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Queen Genepil (1905-1938), the last wife of the last Mongol Khan, is a woman shrouded in mystery yet one whose story has endured. She was queen consort for less than a year in 1924 but her story has captivated successive generations. Following her husband's demise, she faced arrest and execution in 1938 as part of Stalin's systematic campaign to eradicate Mongolian culture and any remnants of the old regime. Genepil's daughter, Tserenkhand, who managed to survive the Great Purge, vividly remembered her mother's sudden disappearance during her childhood. At the debut of a film about the late queen her 70-year-old daughter Tserenkhand recalled sudden disappearance of her mother as a child saving, "They took her away at night. She did not wake us, only left a piece of sugar on our pillows. I still remember the joy of a sudden discovery of that rare delicacy in the morning". According to historical evidences, Genepil was born Tseyenpil in 1905 to a family in Northern Mongolia, around Baldan Bereeven Monastery. The Vll Jetsundhampa, the Bogd Khan, married his first wife, the famous Ekh Dagina, after falling madly in love with her and her death in 1923 effected ailing monk-monarch profoundly. After death of Queen Dondogdulam in 1923, Genepil was chosen as her successor among a group of women between ages of 18-20 years old who were selected by the king's counsellors. Genepil was already married to a man named Luvsandamba. Queen Genepil lived with the Bogd Khan until his death on 20 May 1924, when monarchy was abolished. She then returned to her family, after leaving Mongolian Royal Court, though it is unknown if she went back to her first husband or ever remarried. Sadly, with the Khan gone, communists were able to drop all pretences and instituted a vicious crackdown against al reminders of the old regime. Because of her former status Queen Genepil was targeted, arrested in 1937 and, along with her family, was executed in the purges of 1938. All that remained of her memory was a secret, forbidden song passed on to a historian by an old man who had been taught it by a former servant of the Bogd Khan, who taught it to him while the two were imprisoned by the communists. This brutal campaign resulted in a significant loss of life, including the near-extinction of Mongolia's shamans and Buddhist lamas. It is estimated that between 20,000 and 35,000 "enemies of the revolution" were executed during this period, which represented approximately 3 to 5 percent of Mongolia's total population at the time. Aftermath, in 1937, government of Mongolian People's Republic  accused (falsely) Genepil of colaborating with the Japanese to restore the old government of Mongolia (Mongol khanate), as she gathering  materiel in order to stage an uprising with the help of Japan. She was subsequently arrested and executed at age 33, she was five months pregnant, at the time of her execution, in May 1938, as part of the Stalinist repressions in Mongolia. 📷 : Queen Genepil portrait photograph from 1920s, by Luther Anderson, Nat Geo Magazine. #archaeohistories