Alexandra's letter to Princess Maria Baryatinskaya about the death of Countess Julia Rantzau, dated January 29, 1901

Source:

The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna by Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, 1928

The letter:

DEAREST MARY, — I send you my most loving thanks for your dear letter from the frontier — it was great happiness hearing from you. I miss you and our cosy chats very much indeed, and since you left I have again had such a loss — it is very hard, but I cannot but be grateful, that God took her to Him and that her long and weary sufferings have come to an end. But to all that knew her it is a great loss, but she was well fit for Heaven — a pure, ideal Christian. Only an hour before the fatal news, I received her last letter, so you can imagine what a shock it was. But I must not write to you about sad things, though my heart is full of sorrow — and I am awfully anxious about Gretchen Fabrice — I hope the journey was not too tiring. ...

Above: Alexandra. Photo courtesy of TatianaZ on Flickr.