Historian Helen Rappaport told an audience in Hay why the Romanovs' European royal relatives and the allied governments failed to attempt to free them.
She said the problem for King George V was that as a constitutional monarch he had to work with his government and that numerous contributing factors meant rescuing the Russian Royal family became impossible.
First and foremost Britain was executing a long drawn out war against Germany and events in Russia were not a priority. Added to that Tsar Nicholas was not a popular figure in and the fact his wife Alexandra was German did not help matters.
Rappaport said: “When the chips were down political considerations came into play.” she added, “it was a case of family loyalty versus political constraints.”
She said that royal families throughout Europe did not seriously believe the Russian Imperial family were in mortal danger and when they were murdered it came as a terrible shock.
However she stressed in the period immediately after the abdication of Tsar Nicholas the family could have fled Russia, but as time went on the noose tightened and any serious hope for rescue quickly faded.
She said ultimately it was the folly of both the Tsar and Tsarina that led to the murder of their own children.
If you missed this you might like to go to Event 368 Victorious Century - The United Kingdom 1800 - 1906 at 1pm on Saturday 2 June