The Characters of the Romanov Sisters as Young Children

From the onset, the girls developed different personalities, characters and tastes. There was Olga, the dreamer; Tatiana, the playful; Maria, the angel; and Anastasia, the imp. Although the public was exposed to them as four sweet little girls, their nurse, Margaretta Eagar, noticed these differences. She was hired when Maria was born and grew fond of her young charges.

Maria, however angelic, suffered from that quality. It made her parents praise her and hold her up as an example to Olga and Tatiana, who grew jealous of their younger sister’s goodness. Maria was good, “born good”, Eagar decided. Once, she stole a forbidden waffle; Eagar suggested bed, which Alexandra agreed to, but Nicholas did not. He had been, he explained, afraid that Maria would sprout wings and was glad that she was human. Eagar thought that Maria’s affectionate nature made her Nicholas’s favorite.

But her suffering at the hands of her elder sisters was made clear. When Olga and Tatiana played a game, they told Maria she could only be the footman. Eagar gave Maria her own space to play, but she kept glancing at her sisters’ game. Finally, Maria slapped them, and then went out, took up some gifts and walked over, saying, “I won’t be a footman, I’ll be a good, kind aunt who brings presents.” Olga and Tatiana were ashamed of themselves and henceforth allowed Maria to play with them.

Perhaps part of Olga’s reasoning was that she was the eldest. The role of the eldest, the biggest, played a pivotal part in Olga’s thinking. When she was told the story of David and Goliath, she sympathized with Goliath, insisting it was not fair, for he had not expected such a little person to come and win. She sympathized with Reuben. The beautiful coat, she said, should have gone not to Joseph, but Reuben, who was the oldest, despite Miss Eagar’s careful explanation. She and Tatiana watched a film in which the younger girl had a doll, and the older one tried to take it. The younger one would not give it, and eventually the older one started hitting her. Tatiana wept for the poor little girl, but Olga thought the older one had lent the doll, but since the younger would not give it back, the older one had to resort to desperate measures.

Despite what could be called a superiority complex, Olga was “hearty” and “merry”, a child everyone loved. During games of I Spy, Alexandra realized Olga always thought of clouds, the sun, rain, or something else of the heavens. Olga explained that it made her happy to think of those things.

Olga was from the start temperamental. When a painter insisted on painting the girls from life, Eagar was shocked, insisting he realize their young age. He insisted, but Olga rebelled at having to sit for hours at a time and finally snapped at him, “You are a very ugly man, and I don’t like you one bit!” He replied that no one had ever told him that before, and that he was not a man but a gentleman.

From the moment she was born, Tatiana had a bond with Alexandra that would last a lifetime. Even as a baby, Tatiana had her mother’s delicate features; they were “two peas in a pod”, her aunt Xenia said. Tatiana was already a beauty, with “dark pathetic eyes”. As a baby, she cried only once a day but without fail. She demonstrated a cautiousness similar to her mother’s. Already, the “Big Pair” was developing a bond. Olga and Tatiana were very dear to each other. When Olga fell ill with typhoid and Tatiana was finally allowed to see her—both had been longing for this visit—they chatted amiably in a polite manner that baffled Eagar. Only on the way out did she find out why; Tatiana had not recognized her sister because of the typhoid. When told that the girl was indeed Olga, Tatiana wept.

The birth of Anastasia turned everything topsy-turvy. Her sisters were more or less ladies, but Anastasia was decidedly not. She was an irrepressible tomboy, clever, and witty, “composed of quicksilver”. She ate peas with her hands, and when Eagar scolded her and told her even Alexei, the “new baby”, did not eat with his fingers, she was quick to reply. Yes, he did, she said. He even ate them with his toes! Naughty and mischievous, there was no telling what Anastasia would do next. Forbidden to eat apples from the orchard, as they were to be used in pies, Anastasia did so. She refused to apologize—the apples were too delicious.

When Anastasia had diphtheria, Maria told her to cough on Maria. When asked why, Maria replied she thought she could take away some of Anastasia’s sickness. But the Little Pair did not bond as much as a Big Pair. Like the Big Pair, the Little Pair shared a bedroom and lessons, but Anastasia drifted more towards Alexei. Both would become the horror of everyone in their naughtiness and pranks. Maria, of course, stayed as angelic as ever.

All four were charming little darlings, and Miss Eagar was sad to leave them in 1904 when she was dismissed for unknown reasons.