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Sergey was born in the Alexander Palace, the fifth son of Alexander II and his wife, the Hessian Princess, Maria Alexandrovna. He was tall and handsome, wearing his blond hair short, often in a severe crew cut. One of his most arresting features was a pair of piercing cold blue eyes, which he was quick to cast upon those whom he disapproved of. Photographs show a moody, maybe even sullen man. It is hard to imagine Sergey smiling or laughing, although his niece and nephew (whom he raised) remembered him in that way. His contemporaries remembered him as a stern disciplinarian and a even a political reactionary. The Romanov family was split in their opinion of Sergey. One of the most vocal of them, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich Romanov, husband of Nickolas' sister, Xenia, detested him and wrote critically of Sergey after the revolution as one of the most negative characters in the government of Nickolas II. Alexander may not have been fair to Sergey, but it seems his conduct with his small inner circle of friends gave his enemies much to gossip about.
Sergey was distant and almost unapproachable. He kept to himself, showing his true feelings and character only to those he trusted absolutely. His brother, Alexander III, liked him and sought out Sergey's advice and company.
There were rumours about his personal life involving close relationships with other men, but this was no impediment to him marrying one of the beauties of the age, Elizabeth of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was the attractive, older sister of Aleksandra. Many royal suitors had sought her hand, among them was her first cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm II. She chose Sergey freely and without hesitation. They married when she was quite young, and she immediately became devoted her husband. The couple was inseparable. Elizabeth became a protege of her husband and even took religious instruction from him. It was a great joy to Sergey when Elizabeth freely accepted Orthodoxy. The church was a important part of Sergey's life and her sincere embrace of it brought them even closer together. For her part, Elizabeth loved Sergey very much, which baffled observers of the relationship. They could not understand what such a beautiful woman could get out of a marriage to such a man.
One of Sergey's passions was children; he loved their company and took an keen interest in their play that was in sharp contrast to his normally cold and stern demeanor. Marie, the wife of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich, felt one source of Sergey's bitterness toward life in general came from by his inability to have children of his own.
When they were in Petersburg, Sergey and Elizabeth lived across the canal from the Anichkov Palace on Nevskii Prospect in a beautiful palace designed by the architect, Stackenschneider. He was the designer of the famous Pavilion Hall in the Hermitage and the Maryinskii Palace on St. Isaac's Square. Painted a brilliant red and decorated in a brittle neo-Baroque style with bearded caryatids supporting the main floor facade, it is one of the most elegant buildings in the city. After the revolution the Communist Party liked it so much took it for themselves.
Sergey took an peculiar interest in every detail of how his wife dressed or wore her hair. He gave Elizabeth expensive gifts of dresses and fabulous jewels, which he enjoyed selecting personally. Sergey was vain about his figure. Even though he was very thin, the gossipy Felix Yussopov tells us Sergey wore a whalebone corset beneath his uniform to make him look even thinner.
Nickolas made appointed Sergey Governor-General of Moscow, where his lack of tact, stern manner, eccentric ways and aloofness made him unpopular. During his tenure he made many political mistakes and became the center of hostility toward the regime. He was blown up by SR terrorists, lead by Boris Savinkov, during the 1905 Revolution while leaving the Kremlin in his carriage. The scattered remains of his body were gathered together by his wife, Elizabeth and interred in the holy Miracle Monastery within the Kremlin walls. This ancient church was ruthlessly destroyed on orders of Stalin, however Sergey's crypt-tomb, with his coffin draped in a military great coat, was sealed underground when the monastery was razed. In 1995 Sergey's remains were recovered and reburied in solemn church services elsewhere in Moscow.
