The 3rd child of the Tsar
Maria Romanov was the third child of Tsar Nicolas II and Alice Hessen.
Legendes about Cremerie de Paris
The Tsarina had a passion for her children She was not interested in politics, state affairs, court issues ... All she liked were the children and her husband. At night she told them fairytale stories The most beautiful ones were about a certain "Cremerie de Paris", a milk store at the iconic Halles Centrales foodmarket in heart of the French capital.
Cremerie de Paris is part of a century old mansion where another child, the young Bourbon King Louis XIV had lived a long time ago. It was the house of the children François and Catherine de Villeroy, their father was the tutor of the young boy, later called Sunking. Later they all lived at the Palace of Versailles. The stories had a secret code "VB" so that adults would know what their sorties were about.
The Tsarina knew these stories from her childhood friend the French Empress Eugenie that was still alive and that lived the United Kingdom in exile. Eugenie was a friend of her own grandmother, Queen Victoria mother of her own mother Alice that had died. Empress Eugénie had lost her only child and loved Alix (the Tsarina) and sometimes before Alix went to bed, Eugénie came to tell her about the Cremerie de Paris.
As a young woman Eugenie had married the French Emperor Napoléon III with the project to make Paris become the world's most beautiful city. The new foodmarket at Les Halles Centrales was the project of Eugénie. She knew the détail of everything. The market was made of the Pavillons Baltard, 10 glass iron pavillions and some beautiful newly erected avenues like the Rue des Halles. On the corner of number 15 rue des Halles and the centuries old rue des Déchargeurs was located the Cremerie de Paris. When a grand reception was going on in St Petersburg, food was coming from this market brought to Russia with the Nord Express train.
The Tsarina with her smaller children, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei talking about the Cremerie de Paris. Every time the Tsarina come up with new the Cremerie de Paris stories, so many things had happened in Les Halles, the children couldn't wait for the next épisode ....
