21. Nicholas II and His Daughters
This still captures Nicholas sitting on the family yacht with his four daughters, Maria, Anastasia, Olga, and Tatiana. The girls split off into pairs by proximity of their ages, Maria with Anastasia, otherwise known as “the little pair” and Olga with Tatiana whom the family referred to as “the big pair.” The two pairs of daughters spent time together, they shared rooms and dressed in similar clothes like they were twins. They weren’t. It was their way of being a family.
20. The Standart
Tsar Nicholas II had his own imperial yacht, the Standart. His father, Emperor Alexander III commissioned the construction of the yacht during his reign. At the time, it was one of the most luxurious vessels on the water. The interior of the schooner featured mahogany wood and crystal chandeliers, a veritable floating palace for the royal palace. It was while on their family yacht in 1914 that the Romanovs learned of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the inciting incident that led to the Great War.