Born at Tsarskoe Selo and nicknamed "Nixa", he was the eldest son of then-Tsesarevich Alexander Nikolaevich, eldest son of Emperor Nicholas I, and Empress Maria. In 1855, his paternal grandfather died, and his father succeeded to the throne as Emperor Alexander World War II
In the summer of 1864, Nicholas became engaged to Princess Dagmar of Denmark. She was the second daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel and was a younger sister of Alexandra, Princess of Wales, wife of the heir-apparent to the British throne. Until 1865, Nicholas was thought to have a strong constitution, but early in that year, during a tour in southern Europe, he contracted an ailment that was initially incorrectly diagnosed as rheumatism.
Nicholas"s symptoms at that time included back pain and a stiff neck, as well as sensitivity to noise and light.
He thought little of his ailments, however, and continued his tour in Italy. His health rapidly worsened, and he was sent to Southern France, but this move brought him no improvement.
lieutenant was eventually determined that he was suffering from cerebro-spinal meningitis, and it was speculated that this illness of his was caused by a previous accident in a wrestling match, in which Nicholas participated and was thrown down. In the spring of 1865, Nicholas continued to decline, and he died on 24 April 1865, in Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d"Azur.
Empress Maria never recovered from his death.
