Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia. Portrait by Christina Robertson, Hermitage Museum

Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna of Russia (24 June 1825 - 10 August 1844) was a daughter of Nicholas I of Russia and his wife, Charlotte of Prussia. In the family, she was known as "Adini". Alexandra was reportedly her father's favorite child; according to her sister Olga's memoirs, he maintained that she alone among his children had inherited her mother's "Prussian look". She was famous in Saint Petersburg society for both her beauty and her lively personality. The State Hermitage Museum (Russian: ) in Saint Petersburg, Russia is one of the largest and oldest art galleries and museums of human history and culture in the world. ... June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... Opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway 1825 (MDCCCXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Jan. ... Nicholas I (Russian: Николай I Павлович, Nikolai I Pavlovich), July 6 (June 25, Old Style), 1796–March 2 (18 February Old Style), 1855), was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. ... Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Palace of Peterhoff Alexandra Feodorovna, born Charlotte, Princess of Prusia, July 13, 1798 - November 1, 1860) was Empress consort of Russia . ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and...

On 28 January 1844, Alexandra married Friedrich Wilhelm Karl George Adolf, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (1820-1864) in St. Petersburg. Her husband was the only son of Prince William of Hesse and Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark. January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Jan. ... Hesse-Kassel (Hessen-Kassel in German) was a German principality that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1568 upon the death of Landgrave Philip I of Hesse. ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Prince William of Hesse-Kassel Prince William of Hesse-Kassel (24 December 1787 – 5 September 1867), son of Friedrich, Landgrave of Hessen-Kassel and Karoline of Nassau-Usingen. ... Princess Louise Charlotte of Denmark (30 October 1789 — 28 March 1864) was a princess of Denmark. ...

Alexandra became acutely ill with tuberculosis shortly before her wedding, and this complicated the pregnancy which soon followed. She was never well enough to travel to Hesse and take up her new position with her husband. They stayed in St. Petersburg, where her health rapidly declined.

She went into labor prematurely, three months before the child was due, and gave birth to a son, Wilhelm. The infant died shortly after he was born, and Alexandra died later the same day. She was buried with her baby son in her arms, at the Fortress of St. Peter and St. Paul in St. Petersburg.

Ten years later, Friedrich Wilhelm married Princess Anna of Prussia (1836-1918) as his second wife. They had six children. Eventually he became head of the House of Hesse-Kassel.

In the gardens of the Peterhof palace near Saint Petersburg there is a memorial bench with a small sculpture bust of the Grand Duchess. Her rooms there have been preserved just as they were at the time of her death. Peterhof: the Samson Fountain and Sea Channel Peterhof (Russian: , Petergof, originally Piterhof, Dutch for Peters Court) is a series of palaces and gardens, laid out on the orders of Peter the Great, and sometimes called the Russian Versailles. It is located about twenty kilometers west and six kilometers south...