Godmother of Prince Alexander Romanoff Shares Her Memories of His Christening

 

Two weeks ago today on 6 October, HSH Prince Alexander Georgievich Romanoff was christened at the Transfiguration Church within the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour complex in Moscow. Prince Alexander is the first child of HIH Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia and HSH Princess Victoria Romanovna Romanoff. Madame Oxana Girko, one of the godmothers of Prince Alexander, was kind enough to share with me her recollections of her godson's christening, as well as what the Romanoff dynasty means to her on a personal level.

I feel very honoured and blessed to have been chosen as a godmother of HSH Prince Alexander Romanoff. The Imperial Family of Russia has been always an example of dignity, and the highest personal qualities are exhibited by each member of the family. I hope that the imperial family will continue to carry out charitable works and good deeds within the former Empire, which included Russia, Ukraine, and many other nowadays independent countries, bringing peace, prosperity, stability, spirituality, and positive values for the people, regardless of whether the imperial family is on the throne or not. 

 

Oxana Girko and Grand Duchess Maria.

 

The imperial family has steadfastly been an example of important family values for the nation. And this is what I feel is truly vital, especially in our modern times. My ancestors were very close to the Romanoff dynasty during the time of the Russian Empire. And I believe that it is very significant that after the 1917 Revolution, after a few generations, our life paths have come together again. It is a sign of a healing and reconciliation for our world in many ways. I am very grateful to HIH Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, who decided to return with her family to Russia, in spite of the political difficulties of the 1990s. She is a strong, wise person who exhibits the best qualities of the Romanoff dynasty's DNA.

 

A proud grandmother: Grand Duchess Maria and her grandson Prince Alexander.

 

I personally admire HIH Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna as a person who finds a kind word for every human being that she meets, who connects with and brings together amazing people around her, and who is beautiful and sage. I believe that even her name is a sign from God: the same name as the Holy Mother... The Romanoff dynasty made the Russian Empire one of strongest countries in the world in many aspects: science, culture, etc.

 

 

Grand Duke George of Russia and Princess Victoria Romanoff together with Oxana Girko and her husband Oleg Novachuk attend a soirée for the Assembly of the Russian Nobility in France (ANFR), Paris, 10 December 2021.
Photo (c) Alamy / David Nivière.

 

Today, the Romanoff dynasty helps to foster the traditions of the Orthodox religious institutions of the countries comprising the former Russian Empire, giving aid at different levels. HIH Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna raised her son, the HIH Grand Duke George Michailovich, in the same traditions in which she herself was raised: with love for the Russian Empire and all those peoples who comprised it, with a dedication of following historic traditions, and with a strong desire to care for and assist its peoples. HIH Grand Duke George Mikhailovich has been blessed by God: he met his love match in HSH Princess Victoria Romanovna, who is not only a beautiful and intelligent woman, but Princess Victoria has also been interested in Russian history and culture from her early childhood.

 

Princess Olga of Savoy, Duchess of Aosta, and Oxana Girko share an amusing moment during the christening of their godson, Prince Alexander.

 

Now the imperial family helps people through their charitable foundations. The Romanoff dynasty's goals are to help the sick and those suffering from food shortages, to encourage the endeavors of the creative intelligentsia, and to support many other projects of a spiritual and creative nature. I am blessed by God to have His Serene Highness Prince Alexander Georgievich as my godson. All my prayers are directed to the blessings of God on our planet, to all the peoples of the world, and, in particular, the peoples of the former Russian Empire, for the healing of all historical painful periods, for the restoration of peace and health, the well-being of people and creative processes in the entire global society.

Grand Duke George and Princess Victoria witness the christening of their son.

By becoming parents to our own children, God helps us understand the importance of building a healthy and sustainable future for our descendants, and by allowing us to be godparents, God blesses us with an even higher level of love and responsibility to the generation of our relatives and godchildren. At his christening ceremony, HSH Prince Alexander was very calm: all the godmothers and godfathers emphasized and noted this quality of the newborn Prince Alexander.

 

Prince Alexander at the baptismal font.

 

All of us, Prince Alexander's godparents and his family, rejoiced in the health and peace of mind that manifested itself through this calm behavior of the Prince, despite his baptism into holy water on a cold Winter day. Little Prince Alexander has been blessed by God, and all believers could see and rejoice at this miracle. As Father Michael from Australia, who led the baptism ceremony in English for foreign guests attending the ceremony, said: "Baptism is an opportunity for a person to become a Saint. Prince Alexander Georgievich has been blessed by God with this great opportunity. Let us rejoice and always help to do the will of God on our Planet through our earthly deeds and thoughts."

My upmost thanks to Oxana Girko for her generosity in giving her remembrances about this special and happy event in the life of her godson Prince Alexander Romanoff.

 

May God Bless Prince Alexander and the Imperial House of Russia!

Wedding Bells: Xenia Trotzky and Count Frederic von Brandenstein-Zeppelin

 Xenia Trotzky and Count Frederic von Brandenstein-Zeppelin celebrated their religious marriage on 30 July 2022 at Gröbming. The couple were civilly married on 11 June at Schluechtern.

Born on 23 February 1993, Xenia Trotzky is the daughter of Sergei Sergejewitsch Trotzky (b.1948) and Princess Felicitas of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (b.1958), who wed in 1987. Xenia is the fourth of sixth children. Xenia's paternal grandparents are Serge Constantinovitch Trotzky (1901-1965) and Jacqueline de Cock; her maternal grandparents are Prince Johannes Heinrich of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1931-2010) and Baroness Gabriele von Fürstenberg (1921-2007). Xenia Trotzky studied management at HSE University; she is an account manager for Oracle in Amsterdam. 

Born on 31 May 1987 at Biberach, Count Frederic Constantin Hubertus von Brandenstein-Zeppelin is the son of Count Albrecht von Brandenstein-Zeppelin (b.1950) and Countess Nadine zu Ortenburg (b.1957), wed in 1981. Frederic is the fourth of sixth children. Frederic's paternal grandparents are Count Alexander von Brandenstein-Zeppelin (1915-1979) and Baroness Ursula von Freyberg-Eisenberg-Allmendingen (1917-1985); his maternal grandparents are Count Aurel zu Ortenburg (1927-2001) and Countess Isabelle Adrienne von Bentinck (1925-2013). Count Frederic von Brandenstein-Zeppelin is a lawyer in Düsseldorf; he will one day succeed his paternal uncle Count Constantin von Brandenstein-Zeppelin, the owner of Brandenstein Castle, in the administration of the family's forestry business. 

Our congratulations to the newlyweds and their families!

Source for civil wedding: Brandenstein-Neffe vor dem Traualtar: Adel feiert Hochzeit im Bergwinkel

Russian Nobility Condemns Usurpation of Imperial Titles by Romanov Morganauts

An invitation to the wedding of Prince Rostislav Romanovsky. 

Yesterday, Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich Romanovsky and his wife held their religious wedding in France. The couple were civilly married two years ago in 2019 during a ceremony in the United Kingdom. On the invitations sent out for the religious wedding and in a related press release, Prince Rostislav Romanovsky is referred to as Son Altesse Impériale (His Imperial Highness). This is a style which the prince does not possess. 

Having learned of the new "imperial" pretensions of Rostislav Romanovsky, last week the Assembly of the Russian Nobility (ARN) sent me a copy of a letter that the organisation is circulating to clarify its stance in regards to the Russian Imperial House and its morganatic relatives. 

The content of the letter is more or less as follows:

Moscow, 6th September 2021

The Russian Nobility Assembly is an Association that gathers in Russia over 12,000 members and has several delegations abroad, and whose members are descendants of Old Noble Families of the Russian Empire and which was restored in 1990 in close cooperation with the Imperial House of Russia, whose Head at the time was His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Vladimir Kyrillovich and after 1992 his daughter and successor Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna as the only legitimate Heir of the Russian Imperial House.

There are many descendants of the Romanov Family who are not members of the historical Dynasty by the laws that were in force at the time of the Russian Empire.

Some of these persons have thus created the Romanov Family Association, which is a private association of members of the Romanov Family.

The Association was intended as a private association in which the Head of the Association is elected through a vote carried out by the members of the Association itself. This is why the Russian Nobility Assembly states that these members are not in any sort of way linked to the historical dynasty institution of the Russian Imperial House.

The Russian Imperial House is an institution that is officially recognised by the Patriarchate of Moscow and all Russias, as well as by the institutions of the Russian Federation, by foreign authorities, as well as by other reining and non-reigning royal families across the world. The Russian Imperial House is also the Fons Honorum for our Association.

The Members of the Russian Nobility Association extend their warmest congratulations on the occasion of the upcoming wedding of Rostislav Romanov but must emphasise that although Rostislav Romanov is a true descendant of the Romanov Family, his marriage is a private event which does not bear any social or dynastic importance. We wish the newlyweds and their 8 year-old son "Многая лета [Many years]!"

Marshall of the Russian Nobility,

Marshall of the Moscow Nobility,

O.V. Sherbachev

To learn more about the Romanovsky wedding, you can read these articles:

Prince Rostislav and Princess Foteini Romanovsky To Religiously Wed On Sunday (10 September) The Religious Marriage of Prince and Princess Rostislav Romanovsky (12 September)

If you would like to learn more about the Assembly of Russian Nobility, you can visit their website: Union of the Descendants of the Russian Nobility - The Assembly of the Russian Nobility