Alexander III is the former King of Ravka. He was succeeded by his second son Nikolai.
Biography[]
Pre-Series[]
Alexander III forms an alliance with Fjerda by marrying a younger princess, Tatiana. Together, they give birth to Vasily Lantsov. After Genya goes through adolescence, Alexander begins to rape Genya. He does so regularly throughout her teenage years.
Shadow and Bone[]
Alina Starkov, a newly discovered Sun Summoner, is taken to the Grand Palace to be presented to the king. King Alexander III continues to rape Genya which allows her to poison her lips as part of The Darkling's attempted coup. After Alina escapes the Little Palace, the King falls ill due to poison. The Apparat rules in his stead until the fall of Novokribirsk.
Siege and Storm[]
Alexander and Tatiana welcome Nikolai back home after nearly seven years away from court. He learns not only of Nikolai's work as Sturmhond but, that the Sun Summoner has returned. Alexander grants Alina her request of Second Army commander and dishonorably discharges Mal from the First Army.
During the course of the book, Alexander III grants Vasily permission to seek an alliance with Fjerda.
Alexander III and Tatiana decide to throw Nikolai a birthday dinner, against his wishes, and invite all of the extended Lantsov family. Both survive the massacre at the dinner and escape with the help of their second son, Nikolai.
Ruin and Rising[]
When Alina and her Grisha arrive at the Spinning Wheel, Alina and her friends try to wrap Genya's identity up in secrecy, knowing that the King wants revenge for her attempt to poison him. But Sergei mentions Genya's real name and it comes to an open confrontation.
Alexander III wants Genya to be beheaded for high treason and murder, while it becomes clear that he raped her. Genya confesses that she poisoned her own skin so that the king would consume it when he kissed and touched her. During the confrontation, the King loses his composure and calls Alina a witch, Genya a whore, and Nikolai a bastard. Deeply shocked, Nikolai ends up forcing his parents to abdicate and go into exile to the Southern Colonies, threatening them with an indictment of rape.
Rule of Wolves[]
Alexander III and his wife, Tatiana, are ordered out of exile by the Fjerdan government with permission from the Kerch after Magnus Opjer escapes the Ice Court.
During the meeting in Os Kervo, Alexander, Tatiana, and Vadik Demidov enter the meeting beside the Fjerdans. It is remarked that Vadik looks identical to Alexander. They were meant to give testimony, but Nikolai ended that before it began by admitting his illegitimacy.
Personality and traits[]
He is often insulted by his court members since he is naive and easy to manipulate.
Physical description[]
The king is described as appearing in his forties with watery blue eyes, a weak chin, and broken blood vessels in his nose. His shoulders are rounded and his build is slender. He has blonde hair and a pale mustache. After his poisoning, he becomes weak, often clinging to the edge of his throne and requiring assistance up and down stairs. He is unable to run for long periods of time as seen during his escape from the Eagle's Nest.
Trivia[]
- He is called King Pyotr in the Netflix series, possibly due to the similarity between his name and The Darkling's.
- Leigh implies that Vadik Demidov may be directly related to Alexander III due to his history of infidelity as well as Vadik's appearance, but it is never confirmed.