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. It 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, at the Villa Bermond in Nice, France. On his deathbed, Nicholas expressed the wish that his fiancée become the bride of his younger brother and future tsarevich, Alexander. He "raised his right hand and took Sasha's [Alexander's] hand... and seemed to be reaching for Princess Dagmar's with his left." In 1866, Alexander and Dagmar married. Nicholas's death at the early age of 21 thoroughly devastated his mother, who was said to have pored obsessively over all aspects of Nicholas's life. Empress Maria never recovered from his death. In 1867, construction was begun on a chapel named in his honor (:fr:Chapelle du tsarévitch Nicolas Alexandrovitch) in Nice, on the exact place where Nicholas was said to have died, and in 1868, the chapel was inaugurated, with his brother Alexander and his wife, the re-christened Maria Feodorovna, in attendance. Honours Ancestry Notes References Zeepvat, Charlotte, Romanov Autumn, Sutton Publishing, 2000 1843 births 1865 deaths House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov Russian grand dukes Heirs apparent who never acceded Neurological disease deaths in France Infectious disease deaths in France Deaths from meningitis 19th-century people from the Russian Empire Tsesarevichs of Russia Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Children of Alexander II of Russia Sons of emperors Burials at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg