Margaretta Eagar

Margaretta Eagar
Margaretta Eagar, back, and another nanny with Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia, Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, and Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia, ca. 1900.
Born	August 12, 1863(1863-08-12) Limerick, Ireland
Died	1936 Great Britain
Occupation	Governess
Parents	Francis McGillycuddy Eagar and Frances Margaret Holden

Margaretta Alexandra Eagar, also known as Margaret Eagar, (August 12, 1863 - 1936), was a nanny for the four daughters of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra, known collectively as OTMA: The Grand Duchesses Olga (November 15, 1895 - July 17, 1918); Tatiana (June 10, 1897 - July 17, 1918); Maria (June 26, 1899 - July 17, 1918); and Anastasia (June 18, 1901 - July 17, 1918).

Eagar wrote a 1906 memoir entitled Six Years at the Russian Court about her time with the Romanovs.

Early life

Eagar was born in Limerick, Ireland, one of ten children born to a Protestant couple, Francis McGillycuddy Eagar and Frances Margaret Holden. She was trained as a medical nurse in Belfast and worked at one point as matron of an orphanage.^[1]

Time at Court

Eagar was appointed nurse to the daughters of Nicholas II in 1898 and remained with them until 1904. An aunt of the grand duchesses later recalled Eagar's great love of politics. As a toddler, Maria once escaped from her bath and ran naked up and down the palace corridor while Eagar discussed the Dreyfus Affair with a friend. "Fortunately, I arrived just at that moment, picked her up and carried her back to Miss Eagar, who was still talking about Dreyfus," recalled Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia.^[2]

The four Grand Duchessess began learning English from Miss Eagar and, by 1904 -at which time Miss Eagar left the Imperial Russian Court - had developed a slight Hiberno-English accent in their pronunciation. In 1908, English tutor Charles Sydney Gibbes was brought in to "correct" this.^[3].

Eagar, who grew fond of all four grand duchesses, wrote in her book that she left the Russian Court for personal reasons.^[4] However, it was possible that she was dismissed due to the tense political situation surrounding the Russo-Japanese War as Great Britain largely sided with Japan.^[1].

From left to right, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia Nikolaevna in 1906.

Later life

Eagar received a pension from the Russian government for her time as a nurse. She exchanged letters with the grand duchesses describing her work as a governess for other families up until their murder in July 1918. She also later ran a boarding house that was unsuccessful and left her in debt. Family members stated that she remained haunted by the brutal murder of the girls she had grown so fond of until her own death in a nursing home in 1936.^[1]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} Zeepvat, Charlotte, From Cradle to Crown: British Nannies and Governesses at the World's Royal Courts
2. ^ Massie, Robert K., Nicholas and Alexandra, 1967, Dell Publishing Co., ISBN 0440163587, p. 132
3. ^ Alexander Palace Diaries
4. ^ Eagar, Margaret (1906). ""Six Years at the Russian Court"". alexanderpalace.org. http://www.alexanderpalace.org/eagar/eagar.html/. Retrieved March 3, 2007. 

References

• Eagar, Margaretta, Six Years at the Russian Court, 1906
• Massie, Robert K., Nicholas and Alexandra, 1967, Dell Publishing Co., ISBN 0440163587
• Zeepvat, Charlotte, From Cradle to Crown: British Nannies and Governesses at the World's Royal Courts, Sutton Publishing, ASIN B000GREBC0
• Alexander Palace Diaries

Persondata
Name	Eagar, Margaretta
Alternative names	Eagar, Margaret
Short description	Nanny to the four daughters of Tsar Nicholas II; author of Six Years at the Russian Court, a 1906 memoir.
Date of birth	August 12, 1863
Place of birth	Limerick, Ireland
Date of death	1936
Place of death	Great Britain