Nicholas is the oldest child of Tsar Alexander III and Empress Marie. As such, he becomes the Tsar upon his father's death. Nicholas, as most royalty, was raised to be the ruler. His family supervised his choice of a wife, preferring matches other than the one he made with Princess Alix. The Romanovs had a successful marriage with the birth of four daughters and one son. The son, Alexis had hemophilia. Nicholas is the last Tsar, since he was the one on the throne when the Russian Revolution occurred in 1917.