Alexis Alexandrovitch (1850/1908) Fils du Tsar Alexandre...

Handwritten 4-page letter, recto-verso on a double sheet. The letter is written and signed by Grand Duke Alexis Alexandrovich of Russia to his mistress, the actress Elisabeth Baletta. He uses affectionate nicknames such as “my Soul,” “Dear Angel,” or “My very dear.” Dated May 27, 1904 (May 15, Julian calendar), the letter is written in the midst of the Russo-Japanese War. As Grand Admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Grand Duke expresses his anxiety, his exhaustion (“harassed, tormented from all sides”) and the tense waiting for news from the front (“We are waiting for decisive news at every hour”). He also mentions the preparation of the Baltic Fleet (which would be sent to the Pacific). Alexis mentions: “above all, the Empress will have a son, our ordeal will be over.” This is a direct reference to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Tsar Nicholas II (the Grand Duke’s nephew), who was then pregnant and would give birth two months later (in August 1904) to Tsarevich Alexis Nikolaevich.

Estimate:£126.76

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