Sources:
The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, pages 213 to 215, by Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, 1928
The account:
The death of the Empress's devoted lady-in-waiting, Princess Sonia Orbeliani, in December 1915, was, as well as being a great personal grief, a loss to her in other ways. Though she had been an invalid for years, Princess Orbeliani had the undaunted spirit of the Georgians. She did not give in, though she knew that her days were numbered, and kept to the last an intense interest in life. When she could no longer serve her beloved Empress actively, Princess Orbeliani did all she could to help her socially, putting her in touch with people who would interest her, and talking to her frankly, never fearing to give her an honest and even unfavourable opinion. She went about a great deal in her wheeled chair to houses where the voices of different parties were heard.
She was a niece of the former Liberal Prime Minister, Prince Sviatopolk-Mirsky. The Empress was devoted to Sonia, and knew her honesty and affection. Her Majesty did not easily change her opinion when it was once formed, but in discussing a subject with a person she trusted she could be persuaded in time to see the other point of view, and even to act on it later. Nothing that the Empress did, or did not do, brought about, or could have averted, the catastrophe of 1917. But had she had wiser advice during the critical years, she would have escaped the unjust accusation of influencing the politics of the country.
Sonia Orbeliani died after a short illness. The Empress never left her during the last day. She had promised her friend to close her eyes when she died, and she kept her promise. Sonia died in her arms, thanking her Empress and friend with her last smile for all she had been to her. The Empress saw to all details of the funeral, fulfilled her dear friend's last wishes, and wrote to all the relations herself. She came to the first memorial service (panichida) in her nurses' dress. "Don't be astonished to see us [the Empress herself and Olga and Tatiana Nicolaevna] dressed as sisters", she wrote me, "but I hate the idea of going into black for her this evening and feel somehow nearer to her like this, like an aunt, more human, less Empress." Late that same evening the Empress joined me in the room where the coffin lay. She sat down beside it, looking into the quiet, dead face, and stroking Sonia's hair, as if she were asleep. "I wanted to be a little more with Sonia", she said. When she left the room, her face was bathed in tears. She felt the loss of the "true heart", as she called Sonia in a letter to her sister, adding "All miss her sorely." ...
Above: Alexandra with Princess Sonia Orbeliani.
Above: Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden.
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