On December 19, 2012, on the day of the 100th anniversary of the consecration of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Nicholas in the French city of Nice, the opening ceremony of the monument to Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov took place.
The monument, erected behind the altar of the cathedral, was consecrated by Metropolitan Pavel of Ryazan and Mikhailovsky, who headed the official delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church at the celebrations on the occasion of the centenary of St. Nicholas Cathedral. Then the church choir sang eternal memory to Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich.
In Nice, the memory of the Tsarevich has always been honored. Three years after his tragic death in this city, a memorial chapel appeared on the territory of the Villa Bermond, where he died, and the adjacent street was soon renamed Tsarevich Boulevard (boulevard du Tzaréwitch).
In 1896, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna and Tsar Nicholas II, at the request of the local Orthodox community, took under their patronage the construction of a new cathedral, which was completed in 1912.
As the first Vice-mayor of Nice, Benoit Candel, noted at the ceremony: "This bust will remind of the inextricable connection between Russia and Nice, of the close Russian-French friendship."
