The Grand Duchesses: as described by their English tutor, Charles Sydney Gibbes
"The Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna had the lightest hair in the family. She had beautiful blue eyes. All her personality was seen in her eyes. She was straight, just, honest, simple, sincere, and kind. She was easily irritated and her manners were a little harsh. She was a good musician. She had a talent for music. She was very modest. She liked simplicity and did not pay much attention to dress. Her morals reminded me of those of her father. She was very religious and it seems to me that she loved her father more than anyone else.
The Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna was very thin. You could hardly imagine anybody as thin as she was. She was tall, darker than rest of the family, and elegant. The colour of her eyes was dark grey. Her eyes made her look different from all of her sisters, who showed soul through their eyes. She was reserved, haughty, and not open-hearted, but she was the most positive. She was also religious, but the motive back of her religion was: 'It is my duty,' while Olga Nikolaevna had it in her heart. She was always preoccupied and pensive and it was impossible to guess her thoughts. She played the paino and played it better than anyone else in the family. However, she had only a better technique and did not show feeling in her music. She painted and embroidered well. She was her mother's favourite and the one in whom, of all the daughters, she confided the most.
The Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna was a young woman of broad build. She was very strong; for example, she could lift me up from the ground. She had lighter hair than Tatiana, but darker than Olga. (Olga Nikolaevna had brown hair, of a golden shade, and Maria Nikolaevna had brown with a light shade.) She had very, light blue eyes. She was very good looking but got too thin after her illness. She had a great talent for painting and always liked to exercise it. She played the piano indifferently and was not as capable as Olga or Tatiana. She was modest and simple and probably had the qualities of a good wife and mother. She was fond of children and was inclined to be lazy.
The Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna was short, stout, and was, in my opinion, the only one in the family that appeared to be ungraceful. Her hair was of a lighter color than that of Maria Nikolevna. It was not wavy or soft, but lay flat on the forehead. Her eyes were grey and beautiful, her nose straight. If she had grown and got slim, she would have been the prettiest in the family. She was refined and very witty. She had the talents of a comic actor, she made everybody laugh, but never laughed herself. She played the piano and painted, but was only in the stage of studying both."
-The Imperial Children's English tutor, Charles Sydney Gibbes, describing the four Grand Duchesses
The Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna was very thin. You could hardly imagine anybody as thin as she was. She was tall, darker than rest of the family, and elegant. The colour of her eyes was dark grey. Her eyes made her look different from all of her sisters, who showed soul through their eyes. She was reserved, haughty, and not open-hearted, but she was the most positive. She was also religious, but the motive back of her religion was: 'It is my duty,' while Olga Nikolaevna had it in her heart. She was always preoccupied and pensive and it was impossible to guess her thoughts. She played the paino and played it better than anyone else in the family. However, she had only a better technique and did not show feeling in her music. She painted and embroidered well. She was her mother's favourite and the one in whom, of all the daughters, she confided the most.
The Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna was a young woman of broad build. She was very strong; for example, she could lift me up from the ground. She had lighter hair than Tatiana, but darker than Olga. (Olga Nikolaevna had brown hair, of a golden shade, and Maria Nikolaevna had brown with a light shade.) She had very, light blue eyes. She was very good looking but got too thin after her illness. She had a great talent for painting and always liked to exercise it. She played the piano indifferently and was not as capable as Olga or Tatiana. She was modest and simple and probably had the qualities of a good wife and mother. She was fond of children and was inclined to be lazy.
The Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna was short, stout, and was, in my opinion, the only one in the family that appeared to be ungraceful. Her hair was of a lighter color than that of Maria Nikolevna. It was not wavy or soft, but lay flat on the forehead. Her eyes were grey and beautiful, her nose straight. If she had grown and got slim, she would have been the prettiest in the family. She was refined and very witty. She had the talents of a comic actor, she made everybody laugh, but never laughed herself. She played the piano and painted, but was only in the stage of studying both."
-The Imperial Children's English tutor, Charles Sydney Gibbes, describing the four Grand Duchesses