Dowager Empress is ill

August 12, 1914

The Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia arrived in Berne earlier today, reports the New York Times.  She is said to be "seriously ill," and she will undergo a "surgical operation."

The Dowager Empress is the sister of Queen Alexandra.  She was returning to St. Petersburg when she was stopped in Berlin on August 3.  She was persuaded to travel to Stockholm, and has now decided to remain in Switzerland for the duration of the war.