1. Rumors of Survival
Accounts from the execution maintain that the first hail of bullets only killed Nicholas. The daughters were so covered in diamonds and jewels that the bullets failed to penetrate their garb. The official story from Yurovsky is that the soldiers then stabbed them to death, but some believe they may have survived yet. After that day, several rumors arose of women claiming to be either one of the daughters or one of their heirs. Anastasia and Olga were the most often rumored to have survived. One woman, Marga Boodts (pictured above) came forward claiming to be the Grand Duchess Olga. Her story was good enough to convince many that she was the real deal, including people who were relatives of the royal family. Nikolaus the Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg, godson of Tsar Nicholas II, believed Boodts enough to support her until he passed in 1970.