Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia
Encyclopedia
Vladimir Cyrillovich, Grand Duke of Russia (Vladimir Kirillovich Romanov
, Cyrillic: Влад́имир Кир́иллович Ром́анов; 21 April 1992) was the Head of the Imperial Family of Russia and Titular Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias
(historically the modern states of Russia
, Belarus
, Ukraine
, Kazakhstan
, Finland
, Estonia
, Latvia
, Lithuania
and Poland
) from 1938 to his death.
in the Grand Duchy of Finland
, the only son of Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich
and Grand Duchess Viktoria Feodorovna (née Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha). Vladimir's paternal grandparents were Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia
and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna
(née Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin). His maternal grandparents were Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
and Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia.
Vladimir's family had fled to Finland
after the Russian Revolution of 1917
. His family left Finland in 1920, moving to Coburg, Germany. On 8 August 1922 Vladimir's father declared himself Curator of the Russian throne. Two years later on 31 August 1924 his father went a step further and assumed the title Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias. With his father's assumption of the Imperial title Vladimir was granted the title of Tsesarevich
(heir apparent
) and Grand Duke with the style of Imperial Highness. In 1930 his family left Germany for Saint-Briac, France where his father set up his court
.
In the 1930s Vladimir lived for a period in England studying at the University of London
and working at the Blackstone agricultural equipment factory in Lincolnshire
. He later returned to France moving to Brittany
where he became a Landowner.
On the death of his father on 12 October 1938, Vladimir assumed the Headship of the Imperial Family of Russia. In 1938 there were suggestions that he would be made regent of Ukraine
but he rebuffed the idea, saying he would not help dissolve Russia.
During World War II, Vladimir was living in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer
in Brittany
. In 1942, Vladimir and his entourage were placed in a concentration camp at Compiègne
after he refused to issue a manifesto calling on Russian emigres to support Nazi Germany's war against the Soviet Union.
In 1944 the German army
moved the family inland out of fear of an invasion from the coast. The Germans were taking them to Paris when an order to drive to Wittel was given. Even Wittel proved to be unsafe, so they were moved to Germany. Vladimir lived in a castle belonging to the husband of his elder sister Maria Kirillovna in Amorbach
, Bavaria
until 1945. After Germany's defeat, Vladimir was afraid to continue living in Germany out of fear of being captured by the Soviets. Vladimir then moved to Austria and next to the border of Liechtenstein
. He tried to move with General Boris Smyslovsky
's army and cross the border, but neither Liechtenstein nor Switzerland would issue him an exit visa, so he stayed in Austria where he lived in the American occupation zone
.
Vladimir's maternal aunt, Infanta Beatrice of Orléans-Borbon, secured for him a Spanish visa. He subsequently lived in San Lucar.
, but with frequent stays at his property in Brittany
, as well as in Paris.
Vladimir married Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Moukhransky on 13 August 1948 in Lausanne
. Romanov house law dictates that only those children who are the product of an "equal marriage"—between a Romanov prince and a princess from another royal
, not just noble
, house—are eligible to be included in the Imperial line of succession; children of morganatic marriages are excluded from the succession. Though Leonida's dynasty, the Bagrationi, had been kings in Georgia
since the early medieval period, Leonida's branch had not been regnant in the male line as Kings of Georgia since 1505 and had been simply Russian nobility since then. Some controversy therefore arises as to whether Vladimir's marriage to Leonida was equal or morganatic, and therefore whether his claim to the Imperial throne passed to his daughter Maria or out of his branch of the family upon his death. The position of both Vladimir and Maria is that the marriage was equal, and Vladimir's claim passed to Maria. Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna, the daughter of the Head of the Georgian Royal House, H.R.H. Prince George Alexandrovich Bagration-Mukhrani. The royal status of the House of Bagration was permanently recognized by Russia in the Treaty of Georgievsk
of 1783 and was confirmed by the Decree of 5 December 1946 issued by the Head of the Russian Imperial House.
The heads of the other branches of the imperial family, the Princes Vsevolod Ioannovich
(Konstantinovichi), Roman Petrovich
(Nikolaevichi) and Andrei Alexandrovich
(Mihailovichi) writing to Vladimir in 1969 said that he had married unequally and that his wife was of no higher status than the wives of the other Romanov princes.
In 1952 he called on the Western powers to wage war against the Soviet Union. On 23 December 1969 Vladimir issued a controversial decree whereby in the event of him predeceasing the living male Romanov's that he recognised as dynasts then his daughter Maria would become the "Curatrix of the Imperial Throne". This has been viewed as an attempt by Vladimir to ensure the succession remained in his branch of the imperial family, while the heads of the other branches declared that Vladimir's actions were illegal.
Vladimir was able to visit Russia in November 1991 when he was invited to visit St Petersburg by its Mayor Anatoly Sobchak
.
while addressing a gathering of Spanish-speaking bankers and investors in Miami, Florida
, in the United States on 21 April 1992. His body was returned to Russia and he was buried with full pomp and splendour in the Peter and Paul Fortress
in St. Petersburg, the first Romanov to be honoured so much since the revolution. However, the press was careful to state that the honourable funeral "was regarded by civic and Russian authorities as an obligation to the Romanov family rather than a step toward restoration of the monarchy." According to a government spokesman, it was a way of "cleansing our guilt". As he was not a grandson of an Emperor his claimed title of Grand Duke of Russia caused problems as to what to put on his grave.
After his death, his daughter Maria assumed the Headship of the Imperial Family of Russia according to his line's interpretation of the Russian house laws. This was disputed by Nicholas Romanov, Prince of Russia who has also assumed for himself the Headship of the Imperial Family of Russia upon the death of Grand Duke Vladimir. Nicholas' position is that he is the most senior male dynast after the death of Vladimir as he believes the children of Grand Dukes of Russia who did not marry equally, would not be dynasts, while Princes of Russia only had to marry people of good standing and that their children would be dynasts. "The position of the Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna as Head of the Imperial House is acknowledged by most serious Russian Monarchist organizations and by most of those Heads of Royal Houses which continue to maintain relations with the Imperial House." according to scholar Guy Stair Sainty
. (The Romanov Family Association
, which the claim of Maria's cousin Nicholas to be head of the House of Romanov, believes that the marriage was morganatic.)
The Grand Duke was also the titular Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
, a title held by the Tsars since 1773. As Holstein-Gottorp required a male heir, there is some debate as to who succeeded Vladimir. The title is usually said to have been inherited by his cousin Prince Paul Dimitrievich Romanovsky-Ilyinsky (an American who preferred to use the name Paul Ilyinski and was Mayor of Palm Beach, Florida). Grand Duke Vladimir appears to be the last person to have actually used the title.
Other titles include:
Romanov
The House of Romanov was the second and last imperial dynasty to rule over Russia, reigning from 1613 until the February Revolution abolished the crown in 1917...
, Cyrillic: Влад́имир Кир́иллович Ром́анов; 21 April 1992) was the Head of the Imperial Family of Russia and Titular Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias
All the Russias
All the Russias is the standard English translation of a term which was used to refer either to the Russian Empire, or to the Russian-inhabitated lands of the Russian Empire...
(historically the modern states of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) from 1938 to his death.
Early life
He was born as Prince Vladimir Cyrillovich of Russia at PorvooPorvoo
Porvoo is a city and a municipality situated on the southern coast of Finland approximately east of Helsinki. Porvoo is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from 14th century...
in the Grand Duchy of Finland
Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed 1809–1917 as part of the Russian Empire and was ruled by the Russian czar as Grand Prince.- History :...
, the only son of Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich
Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich of Russia
Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich of Russia was a member of the Russian Imperial Family. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the deaths of Tsar Nicholas II and his brother Michael, Cyril assumed the Headship of the Imperial Family of Russia and later the title Emperor and Autocrat of all the...
and Grand Duchess Viktoria Feodorovna (née Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha). Vladimir's paternal grandparents were Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia ) was a son of Emperor Alexander II of Russia...
and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna
Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Maria Pavlovna of Russia)
Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was born Marie Alexandrine Elisabeth Eleonore of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, daughter of Grand Duke Frederick Francis II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Augusta of Reuss-Köstritz...
(née Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin). His maternal grandparents were Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the third Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and reigned from 1893 to 1900. He was also a member of the British Royal Family, the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha...
and Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia.
Vladimir's family had fled to Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
after the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
. His family left Finland in 1920, moving to Coburg, Germany. On 8 August 1922 Vladimir's father declared himself Curator of the Russian throne. Two years later on 31 August 1924 his father went a step further and assumed the title Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias. With his father's assumption of the Imperial title Vladimir was granted the title of Tsesarevich
Tsesarevich
Tsesarevich was the title of the heir apparent or presumptive in the Russian Empire. It either preceded or replaced the given name and patronymic.-Usage:...
(heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
) and Grand Duke with the style of Imperial Highness. In 1930 his family left Germany for Saint-Briac, France where his father set up his court
Noble court
The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...
.
In the 1930s Vladimir lived for a period in England studying at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
and working at the Blackstone agricultural equipment factory in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
. He later returned to France moving to Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
where he became a Landowner.
Russian heir and World War II
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
but he rebuffed the idea, saying he would not help dissolve Russia.
During World War II, Vladimir was living in Saint-Briac-sur-Mer
Saint-Briac-sur-Mer
Saint-Briac-sur-Mer , is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine Department of Brittany in north-western France.-Demographics:Inhabitants of Saint-Briac-sur-Mer are called Briacins.As of the census of 1999, the town had a population of...
in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. In 1942, Vladimir and his entourage were placed in a concentration camp at Compiègne
Compiègne
Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...
after he refused to issue a manifesto calling on Russian emigres to support Nazi Germany's war against the Soviet Union.
In 1944 the German army
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
moved the family inland out of fear of an invasion from the coast. The Germans were taking them to Paris when an order to drive to Wittel was given. Even Wittel proved to be unsafe, so they were moved to Germany. Vladimir lived in a castle belonging to the husband of his elder sister Maria Kirillovna in Amorbach
Amorbach
Amorbach is a town in the Miltenberg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany, with some 4,100 inhabitants .- Location :...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
until 1945. After Germany's defeat, Vladimir was afraid to continue living in Germany out of fear of being captured by the Soviets. Vladimir then moved to Austria and next to the border of Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
. He tried to move with General Boris Smyslovsky
Boris Smyslovsky
Boris Alexeyevich Smyslovsky was a Russian general, émigré, and anti-communist. His pseudonyms were Artur Holmston and von Regenau...
's army and cross the border, but neither Liechtenstein nor Switzerland would issue him an exit visa, so he stayed in Austria where he lived in the American occupation zone
Allied-administered Austria
The Allied occupation of Austria lasted from 1945 to 1955. Austria had been regarded by Nazi Germany as a constituent part of the German state, but in 1943 the Allied powers agreed in the Declaration of Moscow that it would be regarded as the first victim of Nazi aggression, and treated as a...
.
Vladimir's maternal aunt, Infanta Beatrice of Orléans-Borbon, secured for him a Spanish visa. He subsequently lived in San Lucar.
Post war and marriage
After the war he spent most of his time living in MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, but with frequent stays at his property in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, as well as in Paris.
Vladimir married Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Moukhransky on 13 August 1948 in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
. Romanov house law dictates that only those children who are the product of an "equal marriage"—between a Romanov prince and a princess from another royal
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
, not just noble
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
, house—are eligible to be included in the Imperial line of succession; children of morganatic marriages are excluded from the succession. Though Leonida's dynasty, the Bagrationi, had been kings in Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
since the early medieval period, Leonida's branch had not been regnant in the male line as Kings of Georgia since 1505 and had been simply Russian nobility since then. Some controversy therefore arises as to whether Vladimir's marriage to Leonida was equal or morganatic, and therefore whether his claim to the Imperial throne passed to his daughter Maria or out of his branch of the family upon his death. The position of both Vladimir and Maria is that the marriage was equal, and Vladimir's claim passed to Maria. Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna, the daughter of the Head of the Georgian Royal House, H.R.H. Prince George Alexandrovich Bagration-Mukhrani. The royal status of the House of Bagration was permanently recognized by Russia in the Treaty of Georgievsk
Treaty of Georgievsk
The Treaty of Georgievsk was a bilateral treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and the east Georgian kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti on July 24, 1783. The treaty established Georgia as a protectorate of Russia, which guaranteed Georgia's territorial integrity and the continuation of its reigning...
of 1783 and was confirmed by the Decree of 5 December 1946 issued by the Head of the Russian Imperial House.
The heads of the other branches of the imperial family, the Princes Vsevolod Ioannovich
Prince Vsevolod Ivanovich of Russia
Prince Vsevolod Ivanovich of Russia was a great-great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and a nephew of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia. He was the last male member of the Romanov family born in Imperial Russia...
(Konstantinovichi), Roman Petrovich
Prince Roman Petrovich of Russia
Prince Roman Petrovich of Russia was a member of the House of Romanov.-Russian prince:Prince Roman Petrovich was born in the Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg the only son of Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia and his wife Princess Milica of Montenegro...
(Nikolaevichi) and Andrei Alexandrovich
Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia
Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia was a member of the Imperial Family of Russia. A son of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia he was also the eldest nephew of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia...
(Mihailovichi) writing to Vladimir in 1969 said that he had married unequally and that his wife was of no higher status than the wives of the other Romanov princes.
In 1952 he called on the Western powers to wage war against the Soviet Union. On 23 December 1969 Vladimir issued a controversial decree whereby in the event of him predeceasing the living male Romanov's that he recognised as dynasts then his daughter Maria would become the "Curatrix of the Imperial Throne". This has been viewed as an attempt by Vladimir to ensure the succession remained in his branch of the imperial family, while the heads of the other branches declared that Vladimir's actions were illegal.
Vladimir was able to visit Russia in November 1991 when he was invited to visit St Petersburg by its Mayor Anatoly Sobchak
Anatoly Sobchak
Anatoly Alexandrovich Sobchak was a Russian politician, a co-author of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the first democratically elected mayor of Saint Petersburg, and a mentor and teacher of both Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev....
.
Death and succession dispute
Grand Duke Vladimir died of an apparent heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
while addressing a gathering of Spanish-speaking bankers and investors in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, in the United States on 21 April 1992. His body was returned to Russia and he was buried with full pomp and splendour in the Peter and Paul Fortress
Peter and Paul Fortress
The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706-1740.-History:...
in St. Petersburg, the first Romanov to be honoured so much since the revolution. However, the press was careful to state that the honourable funeral "was regarded by civic and Russian authorities as an obligation to the Romanov family rather than a step toward restoration of the monarchy." According to a government spokesman, it was a way of "cleansing our guilt". As he was not a grandson of an Emperor his claimed title of Grand Duke of Russia caused problems as to what to put on his grave.
After his death, his daughter Maria assumed the Headship of the Imperial Family of Russia according to his line's interpretation of the Russian house laws. This was disputed by Nicholas Romanov, Prince of Russia who has also assumed for himself the Headship of the Imperial Family of Russia upon the death of Grand Duke Vladimir. Nicholas' position is that he is the most senior male dynast after the death of Vladimir as he believes the children of Grand Dukes of Russia who did not marry equally, would not be dynasts, while Princes of Russia only had to marry people of good standing and that their children would be dynasts. "The position of the Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna as Head of the Imperial House is acknowledged by most serious Russian Monarchist organizations and by most of those Heads of Royal Houses which continue to maintain relations with the Imperial House." according to scholar Guy Stair Sainty
Guy Stair Sainty
Guy Stair Sainty, KC*SG is an art dealer and author on royal genealogy and heraldry.-Life and education:Guy Stair Sainty was born on 7 December 1950, the eldest son of Christopher Lawrence Sainty and his second wife Virginia Cade Stair. His father was Chief Engineer and Director of Carrier...
. (The Romanov Family Association
Romanov Family Association
The Romanov Family Association, Obyedineniye Chlenov Roda Romanovykh , is an organization for male-line descendants of Emperor Paul I of Russia...
, which the claim of Maria's cousin Nicholas to be head of the House of Romanov, believes that the marriage was morganatic.)
The Grand Duke was also the titular Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Holstein-Gottorp
Holstein-Gottorp or Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp is the historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein that were ruled by the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp. Other parts of the duchies were ruled by the kings of Denmark. The...
, a title held by the Tsars since 1773. As Holstein-Gottorp required a male heir, there is some debate as to who succeeded Vladimir. The title is usually said to have been inherited by his cousin Prince Paul Dimitrievich Romanovsky-Ilyinsky (an American who preferred to use the name Paul Ilyinski and was Mayor of Palm Beach, Florida). Grand Duke Vladimir appears to be the last person to have actually used the title.
Titles from birth to death
(chronological order)- His Highness Prince Vladimir Cyrillovich of Russia (30 August 1917 30 August 1924 / 21 April 1992)
- His Imperial Highness Tsarevich Vladimir Cyrillovich of Russia (31 August 1924 12 October 1938)
- His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovich of Russia (12 October 1938 21 April 1992)
- Pretender: His Imperial Majesty The Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias
Other titles include:
- Protecteur d'Union des Descendants des Commandeurs Hereditaires et Chevaliers du Grand Prieure Russe de l'Ordre de St. Jean de JerusalemRussian tradition of the Knights HospitallerThe Russian Tradition of the The Hospitaller Knights emerged when the Mediterranean stronghold of Malta was captured by Napoleon in 1798 when he made his expedition to Egypt...
. - Wladimir Kyrillovich Romanov, his civil title in Soviet Russia during his lifetime.