Who is Prince Rostislav Romanov? Meet the Russian royal, artist and watch designer, one of the final descendants of the House of Romanov
On the night of July 16, 1918, Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and their five children were murdered at the hands of Bolshevik captors, almost wiping out the entire Romanov dynasty that ruled Russia for three centuries. Fearing for their lives, distant relatives of the Romanovs fled Russia by foot and by boat and went into exile. It is estimated that by 1920, only 35 members remained alive.
One of the lesser-known descendants of the Romanov clan is Prince Rostislav Romanov, the great-grandson of Grand Duchess Xenia, who was the sister of Nicholas II. He was born in Chicago, raised in London, and studied fine arts at Falmouth University to become a painter. Here are five things to know about the estranged Romanov prince.
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He started to paint after his father died in 1999
Following the death of his father in 1999, Rostislav, who was 13 at the time, was encouraged by his mentor, artist John Hinchcliffe, to channel his grief into art. Rostislav is inspired by Russian culture and architecture, and cites Russian painters such as Wassily Kandinsky and the landscape paintings of Isaac Levitan and Arkhip Kuindzhi as influences.
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He was teased about being a royal when he was growing up
When he was at Milton Abbey School and got to know his classmates, they were not impressed by Rostislav’s royal title and status. “I don’t think anyone gave a second thought to my title once they got to know me,” he told Insider. “In fact, I seem to remember being mercilessly teased about it.
Rostislav is passionate about horology and his ancestor, Peter the Great, was the founder Russia’s oldest watch factory
In an interview with The Extravagant, Rostislav shared his admiration for how watches are made and designed. “There’s no waste. That alone has taught me the importance of what I’m working on,” he said. Horology has taught him to “work inside the limits”.
In 2010, he was adviser to Russian watchmaker Raketa’s creative department and had a prominent role in designing timepieces.
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He designed a macabre watch
To mark the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, Rostislav designed a watch in collaboration with Raketa. The watch’s dial contains the prince’s blood to symbolise the bloodshed of the revolution.
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Price isn’t everything
The prince revealed to The Extravagant the cigars he likes changes with his mood and he does not prefer big brands. When he was spending his holiday in Venezuela, he met a Cuban woman who could make cigars by hand. He ended up buying 200 handmade cigarillos for only US$4 – that’s just $0.02 a piece!
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A descendant of the aristocratic House of Romanov slain in cold blood amid the Russian Revolution, US-born Prince Rostislav Romanov is more at home in art studios than royal palaces – and prefers to smoke 2-cent cigarillos