It helps when everyone involved actually knows it’s a date.
In 1838, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna Romanov found herself on a blind date with a boy she later described as “the nightmare of my life.” At the time, she was just sixteen years old, the middle daughter of Tsar Nicholas I and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Although she was smart and pretty, Olga felt invisible next to her seductive older sister and angelic younger sister.
But she wasn’t. Not by a long shot.
In fact, she had no idea just how visible she was to a few members of her extended family.
A Dance with Destiny
The disastrous set-up happened in Prussia, during a visit to her mother’s father, King Friedrich Wilhelm III.
One day, there was a lunch dance for younger members of the family, where Olga danced with Crown Prince Maximilian of Bavaria. One of Olga’s Prussian aunts, Elise, became fixated on the idea that Max should marry one of Alexandra’s daughters.
Max did his part by developing an instant obsession with Olga.
