06/06/1872 AD born

Alexandra was born at the New Palace in Darmstadt as Princess Alix Viktoria Helene Luise Beatrix of Hesse and by Rhine, a Grand Duchy then part of the German Empire. She was the sixth child and fourth daughter among the seven children of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse, and his first wife, Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, the second daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband Albert, Prince Consort.

Alix was baptized on 1 July 1872 (her parents' tenth wedding anniversary) in the Protestant Lutheran Church and given the names of her mother and each of her mother's four sisters, some of which were transliterated into German. Her mother wrote to Queen Victoria, "‘Alix’ we gave for ‘Alice’ as they murder my name here: ‘Ali-ice’ they pronounce it, so we thought ‘Alix’ could not so easily be spoilt.”

Her mother gave her the nickname of "Sunny", due to her cheerful disposition, a name adopted later by her husband. Her British relatives nicknamed her as "Alicky", to distinguish her from her aunt Alexandra, Princess of Wales, who was known within the family as Alix.

Darmstadt

Lattitude: 49.8722° N
Longitude: 8.6527° E
Region: Europe

Modern Day Germany

Events in 1872 MORE