We’ve been looking at the early life of Princess Irina and her marriage to Felix Yusupov, but we can go no further with her story until we talk about Rasputin and his relationship with the Romanovs.

Rasputin was a well-known petty criminal in his Siberian village. After a string of convictions, he abandoned his wife and children and went to St. Petersburg, where he presented himself as a holy man.

Despite his poor hygiene, lewd conversation, and low station in life, the monk was an object of fascination to the aristocratic Russian women. He was brought right into the city’s most elegant homes where St. Petersburg society eagerly awaited him. They referred to him as a starets (an elder of a Russian Orthodox monastery). Rasputin’s appeal was not religious in nature.  Women were irresistibly attracted to him. They threw themselves at him and he welcomed them.

Russian men were less enthralled with Rasputin. They pointed out that he was often drunk, had never taken orders, and he didn’t act like a holy man. His favorite maxim was, “You can’t repent if you haven’t sinned.” As far as wine and women were concerned, Rasputin was as prolific a sinner as can be imagined.

Say what you will of Rasputin, he was not a fraud. He had healing powers which he casually demonstrated, and he often hypnotized people at their request. He could dilate his pupils at will and when his large blue-gray eyes fixed on a woman, she found herself unable to look away.

Rasputin met the Romanovs in 1908, and the Russian people were intensely curious about his close relationship with the family. They speculated he had seduced the tsarina and noted with indignation that he was casually familiar with the whole family. Alexandra frequently sent for him and he was a fixture in the royal palace.

Many noblemen and government officials initially assumed the Romanovs were ignorant of Rasputin’s reputation. They brought forward rumors and demonstrably true stories, but their efforts were met with a deaf ear and cold dismissal. Nothing could harm Rasputin’s place with the Romanovs. Indeed, the tsar and his wife seemed anxious to keep the monk happy and gradually came to look on him as their spiritual advisor.

The first time Rasputin came to the palace was in response to an urgent summons from Alexandra. Nothing could be more out of place in the elegant palace than the Siberian peasant with his wild beard; long, tangled hair; and dirty clothes. He was taken to Alexei’s bedroom and told the boy was dying from internal bleeding, and the doctors said they couldn’t save him.

Four-year-old Alexei was lying on his bed, sobbing in agony. His mother was in almost as pitiable a state, and she tearfully pleaded with Rasputin to save her son. The monk stood at the foot of the child’s bed and prayed aloud. To the amazement of everyone, Alexei became calm as he spoke and his features relaxed. The doctors were mystified, but they had to admit the crisis was over.

The gratitude Nicholas and his wife felt toward Rasputin cemented his place in their hearts, and they let him in on a closely guarded secret. Their only son was afflicted with hemophilia, an incurable genetic disorder that prevents the blood from clotting.  The disease was hereditary,  and traced back to the child’s great-grandmother Queen Victoria.

Alexei’s precarious health was more than a private tragedy. If the Romanovs’ only male heir died, the throne would pass to a different branch of the family. To the few souls who knew of the little tsarevich’s illness, it was clear the delicate boy would never live to inherit the Russian throne.

After the fateful night in 1908, Rasputin played an ever-growing role in matters of national importance. Alexandra allowed him to name government officials, and Rasputin accepted bribes for each one. He bragged about his power and the already unpopular Alexandra became an object of contempt.

But nothing could hurt his relationship with Nicholas and Alexandra. He used his strange powers to rescue their son whenever he had a serious health episode. Once the monk was in Siberia visiting his family when Alexei had a serious scare. Alexandra sent a frantic telegram: the doctors said the boy couldn’t live through the night. Rasputin sent a reassuring response:  “Have no fear. God has seen your tears and heard your prayers. Do not grieve; your son will live.”

Alexei continued to have life-threatening episodes. The doctors would shake their heads and give up. Then Alexandra would summon Rasputin, who saved Alexei every time. “The tsarevich is alive while I’m alive,” he boasted.

With no knowledge of the tsarevich’s illness and no explanation as to the monk’s continual presence and growing power in the palace, the Russian people assumed Rasputin was Alexandra’s lover.  The unpopular “German tsarina” was accused of sabotaging Russia’s war effort with her lover.

Nicholas was aware of the rumors about his wife and his spiritual advisor, but he was fiercely loyal to both of them. Governor Yusupov’s letter suggesting the tsar banish Rasputin resulted in Yusupov himself being ousted, and the resulting fury of his son.

And that brings us back to Princess Irina and Prince Felix.

Go to the next part!