The last czar of Russia, Nicholas II was born near St. Petersburg, Russia to Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna in 1868. He began his reign by marrying Queen Victoria's granddaughter, Alexandra. The couple had four daughters before Alexandra gave birth to a son, Alexis, the long-awaited heir to the Russian throne. Alexis was born with Hemophilia, a hereditary condition passed down through his mother's family and the result of Queen Victoria marrying her first cousin. It has been written that his delicate condition and the increasing influence of his healer on matters of state may have played a part in the Russian Revolution and, ultimately, the family's execution.