Maria of Hesse and the Rhine (Darmstadt, 8 August 1824 - St. Petersburg, 8 June 1880) was, with the name of Maria Aleksandrovna (Russian: Мария Александровна), Empress of Russia as wife of Emperor Alexander II. He was born in Darmstadt, the capital of the Grand Duchy, and died in St. Petersburg.
In 1838 he met the zarevic Alexander, who was traveling across Europe looking for a wife. Alessandro fell in love with the fourteen-year-old Maria and they got engaged. They married on April 16, 1841, despite the objections of Alexander's mother, Empress Aleksandra Fёdorovna. The mother of Alexander was in fact aware, like the groom, of the social stigma resulting from the illegitimate birth of Maria Massimiliana, and would have preferred that the heir to the throne marry Princess Alexandrina of Baden. However, Tsar Nicholas ended up acquiescing, aware of the beauty and gifts of the bride, as well as of the love he felt for her by Alexander.
The environment of the Russian court proved immediately not suitable for the young Maria. In fact she was held to be, since she was very shy, rigid, austere, devoid of any taste in dress, unable to entertain herself in conversations, and in any case not fascinating. In addition, the damp climate of St. Petersburg greatly damaged the delicate breast, which she had inherited from her mother, so that she ended up suffering from tormenting coughs and recurrent fevers. Nevertheless, Mary became the mother of eight children. The continuous pregnancies, together with her weakened body, kept her away from the court parties, which were a source of continual temptation for her husband. In fact, although Alessandro always behaved correctly in his regard, Maria knew that her husband was constantly betraying her and had numerous lovers. The tsar had already had three children with Princess Caterina Dolgoruki, when he moved his second family to the Imperial Palace. Alessandro and Caterina joined in a morganatic marriage, after the death of Maria.

Born princess of the Grand Duchy of Hesse, officially the daughter of Grand Duke Louis II of Hesse-Darmstadt and his wife, Princess Wilhelmina of Baden, daughter of the Crown Prince Charles Louis of Baden and Princess Amalia of Hesse-Darmstadt. One of her maternal aunt, Luisa Maria Augusta of Baden, was Tsarina of Russia, as consort of Tsar Alexander I.
Numerous questions arose concerning his birth. The parents had in fact developed a mutual indifference over the years and lived for long separate periods of time, while still pretending outside to form an intact family. The birth of Alexander and Mary, the youngest sons of the grand-ducal couple, reunited them again, although the paternity of the Grand Duke over the last sons of Wilhelmina was questioned. Presumably the biological father of these children was Augusto Luigi of Senarclens-Grancy, with whom the Grand Duchess cohabited in some periods, and who was her lover of all time. Wilhelmina did not want the education of the young princess to be entrusted to governors, instead she preferred to put education and training on the same level, taking care of it in person. Wilhelmina thought it was convenient for Mary to receive a literary education and specific knowledge of history. Her mother's love for French culture and literature played an important role in the formation of the young princess. Wilhelmina died when Maria was eleven. The maid of court Marianne Gransi then took on the task of perfecting and completing the instruction of the princess, following the directives drawn by the late Grand Duchess. However, doubts about his fatherhood led the court of Darmstadt to ignore the young Maria, so much so that her name never appeared on the lists of German princesses in marriageable age.
In 1855 Alexander became emperor and for Maria increased court duties, having to preside over many more functions of state, whether ill or not. Although Alexander continued to respect her, the Empress knew, however, that from 1858 onwards her husband's feelings were no longer addressed to her. The death in 1865 of his beloved son, Nicola, was a blow to Maria.
Despite the demanding life of an empress, Maria often went to her brother in Heiligenberg. Here he got to know Alice of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, wife of his nephew Louis IV of Hesse. Alice suggested the idea of marrying one of Maria's daughters with her brother, Alfredo of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. When Alice died, Maria often invited her children to Heiligenberg and here Maria's son, Grand Duke Sergio, will know his future wife and Maria will meet Alessandra d'Assia. In 1863 Maria, struck by tuberculosis, hoped with the help of spa treatments to get relief from the evil that afflicted her. In the summer of 1864 he went to Bad Kissingen, where he met Louis II of Bavaria for the first time. This first meeting followed a second visit by Luigi to Bad Schwalbach, where the Tsarina had stopped for further treatment. From this meeting began a correspondence between the two sovereigns, lasting for one year. Due to a worsening of her illness and the suspicions fed by the Russian court, Maria was forced to break this correspondence. The conjugal infidelity of her husband and the early death of her firstborn caused profound sorrows for Mary. The very weak Tsarina died of such suffering on May 27, 1880 and was buried with all honors in the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul The panoramic walk of Sanremo in Italy, Corso Imperatrice is dedicated to the Empress Maria Aleksandrovna in thanksgiving for the palms she donated to the city and still today they show off along the homonymous street.