The Romanovs Nicholas Romanov was born at Tsarkoe Selo on May 19, 1868. His parents were Marie Feodorovna, a Danish princess and Tsar Alexander III. Nicholas's father wanted him to be tough but his personality was the exact opposite. He was a gentle person which showed particularly in his eyes. Nicholas wasn't trained in being a tsar. So when his father died in 1894, he was unprepared for his new role. At the time of his father's death, he was engaged to Alix of Hesse, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria. They were married on November 26, 1894. Nicholas and Alexandra had 4 daughters, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia. They had longed for a son to inherit the Russian throne and at the birth of each of the girls, they began to worry if they would have the son they wanted. On August 12, 1904, the heir to the throne was born. He was named Alexei. Nicholas and his family kept a secret. The secret was that Alexei had hemophilia and they didn't want the people to know because they felt that it cause the public to lose faith in the Imperial regime. In August 1914, Russia declared war on Germany and Austria. But at home, the country was moving towards a revolution. On March 15, 1917, he was then taken home to be put under house arrest with the rest of his family. He and his family were moved from their home to Siberia, where they were put in the Ipatiev House. On July 16, 1918, Nicholas and his family were led down to the cellar and shot to death.