maria Nikolaevna Romanova; Russian: Великая Княжна Мария Николаевна, 26 June 1899 – 17 July 1918) was the third daughter of Nicholas II of Russia and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. After she was murdered in the Russian Revolution, she was canonized as a passion bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.

During her lifetime, Maria, too young to become a Red Cross nurse like her elder sisters, Instead during World War I, was patroness of a hospital and instead visited wounded soldiers. Throughout her lifetime she was noted for her interest in the lives of the soldiers. The flirtatious Maria had a number of innocent crushes on the young men she met, beginning in early childhood. She hoped to marry and have a large family.

She was an elder sister of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia.^[2] Her sister Anastasia was famous for stories about her alleged escape from the murder of the royal family for almost 90 years. In the 1990s, it was suggested that the Grand Duchess whose remains were not in the Romanov might be Maria. However, further remains were discovered in 2007, and DNA analysis subsequently proved that the entire Imperial family had been murdered in 1918.^[3]

1. ↑ In 1900 and later, her birthday was celebrated on 26 June new style.
2. ↑ Klier and Mingay (1995), p. 203
3. ↑ ""DNA proves Bolsheviks killed all of Russian Czar's children", CNN, March 11, 2009". Cnn.com. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2012.