Russian Empress. Born Princess Marie Sophie Frederikke Dagmar of Denmark, she was the second daughter of King Christian IX. In 1866 she married the Russian heir to the throne, later Alexander III. Upon her marriage she converted to the Russian Orthodox faith and changed her name to Maria Fedorovna. She had 6 children, one of them Tsar Nicholas II. Throughout her life she took part in charity and contributed to improve the Russian education system. During the First World War she made a great effort as chairman of the Russian Red Cross. She spent more than 50 years in Russia, surviving the revolution, which caused the deaths of two of her sons and five grandchildren. In 1919 she left Russia on board a British warship "Marlborough" and, for a while, stayed with her sister, Queen Dowager Alexandra, in England. She later moved to Denmark. When she died, the funeral service was held in the Church of Alexander Nevsky in Copenhagen. Afterwards the sarcophagus of Empress Maria Fedorovna was placed in Roskilde Cathedral. In 2005, the governments of Denmark and Russia agreed to fulfill her will to be buried next to her husband. Her remains were interred in Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral 78 years after her death.

Russian Empress. Born Princess Marie Sophie Frederikke Dagmar of Denmark, she was the second daughter of King Christian IX. In 1866 she married the Russian heir to the throne, later Alexander III. Upon her marriage she converted to the Russian Orthodox faith and changed her name to Maria Fedorovna. She had 6 children, one of them Tsar Nicholas II. Throughout her life she took part in charity and contributed to improve the Russian education system. During the First World War she made a great effort as chairman of the Russian Red Cross. She spent more than 50 years in Russia, surviving the revolution, which caused the deaths of two of her sons and five grandchildren. In 1919 she left Russia on board a British warship "Marlborough" and, for a while, stayed with her sister, Queen Dowager Alexandra, in England. She later moved to Denmark. When she died, the funeral service was held in the Church of Alexander Nevsky in Copenhagen. Afterwards the sarcophagus of Empress Maria Fedorovna was placed in Roskilde Cathedral. In 2005, the governments of Denmark and Russia agreed to fulfill her will to be buried next to her husband. Her remains were interred in Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral 78 years after her death.

Bio by: julia&keld