easily. So these are the results of my trip. Very annoying." Death George died suddenly in Abastumani, on 10 July 1899, at the age of 28. He had been out alone on his motorcycle and some hours later, when he failed to return, his worried staff sent out a search party. By the time they found him, a peasant woman had already discovered him collapsed at the side of the road, blood oozing from his mouth as he struggled to breathe. She supported him in her arms until he died. The news reached Nicholas by telegram, who had the difficult task of telling their family. Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich wrote, "Everyone was struck, as if by lightning, by this sad and unexpected news. Queen Victoria wrote to Nicholas II, "Pray to accept the expression of my sincerest sympathy in this great sorrow, for I know the affection you had for your poor brother Georgy, whose life was so sad and lonely." The Dowager Empress telegraphed Queen Victoria, "Thank you so much for kind sympathy in this terrible sudden bereavement... My poor dearest son died quite alone. Am heartbroken." On 14 July 1899, George was laid to rest in the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, not far from his late father, Alexander III. When the coffin was put down into the tomb, Maria Feodorovna stood next to Xenia, holding her arm-in-arm, but quickly left the service as a result of her grief. Maria retrieved George's hat and took it with her as she left in-carriage. Legacy George's title as Heir Presumptive was passed to his younger brother, Michael, until the birth, in 1904, of Nicholas' son, Alexei. In 1910, Michael named his newborn son, George, after his late brother. DNA evidence Decades later, George's body was disinterred from the grave in the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul so that a sample of DNA could be taken from the remains to see whether the skeletal remains belonged to his older brother, Nicholas II. The DNA sample obtained from the Grand Duke's remains indicated that he was closely related to the DNA sample from the remains, confirming their identity. After the completion of DNA testing, the remains of Grand Duke George Alexandrovich were once again laid to rest not far from those of his older brother and family. Honours : Knight of St. Andrew : Grand Cross of St.