Grand Duchess Alexandra?

Welcome to the boring historical inaccuracy that anyone else would note but a Romanov affictionated (but you should consider that we would watch the movie too!)

At some point in this movie, Coco Channel hires as an assistant one of the Tsar's cousins whom they refer to as Grand Duchess Alexandra. Of course, to begin with, Nicholas II did not have any cousin named Alexandra and there is a very good reason why.

In the Romanov family the name "Alexandra" was regarded as cursed. This came from the fact that all Alexandra born girls in the family never lived to see past their 21st birthdays. For example:

* Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna, daughter of Tsar Paul I - died in childbiirth, aged 17.
* Grand Duchess Alexandra Mikhailovna, daughter of Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich - died shortly after her first birthday.
* Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna, daughter of Tsar Nicholas I - died in childbirth, aged 19.
* Grand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna, daughter of Tsar Alexander II - died of meningitis, aged 6.
* Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna, wife of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich - died in childbirth, aged 21.

So no... there was no Grand Duchess Alexandra working for Coco Channel. In fact it wouldn't have mattered much if they had chosen any other name, but, as you can see, "Alexandra" was not the brightest choice.

But that's not what makes me wonder... what surprises me is that Coco Channel did have a Romanov Grand Duchess associated with her, but she was Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (daughter of Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna). Her own brother, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, had an affair with Channel in 1923 and was behind the creation of the Chanel No. 5 perfume... so why not use Maria Pavlovna in the movie? She was indeed a first cousin to the Tsar and it would have made more sense to have her as character.

Why do they always complicate?...

So there you are! Now you can go back to your normal lives! Have a nice day!