Marie de Coucy
Alexander II died on 8 July 1249 during an expedition against the Lord of Argyll on the island of Kerrera. Immediately after the news reached her, Marie made sure her 8-year-old son was crowned as soon as possible at Scone. Although her son was a minor and was placed under regency, Marie did not become regent. On 9 June 1250 Marie and her son Alexander III were present in Dunfermline for the observance of the canonisation of Saint Margaret of Scotland and the transference of her remains to the new shrine.
Nicholas II of Russia
Because of the fragility of the autocracy at this time, Nicholas and Alexandra chose not to divulge Alexei's condition to anyone outside the imperial household. In fact, there were many in the household who were unaware of the exact nature of the Tsarevich's illness. At first Alexandra turned to Russian doctors and medics to treat Alexei; however, their treatments generally failed, and Alexandra increasingly turned to mystics and holy men (or "starets" as they were called in Russian). One of these starets, an illiterate Siberian named Grigori Rasputin, appeared to have some success. Rasputin's influence over Empress Alexandra, and consequently the Tsar himself, had grown stronger ever since 1912, when the Tsarevich nearly died from an injury while the family was on vacation at the hunting lodges at Białowieża and Spała (Poland). The bleeding grew steadily worse until it was assumed that the Tsarevich would not survive, and the Last Sacrament was administered on 10 October 1912. In desperation Alexandra called upon Rasputin as a last resort, to which he replied, "God has seen your tears and heard your prayers. Do not grieve. The Little One will not die. Do not allow the doctors to bother him too much." The haemorrhage stopped the very next day and the boy began to recover. Alexandra took this as a sign that Rasputin was a "starets" and that God was with him; for the rest of her life she would fervently defend him and turn her wrath against anyone who dared to question him.