A Dagmar Cross to Carry?

Two weeks ago, Russian empress Dagmar was reburied in the St. Petersburg Peter and Paul's Cathedral, in accordance to her wishes. She was mother of the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II, and married to his father, Alexander III. However, the funeral service, attended by high dignitaries, did not pass without some turbulence. The crowd around the coffin was so great, that a young Danish diplomat actually fell into the grave with a big crash.

Empress Dagmar, or Maria Fyodorovna as was her Russian name, sought refuge in her native country of Denmark after the 1917 Russian revolution. She lived there for the remainder of her life, never accepting the death of her son, Tsar Nicholas II, and his family. As she now was reburied beside her husband and son, her remains were followed to the final resting-place by representatives of the Royal houses of Denmark and the UK.

The accident at her grave may well provoke some smiles, but going out with a bang is rather in line with the vivacious ways of the late Tsar family. Named after the 13th century Queen Dagmar of Denmark, she - as Maria Fyodorovna of Russia - tried to live up to the philantropic ideals of her medieval namesake. To this day, many Danes carry a Dagmar Cross round their necks in commemoration of their benign queen of the middle ages.

As for the Danish diplomat who, by an annoying hitch, ended up in the imperial grave, he survived the accident physically - if not mentally - unscathed. The poor man will probably have this Dagmar cross to carry for the remainder of his diplomatic career. Still, the Danish sense of humour and good-naturedness may well prove a consolation to him in the long run. Dagmar herself, would probably have burst out into laughter if she had known, thinking the pitfall at her grave a nice note to sign off with.