The former Empress of Russia was shy about using the bathroom.

[**The following takes place after Tsar Nicholas’ abdication during the First World War. More specifically, it takes place on the train that was transporting the Royal Family from their former residence at Tsarskoe Selo to Ipatev’s House, more popularly known as The House of Special Purpose.**] >They traveled all that day and the night that followed, with occasional stops, to cover the 850 kilometers between Omsk and Ekaterinburg. The voyage was uneventful. Iakovlev recalled that [the ex-Tsarina](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Alexandra_Fyodorovna_LOC_01137u.jpg) was so painfully shy that she would wait for hours to go to the lavatory, until the car was clear of strangers, and remain there until she was sure there was no on in the corridor. __________________________ **Source:** Pipes, Richard. "The Murder of the Imperial Family." *The Russian Revolution*. New York: Knopf, 1990. 757. Print. **Original Source Listed:** Iakovlev in *Izvestiia*, No 96/360 (May 16, 1918), 2. __________________________ **Further Reading:** [Омск (Omsk)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omsk) [Екатеринбу́рг (Yekaterinburg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yekaterinburg) [Alix of Hesse and by Rhine / Александра Фёдоровна (Alexandra Feodorovna) / Saint Alexandra the Passion Bearer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_Feodorovna_(Alix_of_Hesse)