Line of succession to the Russian Throne
Encyclopedia
The Monarchy of Russia
was abolished in 1917 following the February Revolution
, which forced Emperor Nicholas II
to abdicate
. The issue of who is the current Pretender
is open to debate.
. For instance, Alexei Nikolaevich, 1.2.1.1, as follows from Nicholas I:
Nicholas I → Alexander II
(1st son) → Alexander III
(2nd son) → Nicholas II
(1st son) → Alexei Nikolaevich (1st and only son)
Many of the individuals on this list died childless; some were killed during the Russian Revolution.
, who was next in the line of succession if Cyril and his brothers, the Vladimirovichi, were ineligible (Paul Alexandrovich, who had been ahead of Dmitri, had been killed in 1919). Several grouped around the old Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, appreciating his career as general and former commander-in-chief, and/or his position as the oldest member of the imperial dynasty.
Nicholas and Dmitri actually never publicly proclaimed themselves pretenders, but Cyril Vladimirovich assumed on 8 August 1922 the position of curator of the throne. On 31 August 1924 he proclaimed himself Cyril I, Emperor of all the Russias. With the assumption of the Imperial title he elevated his children to the titles Grand Duke and Grand Duchesses of Russia, though they were not grandchildren of a reigning Emperor and were by birth Prince and Princesses of Russia. Nicholas, the more serious of the other monarchist alternatives, died in 1929. Cyril held his court-in-exile in France and erected a functioning machinery for the monarchist movement.
Vladimir elevated his father's second cousin and their loyal supporter Prince Gavriil Konstantinovich
to Grand Duke of Russia in 1939. Gavriil was the only Romanov prince to be granted a grand ducal title ad personam after Empress Elizabeth awarded the title to her nephew, the future Peter III
in the 18th century.
The Vladimirovichi supporters claim that Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovich, was the sole male dynast of the Imperial House to enter into an equal marriage after 1917. Opponents refute the equality of this marriage. On August 13, 1948, he married Her Illustrious Highness Princess Leonida Bagration-Moukransky. The Grand Duke's marriage to Princess Leonida is controversial; some consider it to be morganatic (though the princess descended from a dynasty that had ruled as kings in Armenia and Georgia since the early Middle Ages, it had been reduced to the status of Russian nobility for over a century prior to the Russian Revolution — Leonida's branch had not been regnant in the male line as Kings of Georgia since 1505. Because of this, the Romanov Family Association
considers Maria to be unentitled to claim the throne. However, since Grand Duke Vladimir was at the time the Head he declared his marriage to be equal, legally his marriage would be considered equal . Princess Leonida, despite these arguments, continues to use as her title of pretension
the title of Grand Duchess of Russia and the style of Her Imperial Highness.
In 1969 Vladimir, foreseeing in his opinion an almost inevitable extinction of the male dynastic line he proclaimed his daughter Maria Vladimirovna the future curatrix of the throne, implying that she would ultimately succeed. That act angered yet more of those already rebellious other dynasts and groups in monarchist circles. After this proclamation Princes Vsevold, Andrei and Roman wrote to Vladimir and addressing him as a Prince not Grand Duke, said that he had married unequally and that his wife was of no higher status than the wives of the other Romanov princes. They also said that they did not recognise Maria Vladimirovna as a Grand Duchess and that his proclamation was illegal.
In 1989, when Prince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia
(who also was the President of the Romanov Family Association
, see discussion of succession controversy below), died, Vladimir immediately proclaimed his daughter as the dynasty's heiress as Prince Vasili was the last male Vladimir recognized as a dynast.
, who was granted the title "His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia" by Vladimir. Maria styles herself "Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia" as her title of pretension
, and her son styles himself "His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Georgi Mikhailovich of Russia" as his title of pretension
.
(or RFA), which by the end of the same year had admitted more than half of the surviving undisputed dynasts into its membership, as well as a fair number of those male-line descendants Vladimir did not recognize as dynasts because of morganatic birth. Vladimir Cyrillovich never joined the association and neither has his daughter Maria.
The RFA, which yet numbered two elderly female recognized dynasts among its membership, chose Prince Nicholas Romanov, as its president in 1989 following the death of Prince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia
. The RFA's official position is that the Russian nation should determine which sort of government it desires, and if the choice is monarchy, who should be monarch.
However, some assert that Nicholas, who has taken "H.H.
Prince of Russia" as his title of pretension
, is, in addition, the head of the Imperial House of Romanov
, a position Prince Nicholas has himself claimed since the death of Vladimir Cyrillovich in April, 1992. With the exception of Maria Vladimirovna, Prince Nicholas is recognised by the rest of the family as head of the imperial house.
After George, the male line of Grand Duchess Maria is extinct. If both died without further male heirs, the succession would then follow semi-Salic law and the right to the Imperial Crown will presumably pass either to Karl Emich, Hereditary Prince of Leiningen , as nearest male relation to Maria and her son, or to the nearest male Orthodox relative, be it Prince Karl Wladimir of Yugoslavia (born 1964, son of the late Princess Kira Melita of Leiningen), or Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia
.
is:
in London, and best influence to recent Russian governments behind it . As displays of the good score in the visibility contest, RFA presents its achievement to have its president as foremost family representative when Nicholas II and his family's remains were interred in St Petersburg, as well as in several other burials and governmental event; whereas Maria Vladimirovna has in those same issues, generally been in foremost position in church-organized solemnizings, such as mass
es in honor of relic-translation and such.
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...
was abolished in 1917 following the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
, which forced Emperor Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
to abdicate
Abdication
Abdication occurs when a monarch, such as a king or emperor, renounces his office.-Terminology:The word abdication comes derives from the Latin abdicatio. meaning to disown or renounce...
. The issue of who is the current Pretender
Pretender
A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....
is open to debate.
Line of succession in March 1917
The numbers following the names indicate descent and genealogical seniority from Nicholas I of RussiaNicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
. For instance, Alexei Nikolaevich, 1.2.1.1, as follows from Nicholas I:
Nicholas I → Alexander II
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
(1st son) → Alexander III
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...
(2nd son) → Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
(1st son) → Alexei Nikolaevich (1st and only son)
- Grand Duke and Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich (1904–1918, 1.2.1.1)
- Grand Duke Michael AlexandrovichGrand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of RussiaGrand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia was the youngest son of Emperor Alexander III of Russia.At the time of his birth, his paternal grandfather was still the reigning Emperor of All the Russias. Michael was fourth-in-line to the throne following his father and elder brothers Nicholas and...
(1878–1918, 1.2.2) - Grand Duke Cyril VladimirovichGrand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich of RussiaGrand 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...
(1876–1938, 1.3.1) - Grand Duke Boris VladimirovichGrand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of RussiaGrand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia was a son of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia, a grandson of Czar Alexander II of Russia and a first cousin of Czar Nicholas II. He followed a military career and was a Major General in the Russian Army. He took part in the Russo-Japanese War and...
(1877–1943, 1.3.2) - Grand Duke Andrew VladimirovichGrand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of RussiaGrand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia was a Russian grand duke, the youngest son of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna.-Biography:...
(1879–1956, 1.3.3) - Grand Duke Paul AlexandrovichGrand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of RussiaGrand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia was the eighth child of Tsar Alexander II of Russia by his first wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna. His birth was commemorated by the naming of the city of Pavlodar in Kazakhstan...
(1860–1919, 1.4) - Grand Duke Dmitri PavlovichGrand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of RussiaGrand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia was a Russian imperial dynast. He is known for being involved in the murder of the mystic peasant faith healer Grigori Rasputin, who he felt held undue sway over Tsar Nicholas II.-Early life:Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich was born at Ilinskoe near Moscow, the...
(1891–1941, 1.4.1) - Prince Ioann KonstantinovichPrince Ioann Konstantinovich of RussiaPrince John Constantinovich of Russia , sometimes also known as Prince Ioann, Prince Ivan or Prince Johan, was the eldest son of Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich of Russia by his wife Elisaveta Mavrikievna, née Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg...
(1886–1918, 2.1.1) - Prince Vsevolod IvanovichPrince Vsevolod Ivanovich of RussiaPrince 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...
(1914–1973, 2.1.2) - Prince Gavriil KonstantinovichPrince Gavriil Konstantinovich of RussiaPrince Gabriel Constantinovich of Russia was the second son of Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich of Russia and his wife Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mavrikievna. A great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I, he was born in Imperial Russia and served in the army during World War I. He lost much of his...
(1887–1955, 2.1.3) - Prince Konstantine KonstantinovichPrince Konstantine Konstantinovich of RussiaPrince Constantine Constantinovich of Russia , nicknamed Kostia by the family, was the fourth child of Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich of Russia by his wife Elisbeth Mavrikievna née HH Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg.The Prince was a silent, shy person who fancied theatre and was...
(1891–1918, 2.1.4) - Prince Igor KonstantinovichPrince Igor Konstantinovich of RussiaPrince Igor Constantinovich of Russia , was the sixth child of HIH Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich of Russia by his wife Elisaveta Mavrikievna née HH Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg....
(1894–1918, 2.1.5) - Prince George Konstantinovich (1903–1938, 2.1.6)
- Grand Duke Dmitri KonstantinovichGrand Duke Dmitri Konstantinovich of RussiaGrand Duke Dimitri Constantinovich of Russia was a son of Grand Duke Constantin Nikolaevich and a first cousin of Alexander III of Russia. He followed a military career...
(1860–1919, 2.2.1) - Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich (1856–1929, 3.1)
- Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich (1864–1931, 3.2)
- Prince Roman PetrovichPrince Roman Petrovich of RussiaPrince 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...
(1896–1978, 3.2.1) - Grand Duke Nicholas MikhailovichGrand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of RussiaGrand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia , 26 April 1859 – 28 January 1919 was the eldest son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a first cousin of Alexander III....
(1859–1919, 4.1) - Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich (1861–1929, 4.2)
- Grand Duke George MikhailovichGrand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia (1863-1919)Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia was a son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a first cousin of Emperor Alexander III. He was a General in the Russian army in World War I...
(1863–1919, 4.3) - Grand Duke Alexander MikhailovichGrand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of RussiaGrand Duke Alexander Mihailovich of Russia, Александр Михайлович Aleksandr Mihailovits was a dynast of the Russian Empire, a naval officer, an author, explorer, the brother-in-law of Emperor Nicholas II, and an advisor of the said Emperor.-Biography: Alexander was born the son of Grand Duke...
(1866–1933, 4.4) - Prince Andrei AlexandrovichPrince Andrei Alexandrovich of RussiaPrince 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...
(1897–1981, 4.4.1) - Prince Feodor AlexandrovichPrince Feodor Alexandrovich of RussiaPrince Feodor Alexandrovich of Russia was a son of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia. He was a nephew of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia-Russian prince:...
(1898–1968, 4.4.2) - Prince Nikita AlexandrovichPrince Nikita Alexandrovich of RussiaPrince Nikita Alexandrovich of Russia was a descendant of the Russian Imperial Family.-Russian prince:Prince Nikita Alexandrovich was born in Saint Petersburg the son of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia...
(1900–1974, 4.4.3) - Prince Dmitri AlexandrovichPrince Dmitri Alexandrovich of RussiaPrince Dmitri Alexandrovich of Russia was a son of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia. He was a nephew of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.-Russian prince:...
(1901–1980, 4.4) - Prince Rostislav AlexandrovichPrince Rostislav Alexandrovich of RussiaPrince Rostislav Alexandrovich of Russia was a member of the Imperial Family of Russia.-Russian prince:Prince Rostislav Alexandrovich was the son of HIH the Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich ‘Sandro’ and HIH the Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna . His parents were first cousins once removed...
(1902–1978, 4.4.5) - Prince Vasili AlexandrovichPrince Vasili Alexandrovich of RussiaPrince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia was a son of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia...
(1907–1989, 4.4.6) - Grand Duke Sergei MikhailovichGrand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of RussiaGrand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia was the fifth son of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaievich of Russia and a first cousin of Alexander III of Russia. He followed a military career and served as General Inspector of the Artillery with the rank of Adjutant General during World War I...
(1869–1918, 4.5)
Many of the individuals on this list died childless; some were killed during the Russian Revolution.
Cyril Vladimirovich (1924-1938)
At first, many members of the Imperial House either did not believe or were wary of acting on news of the demise of the immediate imperial family. However, camps started to be formed in the monarchist movement, where Paris was a focal location. Several monarchists grouped around Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich, who was first in the line of succession after the execution of Alexei Nikolaevich and Michael Alexandrovich. Many of Cyril's opponents grouped around a young grand duke, Dmitri PavlovichGrand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia
Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia was a Russian imperial dynast. He is known for being involved in the murder of the mystic peasant faith healer Grigori Rasputin, who he felt held undue sway over Tsar Nicholas II.-Early life:Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich was born at Ilinskoe near Moscow, the...
, who was next in the line of succession if Cyril and his brothers, the Vladimirovichi, were ineligible (Paul Alexandrovich, who had been ahead of Dmitri, had been killed in 1919). Several grouped around the old Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, appreciating his career as general and former commander-in-chief, and/or his position as the oldest member of the imperial dynasty.
Nicholas and Dmitri actually never publicly proclaimed themselves pretenders, but Cyril Vladimirovich assumed on 8 August 1922 the position of curator of the throne. On 31 August 1924 he proclaimed himself Cyril I, Emperor of all the Russias. With the assumption of the Imperial title he elevated his children to the titles Grand Duke and Grand Duchesses of Russia, though they were not grandchildren of a reigning Emperor and were by birth Prince and Princesses of Russia. Nicholas, the more serious of the other monarchist alternatives, died in 1929. Cyril held his court-in-exile in France and erected a functioning machinery for the monarchist movement.
Vladimir Cyrillovich (1938-1992)
In 1938 Cyril died, and was succeeded as pretender by his only son Vladimir Cyrillovich, who did not publicly assume the imperial title, and was known as "Grand Duke".Vladimir elevated his father's second cousin and their loyal supporter Prince Gavriil Konstantinovich
Prince Gavriil Konstantinovich of Russia
Prince Gabriel Constantinovich of Russia was the second son of Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich of Russia and his wife Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mavrikievna. A great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I, he was born in Imperial Russia and served in the army during World War I. He lost much of his...
to Grand Duke of Russia in 1939. Gavriil was the only Romanov prince to be granted a grand ducal title ad personam after Empress Elizabeth awarded the title to her nephew, the future Peter III
Peter III of Russia
Peter III was Emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. He was very pro-Prussian, which made him an unpopular leader. He was supposedly assassinated as a result of a conspiracy led by his wife, who succeeded him to the throne as Catherine II.-Early life and character:Peter was born in Kiel, in...
in the 18th century.
The Vladimirovichi supporters claim that Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovich, was the sole male dynast of the Imperial House to enter into an equal marriage after 1917. Opponents refute the equality of this marriage. On August 13, 1948, he married Her Illustrious Highness Princess Leonida Bagration-Moukransky. The Grand Duke's marriage to Princess Leonida is controversial; some consider it to be morganatic (though the princess descended from a dynasty that had ruled as kings in Armenia and Georgia since the early Middle Ages, it had been reduced to the status of Russian nobility for over a century prior to the Russian Revolution — Leonida's branch had not been regnant in the male line as Kings of Georgia since 1505. Because of this, 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...
considers Maria to be unentitled to claim the throne. However, since Grand Duke Vladimir was at the time the Head he declared his marriage to be equal, legally his marriage would be considered equal . Princess Leonida, despite these arguments, continues to use as her title of pretension
Pretender
A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....
the title of Grand Duchess of Russia and the style of Her Imperial Highness.
In 1969 Vladimir, foreseeing in his opinion an almost inevitable extinction of the male dynastic line he proclaimed his daughter Maria Vladimirovna the future curatrix of the throne, implying that she would ultimately succeed. That act angered yet more of those already rebellious other dynasts and groups in monarchist circles. After this proclamation Princes Vsevold, Andrei and Roman wrote to Vladimir and addressing him as a Prince not Grand Duke, said that he had married unequally and that his wife was of no higher status than the wives of the other Romanov princes. They also said that they did not recognise Maria Vladimirovna as a Grand Duchess and that his proclamation was illegal.
In 1989, when Prince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia
Prince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia
Prince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia was a son of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia...
(who also was the President of 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...
, see discussion of succession controversy below), died, Vladimir immediately proclaimed his daughter as the dynasty's heiress as Prince Vasili was the last male Vladimir recognized as a dynast.
Maria Vladimirovna (1992-present)
When Vladimir died in 1992, Maria Vladimirovna had herself proclaimed the new Head of the Imperial House, assuming the position of curatrix and proclaiming her son George Mikhailovich the heir-apparent. Her son, who was born in 1982, was given the patronymic "Mikhailovich" because from 1976 until her divorce in 1985, Maria was married to His Royal Highness Prince Franz Wilhelm of PrussiaPrince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia
Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia is a German businessman and member of the House of Hohenzollern, the former ruling imperial house of Germany and royal house of Prussia. From 1976 to 1986 he was known as Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia...
, who was granted the title "His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia" by Vladimir. Maria styles herself "Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia" as her title of pretension
Pretender
A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....
, and her son styles himself "His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Georgi Mikhailovich of Russia" as his title of pretension
Pretender
A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....
.
Nicholas Romanov (1992-present)
In 1979, seven undisputed male and female dynasts founded the Romanov Family AssociationRomanov Family Association
The Romanov Family Association, Obyedineniye Chlenov Roda Romanovykh , is an organization for male-line descendants of Emperor Paul I of Russia...
(or RFA), which by the end of the same year had admitted more than half of the surviving undisputed dynasts into its membership, as well as a fair number of those male-line descendants Vladimir did not recognize as dynasts because of morganatic birth. Vladimir Cyrillovich never joined the association and neither has his daughter Maria.
The RFA, which yet numbered two elderly female recognized dynasts among its membership, chose Prince Nicholas Romanov, as its president in 1989 following the death of Prince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia
Prince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia
Prince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia was a son of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia...
. The RFA's official position is that the Russian nation should determine which sort of government it desires, and if the choice is monarchy, who should be monarch.
However, some assert that Nicholas, who has taken "H.H.
Highness
Highness, often used with a possessive adjective , is an attribute referring to the rank of the dynasty in an address...
Prince of Russia" as his title of pretension
Pretender
A pretender is one who claims entitlement to an unavailable position of honour or rank. Most often it refers to a former monarch, or descendant thereof, whose throne is occupied or claimed by a rival, or has been abolished....
, is, in addition, the head of the Imperial House of Romanov
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...
, a position Prince Nicholas has himself claimed since the death of Vladimir Cyrillovich in April, 1992. With the exception of Maria Vladimirovna, Prince Nicholas is recognised by the rest of the family as head of the imperial house.
Succession controversy
Several individuals may claim dynastic headship, depending on application of Romanov House Law. First, one must determine who was the last surviving male dynast. This may have been Vladimir Cyrillovich, or, depending on one's view of the validity of his father's or grandfather's marriage, Nicholas Romanovich. If there is a surviving male dynast, he is the legitimate claimant under Romanov House Law. If not, semi-salic succession takes over, and the title passes to the last surviving male dynast's closest female relative. This may be Maria Vladimirovna, or, depending on one's view of her father's marriage, Nicholas Romanovich; semi-salic succession may instead pivot from, for instance, Nicholas II, or Vladimir Cyrillovich's cousin, Prince Rostislav.Line of Maria Vladimirovna
If one accepts Vladimir Cyrillovich's marriage to Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Moukhranskaya as non-morganatic and he was succeeded by his daughter Maria Vladimirovna then the line of succession is:- George Mikhailovich (born 1981), who has been styled Grand Duke of Russia since birth, also a Prince of Prussia (a title which he does not generally use)
After George, the male line of Grand Duchess Maria is extinct. If both died without further male heirs, the succession would then follow semi-Salic law and the right to the Imperial Crown will presumably pass either to Karl Emich, Hereditary Prince of Leiningen , as nearest male relation to Maria and her son, or to the nearest male Orthodox relative, be it Prince Karl Wladimir of Yugoslavia (born 1964, son of the late Princess Kira Melita of Leiningen), or Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia
Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia (b. 1924)
- Footnotes :...
.
Line of Nicholas Romanov
The line of succession to Prince Nicholas Romanov based on descent from Emperor Nicholas I of RussiaNicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
is:
- (All individuals except numbers numbers 8 and 9 are members of the Romanov Family AssociationRomanov Family AssociationThe Romanov Family Association, Obyedineniye Chlenov Roda Romanovykh , is an organization for male-line descendants of Emperor Paul I of Russia...
. Numbers 8 and 9 are also not Russian Orthodox)
- Prince Dimitri RomanovPrince Dimitri RomanovPrince Dimitri Romanovich Romanov is a Russian prince, philanthropist and author. He is also the heir to the prerogatives of Nicholas Romanov, Prince of Russia a claimant to headship of the Imperial House of Russia....
ich (born 1926) - Prince Andrew AndreevichPrince Andrew RomanovPrince Andrew Andreevich Romanoff is a Russian prince and artist.-Biography:He was born in London, United Kingdom, the youngest child of Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia and his first wife Elisabetha Sasso-Ruffo...
(born 1923) - Prince Alexis Andreevich (born 1953)
- Prince Peter Andreevich (born 1961)
- Prince Andrew Andreevich (born 1963)
- Prince Rostislav RostislavovichPrince Rostislav Romanov (b. 1985)Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich Romanov is a descendant of the former ruling Russian Imperial dynasty the House of Romanov. He is also known by the name "Misha".-Birth and family:...
(born 1985) - Prince Nikita Rostislavovich (born 1987)
- Prince Nicholas Christopher Nikolaievich (born 1968)
- Prince Daniel Joseph Nikolaievich (born 1972)
- Prince Jackson Daniel Danilovich (born 2009)
Did Vladimir Cyrillovich's marriage violate House Laws?
- Under the semi-Salic succession promulgated by Emperor Paul I of RussiaPaul I of RussiaPaul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:...
, when the last male Romanov dynast died, the succession would pass to his closest female relative with valid succession rights. Vladimir Cyrillovich contended that he was the last male Romanov dynast because all other males descended from Emperor Nicholas I of RussiaNicholas I of RussiaNicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
married morganaticallyMorganatic marriageIn the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
, in violation of the Romanov House Law, with the result that their offspring did not possess any inheritance rights to the Russian throne. Accordingly, he declared that his daughter Maria Vladimirovna would succeed as his closest female relative. When he died in 1992, Maria thus claimed to have succeeded as the Head of the Imperial Family of Russia.
- The greatest objection to this argument is that Maria's mother, Princess Leonida Bagration-Mukhransky, was not a member of a royal or ruling house, and that Maria's parents' marriage was therefore morganatic. The House of MukhraniHouse of MukhraniThe house of Mukhrani is a Georgian princely family, a collateral branch of the former royal dynasty of Bagrationi of which it sprung early in the 16th century, and received in appanage the domain of Mukhrani located in Kartli, central Georgia...
(Bagration-Mukhransky) was a collateral branch of the Bagrationi dynastyBagrationi DynastyThe Bagrationi dynasty was the ruling family of Georgia. Their ascendency lasted from the early Middle Ages until the early 19th century. In modern usage, this royal line is frequently referred to as the Georgian Bagratids, a Hellenized form of their dynastic name.The origin of the Bagrationi...
which ruled the nation of GeorgiaGeorgia (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...
until 1810. After Georgia's incorporation into the Russian Empire, they had been regarded as nobilityNobilityNobility 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...
, rather than royaltyRoyal HouseA royal house or royal dynasty consists of at least one, but usually more monarchs who are related to one another, as well as their non-reigning descendants and spouses. Monarchs of the same realm who are not related to one another are usually deemed to belong to different houses, and each house is...
, in Russia. The elder line of the House of Mukhrani, now extinct, did produce several Georgian kings between 1659 and 1724, but its younger line, to which Leonida belongs, has never held kingship. They are, however, the genealogically eldest surviving Bagratid branch, and have, since 1957, claimed to be the Royal House of Georgia, in their European exile. The legitimate rights of this House to the throne of Georgia have frequently been questioned, however, due to the fact that patrilineal descendants of the last king of Georgia – the Bagration-Gruzinsky – still survive in Georgia.
- Maria and her defenders argue that the Bagration-Mukhranskys were indeed royal, and that the marriage was thus between equals. Moreover, the Head of the Imperial House approved the marriage, consistent with tradition, by which the Emperor was the only person who could decide whether a marriage was in accordance with Russian succession laws . Vladimir, who was de jureDe jureDe jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
Emperor, had decided two years before his own marriage that the Bagrations were of "corresponding rank," in a letter to Infante Ferdinand of Spain regarding the latter's daughter's marriage to Prince Irakly Bagration-Mukhransky. This decision differs from that made in 1911 when, according to the Almanach de Gotha, Princess Tatiana Constantinovna of Russia morganaticallyMorganatic marriageIn the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
wed Prince Constantine Alexandrovich Bagration-Mukhransky, a member of the same branch of the House of Bagration into which Princess Leonida would later be born. The Count of Barcelona, then Head of the Royal House of Spain, considered the issue of this marriage to be disqualified from the Spanish succession. The only son of this marriage was sponsored at his baptism by the Count of Barcelona but the latter's refusal to recognize his god-son as a Spanish dynast led to the Bagration's alienation from the Spanish Royal Family according to Guy Stair SaintyGuy Stair SaintyGuy 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...
.
- Maria's opponents counter that approval by the Head of the Imperial House cannot make a marriage valid if it violates a provision of the Imperial Russian Law, such as the prohibition against marriages with rank disparity. If this marriage between a dynast and a subject noblewoman (a wife who is of high aristocratic birth, such as a princess, but a subject of the Empire and not of a sovereign family of reigning monarchs) is not morganatic, then this undermines the claim that marriages between other dynasts and subject noblewomen are morganatic. For example, if a Russian imperial dynast may equally marry a Princess Bagration-Moukhransky, then other dynasts obviously may, equality preserved, marry such personages as daughter of the Duke of Sasso-Ruffo, Princess Irina Paley who is descended from the self-same Romanov tsars, Princess Natalia GalitzineGalitzineFor Orthodox clergyman and theologian, see Alexander Golitzin.The Galitzines are one of the largest and noblest princely houses of Russia. Since the extinction of the Korecki family in the 17th century, the Golitsyns have claimed dynastic seniority in the House of Gediminas...
and Princess Alexandra Galitzine descended from medieval sovereigns of LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , 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 BelarusBelarusBelarus , 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 ,...
, as high an ancestry as that of the Mukhrani Bagrations, distant descendants of medieval sovereigns in Georgia. Some Romanov princes would thus also be dynasts, in which case the male descent would not be totally extinct. This might suggest that sons born of such marriages of dynasts are as much heirs of Russia as Maria Vladimirovna, and in fact have a better dynastic claim, as no female is yet called to succeed. It is argued by Pieter Broek that prince Rostislav Rostislavich and princess Marina Vasilievna, born of two Galitzina princesses, are as dynastically born as Maria Vladimirovna of the Bagrationi mother. On these theories, Andrew Andreyevich RomanovPrince Andrew RomanovPrince Andrew Andreevich Romanoff is a Russian prince and artist.-Biography:He was born in London, United Kingdom, the youngest child of Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia and his first wife Elisabetha Sasso-Ruffo...
(born 1923), may be the present Head of the imperial family. Some claim that there were no disenfranchised male dynasts in the imperial succession, but that very concept is dependent on the question whether certain marriages were dynastical or not, thusly the concept 'disenfranchised' is empty of meaning here.
Did Cyril Vladimirovich's marriage violate House Laws?
- Cyril Vladimirovich's 1905 marriage to HRH Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was not approved by the Emperor. However, supporters of Maria argue that the marriage was later approved by Emperor Nicholas II in 1907, and Nicholas II accorded Victoria the title and style of "Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia."
- Princess Victoria had previously been married to HRH Grand Duke Ernest Louis of HesseErnest Louis, Grand Duke of HesseErnest Louis Charles Albert William , was the last Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from 1892 until 1918...
. Supporters of Maria respond that the laws governing the Russian succession do not forbid marriage to divorcées .
- Cyril and Victoria were first cousins, and the Russian Orthodox ChurchRussian Orthodox ChurchThe Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
prohibited first cousins marrying. Maria's supporters point out that all other potential claimants are descended from the marriage of Tsar Nicholas I with his second cousin, similarly forbidden by Russian Orthodox canonCanon lawCanon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
– and if children of a marriage prohibited by reason of consanguinity were ineligible to succeed, Tsars Alexander II, Alexander III, and Nicholas II could not have validly succeeded to the throne. Moreover, the Emperor gave his approval to Cyril and Victoria's marriage , and the Emperor of Russia was then the supreme Head of the Russian Orthodox church. Opponents counter that the Emperor could not change Church Law by his own decision; instead, an act in ecclesiastical synodSynodA synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
s or councils would have been needed. However, the Orthodox Church does not condemn children of uncanonical marriages nor their rights to inheritance, so this objection is weak .
- At the time of Cyril and Victoria's marriage, Victoria was Protestant, not Orthodox. Maria and her supporters counter that this objection, too, is overcome by the Emperor's approval of the marriage . According to them, under dynastic law, the Emperor designated which of the dynasts had to marry Orthodox women; usually this was required only of persons who were high in the line of succession, which Cyril was not at the time of his marriage. The Orthodox church does not prohibit its members from marrying Protestants. And Victoria later embraced the Orthodox faith, receiving a published accolade from Tsar Nicholas II. At the time of Vladimir Cyrillovich's birth, his mother already had long been Orthodox .
Did Cyril Vladimirovich's father's marriage violate House Laws?
- Cyril Vladimirovich's father, Grand Duke Vladimir AlexandrovichGrand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of RussiaGrand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia ) was a son of Emperor Alexander II of Russia...
, married Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-SchwerinMarie 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...
, a Lutheran who did not convert to Orthodoxy until later in her marriage. The arguments regarding the objections to this marriage are similar to the arguments regarding the religious objections to Cyril Vladimirovich's marriage. It is quite clear, however, that Cyril and his brothers were considered throughout the life of the monarchy to be in the line of succession.
Did Nicholas Romanov's father's marriage violate House Laws?
- If any of Maria Vladimirovna's ancestors' marriages were morganatic or otherwise invalid to pass on succession rights, Maria would seem to have no better claim than any other member of the family. However, supporters of Nicholas have sometimes asserted that he is the senior male-line descendant of Tsar Nicholas INicholas I of RussiaNicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
with succession rights. While he is not the genealogically senior descendant (he is descended from a younger son of Nicholas I, and there are living descendants of Nicholas I's older sons), his supporters assert that all those senior to him lost their rights. (For instance, Nicholas I's eldest son was Tsar Alexander IIAlexander II of RussiaAlexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
, whose youngest son was Grand Duke Paul AlexandrovichGrand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of RussiaGrand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia was the eighth child of Tsar Alexander II of Russia by his first wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna. His birth was commemorated by the naming of the city of Pavlodar in Kazakhstan...
. Paul's eldest son was Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, and Dmitri's son by Audrey EmeryAudrey EmeryAnna Audrey Emery was an American heiress and socialite who was the wife of one of the last Russian Grand Dukes....
, an American, was Paul Romanovsky-Ilyinsky, whose son in turn is Dimitri Romanovsky-Ilyinsky, an American citizen. Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich's marriage to Audrey Emery was morganatic, so Dimitri Romanovsky-Ilyinsky, the senior living male-line descendant of Alexander II, has no succession rights. )
- While Nicholas's mother was also not a member of a royal family, Nicholas argues that he did not thereby lose his right to the throne, as the laws of the Russian Empire only required Grand Dukes to marry brides of equal rank. Only the sons and male-line grandsons of Tsars held the rank of Grand Duke. As Nicholas' father– a great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I– was only a Prince, he was not required to marry a royal bride. In this way, Prince Nicholas claims to be in a different position to the descendants of Cyril Vladimirovich and Dmitri Pavlovich. Most students of Imperial Russian law disagree with this interpretation of the law . The 1942 Almanach de GothaAlmanach de GothaThe Almanach de Gotha was a respected directory of Europe's highest nobility and royalty. First published in 1763 by C.W. Ettinger in Gotha at the ducal court of Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, it was regarded as an authority in the classification of monarchies, princely and ducal...
makes no mention that the marriage of the parents of Prince Nicholas is morganatic or that it does not comply with the house laws and both Nicholas and his brother Dimitri are listed as members of the Imperial House. However, the last edition of the Almanach de Gotha published by Justus PerthesJustus PerthesJustus Perthes Publishers in Gotha, Germany was established in 1785. Justus Perthes was Publisher of geographic atlases, ‘’Petermann’s Geographische Mitteilungen’’ and also the Almanach de Gotha,...
, in 1944, did state that the marriage of Nicholas's parents was "not in conformity with the laws of the house."
Other arguments
- Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna and the other senior members of the Romanov family did not acknowledge the legitimacy of Cyril Vladimirovich's claim during the 1920s.
- Cyril Vladimirovich was one of the first defectors to abandon the Tsar and join, if not lead, the revolution in St. Petersburg, donning a red armband with the Preobrazhnsky guards. Some argue that as a Russian, a soldier, a Grand Duke, and a Romanov, this was an act of treason of the highest degree, which calls into question the legitimacy of his claim to the throne.
Support
It seems that Maria Vladimirovna has, among others, her court, most of the Russian Orthodox church, and most societies of Russian Nobility, including the most influential, the Russian Nobility Association, behind her; whereas the Romanov Family Association has most of the active descendants of the dynasty, some monarchist organizations, the editors of the new, albeit less respected, Almanach de GothaAlmanach de Gotha
The Almanach de Gotha was a respected directory of Europe's highest nobility and royalty. First published in 1763 by C.W. Ettinger in Gotha at the ducal court of Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, it was regarded as an authority in the classification of monarchies, princely and ducal...
in London, and best influence to recent Russian governments behind it . As displays of the good score in the visibility contest, RFA presents its achievement to have its president as foremost family representative when Nicholas II and his family's remains were interred in St Petersburg, as well as in several other burials and governmental event; whereas Maria Vladimirovna has in those same issues, generally been in foremost position in church-organized solemnizings, such as mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
es in honor of relic-translation and such.