Russian Royalty. The third child of Emperor Nicholas II and his wife, Empress Alexandra. When World War I broke out in 1914, the good-natured Maria visited wounded Russian soldiers in infirmaries with her youngest sister and best friend, Anastasia. She was widely considered the beauty of the family. In 1917, with the Russian Revolution, Maria's father abdicated the throne and the entire family was taken prisoner. In July 1918, Maria, her parents, her 3 sisters, and 1 brother were assassinated by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg, Siberia. In 2008, it was determined that remains found the previous year near most of the Romanov family belonged to Maria. It was previously thought that Anastasia was the missing sister, though much controversy still surrounds this identification. The imperial family has been sainted by The Russian Synod Abroad as well as The Moscow Patriarchate. After being discovered in 2007, Maria's remains have moved multiple times. From 2007 to 2011 they were kept in the safe of ICR investigator Vladimir Solovyov. Then in 2011 they were moved again to the State Archives for storage. In 2015 it was planned to bury Maria and Alexei's remains in the Peter and Paul Cathedral alongside their family, the ceremony was scheduled for 10/18/2015 however the burial did not take place as assumed. Afterwards their remains have been transferred to the Novospassky Monastery where they have remained since in the Russian Orthodox Church's care.