Romanov Christenings Over the Generations

Grand Duchess Maria holding her grandson Prince Alexander at home before his christening.

Two weeks ago, on 6 December 2022, Prince Alexander Georgievich Romanoff was christened at the Transfiguration Church within the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour complex in Moscow. He is the first of his family line to be baptized in Russia (or a territory that formerly comprised the Russian Empire) since his great-grandfather Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich in 1917. 

The Christening of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich, 1981

Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia was baptised on Wednesday, 6 May 1981, at Madrid. Archbishop Antony Sinkevitch of Los Angeles officiated over the service. Grand Duke George received as his godparents King Constantine II of Greece (represented by Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich) and Helene Kirby, Countess Dvinskaya.

The baptism of the eventual heir of the Imperial House of Russia was attended by King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía of Spain, King Simeon II of Bulgaria, Princess Magdalena of Prussia (widow of Prince Hubertus), Infante Luís Alfonso of Spain, Princess Marisol of Bavaria, Prince Bagrat Bagration-Mukhransky, and Prince Georg-Dietrich von Schoenaich-Carolath.

The Christening of Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, 1954

Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna was baptised on Wednesday, 3 February 1954, at Madrid, Spain. The Confessor of Grand Duke Vladimir and Grand Duchess Leonida, Father Hegumen Panteleimon, officiated over the service. Grand Duchess Maria received as her godparents Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia (represented by Prince Nicholas of Romania) and Queen Ioanna of Bulgaria (née Princess Giovanna of Savoy). 

Among the family members who were present for the christening of the grand duchess were the following: Helene Kirby, Prince Louis Ferdinand and Princess Kira of Prussia, Prince George and Princess Elena Bagration, Prince Irakly Bagration, Infante Fernando of Spain, Infante Luis of Spain, Infante Jose Eugenio of Spain and his wife (née Marisol Mesia y de Lesseps), the Dowager Duchess of Montpensier (née Maria Isabel González de Olañeta y Ibarreta Marquesa de Valdeterrazo), Princess Nicholas of Romania (née Dumitrescu-Doletti), Archduchess Ileana of Austria, and Princess Maria Luisa of Bulgaria. 

Several representatives of the Spanish government were also in attendance: don Fernando Suárez de Tangil y Angulo, Conde de Vallellano, Minister of Public Works; Señora de Martín-Artajo, wife of Foreign Minister don Alberto Martín-Artajo Álvarez; and doña Maria del Carmen Casanueva Navarro, wife of don Raimundo Fernández-Cuesta y Merelo, Secretary General of Movimiento Nacional. 

The diplomatic corps were also well represented: the Prince de Ligne, Belgian Ambassador to Spain, and the Princess de Ligne (née Philippine de Noailles); Mr Rubens Ferreira de Mello, Brazilian Ambassador to Spain, with Senhora Ferreira de Mello; Georgi Kyosievanov, former Bulgarian Prime Minister, and Madame Kyosievanov; Mr Collin, Danish Ambassador to Spain; Graaf Willem van Rechteren-Limpurg, Dutch Ambassador to Spain, with Gravin Fay Esmé van Rechteren-Limpurg (née Baroness van Heemstra); Jacques Meyrier, French Ambassador to Spain, with Madame Meyrier; Prince Adalbert of Bavaria, German Ambassador to Spain, with Princess Adalbert of Bavaria (née Gräfin Augusta von Seefried auf Buttenheim); Mr Kimon Diamantopoulos, Greek Ambassador to Spain, with Mrs Diamantopoulos (née Alberta Kirchhof); Ferenc Marosi, Representative of the Hungarian Government-in-Exile, with Mrs Marosi; don Francesco Maria Marchese Taliani de Marchio, Italian Ambassador to Spain, with the Marchesa Taliani di Marchio (née Archduchess Maria Margarethe of Austria); Mr Winter, Swedish Ambassador to Spain, with Mrs Winter; and Mr Lucovic, Representative of King Peter of Yugoslavia.

The Christening of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, 1917

Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich was christened on Tuesday, 18 September 1917, at Haikko near Borgo, Finland. Protopresbyter Alexander Dernoff, Head of the Court Clergy and Dean of the Cathedrals of the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg and of the Annunciation in the Kremlin of Moscow, officiated over the service. Grand Duke Vladimir received as his godparents Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia (his paternal uncle) and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (née Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin; his paternal grandmother). 

In his memoirs, In the Service of the Imperial House of Russia 1917-1941, Commander H.G. Graf, a loyal aide to Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich and Grand Duchess Victoria Feodovorna, recalled the events surrounding their only son's christening: 

"The baptism of Prince Vladimir Kirillovich took place on September 18, 1917, at Haiko. The parents wanted all the customary christening formalities of the Imperial family to be observed. They considered this precaution to be important so as to avoid future complications relative to the rights of Vladimir Kirillovich to the throne. With great difficulties, the Archpresbyter Father Alexander Dernov, head of the Court's clergy, was invited from Petrograd. He was also the father superior of the cathedral of the Winter Palace in Petrograd and the further superior of the 'Blagovestshenskii' (Annunciation) Cathedral in the Kremlin. He arrived with the cantor of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Petrograd. They brought everything that was needed for the christening ceremony. The christening was recorded in the Book of Births of Members of the Imperial House which Archpresbyter Dernov had also brought with him."

The First Picture of Prince Alexander Romanoff!

Grand Duke George, Princess Victoria, and Prince Alexander. Photo courtesy of the Russian Imperial Chancellery.

Yesterday, Grand Duke George of Russia and Princess Victoria Romanoff released the first picture of their baby Prince Alexander. The happy father gave the following message:

H.S.H. Princess Victoria and I are back home with our newborn baby.

We wish to express our sincere gratitude to the medical staff of the hospital ZKB of Moscow for their highly skilled medical care, and also for their empathy and support.

We are extremely touched by the thousands of blessing and good will messages we have received upon the birth of our little Alexander, from people worldwide.

To each and every one of you: an heartfelt thank you!

Prince Alexander Georgievich Romanoff was born in Moscow on Friday, 21 October 2022. Alexander is the first member of the Imperial House to be born in the territory of the former Russian Empire since his great-grandfather, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich. Grand Duke Vladimir was born on 30 August 1917 at Porvoo in the then Grand Duchy of Finland.

Grand Duke Kirill and Grand Duchess Victoria with their daughters Maria and Kira as well as their infant son Vladimir.

Russian Imperial Couple Expect First Child in the Fall!

Grand Duke George and Princess Victoria.
Photo (c) Russian Imperial Chancellery.

The Imperial House of Russia has announced that Grand Duke George Mikhailovich and Princess Victoria Romanovna Romanoff are expecting their first child in the fall of this year. The princess is in excellent health and will be continuing her charitable activities full-time. Grand Duke George and Princess Victoria married last year in Saint Petersburg; the couple lives in Moscow. Their baby will be the first grandchild for Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, Head of the Imperial House, and Prince Franz-Wilhelm of Prussia, the parents of Grand Duke George, as well as for Ambassador Roberto Bettarini and Carla Virginia Cacciatore, the parents of Princess Victoria.

 

 

 

 

Our congratulations to Grand Duke George and Princess Victoria on this most joyous news! May God grant the Princess a safe pregnancy!

Make It An Imperial Christmas with a Romanov Book: Choose From 7 Titles!

The cover of A Life for the Tsar.

This book is the result of a long, organic evolution. Fascinated as the authors both are with the Romanov Dynasty and interested in pursuing unique and exciting aspects of its history, they stumbled upon the Coronation of Nicholas II as a potential subject quite by accident. The ceremony itself formed an integral part of Greg King’s 2005 work The Court of the Last Tsar: Pomp, Power, and Pageantry in the Reign of Nicholas II. In the research and writing process, Janet Ashton discovered a wealth of previously neglected materials on the subject that helped bring the event to dramatic life: so much material, in fact, that it was impossible to include more than a tantalising hint in a single chapter. The Coronation was beautiful, opulent, and almost surreal. Wispy clouds of incense drifted upwards through golden shafts of sunshine, while the “high, clear voices of the boys mingled with the deeper bass notes of the men” intoning sonorous hymns as Russia unknowingly celebrated the coronation of its last emperor. Flickering flames of a thousand votive candles shimmered over gowns of silver brocade, flashed across gilded icons, sparkled against diamonds, and glanced on medals. This intoxicating pageant of sounds and colors, scents and sensations left onlookers “dazed.” Nicholas II’s Coronation in Moscow’s Cathedral of the Assumption that May of 1896 was a carefully crafted piece of stagecraft, meant to transport the densely packed congregation to a realm of intense spiritual power fused to unyielding autocracy. The scene was not without irony: the imperial splendor and religious rituals of the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated a monarch who scarcely carried a drop of Russian blood in his veins. The book contains over 220 beautiful images illustrating 248 glossy pages!

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The cover of Romanovs Adrift.

In 1913, the Romanovs celebrated three hundred years of sitting on the Russian Imperial throne. Great fanfare and hope accompanied the celebrations. A year later, Imperial Russia entered a "war to end all wars," with the hope of "being back home for Christmas." It was not to be. Instead, in February 1917, after years of administrative and military ineptitude and incompetence, the Russian people had enough of its government's inefficacy and corruption. The consequences, as it turned out, changed the world. Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown; members of the Imperial Family faced persecution, arrest, financial instability, uncertainty, and worse. This is the compelling story of how the Romanovs dealt with glory, war, revolution, persecution, imprisonment, and escape!

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The cover of The Grand Dukes.

Arturo E. Beéche, founder and publisher of The European Royal History Journal, thought of the idea for an anthology on Russia's Grand Duchesses in 2004. Consequently, a companion book on the Russian Grand Dukes became imperative. The Grand Dukes: Sons & Grandsons of Russia's Tsars Since Paul I examines the biographies of nearly forty men whose birth gave them the right to one of the world's most prestigious positions. All sons of Russian tsars are covered in Volume I. The sons of collateral grand ducal branches are covered in Volume II. The biography of each of the Grand Dukes of Russia brings to life a deeply gripping human saga. These men were born into what then was one of the world's most powerful ruling dynasties. They were not all saints; they were not all demons - they were men whose birth showered them with untold privilege. Some used their birthright for the common good; some did not. Yet, they all remain amazingly intriguing, complex, complicated and conflicted human beings. At birth they were showered with untold privilege, including a lump sum of money placed in trust for them. By the time these funds were made available to a Grand Duke, the interest alone made them amazingly wealthy. Added to this benefit, they derived salaries from their military appointments, investments, real estate and inheritance. Thus, the Grand Dukes were able to maintain a lifestyle only surpassed by today's oligarchs and yesteryear's robber barons. They were consummate spenders in paintings, art, architecture, jewels, all while acting as sponsors of talented writers, thinkers, poets, ballerinas, among many others. One was a playwright of considerable talent. Another played a role in working toward the liberation of the serfs. One was a leading admiral with a fondness for "fast women and slow ships." Another Grand Duke lived a tortured existence as a closeted homosexual, yet became the father of nine children. Told in a two-volume set, this is their story.

Purchase The Grand Dukes: Sons & Grandsons of Russia's Tsars since Paul I from Amazon.

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The cover of The Other Grand Dukes.

Included in this unique work, the Second Volume in a two-volume series, are 18 biographies of Russian grand dukes. These were the junior lines of the Russian Imperial Family at the time of the Revolution in 1917: Vladimirovichi, Pavlovichi, Konstantinovichi, Nikolaevichi and Mikhailovichi. The book is illustrated with exquisite and rare photographs of these intriguing men, their families and descendants. It also includes several family trees. The chapters were authored by some of today's most recognized authors and scholars on the Romanov Dynasty.

Purchase The Other Grand Dukes: Sons & Grandsons of Russia's Grand Dukes from Amazon.

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The cover of Russia & Europe - Dynastic Ties.

This excellent book authored by Galina Korneva and Tatiana Cheboksarova includes nearly 600 photos, an overwhelming majority among them collected from the main archives of Russia and several European countries. The moment captured by these original photos is able, often times, to tell the reader far more about the unique world of royalty and aristocracy than countless pages of text. The authors also relied on important information obtained from Russian and foreign periodicals, memoirs and scientific literature. The English-language version of this book was expanded with contributions by Arturo Beéche, founder and publisher of Eurohistory / The European Royal History Journal. He is an expert on European Royalty, as well as author of more than a dozen books about the various royal families that have shaped the continent's history.

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The cover of A Poet Among the Romanovs.

Prince Vladimir Paley, first cousin of the last tsar, was a poet among the Romanovs. The rules of the Imperial Family prevented him from being considered a member of the dynasty due to the unequal marriage of his parents. This circumstance could have saved his life. Instead, when he was requested by the Bolsheviks to denounce his father, Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, young Prince Vladimir chose love, loyalty, honor, and affection. His only crime was being related to a dynasty of which he had not even been an official member. This is the compelling story of a young man, and a talented poet, who in different circumstances would have attained great heights.. Destiny, however, played a sad role in bringing a brutal and early death to a promising life.

Jorge F. Sáenz brings to life the previously unknown figure of Prince Vladimir Paley. In doing so, Mr. Sáenz adds to a long and distinguished list of historical studies he has written over the last thirty years. His books number well over a dozen, most of them focusing on various aspects of Costa Rica’s history and unique democratic traditions, that make the country a bastion of democracy in Latin America. His study of the life of Prince Vladimir Paley was first published as a biographical essay in Eurohistory — The European Royal History Journal. The success of this essay led to the story of Vladimir Paley becoming a full-on book. Mr. Sáenz is a career diplomat for Costa Rica, as well as a distinguished law professor at the University of Costa Rica. EUROHISTORY is pleased to announce the hardback publication of this rare and uniquely extraordinary work of royal biography! This book was first published in paperback nearly 20 years ago. The UPDATED and EXPANDED hardback edition contains more information than the original, as well as a new 24-page photo section different than the few images included in the original paperback edition!

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The cover of Death of a Romanov Prince.

“The coffin was lowered into the grave. Soon there was a burial mound above. It was quickly covered with wreaths, flowers and crowned with a plain wooden cross. Prince Oleg’s promising life was finished.” 

Death of a Romanov Prince follows the brief life-journey of Prince Oleg Konstantinovich, one of the lesser-known members of the powerful and privileged Russian Imperial family. He was a talented young man of intellectual and artistic genius. Oleg was the gifted son of the talented Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, who wrote under the pseudonym of KR. The Grand Duke was a friend of Tchaikovsky, who set his numerous poems to music, and who established literary circles for his troops, translated Hamlet into Russian, and wrote The King of the Jews, an original play that he and his sons performed. The reader will follow Prince Oleg Konstantinovich, his family, and Imperial cousins, as his life takes him via the luxuries of the family’s four magnificent palaces of Pavlovsk, in Tsarskoye Selo, the Marble Palace in St Petersburg, the Konstantine Palace at Strelna; and the Ostashevo Estate near Moscow; as well as numerous holidays in the Crimea. The young prince enjoyed the most liberal program in literary, scientific, and artistic education. He was the first Romanov to be enrolled in a civilian school and graduated from the Imperial Lyceum in St Petersburg, where in 1913 he won the Pushkin Medal for his academic achievements. At the age of 21, Prince Oleg Konstantinovich was on the crest of a brilliant career and personal greatness when World War I began. Then tragedy struck. 

Death of a Romanov Prince brings the reader into the battlefields of World War I’s Eastern Front. Bloody battles fought in northern Poland and Lithuania’s Masurian Lakes. It was while fighting there that Prince Oleg led his troops into heroic cavalry charges against the Germans.

Purchase Death of a Romanov Prince from Amazon.