The Tsar's Travels: Home and Abroad 1881-1903 The Romanov

Overview: The third instalment of ECS Banks Romanov series mainly concerns Tsar Nicholas II – father to the Grand Duchesses. ECS Banks touches on his childhood, growing up within the confines of a traditional medieval castle, then follows him on a tour of the Far East in 1890–1891. Readers also follow Princess Alix of Hesse when she was summoned to the Crimea, meeting up with her fiancée Nicholas at Simferopol and the travels beyond. After years of living an idle life followed by a career in the army and marriage to Alix, Nicholas became Tsar of Russia. As Tsar, he often felt inadequate. Although Nicholas had immense personal charm, he did not possess the confidence or most of the qualities needed to rule the vast Russian Empire. He endured a serious of personal disasters and constantly struggled to assert himself until his own health broke down in 1900.