The Romanov Family Association's History

The Imperial House of Russia Falls in 1917

The Romanov dynasty ruled Russia from 1613 for 304 years. They lived well in their array of palaces while the lower classes struggled to survive. The Romanovs believed that they were above censure, but in early 1917, the Russian Revolution brought a bloody end to Tsar Nicholas II's autocracy.

Vladimir Lenin's communist Soviet Russia was established while the Romanovs endured imprisonment. The brutal executions of several family members in July 1918 eliminated a problem for Lenin and the Bolsheviks, and it stunned the world.

The surviving Romanovs scattered; some remained in Europe and sought refuge with their royal relations and friends, while others travelled to the United States. Russia became a distant memory for the Romanovs.

The Head of the Russia's Imperial House

The disputed head of the Russian Imperial House is Madrid resident Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, the sole heir of the last prince of the royal blood Prince Vladimir Kirillovich.

Her son and heir with her ex-husband from the Prussian House of Hohenzollern is Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia. His son Alexander Georgievich Romanov was born on 21st October 2022.

The other Romanovs have either died childless or married a person of an unequal status, so according to family laws, they are ineligible to be part of the imperial house.

Prince Alexis Andreievich Romanov and Prince Karl Emich of Leiningen, as Nicholas III, are Maria's rivals as head of the imperial house.

On the birth of Grand Duke George in 1981: "The Romanov Family Association hereby declares that the joyful event in the Prussian Royal House does not concern the Romanov Family Association since the newborn prince is not a member of either the Russian Imperial House or of the Romanov family".

(Grand Duke Vladimir had decided his daughter Grand Duchess Maria and her descendants would succeed him. According to Pauline Laws, the succession laws set by Tsar Paul I, the family dispute his choice).

The History of the Romanov Family Association

The Romanov Family Association was established in 1979. Neither Grand Duchess Maria nor Grand Duke George have chosen to join it.

Three exiled senior Romanov princes, Vsevolod Ivanovich, Roman Petrovich and Andrei Alexandrovich discussed the need to enhance relationships between Romanovs living around the world.

Sadly, Vsevolod Ivanovich died in 1973, Roman Petrovich in 1978 and only Andrei Alexandrovich survived to see their scheme realised by Roman Petrovich's son Nikolai Romanovich. Andrei Alexandrovich passed away in 1981.

The founding members of the Romanov Family Association were born before the Russian Revolution. They were determined that the association was for the family to meet up, communicate and connect privately. Charitable grants were and are given via the Romanov Foundation; they benefit children and young people in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.

Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich's 1917 Statement

The members of the association adhere to the statement made by Tsar Nicholas II's brother Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich who neither accepted nor abdicated from the throne, instead he deferred to the people:

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"Inspired, in common with the whole people, by the belief that the welfare of our country must be set above everything else, I have taken the firm decision to assume the supreme power only if and when our great people, having elected by universal suffrage a Constituent Assembly to determine the form of government and lay down the fundamental law of the new Russian State, invest me with such power..."

His gesture was considered patriotic, but it did nothing to save him from execution the following year.

Presidents of the Romanov Family Association

While Grand Duke Vladimir Kyrillovich and Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna have claimed the top dynastic role, the Romanov Family Association has been headed by five Romanovs.

Prince Dmitri Alexandrovich was the first president in 1979. He died in 1980.

His brother Prince Vasili Alexandrovich was made the president, a role that he held until his death in June 1989.

Prince Nikolai Romanovich then held the role until he passed away in September 2014. His successor was his younger brother Prince Dmitri Romanovich who died on 31st December 2016.

Since December 2017 the association has been headed by Princess Olga Andreevna Romanoff (she prefers the English spelling with a ff).

The vice-president of the association is the American born Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich. In 2009 he became the first Romanov to reside in Russia since the 1917 revolution.

In 1992 the role of Honorary President was created and awarded to Princess Vera Constantinova (1906-2001). Honorary members have also been welcomed into the association.

Princess Olga Andreevna Romanoff

Born in 1950, Princess Olga Andreevna Romanoff uses the ff ending instead of the alternative Romanova.

She is the great grandniece of Tsar Nicholas II and the youngest child of Prince Andrei Alexandrovich and Nadine MacDougall, Princess Nadine Romanovskya. She's a remarkably down-to-earth and spirited mother and grandmother. She lives at Provender House in Kent; an inherited property she's restored and opened to the public.

Olga joined the Romanov Family Association in 1980. In 1998 Princess Olga and over forty Romanovs attended the interment of Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, their children in the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in St. Petersburg. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna didn't attend this ceremony although she was present at the 2018 centenary memorial events in Russia.

Olga has appeared on several reality TV series and she was once considered as a potential bride for eligible bachelor Prince now King Charles III. Her 2017 autobiography was titled Princess Olga: A Wild and Barefoot Romanov.

Whatever the Romanov dynasty does next in its splendid worldwide exile, honouring their ancestors and sustaining family relationships appears to be at the heart of the Romanov Family Association.

Sources

• The Romanoff Family Association
  
• What is the Romanoff Family Association? — The Russian Legitimist
  
• Provender House - Beautiful Wedding & Events Venue Near Faversham
  Provender House, the home of HH Princess Olga Romanoff, is a breathtaking 13th-century house and walled garden near Faversham in Kent.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2024 Joanne Hayle