Lucy Worsley's Royal Myths & Secrets

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Narrator

Enemy of the people number one was the czar. He'd now be moved to the city of Yekaterinburg with his family. Their prison was ominously called "The House for Special Purposes." (door creaking) By July 1918, white forces were closing in on Yekaterinburg to rescue the czar and his family. The Bolsheviks decided to act. (brooding music) Nicholas had no idea that he and his family's lives were in danger. The last entry in his diary reads the weather is fine and warm. We've had absolutely no news from outside. Three days on, very late on the night of the 16th of July, the czar and his family were taken down to the basement of the house. What took place next would be shrouded in lies for over 70 years. The head guard, Yakov Yurovsky, left an account of what happened. The Royal family were told that a truck had come to take them on the next leg of their journey. This was half true. A truck had come to take them away, but only after they'd been killed. First to be shot was Nicholas at point blank range. When the bullets reached his wife, Alexandra, she was in the process of making the sign of the cross. These two died instantly. Not so with the children. Here, the guns were somehow ineffective, and they had to turn to bayonets to finish the job. The gruesome work took 20 whole minutes. (brooding music)