On the basis of a wide range of sources, the article considers the key steps taken by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (1872—1918) to promote the development of handicrafts and crafts in Russia. One of such steps was the Empress' patronage over the All-Russian handicraft industry Exhibitions. Supporting the development of the handicrafts industry and vocational education in the area of handicrafts is one of the Empress' distinctive charitable activities, which has a strong social character as it affects education and employment. The article reflects the patronage of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna over labour assistance institutions related to handicrafts, the establishment of the School of Folk Art, an exemplary professional educational institution aimed at reviving women's handicrafts, and the beginning of reorganization of the Custard Committee at the General Directorate of Land Management and Agriculture. The author made an attempt to review the state of the Russian handicraft industry at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, to analyse the development of the handicraft industry in 1902—1913, to show the extent to which members of the Imperial House of Romanov were involved in supporting handicrafts as a part of the charity and social policy of the state.