Tsaritsa Maria Feodorovna was laid to rest in the royal crypt of St Petersburg’s Peter and Paul Fortress in a ceremony attended by dozens of members of Russia’s Romanov dynasty and by royalty from across Europe.

The Danish-born Empress was the mother of Nicholas II, who was executed with his family in 1918 after the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. She fled into exile a year later on HMS Marlborough, initially to Britain then to Denmark, where she died in 1928.

Family members said that the Empress had wished to be buried alongside her husband, Tsar Alexander III, when the situation in Russia permitted.

The return of the remains was a personal initiative of President Vladimir Putin, who contacted Queen Margrethe II of Denmark to secure support for the reburial in an apparent act of atonement for Russia’s bloody revolutionary history.

The Empress’s coffin, draped in the yellow Imperial standard, was lowered into the ground by an honour guard of soldiers from Denmark and from Russia’s presidential regiment as voices of an Orthodox choir mixed with the sound of a single church bell and the crack of a cannon firing a 31-shot salute. The tribute echoed the military salute given to the young Princess Dagmar when she arrived on Russian soil from Denmark 140 years ago.

The coffin was sealed in a white marble sarcophagus topped with a gold Orthodox cross after descendants of the Romanovs and visiting royals, including Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, had filed past to pay their respects. A wreath from Prince Michael carried a note saying simply: “In Memoriam.”

Earlier, in a service of high grandeur at St Isaac’s Cathedral in the city, Patriarch Alexei II, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, led prayers as more than 50 priests in gold and white robes formed two lines either side of the coffin.

Hundreds of officials, foreign dignitaries and ordinary Russians filled the cathedral during the service.

The Patriarch described her as the devoted wife and mother of imperial rulers, who had been a true daughter of Russia. He said: “Having fallen deeply in love with the Russian people, the Empress devoted a great deal of effort for the benefit of the Russian fatherland. Her soul always ached for Russia.”

The split within the Romanov dynasty over the Tsar’s true heir was evident, however. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna was placed in the centre section of the cathedral next to Prince Michael, former King Constantine of Greece and Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, while Prince Nicholas Romanov and the majority of family members, who dispute her claim to be the titular Empress of Russia, stood at the
side.

After the service, the funeral cortege made a final journey around the former royal capital where the Empress had lived for more than 50 years, then received a full military escort when it arrived at the fortress. Russia’s Culture Minister, Alexander Sokolov, said: “Today we have fulfilled the innermost will of the Empress. It means the time has come to fill the gaps in our history and culture.”

Maria Feodorovna is the last of Russia’s imperial rulers to be buried at the Romanov vault, where the remains of every Tsar and Tsaritsa since Peter the Great are kept. The remains of Nicholas II, his wife and three of their daughters were buried there in 1998.

“The fact that we have been able to rebury Maria Feodorovna shows that we live in a new Russia which is strong and united and is starting to rise again,” said Valentina Matviyenko, governor of St Petersburg, in a funeral address.

Many ordinary Russians feel the return of the Empress is another important episode in healing the wounds of their country’s history. Although large crowds did not turn out to view the funeral ceremony, thousands queued on Wednesday to pay their respects when the coffin lay in state a day after the arrival of the Empress from Denmark.

Feeling among Russians for the royal family continues to run deep and a group of elderly Russians were quick to kiss the sarcophagus and say prayers after the ceremony. Nina Suyetina, 68, said: “We have waited such a long time for this day. I thank God that He has brought Empress Maria Feodorovna back.

“It would be my dream to see the Romanov dynasty come back. Until there is a Tsar in Russia again, Russia will never be at ease.”

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