15 Haunting Photos Of The Romanov Family

    A friend of the imperial family saved six albums of snapshots, now housed in Yale's Beinecke Library.

    Ariane Lange
    by Ariane Lange

    BuzzFeed News Reporter

    1. Empress Alexandra

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    Alexandra, along with her husband and five children, was executed July 17, 1918, during the Russian Revolution.

    2. Alexei

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    Alexei was the youngest of the five children — he was 13 when he died. He was the heir to the throne.

    3. Alexandra

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    Alexandra was extremely protective of her only son, who had hemophilia.

    4. Olga and Tatiana

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    All seven Romanovs were canonized as passion bearers in the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.

    5. Alexandra and Tatiana

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    Tatiana was 21 at the time of her death.

    6. Alexandra and Tatiana

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    Alexandra and her second eldest child were very close.

    7. Maria

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    Maria, the second youngest daughter, was 19 when she was executed. She had blue eyes.

    8. Tatiana and Olga, with Anna Vyrubova, Alexandra's lady-in-waiting

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    During World War I, Tatiana and Olga worked as Red Cross nurses.

    9. Tatiana

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    Tatiana and Olga were both made honorary colonels as teenagers, a title which tickled them.

    10. Anastasia, Tatiana, and Maria

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    Tatiana and Olga shared a bedroom, as did Maria and Anastasia. Olga was 22 when she died; Anastasia was 17.

    11. Alexandra

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    Over time, Alexandra became more and more obsessed with protecting her son.

    12. Alexei and Emperor Nicholas II

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    For the last weeks of his life, Alexei was confined to a wheelchair.

    13. Alexei

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    Because of his hemophilia, Alexei's play had to be carefully monitored to prevent potentially life-threatening injuries. He was doted on by his family, who called him "Baby."

    14. Anastasia and Alexei

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    The two youngest children.

    15.

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    Via the Beinecke Library's Flickr account.