Maria Alexandrovna, and her paternal aunt and godmother, the Empress Maria Feodorovna. Maria was not yet two years old when her mother died from complications after giving birth to Maria's younger brother, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia in 1891. Grand Duke Paul was so distraught by the unexpected death of his young wife that he neglected his two small children, who were left in the care of his elder brother, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, who had no children of his own. Once he recovered emotionally, Grand Duke Paul took the two children away with him. A commander of the Imperial horse Guards, Grand Duke Paul loved his children, but as was customary at the time, he refrained from showing them spontaneous affection. Maria and her brother were raised by governesses and tutors, but they adored their father who visited them twice a day. The children spent Christmases and later some summer holidays with Grand Duke Sergei and his wife Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna. The couple set aside a playroom and bedrooms for the youngsters at their country home, Ilinskoe. Maria Pavlovna's childhood was spent in splendor. Her early memories were of magnificent palaces and lazy country estates populated by armies of servants. Until she was six, Maria spoke Russian badly as all of her governesses and the immediate family spoke English. Later she had another governess, Mademoiselle Hélène who taught her French and stayed with her until her marriage. At the age of seven she traveled in her own personal railway car accompanied by her governess to visit Germany and France. On Sundays, she and her brother were allowed to play with children from aristocratic families. Growing up without a mother and with a frequently absent father, Grand Duchess Maria and her brother Dimitri became very close, relying on each other for affection and companionship. Education In 1895, Grand Duke Paul began an affair with a married woman, Olga Valerianova von Pistolkors. He was able to obtain a divorce for her and he eventually married Olga in 1902, while the couple was staying abroad. As they had married defying Nicholas II's opposition, the Tsar forbade them to return to Russia. Left fatherless, twelve-year-old Maria and eleven-year-old Dmitri moved to Moscow placed under the custody of their uncle Grand Duke Sergei and his wife, Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna, a sister of the Tsarina Alexandra. Maria and Dimitri resented their aunt