About Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia
Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia (Russian: Александра Павловна: 9 August [O.S. 29 July] 1783 – 16 March [O.S. 4 March] 1801) was a daughter of Emperor Paul I of Russia and sister of emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I. She married Archduke Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary. Her marriage was the only Romanov-Habsburg marital alliance to date. == Birth == Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna was born in Tsarskoye Selo as the third child and eldest daughter of Tsesarevich Paul and his second wife Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg (renamed Maria Feodorovna after her wedding). The gender of the child disappointed her paternal grandmother, Catherine the Great. She wrote: A third child was born and was a girl, which was named Alexandra in honor of her older brother. To tell the truth, I infinitely more like boys than girls. The Empress' secretary Alexander Khrapovitsky wrote that the Empress considered the newborn Grand Duchess Alexandra very ugly, especially compared with her older brothers. The comparison with her younger sister Elena, was also unfavorable to her: the Empress noted that the six-month-old Elena was much smarter and more charming than the two-year Alexandra. However, as a gift for the birth of Alexandra, Catherine II gave her son Gatchina Palace. Gradually the Empress started to have better feelings about her granddaughter.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.