By the manifesto of 28th June 1899 We named as Our successor Our beloved brother the Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, until such a time as a son was born to Us. From now on, in accordance with the fundamental laws of the Empire, the Imperial title of Heir Tsarevich, and all the rights pertaining to it, belong to Our Son Alexei.
~The Heir's Birth Announcement~

God has sent their Majesties a son. What a joy! Russia has waited 10 years for an Heir, and now it has happened. Soon we heard the canons begin firing from the fort when we reached the gothic church. The Tsar emerged from inside and, together with his mother and his elder daughter Olga, Tatiana and Maria, started to go round the assembly receiving congratulations. The whole family were there, as well as the closest of the courtiers, the general staff and the officers of the combined guards regiment and His Majesty's cavalry. They say that the labour lasted only two hours and that everything went well, the baby measures 58 centimetres and weighs 11 pounds.
~KR's Diary, 30 July, 1904~

At five o'clock my wife and I went to see the Dowager Empress and had tea with her. She, who had been so full of joy at the birth of the Tsarevich, was again preoccupied and aggrieved by the news of our fleet.
The former Heir Misha was there, he is radiant with happiness at no longer being Heir.
~KR's Diary, 2 August~

It happened during the war with Japan. The nation was really in the depths of depression because of all the disasters in Manchuria. All the same, I remember how happy the people looked with the news was announced.
~Olga Alexandrovna's Memoirs~

 
A salute of 300 rounds was shot from the Sts. Peter and Paul Fortress. Church bells rang as people knelt to pray for their new Heir. Russia bestowed all her faith into this big, cheerful baby. He was a symbol of the past with the Romanov blood running through him, and he was the hope for Russia's future. Not since the 17th Century had an Heir been born to the Ruling Sovereign.