Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse)

Born Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, Alexandra married Nicholas II in 1894 and became empress of Russia. She was the mother of four daughters and the haemophiliac heir Alexei, whose illness contributed to her trust in the religious adviser Grigori Rasputin.

During World War I Alexandra’s German birth and perceived political influence intensified hostility towards the monarchy. She was confined with her family after the revolution and murdered at Ekaterinburg in 1918. John Boyne’s The House of Special Purpose portrays her through the perspective of a fictional member of the imperial household.