On Monday, June 28, 1899, around 9 a.m., Grand Duke George Alexandrovich went for a ride on a tricycle, despite the doctors’ prohibition (since 1890, he had been suffering from tuberculosis). The ride ended with the sudden death of George Alexandrovich on his way back from Abastumani.
The heir was given a funeral service in the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky. A chapel was built at the site of his death (initially wooden, later made of Carrara marble). The coffin with the body of the Tsarevich undertook a long journey to St. Petersburg: it was brought to Borjomi on a funeral chariot, then by train to Batumi, by the battleship “George the Victorious” to Novorossiysk, and by train to St. Petersburg, where it arrived on July 12, 1899. After a second funeral service on July 14, Grand Duke George Alexandrovich was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral next to his father’s sarcophagus.
Since Grand Duke George was the heir to the throne, the court mourning lasted for one year.