It fell upon Grand Duke Paul to inform Alexandra of Nicholas II's abdication. After the fall of the Russian monarchy, Grand Duke Paul initially remained at his palace in Tsarskoe Selo during the period of the provisional government. With the Bolsheviks ascending to power, his palace was expropriated, and eventually he was arrested and sent to prison. In declining health, he was shot by the Bolsheviks with other Romanov relatives in the courtyard of the Peter and Paul Fortress in January 1919, and his remains were thrown into a common grave. Grand Duke Paul was born on at the Catherine Palace, in Tsarskoye Selo. He was the eighth and youngest child of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and his first wife, Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, "née" Duchess Maximilienne Wilhelmine of Hesse and by Rhine. As the youngest child in a large family, he was much loved by his parents and siblings. His early years were spent with his two siblings closest in age: his sister Marie, and his brother Sergei, from whom he was inseparable. By the time of Paul's birth, his mother was afflicted with tuberculosis and the doctors advised her not to have more children. Relations between Paul's parents ceased. The family was struck by tragedy in 1865 with the death of Paul's eldest brother, Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich, when Paul was four years old. The following year, his father, Alexander II, started an affair with Princess Catherine Dolgurokova, who gave him three children. Grand Duke Paul's early years were spent at Tsarskoye Selo and at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, with vacations at Livadia, the family’s Crimean retreat. As time passed and the Empress’ health dictated her to avoid the harsh Russian climate, the Tsarina spent long sojourns abroad with her three youngest children in Jugenheim outside Darmstadt, and the winters in the south of France. Paul was a protected delicate child; he never had a robust constitution. Grand Duke Paul was educated at home by private tutors. From the 1870s, Paul and his brother Sergei were kept in Russia by their studies. They were destined to follow a military career. From 1864 to 1885, their tutor was Admiral Dmitri Arsenyev (1832-1915), who encouraged his pupils to have a broad artistic education as well. Grand Duke Paul became a good amateur actor and an excellent dancer.