Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia
Également connu sous : Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, Duchess of Edinburgh, Russia
## Basic Information
The Duchess of Edinburgh was Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (17 October 1853 -- 25 October 1920), the only surviving daughter of Tsar Alexander II and Tsarina Maria Alexandrovna. She married Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (Queen Victoria's second son), on 23 January 1874 at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.
## Significance
As a Russian grand duchess who married into the British royal family, Maria Alexandrovna would have been a figure of great interest to the Russian expatriate community in Nice that included the Bashkirtseffs. Her marriage in January 1874 -- during the period of Marie's diary -- was a major social event uniting the Russian and British royal families. She later became Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1893) when her husband inherited that duchy.