Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna. Princess of Oldenburg. Olga Romanova-Kulikovskaya. This is all about the same woman: the daughter of Alexander III, the sister of Nicholas II, the wife of Prince Oldenburg, the beloved wife of a simple officer Nikolai Kulikovsky, the artist Olga Romanova-Kulikovskaya.
Read how sublimely and respectfully they wrote about Olga Alexandrovna, younger sister the last Russian emperor. This is not flattery before a high title and royal kinship. This is the respect and gratitude of the people for her good deeds. Charity is the duty of the royal children to their people, and they were taught to give time, energy and money to this from early childhood. The Tsar's children had to - and did set an example of caring for those who needed help, especially since upon entering the new century, Europe immediately entered the World War, and Russia had to support its allies before the first attempt in the new century to take over the world.
“The younger sister of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, was a talented professional artist.
Olga Alexandrovna – youngest daughter emperor Alexandra III and Empress Maria Feodorovna, née Princess Dagmar of Denmark. She was born in 1882. Unlike her older brothers, including the future Emperor Nicholas II, and sister, Grand Duchess Olga was called the Purple-born, since she was born when her father had already become the reigning monarch. The galleries of the huge Gatchina Palace, where she spent her childhood, housed unique collections of works of art from all over the world. Every corner in Gatchina spoke of Russia's great past. Grand Duchess Olga most conscientiously studied the history of Russia and from a young age absorbed an inescapable love for her fatherland.
Under Emperor Alexander III Russia enjoyed peace along the perimeter of all borders, was peaceful and happy home life royal family. Grand Duchess Olga adored her father, a powerful, confident ruler, and in the family circle cheerful, affectionate and so cozy. The untimely death of Alexander III in 1894 became the first cruel blow of fate for 12-year-old Olga. Very early at the Grand Duchess's 
Olga's talent as an artist began to emerge. Even during geography and arithmetic lessons, she was allowed to sit with a pencil in her hand, since she listened better when drawing corn or wild flowers. Outstanding artists became her painting teachers: academician Karl Lemokh, later Vladimir Makovsky, landscape painters Zhukovsky and Vinogradov. In memory of her other teacher, academician Konstantin Kryzhitsky, Olga Alexandrovna founded the Society for Helping Needy Artists in 1912, and organized charity exhibitions in her palace on Sergievskaya Street - sales of her own paintings.
Her soul was open to the beauty of nature and selfless help to people. Since childhood, the Grand Duchess has patronized many charitable institutions and organizations. Before the revolution, the august artist was known throughout Russia - charity cards with her watercolors, published mainly by the Community of St. Eugenia of the Red Cross, sold in huge quantities.”
A somewhat popular portrait, isn’t it? But if you put aside the old-fashioned turns of phrase, all this is true, because the life of the royal family was always in plain sight. Everyone knew about happy marriage Grand Duchess. It wasn't fairy tale story, although at the threshold of the 20th century, girls, free from debt to the royal family, chose their husbands themselves, most often by inclination. Of course, both class and 
mercantile interests of the family, although misalliances increasingly occurred. But the royal children were instilled from childhood that they live for higher, state interests; feelings did not play a role here. But still, the saying “If you endure it, you will fall in love!” often came into play, sometimes bringing very good results. Olga's older brother married very successfully and eventually became happy in his marriage. But Olga was not so lucky. At the age of 19, by the will of her mother, Olga Alexandrovna married Prince Peter of Oldenburg. One could not even think about family happiness with this passionate player. Memoirists testify that the prince spent his wedding night at the gaming table. It is not surprising that he subsequently squandered a million rubles, which Olga inherited from her brother George. Where is the happiness here? After all, it takes two to build it...
But then fate gave Olga Alexandrovna great love and the lifelong “knight” Nikolai Alexandrovich Kulikovsky. The Grand Duchess had to wait 7 years for her happiness with an officer, a man not of a royal family, until by decree of Nicholas II her marriage to the Prince of Oldenburg was finalized. 
cancelled. The wedding took place in 1916 in Kyiv, in the church at the hospital, which Olga Alexandrovna headed and equipped at her own expense during the First World War.
After February revolution The Dowager Empress with both daughters and their families was in Crimea, where Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna gave birth to her first child in August 1917, baptized by Tikhon. In Crimea, they were all prisoners and were actually sentenced to death. In November 1918, the whites came to Crimea, and with them the allies. The English King George V sent for Maria Feodorovna, who was his aunt, the warship H.M.S. Marlboro. The Dowager Empress chose to settle at the Danish royal court; a year later she was joined by her youngest daughter Olga Alexandrovna with her husband and two sons.
“After the death of the Empress mother in 1928, Olga Alexandrovna’s family could only count on their own, very modest funds. The couple purchased a farm near Copenhagen with a cozy house, which became the center of the Russian monarchical colony in Denmark. At the same time, the artistic talent of the Grand Duchess was truly appreciated . She worked a lot and exhibited her paintings not only in Denmark, but also in Paris, London, Berlin. A significant part of the money raised from the sale of paintings, as before, went to charity. Only the icons painted by her, she donated for Christ's sake and , apparently, never signed.In the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in the city of Toronto in Canada, fragments of the iconostasis by her brush have been preserved.
The reason for the Grand Duchess's family moving to Canada in 1948 was a USSR government note to the Danish government accusing Olga Alexandrovna of helping “enemies of the people.” All years of occupation 
Denmark by the Germans and after the liberation of the country by the Allies, the Grand Duchess helped all Russian exiles without exception, among whom were “defectors.” Last decade The life of the Grand Duchess passed in a modest house on the outskirts of Toronto. She continued to paint. The fruits of her creativity made a significant contribution to family budget. Her professionalism as an artist is evidenced by the author’s copies of the subjects that were especially loved by admirers of her talent, which she made to order. Olga Alexandrovna preferred to send her works to Europe rather than exhibit in Canada, where it was necessary to create some kind of public “publicity” around the artist’s name. However, as Olga Alexandrovna’s circle of Canadian acquaintances expanded, so did her authority as an artist, now on both sides of the ocean.”
A large exhibition of Olga Alexandrovna’s works was in the Tsaritsyno Museum, presented by her daughter-in-law of the Grand Duchess, Olga Nikolaevna Romanova-Kulikovskaya.
photo from the exhibition
“Thus, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, endlessly devoted to Russia until the end of her days, but who did not have the opportunity to set foot on her native land, is returning today with her creativity.”
Found the material online Lenny. Processing the category editor.
Galla: Lenny, thank you, a very interesting and beautiful story!!!
Indeed, an amazingly talented artist and an extraordinary woman with an amazing destiny!!! First birth at 35 years old!!! While!!! And even in 1917!!!
Spate: Lenny, thank you very much for the article - very interesting! And what pictures... I especially liked the last one - it’s so cozy, tender, bright, summery... And the girl seems about to take off and run off to play. By the way, soon we will have a theme of female artists, I hope you will prepare something interesting for us?
Snowy garden
Old fence
M de R.
The last Russian Emperor Nicholas II had three brothers and two sisters. Three younger brother died even before the death of Nicholas himself, but his sisters managed to leave the engulfed Civil War Russia, and they lived abroad long life. As the closest surviving relatives of the last monarch of Russia, they and their children for a long time were considered as possible heirs to the Russian throne.
Alexander III with his wife and children, 1892. Future Emperor Nicholas II is in the center at the top, next to him is sister Ksenia, on her father’s lap is sister Olga
Ksenia Alexandrovna Romanova was the eldest of the daughters of Emperor Alexander III and was born in 1875. Outwardly, she was incredibly similar to her mother, Empress Maria Feodorovna. At the age of 19, she married Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, who was her cousin. This marriage produced seven children, six sons and one daughter. During the First World War, Ksenia was active in charitable activities, being the creator and director of a hospital for the wounded. But Ksenia Alexandrovna’s family well-being did not last long. Even before the start of World War I, the couple formally broke up due to Alexander Mikhailovich’s infidelities.
Ksenia Aleksandrovna Romanova with her husband and children Ksenia, along with her mother, children and other members of the Romanov family, left Crimea for Great Britain on the ship Marlborough in 1919. After leaving abroad, the couple no longer lived together, although Ksenia did not agree to an official divorce and until the end of her days she retained a reverent attitude towards her husband. She and her mother, née Princess Dagmar, settled in Denmark. In 1928, after the death of Maria Feodorovna, Ksenia moved to England. King George V of Great Britain, who was her cousin on her mother's side, gave her and her children the free use of a country residence in Windsor. There she lived until her death in 1960. Ksenia Alexandrovna was buried in France, next to her beloved husband, whom she outlived by 27 years. Ksenia Alexandrovna left many heirs: 7 children, 12 grandchildren and even more great-grandchildren. Her sons Dmitry and Vasily headed the Association of Members of the Romanov Family.
Grand Duchess Xenia with her children
The second sister of Emperor Nicholas II, Olga Alexandrovna Romanova was born in 1882 and was the most youngest child in family. Her first marriage to the Duke of Oldenburg was unsuccessful: the couple lived together for 15 years, but they had no children. Olga long years persuaded Nicholas II to approve her divorce, but her brother and family were against it, since persons of imperial blood should not have divorced. And only in 1916 she finally managed to persuade the tsar. After the divorce was finalized, she married Nikolai Alexandrovich Kulikovsky, who came from a family of landowners and did not have a noble origin. In this happy marriage two sons were born: Tikhon and Gury. Olga was in close contact with the children of Nicholas II, and Anastasia was her favorite niece. It was this fact that subsequently played important role in exposing the impostor Anna Anderson, who declared herself to be the surviving Anastasia. Olga met her in Berlin in 1925 and stated that this was not her niece.
Olga Alexandrovna with her husband Nikolai Kulikovsky and children Interestingly, Olga refused to leave Russia in 1919, when her mother, sister and other relatives left Crimea. After her second marriage, relations with her mother and sister deteriorated greatly. The Dowager Empress and Ksenia Alexandrovna condemned her for unequal marriage and expressed constant complaints to her about this. After the Romanov family left, she and her husband lived in the Cossack village of Novominskaya, in southern Russia. Contemporaries noted that Olga, despite her origins, was very a simple person and communicated on equal terms with the military and ordinary people, took care of the housekeeping herself. But after the defeat of the white troops, she still had to go abroad. In 1920, Olga Alexandrovna, together with her husband and two young sons, reached Denmark through Belgrade and Vienna. The family lived there until 1948, and then emigrated to Canada, to the suburbs of Toronto. Olga was engaged in painting, selling her paintings and doing charity work. Her sons were brought up in Russian traditions and received an excellent education in Russian gymnasiums in Europe. Son Gury worked as a teacher of the Russian language and Slavic culture in Ottawa, and the second son, Tikhon, after moving to Canada, worked in the Ontario Highway Department. Olga Alexandrovna had 4 grandchildren. She, like her sister Ksenia, died in 1960 and was buried in Canada.
Ksenia and Olga - sisters of Nicholas II in exile Interestingly, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain is the great-niece of the sisters of Nicholas II, as she is the granddaughter of their cousin George V.
1. Prince Andrei Alexandrovich
Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich and Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna
Andrei Alexandrovich was born on January 12, 1897 in the Winter Palace of St. Petersburg. He was the second child in the grand ducal family. The prince was the grandson of Emperor Alexander III on his mother's side and did not have the right to the title of Grand Duke, since he was the great-grandson of Emperor Nicholas I on the male line. However, at the birth of the prince, at the insistence of his grandmother, Empress Maria Feodorovna, 21 cannon shots were fired, which usually announce the birth of grand dukes (for princes of imperial blood, 15 cannon shots were fired).
Princess Irina and Prince Andrei
Princess Irina and Prince Andrei
Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna with her daughter Irina and sons Andrei and Fedor
Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich with his wife Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna and children
Prince Andrei in his youth
Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna with her grandson Andrei
In his youth, Prince Andrey often traveled around Europe with his parents. Before the revolution, he served in the Horse Guards with the rank of lieutenant. During the revolution, Andrei Alexandrovich was under arrest in the Dulber estate (Crimea). The Romanovs managed to escape only thanks to the arrival of German troops who occupied Crimea under the Brest-Lithuanian Peace Treaty. On June 12, 1918, the prince married in the house church of Ai-Todor to Elizaveta Fabritsevna Sasso from the family of the Dukes of Ruffo and the Princes of Sant'Antimo (1886-1940), daughter of Princess Natalya Alekseevna Meshcherskaya.
Elizaveta Fabritsievna Andrey Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fabritsievna with children Ksenia and Mikhail
Prince Andrei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fabritsievna
In emigration, the couple had three children: Princess Ksenia Andreevna (1919 - 2000), Prince Mikhail Andreevich (1920 - 2008) and Prince Andrei Andreevich (b. 1923). Initially, the couple settled in Paris, but then they moved to the UK, to a house Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna, given to her by King George V. Andrei Alexandrovich drew well from childhood and therefore in Britain he became a good artist. All his paintings were sold to provide for his family.
Painting by Prince Andrei Alexandrovich
The Romanovs at Hamptom Court
Prince Andrei Alexandrovich (center) at the funeral of the father of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich
On October 29, 1940, in Hampton Court, as a result of a German air raid, Princess Elizaveta Fabritsievna tragically died after a bombing. She was buried in Church Road Cemetery in Old Windsor. Unfortunately, now her grave is in disrepair
After the death of his wife, Andrei Alexandrovich moved with his mother to safer Scotland. One day, while visiting friends, Andrei Alexandrovich met a young Englishwoman, Nadine Sylvia Ada McDougall. Nadine was born on June 5, 1908 in London, the daughter of Colonel Herbert MacDougll and Sylvia Borgeström. During World War II, Nadine and her mother organized a hospital for wounded soldiers in Scotland. On September 21, 1942, Prince Andrei Alexandrovich and Nadine Sylvia got married in Narton; later they were married in a temple in London. In 1950, the couple was born only daughter Princess Olga Andreevna (b. 1950).
Prince Andrei Alexandrovich
After the birth of his youngest daughter, Andrei Alexandrovich began to devote all his time to his family. He enjoyed the rural idyll, painted pictures, and went hunting with his wife and friends on weekends. In exile, Prince Andrei Alexandrovich, together with his brother Vasily Alexandrovich, became the patron of the Maltese Order of Orthodox Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, Andrei Alexandrovich was also, along with Princes Vsevolod Ioannovich and Roman Petrovich, one of the founders of the Association of Members of the Romanov Family.
After Prince Andrei Alexandrovich’s mother, Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna, became seriously ill with pneumonia in March 1960, Andrei Alexandrovich and his sister Irina Alexandrovna were near the dying woman last days. Prince Andrei Alexandrovich died at home on May 8, 1981, in peace and quiet, surrounded by his family. He was buried in St. Cemetery. Mary Churchyard, in Kent. Princess Nadine survived her husband by 19 years; she died in 2000 and was buried next to her husband.
Prince Andrei Alexandrovich and Princess Nadi, photo 1979
The Romanov House in Provendor, where Andrei Alexandrovich and Nadine lived
One of the rooms
Children of Andrei (Grandchildren of Ksenia Alexandrovna)
Prince Mikhail Andreevich Romanov
Prince Mikhail Andreevich Romanov was born on July 15, 1920 in Versailles, in the family of Prince Andrei Alexandrovich and his first wife Princess Elizaveta Fabritsievna (1997 - 1940). Mikhail Andreevich's father was the eldest nephew of Nicholas II, as well as the cousin of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich. Through his grandmother, Princess Natalya Alexandrovna Meshcherskaya, Mikhail Andreevich was a descendant of Counts Stroganov and Barons von Fitting. The descendant of Russian emperors spent his childhood in the house of his grandmother Ksenia Alexandrovna in Windsor.
From left to right: Andrey, Mikhail, Ksenia, Irina Yusupova
The prince studied at Windsor Royal College and graduated from the London Institute of Aeronautical Engineers in 1942. During the Second World War, Mikhail Andreevich served as a lieutenant in the British Navy Volunteer Air Force Reserve. After the end of the war with Japan in 1945, the Prince was sent to Australia for demobilization. Because of the difficult financial situation, not wanting to remain a poor relative in Britain Royal Family, Mikhail Andreevich decided to settle on the green continent and start new life. In Sydney, a descendant of the House of Romanov worked as an engineer in the aviation industry, and also did business, owning a company selling aircraft equipment
Prince Mikhail Andreevich married three times. On February 24, 1953, he married Jim Murphy (b. 1921). Seven months later, the couple separated. On July 23, 1954, Mikhail Andreevich married Shirley Cramond (1916 - 1983). The couple lived in marriage for 29 years and together raised Shirley's two nieces. After the death of Princess Shirley Romanova, Mikhail Andreevich married Julia Crespi (b. 1930) on July 14, 1993.
Princess Julia Romanoff-Chairs
Mikhail Andreevich had no children from any of the marriages. Since 1980, the Prince was a member of the Association of Members of the Romanov Family. In 1980, Mikhail Andreevich became a member of the Maltese Order of Orthodox Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and in October 2006 he was chosen as protector and grand prior of the Order. Since 1992, Mikhail Andreevich has been an active member of the Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy (ACM) movement.
Prince Mikhail Andreevich and Princess Julia
Prince Mikhail Andreevich Romanov on board the cruiser "Aurora". 1998
On September 6, 2008, Mikhail Andreevich fell down the stairs at his home in Double Bay in Sydney. Shortly after being admitted to Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, he suffered a heart attack and kidney damage. On September 22, Mikhail Andreevich died. The funeral service took place on September 30, 2008 at the Peter and Paul Cathedral of the ROCOR in Sydney. Mikhail Andreevich was buried in the Orthodox section of Botany Cemetery in Sydney. The place was chosen by his wife, Princess Julia - near the lawn, not far from a small picturesque artificial pond.
Funeral service for Prince Mikhail Andreevich Romanov
Prince Andrei Andreevich Romanov
Prince Andrei Andreevich Romanov was born on January 21, 1923 in London. He is the youngest son in the family of Prince Andrei Alexandrovich (1897 - 1981) and his first wife Princess Elizaveta Fabritsievna (1887 - 1940). Andrei Andreevich's godfather was Prince Edward of Wales, who became King Edward VIII in 1936.
The prince, along with his sister and brother, was brought up in the house of his grandmother Ksenia Alexandrovna in Windsor. The Grand Duchess was in close contact with King George V and his wife
Prince Andrei Andreevich in military uniform, 1940
Descendant Russian Emperors studied at English school, and then continued his education at the Imperial Service College. During World War II, Andrei Andreevich served on board the English warship Sheffield, escorting cargo ships to Murmansk. This is how Andrei Andreevich found himself in his homeland for the first time. Then he took part in the Allied landings in Normandy, then fought in North Africa. The young representative of the Romanov family saw the end of the war while serving on a military destroyer in Pacific Ocean.
Nikolai Romanovich and Andrey Andreevich in St. Petersburg, 2006
After the war, the young sailor worked for a year as an intern on an English farm and tree nursery. In 1949, Andrei Andreevich and his cousin Prince Nikita Nikitich (1923 - 2007), at the invitation of their uncle Prince Vasily Alexandrovich, moved to the USA. At first he was studying scientific work with his uncle at California Packing Company. Then Andrei Andreevich studied at Berkeley University, studying sociology. In 1954, he received American citizenship.
Andrey Andreevich in his workshop
While still studying at the university, in 1951 Andrei Andreevich married a Russian girl, Elena Konstantinovna Durneva (b. 1927). She was born in Japan, but before World War II her family moved to the United States. In 1953, the couple had a son, Alexei. In 1959, Andrei Andreevich received a position in a shipping company in Japan. Since Elena Konstantinovna did not want to return to the country rising sun, and the husband could not miss Good work, then they had to get a divorce. For three years Andrei Andreevich worked in Japan and Korea.
In 1961 he married Kathleen Norris (1935 - 1967), granddaughter of famous American writers Charles and Kathleen Norris. In their marriage, the couple had two sons - Peter and Andrey. At this time, Andrei Andreevich worked as a joiner and carpenter. In 1967, Princess Kathleen died of pneumonia, and Andrei Andreevich was left alone with two children
Andrey Andreevich and Ines on the steps of their house in Inverness
In 1969, the Prince married for the third time the artist Inez Storer (b. 1933) and settled in the city of Inverness, north-west of San Francisco. Princess Ines already had four children from her first marriage, and together they raised all six children. Andrei Andreevich, like his father, is an amateur artist. Although he has no formal art education, he writes from intuition, relying on fantasy. Another hobby of the descendant of the House of Romanov is photography. The artistic photographs he took are classically strict. More recently, Andrei Andreevich wrote an autobiographical book “The Boy Who Wanted to Become a Tsar” and illustrated it. Today he and his wife live in their home in Marin County, near San Francisco, and paint.
Andrey Andreevich with his wife Ines
At the presentation of the book "The Boy Who Wanted to Be Tsar"
At an exhibition of his paintings in San Francisco
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Princess Ksenia Andreevna
Princess Ksenia Andreevna was born on March 10, 1919 in Paris. It so happened that she was the first among the Romanovs who was born in exile. The princess was the eldest daughter of Prince Andrei Alexandrovich and Princess Elizaveta Fabritsievna, née Countess Sasso-Ruffo. Ksenia Andreevna was named after her grandmother, Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna.
Princess Elizaveta Fabritsievna with her daughter Ksenia
The granddaughter of the Grand Duchess received a private home education, and spent part of her childhood in her grandmother's house in Windsor. In the family, Ksenia Andreevna was called “Mouse”, for her quiet and calm character. In 1936, after the death of King George V, she and her family moved to Ksenia Alexandrovna's new house in Hampton Core, which was granted to the Grand Duchess by King Edward VIII.
Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna with her granddaughter Ksenia
Ksenia Andreevna, together with her brothers, received a traditional home education typical of the House of Romanov. Everyone in Andrei Alexandrovich’s family spoke only Russian. In 1938, Ksenia Andreevna entered the London Ballet School, but due to the outbreak of World War II, she was unable to complete her studies. During World War II, she worked as a nurse in a hospital and then as a volunteer in the Russian charitable organization for refugee affairs.
On June 17, 1945, the Princess married Kohlhaum Enkram (1915 - 1990), an American pilot whose father was a colonel Marine Corps USA. They divorced in 1954. In 1954 in Tehran, Ksenia Andreevna remarried Geoffrey Touf (1908 - 1998), head of the department of psychological health at the British Ministry of Health and member of the WHO expert advisory group. His first wife, Princess Olga Golitsyna, died in 1955. Princess Ksenia Andreevna had no children from both marriages. She died on October 22, 2000 in Rouffignac-Saint-Sernin, Aquitaine, France.
Princess Ksenia Andreevna in Russia. 1998
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Princess Olga Andreevna Romanova
Olga Andreevna Romanova (born April 8, 1950, London, UK) is the only daughter of Prince Andrei Alexandrovich from his second marriage to the Englishwoman Nadine Sylvia Ada McDougall. Granddaughter of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich and Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna. In 1979 she married Thomas Matthew (b. 1945). The couple settled in London, where Thomas was engaged in business, and Olga Andreevna raised four children - Nikolai (b. 1976), Francis (b. 1979), Alexandra (b. 1981) and Thomas (1987 - 1989). In 1989, the couple divorced, and Olga Andreevna moved to Scotland, where she lived until 2000. In 2000, after the death of her mother, Olga Andreevna inherited the family estate Proveder Manor and is currently engaged in its restoration. Olga Andreevna is one of the patrons of the Russian Summer Ball, held annually in London. Since 2007 it has been part of general committee"Associations of members of the Romanov family.
Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna with her granddaughter Olga
Olga Andreevna at a party in London. Photo from 1970.
Olga Andreevna during the opening of the bust of Empress Maria Feodorovna on September 26, 2006 in St. Petersburg.
Andrey Andreevich, Olga Andreevna, Mikhail Andreevich, Nikolai Romanovich, Dmitry Romanovich
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2. Prince Fyodor Alexandrovich
Prince Fyodor Alexandrovich was born on December 23, 1898 in St. Petersburg. He spent his childhood in Russia and Biarrizi. During the First World War he became a member of the Corps of Pages. After the October Revolution, together with his parents, brothers and other Romanovs, he was under house arrest in Ai-Todor. On April 11, 1919, Marlborough left Russia on the British ship
The first years of emigration he lived in the apartment of his sister Princess Irina Alexandrovna and her husband Prince Felix Feliksovich Yusupov in Paris. He worked as a taxi driver and later as an architect. On March 31, 1923, in the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Paris, he married Princess Irina Pavlovna Paley (1903-1990), daughter of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich and Princess Olga Valerianovna Paley. The marriage produced one son, Mikhail (May 4, 1924-September 22, 2008). Since 1930, the couple lived separately. On July 22, 1936, the couple divorced. IN new marriage Prince Fyodor Alexandrovich did not join. The second world war spent in Great Britain, in his mother's house. In 1946, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. To improve his health, he settled in the south of France, in the villa of his sister Princess Irina Alexandrovna, where he lived for the rest of his life. Prince Fyodor Alexandrovich died on November 30, 1968 in the city of Ascon, France.
Wedding of Fyodor Alexandrovich and Irina Paley
Fyodor Alexandrovich with his son Mikhail
Prince Mikhail Fedorovich
Son of Prince Fyodor Alexandrovich (son of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich and Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna) and Princess Irina Pavlovna, née Paley (1903-1990), daughter of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich (1860-1919) from his second marriage to Olga Valeryanovna, Countess of Hohenfelsen, Princess Paley, née Karnovic (1865-1929). Thus, on his mother’s side, Mikhail Fedorovich was the great-grandson of Emperor the Liberator Alexander II.
Prince Mikhail Fedorovich, photo 1950
His grandfather, Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, and uncle, the talented poet Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley (1896/97-1918), brutally murdered by the communists, were canonized in 1981 in the host of the New Martyrs of Russia Orthodox Church Abroad. He was brought up in Paris and Biarritz, and since childhood he spoke French, English and Russian. In 1936, the Prince's parents divorced
Prince Mikhail Fedorovich and Ani Girardot
Before the outbreak of World War II, he graduated from an elite school in Neuilly-sur-Seine. During the period 1945 - 1946. served in the French infantry in Germany. For a short time he worked in the perfume company of Lucien Lelon, then in cinema. In 1985, he retired and devoted all subsequent time to studying the history of the House of Romanov and writing memoirs.
Prince Mikhail Fedorovich near the portrait of his grandmother Olga Paley
Mikhail Fedorovich actively assisted directors and artists in creating documentaries and feature films about Russian history and the Romanov dynasty. In 1990, he visited Russia for the first time; in the 1990s, the Prince made several more trips to Russia. Died on September 22, 2008 at the age of 84 in Biarritz. Prince Mikhail Fedorovich married twice. For the first time, on October 15, 1958, in Paris, Mikhail Fedorovich married Helga Maria Staufenberg (b. 1926), and one son was born in the marriage - Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Romanov (1959 - 2001). Divorced in 1992. On January 15, 1994, in Joss, he married Maria de Las Mercedes Ustrell-Cabani (b. 1960). Today, the granddaughter of Prince Mikhail Fedorovich lives in Spain - Princess Tatyana Mikhailovna (b. 1986)
Prince Mikhail Fedorovich with his wife and granddaughter Tatyana
Mikhail Fedorovich and Lennart Bernadotte
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3. Prince Nikita Alexandrovich
Prince Nikita Alexandrovich was born on January 16, 1900 in St. Petersburg. He was the 4th child in the family of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich and Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna. In childhood and youth, Nikita Alexandrovich traveled for a long time with his parents around Europe. Nikita Alexandrovich's favorite place in Russia was his father's estate Ai-Todor, located in Crimea on the shores of the Black Sea. After the revolution, Prince Nikita Alexandrovich was under house arrest with his parents and other representatives of the House of Romanov in the Dulber estate, in Crimea. On April 12, 1919, the Prince left Russia forever on board the English ship Marlborough, along with other representatives of the House of Romanov, led by the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna
Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna holds her newborn son Nikita in her arms
Nikita, Irina and Andrey
Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna with her daughter Ksenia and grandson Nikita
Prince Nikita Alexandrovich spent the first years of emigration in Paris, living in the house of his sister Princess Irina Alexandrovna Yusupova. In Great Britain he graduated from Oxford University. On February 19, 1922, in Paris, Nikita Aleksandrovich married his childhood friend, Countess Maria Illarionovna Vorontsova - Dashkova (1903-1997), daughter of Count Illarion Illarionovich Vorontsov - Dashkov and his first wife Irina Vasilievna, née Naryshkina.
Princess Maria Illarionovna Vorontsova-Dashkova
Prince Nikita Alexandrovich and Princess Maria Illarionovna
Wedding of Prince Nikita Alexandrovich and Princess Maria Illarionovna. Paris, 1922
Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich with his son Prince Nikita Alexandrovich
The couple had two sons - Prince Nikita Nikitich (1923-2007) and Prince Alexander Nikitich (1929-2002). After the birth of their youngest son, the family moved from Paris to Britain, where at that time Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna lived in Hampton-Kore. In exile, Nikita Alexandrovich was an active participant in the monarchist movement. The prince was one of the leaders of the "Society for the Memory of Emperor Nicholas II", the head of the "Monarchical Union of Russian Noble Youth", was a member of the Supreme Monarchical Council, and was also the chief of the "Union of Musketeers of His Highness Prince Nikita Alexandrovich" created in Harbin in 1924. In 1930, he became the chief of the corps named after the Heir to Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich. This is a paramilitary secondary school for emigrant boys, which existed in Versailles with funds from the Navy.
Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna, Nikita, Irina, Rostislav, Maria Illarionovna, Vasily
During the outbreak of World War 2, the Prince's family was in Paris. Unable to return to London, the Romanovs went to Rome and then to Czechoslovakia. After the start of the Red Army's offensive on the Eastern Front, due to fears that they might find themselves occupied Soviet troops territory, Nikita Alexandrovich’s family moved to Paris.
Prince Nikita Alexandrovich with his wife Maria Illarionovna
In 1946, the Prince and his family moved to the United States, where at one time he taught Russian at an army school in Monterey, then lived in New York, working in banks and offices. Throughout his life, Nikita Aleksandrovich never received a residence permit in any country in the world and remained forever a citizen of Russia. In the late 1970s, Nikita Alexandrovich and his wife returned to France. On September 12, 1974, His Highness Prince Nikita Alexandrovich died in Cannes, a thousand kilometers from his homeland. He was buried in Roquebrune Cemetery next to his parents.
Prince Roman Petrovich and Prince Nikita Alexandrovich in Rome
Prince Nikita Nikitich
Nikita Nikitich was born on May 13, 1923 in London in the family of Prince Nikita Alexandrovich (1900 - 1974) and Princess Maria Illarionovna, née Countess Vorontsov - Dashkova (1903 - 1997). He was the great-great-grandson of Emperor Nicholas I on the male side, as well as the great-grandson of Emperor Alexander III on the female line, grandson of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich (1866 - 1933) and Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna (1875 - 1960). On his mother's side, Nikita Nikitich was the great-grandson of Count Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov - Dashkov (1837 - 1916), a long-time minister of the Imperial Court and appanages, a prominent statesman second half of the 19th century V. - beginning of XX century
Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna with her grandchildren Nikita and Mikhail
After the war, Prince Nikita Nikitich served in the British army in 1946 - 1947. In 1949, together with his cousin Prince Andrei Andreevich Romanov (b. 1923), he moved to the USA, at the invitation of Prince Vasily Alexandrovich (1907 - 1989). In California, Nikita Nikitich went to study at the University of Berkeley and received diplomas: a master's degree in 1956 and a PhD in 1960. He taught history at the University of San Francisco and, together with Robert Payne, wrote a book about Ivan the Terrible (published in New York in 1975) .
Mikhail, Irina, Nikita
Irina Feliksovna, Nikita Nikitich, Mikhail Fedorovich
On July 14, 1961, in London, Nikita Nikitich married Janet Ann Schonwalt (b. April 4, 1933), who converted to Orthodoxy with the name Anna Mikhailovna. The only son- Prince Fedor (Theodor) Nikitich Romanov (1974 - 2007). Princess Janet is a specialist in the study of Russian literature; she is fluent in Russian, as well as Mongolian and Japanese. After marriage, the couple lived in New York for 40 years, in a modest 3-room apartment in Manhattan. In recent years, Prince Nikita Nikitich was seriously ill. He died at home on May 3, 2007 in New York City. Buried in New York
Prince Nikita Nikitich with his wife Princess Janet
Prince Alexander Nikitich
Prince Alexander Nikitich Romanov was born on November 4, 1929 in Paris. He was youngest son Prince Nikita Alexandrovich and Princess Maria Illarionovna, née Countess Vorontsova-Dashkova. The prince was named after his grandfather, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich. Alexander Nikitich spent his childhood in Great Britain, where the family lived with his grandmother, Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna. In 1938 he took British citizenship. During World War II, the family had to move from place to place, experiencing a lot of hardships and difficulties. By the age of 14, Alexander Nikitich already spoke five languages and was deeply interested in geography, history, and philosophy. In 1945, the Prince returned to Great Britain, but soon emigrated with his parents to the United States, where he graduated from Columbia University. In 1953, Alexander Nikitich returned to Great Britain in order to care for the sick Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna.
Prince Alexander Nikitich and Princess Maria
On July 18, 1971, in Cannes, Prince Alexander Nikitich married the Italian Princess Maria - Immanculata Valguarnere di Niucelli (b. November 29, 1931). Before the wedding, the bride converted to Orthodoxy. Civil registration of marriage took place in New York. The couple lived in New York and London and had no children. Since 1979, Alexander Nikitich has been a member of the Association of Members of the Romanov Family. In 1992, he participated in the meeting of the seven Princes of the Romanov family in Paris.
Prince Alexander Nikitich Romanov died after a short illness on September 21, 2002 in London. The Prince's body was cremated at Richmond Crematorium and buried in his wife's family crypt in Palermo.
Original taken from anna_moscowriuo in Olga and Ksenia. The fate of the sisters of Nicholas II.
Grand Duchesses Olga and Xenia
OLGAGrand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna was the gatherer of her entire family, all relatives; in part, she was the core of her family; it is not for nothing that Olga is the only purebred child born in the family of Emperor Alexander III. Olga Alexandrovna was a talented artist, a generous benefactor and one of the most worthy members of the House of Romanov.
Olga began to seem to the Empress like some kind of ugly duckling thrown into their noble swan flock. And the worst thing is that this duckling had an obnoxious character.
But here’s what I noticed when I studied her biography. Perhaps she had the spirit of a swan inside her, because Olga Alexandrovna, no matter what, always supported her relatives - her beloved father Alexander III, and also happily accepted the wife of her brother Nicholas (Emperor of Russia) Alix, and loved their children very much , spent time with them every day, met with the children of her sister Ksenia Alexandrovna, and was close to her brother Mikhail. One day he invited her to the parade, and it was there that she met her chosen one, Nikolai Kulikovsky. But her fate was such that she was one of the few Romanovs who survived the godless crime - the ritual murder of the royal family and grand-ducal families.
Olga Alexandrovna was born on June 1 (13), 1882 - the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexander III Alexandrovich and Empress Maria Feodorovna - after Nicholas, Alexander, George, Xenia and Mikhail. Children in the imperial family were brought up in faith in God, severity, respect for elders, love for everything Russian, Russian foundations, traditions and ideals. The young princess spent her childhood in Gatchina, in the imperial palace. The relationship with my mother was difficult. The relationship with his father and the youngest of his brothers, Mikhail, was especially warm. They often spent time together - walking in the forests of Gatchina.
Here's what Olga writes:
“Father was everything to me. No matter how busy he was with his work, he devoted half an hour to me every day... And one day Dad showed me a very old album with delightful drawings depicting an imaginary city called Mopsopolis, in which Pugs live... He showed it to me secretly, and I was delighted that my father shared with me the secrets of his childhood."
The royal children slept on hard beds with a hard, flat pillow and a very thin mattress. A modest carpet covered the floor. Chairs with straight backs and wicker seats, the most ordinary tables and shelves for books, handicrafts, and toys made up the entire furnishings. In the morning, obligatory cold baths, oatmeal for breakfast and a constant walk in the fresh air.
Frustrated that by the age of eighteen, as is usual in fairy tales, Olga had not turned into a beautiful swan, and even demonstratively adhered to some special views on life, Maria Fedorovna considered it best to marry off her daughter. The groom was immediately found; he was a distant relative, 14 years older than Olga, the Prince of Oldenburg. He, as they delicately said at the time, “was not interested in ladies,” was a drunkard and a gambler.
Grand Duchess Olga with the Prince of Oldenburg
The marriage of Princess Olga Alexandrovna shocked both capitals. She married at the end of July 1901 to Prince Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg. In the evening after the engagement, she cried with her brother Mikhail Alexandrovich. The marriage was unhappy: “We lived with him under the same roof for 15 years, but never became husband and wife, the Prince of Oldenburg and I were never married marital relations"- Olga Alexandrovna admitted. This marriage was concluded for two reasons: obedience to the will of the mother and reluctance to leave Russia.
The husband was quite pleased with the fact that in the eyes of the entire baptized and unbaptized world he was a husband sister sovereign of all Rus'. And in the shortest possible time he left a fabulous sum in gambling houses - a million gold rubles belonging to his wife. In April 1903, the 22-year-old Grand Duchess met the captain of the Life Guards Cuirassier Regiment, Nikolai Alexandrovich Kulikovsky. She asked her husband to give her a divorce, but he said that he would return to this conversation in 7 years. Olga and Nikolai waited 13 years.
Olga immediately fell in love with Princess Alix, indignant at the unfair treatment of her relatives and always maintained that Sunny sunlight illuminated the life of the Emperor.
Prince Nicholas of Greece, Emperor Nicholas II, King George I of Greece, Grand Duke. Olga Alexandrovna. Bernstorff.
Olga Alexandrovna and Alexandra Fedorovna were also brought together by their dislike for noisy entertainment and social life. As soon as the ball season began, Olga was already looking forward to its end. The young aunt loved her nephews. I ran and played in the park every day with the Grand Duchesses. Since 1906, she took the girls to St. Petersburg every Sunday. First, they had a decorous breakfast with their grandmother in Anichkovovo, then tea, games and dancing awaited them in the Grand Duchess's palace on Sergievskaya.
At the end of 1916, the princess's brother, Emperor Nicholas II, came to inspect the hospital, which she equipped at her own expense. At the end of his short stay, the king gave his sister his photograph and a handwritten letter to English language- so that others could not read it, - dissolving her marriage with the Prince of Oldenburg and blessing her marriage with Colonel Kulikovsky.
In November 1916, she became Kulikovsky's wife. In the first days of the First World War, Olga Alexandrovna led her sponsored Akhtyrsky Hussar Regiment to the front. In 1915, Olga Alexandrovna visited Tsarskoye Selo for the last time, saw the Empress for the last time, and in November 1916 saw the Sovereign Emperor for the last time. After the October coup, all the Romanovs, except the Kulikovsky family, were arrested. The authorities did not consider Colonel Kulikovsky's wife a member of the Imperial House. In 1917, the Kulikovsky couple had a son, Tikhon.
But in November 1918, when Germany lost the war and the Whites came to Crimea, the English King George V sent a warship for his aunt (Maria Fedorovna). The Empress agreed to evacuate from Crimea on the condition that the British take away all Russian citizens who expressed a desire to go abroad. This condition was accepted and fulfilled by the sailors. However, the Kulikovskys refused at that time to leave Russian soil and decided to leave for Kuban, which was then still free from the Bolsheviks, to live there as tenants of a farm. Olga Alexandrovna and her husband refused to leave Russia and moved to the Caucasus, cleared of the Bolsheviks by the White Army, to the large Cossack village of Novominskaya. Here Olga Alexandrovna gave birth to her second son. The child was named in honor of Guriy Panaev, an officer of the Akhtyrsky regiment who was killed during the First World War.
The birth of Tikhon Nikolaevich, named after St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, brought genuine joy not only to his parents, but also to numerous close relatives scattered by the outbreak of revolutionary riots in different corners of troubled Russia.
A great consolation for the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, who was under revolutionary “tutelage” in Crimea, was communication with her grandchildren, especially with little Tikhon. As Life Cossack T. Yaschik testified, who continued to faithfully serve the disgraced members of the Romanov Dynasty, Empress Maria Feodorovna “occasionally received short letters or postcards from her son. The Empress was very happy with them, although, naturally, they could not tell much about what was really happening in Tobolsk, where the Imperial Family was located. In November 1917, she wrote a letter to her son in Tobolsk, which, among other things, said: “My new grandson Tikhon brings us all great happiness...” On April 11, 1919, the Empress left Russia and died on September 30/Oct 13. 1928 lived in Denmark.
Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna with her grandson Gury
When the Reds approached the village of Novominskaya, the Kulikovskys moved to Belgrade. The city was badly destroyed, life was unsettled, and at this time Maria Feodorovna called her daughter to Denmark, to her second homeland.
There Kulikovsky got a job as the head of the stables for a millionaire. Having been educated at the Danish royal court, Tikhon Nikolaevich studied at Russian gymnasiums in Berlin and Paris, graduating military school and rose to the rank of captain in the Danish Royal Guard. During the occupation of Denmark by Nazi troops, he was arrested and imprisoned. During the years of World War II, the house of Tikhon Nikolaevich's mother, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, became the center of the Danish Russian colony, where all Russian people, regardless of political beliefs and citizenship, could find shelter and help. After the war, this caused a negative reaction from the USSR. Fearing for the lives of her loved ones, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna and her family went to Canada in 1948, where Tikhon Nikolaevich worked for many years in the Ontario Highway Department. During these years, the White Army had the idea to proclaim Olga Empress. It goes without saying that the unambitious and very modest Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna flatly refused such an offer.
One February morning in 1920, Olga Alexandrovna, along with her household, finally boarded a merchant ship that was supposed to take her away from Russia to a safer place. Although the ship was filled with refugees, they, along with other passengers, occupied a cramped cabin. “I couldn’t believe that I was leaving my homeland forever. I was sure that I would return again,” Olga Alexandrovna recalled. “I had the feeling that my flight was a cowardly act, although I came to this decision for the sake of my young children. And yet I was constantly tormented by shame. After emigrating, Olga Alexandrovna began to live in Denmark with her husband and children.
Gury with his brother Tikhon on the veranda of the Vidor Palace.
Like his older brother Tikhon, he served in the Danish Military Guard, becoming a hussar and then a cavalryman. In 1948, Guriy Nikolaevich left service with the rank of captain. Grand Duke Olga with her sons
To top it all off, Stalin’s troops approached almost the borders of Denmark. The communists repeatedly demanded that the Danish authorities hand over the Grand Duchess, accusing her of helping her fellow countrymen take refuge in the West, and the Danish government at that time would hardly have been able to resist the Kremlin’s demands.
A threat loomed over the life of the Grand Duchess and her loved ones. The Russian demands were increasingly insistent. The atmosphere in Ballerup became increasingly tense, and it became obvious that the days of Olga Alexandrovna’s family in Denmark were numbered. The Grand Duchess, who was sixty-six years old, did not find it very easy to leave her settled place. After much thought and family conferences, they decided to emigrate to Canada. The Danish government understood that the Kulikovsky family must leave the country as quickly and quietly as possible. There was real danger kidnapping of the Grand Duchess.
At 66 years old, the Grand Duchess again radically changes her life, moves to Canada and settles on a farm near Toronto. Her neighbors called her “Olga,” and a neighbor’s child once asked if it was true that she was a princess, to which Olga Alexandrovna replied: “Well, of course, I’m not a princess. I’m a Russian Grand Duchess.”
In 1958, Nikolai Alexandrovich became seriously ill and died. Olga Alexandrovna survived him by only 2 years. She died on November 24, 1960. On guard at the coffin were officers of the Akhtyrsky Regiment of Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, whose chief she became back in 1901. Olga Alexandrovna often heard the banal accusation that the Romanovs were Russians only by name, to which she invariably answered: “How much English blood flows in the veins of George VI? It’s not about the blood. It’s about the soil on which you grew up, about the faith.” , in which you were brought up, in the language you speak."
Grand Duchess Olga died at the age of 78, seven months after her death older sister Ksenia.
Guriy Nikolaevich (son of Grand Duke Olga) was the last of the Romanov family who was born in Russia before the expulsion.
On May 10, 1940, Guriy Nikolaevich married Ruth Schwartz (b. 1921), the daughter of a small merchant in Ballerup. The couple had a daughter, Ksenia, and two sons, Leonid and Alexander.
Ksenia (born July 29, 1941)
Leonid (born May 2, 1943)
Alexander (born November 29, 1949)
In 1956, the couple divorced. A few years later he married Aza Gagarina (b. 01.08.1924).
In Canada, Guriy Nikolaevich became a talented teacher, taught Slavic languages and culture in Ottawa. He also taught Russian to Canadian pilots, believing that during cold war, any soldier should know Russian. Guriy Nikolaevich Kulikovsky died on September 11, 1984 in Brookville. In 1992, Olga Alexandrovna’s granddaughter Ksenia and her son Paul visited Russia for the first time. Largely thanks to the efforts of Ksenia, a museum named after Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna was created in Ballerup. Leonid lived for some time in Canada, then returned to Denmark, and eventually settled in Australia.
Leonid with his parents and grandmother in Canada.
Tikhon married Agnet Petersen (1920-2007) in 1942 in Copenhagen. Divorced in 1955, there were no children from the marriage. On September 21, 1959, in Ottawa, he married Livia Sebastian (June 11, 1922 - June 12, 1982), from the marriage he had one daughter, Olga Tikhonovna (b. January 9, 1964 in Toronto, since 1994 the wife of Joyce Cordeiro) and four grandchildren:
Peter (b. 1994),
Alexander (b. 1996),
Mikhail (b. 1999),
Victor (b. 2001).
Tikhon Nikolaevich was married three times. From his second marriage he had a daughter, Olga (b. 1964), and she has two sons. In 1986, Tikhon Nikolaevich married for the second time Olga Nikolaevna Pupynina (b. 1926) - the daughter of a hereditary nobleman Tambov province Nikolai Nikolaevich Pupynin and Nina Konradovna Kopernitskaya. Olga Nikolaevna studied at a Serbian school in Valjevo, then at the Institute of Noble Maidens in Bila Tserkva. Speaks several languages. She lived in Europe Latin America, now in Canada. She worked as a nurse, translator, architect, and ran a philatelic and numismatic store. In 1991, the Kulikovsky-Romanovs organized “ Charitable Foundation assistance to Russia E.I.V. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna.” Tikhon Nikolaevich became its honorary chairman. However, on April 8, 1993, he died (buried with his parents), and the foundation was headed by Olga Nikolaevna. Every year she comes to Russia. The foundation collects donations from foreign organizations and individuals to help Russian hospitals, nursing homes, and monasteries. Over the years of the foundation’s existence, 29 containers with humanitarian aid have arrived in Russia. total amount 3 million US dollars.
Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna with her grandchildren Leonid and Ksenia.
Tikhon Nikolaevich occupied a high position in the monarchist movement of the Russian diaspora, being an arbiter of the Supreme Monarchical Council (Chairman of the Council - D.K. Weimarn). He was the first of the Romanov Dynasty at the turn of the 80-90s of the twentieth century to respond to the appeal of the Orthodox-monarchist community in Russia.
Tikhon Kulikovsky-Romanov
One of Tikhon Nikolaevich’s first messages to Russia was widely distributed in the country:
“Dear compatriots!
I, the last living nephew of the martyr Tsar Nicholas II and the grandson of Emperor Alexander III, the peacemaker, am appealing from abroad to the Russian people, to all believers in God and to the citizens of the city of Sverdlovsk. The point is this: firstly, taking into account the positive changes currently taking place in the country, it seems to me that for historical city For Yekaterinburg to continue to bear the nickname of the cruel, godless, anti-Russian sadist murderer Sverdlov should be simply unacceptable and the old name Yekaterinburg should be returned as soon as possible.
Then I’ll remind you - and this is very important! - that the place where the blood of God’s anointed is shed is HOLY. It is impossible to build anything else on it other than a majestic temple-monument. Dear Russian people, think about this."...
Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna Romanova (1875 - 1960), eldest daughter Emperor Alexander the Peacemaker, lived long life, which was broken by the revolution. She, along with her family, which miraculously escaped extermination by the Bolsheviks, spent half of her life in exile.
Childhood
Ksenia Romanova was born in the Anichkov Palace when her grandfather Emperor Alexander II the Liberator was still alive, in 1875. But the father, due to the death of his elder brother, was already the heir to the throne. Alexander Alexandrovich loved peace very much family life, adored his wife and children, to whom he never raised his voice; the children did not even hear a sharp reproach from him.
And in the summer only some extraordinary incident could tear him away from his children and family. The father loved hunting and fishing and sometimes took the children for boat rides.
Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna Romanova (the photo shows her with her father and brothers Nicholas, George and Mikhail) sits next to Alexander Alexandrovich. They took the girl with them because she loved fishing.
Upbringing
Ksenia Romanova studied at home with teachers. The advantage was the study of English, French, German and Russian. In addition, she received all the knowledge that a girl needs in home economics and cooking, she learned to sew dresses and clothes for her dolls for her theater.
Ksenia Romanova painted, and since her father was an avid collector and collected a large number of works of art in Gatchina, she had all the necessary samples at hand. Naturally, she danced and played the piano. Charming teenager. Ksenia Romanova was a little shy. She fell in love early with her cousin, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich. He was nine years older than her and handsome, like most Romanovs, very well-groomed and thoroughbred.
A real fairy tale prince.
Future husband's activities
Sandro (his name was that because he was born in Tiflis) was not often on the shore, since he was a career sailor. He saw a lot, having traveled around the world at the age of 20, later sailed to India and North America. The girl, like Pushkin’s Tatyana, could see him occasionally and in fits and starts, but he was friends with her brother Nikolai, to whom Ksenia Romanova was the first to tell about her love.
Marriage
Consanguineous marriages within the Romanov family were not accepted. Therefore, when Ksenia told her parents about her love, they were not too happy. But in 1893, when Grand Duke asked for the princess's hand in marriage, they gave consent, but their wish was not to rush into the wedding, but to wait until the girl was eighteen years old.
In the photo Ksenia is the bride. At the end of July 1894 the wedding took place. It took place in the Peterhof Cathedral.
The next day, the newlyweds accepted congratulations in the Winter Palace, visited the graves of their ancestors in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, and went to bow miraculous icon Savior, and only then did they leave for their husband’s estate in Crimea, in Ai-Todor. In Sevastopol and Yalta, guards of honor awaited them, and regimental music sounded. They went to Ai-Todor on Alexander Mikhailovich’s personal yacht “Tamara,” on which he once traveled to India. Life began so joyfully and festively, full of hopes that happiness would be endless. But three months later, in November, Ksenia Romanova’s father died, and the last Russian emperor, Ksenia’s brother Nikolai Alexandrovich, ascended the throne.
Birth of children
Born in 1895 eldest daughter Irina. In the photo are all the children of the large family of the Romanov couple: Irina, Nikita, Dmitry, Rostislav and Vasily.
The youngest was born in 1907. Prince Alexander Mikhailovich was engaged not only in household affairs (expanding the estate as his family grew), but also devoted a lot of time to strengthening Russian fleet on the Pacific Ocean. He was promoted to the rank of rear admiral.
Ksenia Romanova devoted all her time to her family, raising children. The princess also managed to engage in social and charitable activities. In particular, she patronized the work of the Maritime Charitable Society, the Nursery Society and some educational institutions St. Petersburg.
First World War
At the end of July 1914, the war found Ksenia Alexandrovna in Paris, and her mother in London. They hoped to travel by train through Germany, but this route was closed. They were joined by the Yusupovs, who were also abroad; they returned home through Denmark and Finland.
Ksenia Alexandrovna created a medical train and actively participated in helping the wounded. She converted their Crimean estate to receive the wounded. And my husband at that time was the chief inspector of the air force. Even before the war, he understood the importance of aviation and put a lot of effort into its creation in Russia.
In the winter, at the end of December 1916, when Ksenia Alexandrovna was in Crimea, she learned about this, she wrote to her mother, who was in Kyiv at that time and asked her to return to St. Petersburg. But Maria Feodorovna understood that she would not be able to influence the current situation, and remained in Kyiv.
Revolution and Civil War
In February 1917, Ksenia Alexandrovna returned to St. Petersburg and soon learned that her brother had abdicated the throne. Life was crumbling right before our eyes. She packed up and left for Ai-Todor again. There was already a husband, mother and sister Olga, who had just recently gotten married.
In 1918, she learns that her brother and his family were killed by the Bolsheviks. Brother Mikhail was also killed. She does not know creepy details their painful death, but, of course, realizes that it is impossible to stay in Russia.
In 1918, together with his eldest son, Grand Duke Andrei Alexandrovich, who was twenty years old at that time, he left for Paris. He wanted to go to the peace conference in Versailles and protect the interests of Russia. However, the allies did not care about our country; they cared only about their own good. So the prince’s voice was not heard.
Departure
In April 1919 he arrived in Novorossiysk English dreadnought"Marlboro". He was sent by the King of Great Britain, George V. All members of the imperial family who were alive boarded him in order to forever leave the country in which boundless terror reigned and blood flowed in rivers. So I finished happy life in her homeland, Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna Romanova. Her biography began anew at the age of 44.
Bitter bread of a foreign land
Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, who was 72 years old, decided to settle in her native Denmark. But the king of this country, her nephew, was not too happy about this turn of events. He settled the imperial family, which included Ksenia Alexandrovna and her children, in an outbuilding next to the palace and introduced a regime of austerity. I even made sure that the light imperial family I didn’t turn it on, I personally checked that all the items were in place and that poor Russian relatives had not sold them. The king could not stand this situation and, through Sir Ponsonby, suggested that the dowager empress change her residence. She moved to the palace in Videra. But Christian X continued to humiliate the imperial family. Ksenia Alexandrovna could not stand it. The husband lived in France and the British government would not give him a visa to enter the country. And King George, her cousin, was not against hosting Ksenia Alexandrovna with her children.
In Britain
In 1925, she and her son Vasily moved to Fragmore cottage. She unsuccessfully sold her jewelry and was very poor. Only after her mother's death in 1928, when she received a share of the inheritance, did her financial situation improve. In 1933, Alexander Mikhailovich dies in Menton. Ksenia Alexandrovna spent all the days of her illness with her husband. She, having buried her beloved husband, returned to England. After the death of her cousin George V, she moved to a house in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace.
This is what Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna Romanova looked like. The photo shows her in last years life. Behind the Grand Duchess on a shelf there are photographs of her relatives.
Ksenia Alexandrovna died at the age of 85 in Windsor, but was buried next to her husband in France.
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