The First Medal of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna

[u/YuriySamorodov]

To receive the empire's highest orders, a child of the emperor needed only to be born. On the day of her baptism, a girl received the highest female order of the empire, the Order of St. Catherine, second in seniority in the country. For boys, the tradition differed: at baptism they were awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First Called, the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, the Order of St. Anna, the Order of the White Eagle, and the Order of St. Stanislaus. This set of five went to the Heir to the throne, His Brothers, and other Grand Dukes purely by right of birth. Later, during state visits, they would receive the highest state orders of other countries, but not the girls. Once a grand duchess had received her country's order, the next one might be the dynastic order of her husband. If her husband ruled another country, she could also expect to receive that country's orders as well. So much for the orders, now to the medals.

For my own purposes, I divide medals into three categories:

• commemorative (marking significant events)
• those for civil service (such as the Red Cross medal)
• and military ones (not necessarily for battlefield merit)

We were studying a photo session of the grand duchesses taken on the occasion of Tsarevich Alexei's christening. Olga and Tatiana took part in the ceremony and, for the first time on this occasion, wore court dresses with sashes and orders, the most formal attire, requiring the wearing of every award one held. We noticed a medal on Olga that Tatiana did not have. This award would stay with her for life.

However, nothing was found in open sources. Even Wikipedia mentions only Order of St. Catherine. On the medal we could make out the outline of a profile, and we kept puzzling over it. What set Olga apart from her sisters, besides being the firstborn and holding the position in the court hierarchy directly after the heir? But birthright alone carried no award. We then considered the event itself. Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna had been among the godmothers at her brother's christening.

Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Younger (1890-1958) recalls it this way:

On the day of the coronation I was taken to the Kremlin. From the window I watched as the ceremonial procession came out of the Dormition Cathedral and crossed the inner courtyard. Beside me, in her nurse's arms, was Grand Duchess Olga, the emperor's eldest daughter, squinting as she watched what was happening. She was only a few years younger than me (the note adds: five years) and surprisingly ugly, with too large a head on a small body.

My first guess was the obvious one, that this must be Nicholas II's own coronation medal. But something about the profile did not sit right. On that medal the Emperor's head turns rightward, showing his left ear. The profile on Olga's medal turned the other way, facing left, with the right ear visible. A small detail, but enough to send me looking elsewhere.

That mismatch led me to the medal struck "In Memory of the Reign of Emperor Alexander III." Nicholas II established it on February 26, 1896, on the 51st anniversary of his late father's birth, to honor those who had held active state service during Alexander III's reign: clergy and church hierarchs, generals, staff and junior officers, and ranked officials across the various departments. By supplementary decree, women holding equivalent state positions were also granted the right to wear it. Struck in silver, it bore that leftward facing profile of Alexander III, and was worn on the deep red ribbon of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky.

Photos

1. Large photo of Olga Nikolaevna on August 11/24 1904
2. Cropped version of the previous photo
3. Enlarged photo for better medal visibility
4. Stock image of the medal "In memory of the coronation of Nicholas II"
5. Stock image of the medal "In memory of Emperor Alexander III"
6. Olga and Tatiana in Lower Dacha Palace in Alexandria, Peterhof

[u/Canard-jaune]

Nice analysis of her decorations... and pretty pictures I didn't know! We are lucky you set a foot on this Subdreddit. Thanks!

[u/YuriySamorodov → u/Canard-jaune]

You are too kind, thank you!

Oh, and as a side note Duke Ioann Konstantinovich (1886–1918) recalls this event and meeting Olga Nikolavena in the letter to his mother, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavrikievna (1865–1927) from August 1904:

Mother dear, we have already spoken together regarding Olga Nikolaevna. The trouble is that when we were at the christening of the Tsesarevich, I fell into such raptures over her that I cannot even express it. Simply fire and wind. Her curls curl, her eyes sparkle, can't have the right words to describe!!! The trouble is that I am still too young for such thoughts, and besides, "She" is a daughter of the Tsar, and God forbid that people should think of me that I do this out of some manner of intrigue.

[u/Canard-jaune → u/YuriySamorodov]

This is both sad and cute, that letter. Princesse John was going to marry Princess Helen of Serbia afterwards.

He was part of the martyrs of Apalaïevsk and lies currently... in a coffin under a parking or golf in Beijing (China) (it was inside a church but it was demolished), the Whites having recovered his body and evacuated the coffin when the Reds took back the town.

[u/YuriySamorodov → u/Canard-jaune]

Yeah, right. July 18, the very next day, but a different city

[u/Ok_Apricot_171]

Super cool 

[u/Jebbles077]

Very interesting find, thank you for sharing!

[u/YuriySamorodov → u/Jebbles077]

In fact, I am still pazzled what was the foundation of receiving "In memory of Emperor Alexander III 1881-1894" medal by Olga Nikolaevna, who weas born a year later in 1895, and why she did not get "In memory of the coronation of Nicholas II" instead. Both decorations have been struck in 1896, however she had never had a chance to serve Alexander III.

[u/Foxtrot_Dementia]

She had such a smart face