The Royal Mayor of Palm Beach: Prince Paul Romanovsky-Ilyinsky

Prince Paul: Son of Exiled Russian Royalty

His Serene Highness Prince Paul Dimitrievich Romanovsky-Ilyinsky served as the mayor of Palm Beach in Florida for three terms between 1993 and 1999 under the simplified name of Paul Ilyinsky.

He was born on 27th January 1928 at 26 Manchester Square in London (now offices) when his father, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia, was ten years into his exile after the Russian Revolution.

Grand Duke Dmitri survived the revolution and assassination because he was in Persia, now Iran, at the time that his Romanov relatives were culled. His link to the murder of the "Mad Monk" Grigori Rasputin in December 1916 had led to an enforced absence from his homeland; it saved him.

Paul's mother was the American heiress (Anna) Audrey Emery. Dmitri met and married Audrey in Biarritz in 1926. She was granted the title Princess Ilyinsky by the disputed tsar in exile, Kyrill Vladimirovich. "Ilyinsky" was inspired by Dmitiri's estate in Ilyinskoye, Russia.

Prince Paul Dmitrievich was their only child. In 1937 Paul's parents divorced. Paul remained with his mother.

Prince Paul: U.S. Citizen and U.S. Marine

Audrey married Georgian Dmitri Alesandrovich Jorjadze in March 1937 in Maidstone, England, and the new family resided in France before travelling to the U.S. when the Second World War broke out in 1939.

Audrey and Dmitri Jojadze spent most of the 1940s in South Carolina; Dmitri pursued his racehorse breeding career. Paul attended the Woodberry Forest School in Madison County, Virginia. The establishment was a private 1200 acres boys boarding school that boasted the same headmaster, J. Carter Walker, for fifty years between 1898 and 1948.

Paul graduated, crossed the Atlantic Ocean and trained for a career in the armed forces at Britain's prestigious Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

He lost his father to tuberculosis in 1941; Paul had last seen him in 1939 as he prepared for his move to the U.S. The war made it impossible for father and son to reunite. Audrey and Dmitri's marriage ended in divorce, and she reverted to her maiden name Mrs. Audrey Emery. She didn't marry again.

In 1946 Paul, who became a U.S. citizen, began his career in the U.S. Marine Corps. His service, including his time as a combat photographer in the Korean War, saw him achieve the rank of lieutenant colonel. He took a break from his career and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1953.

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Paul Ilyinsky Marries Twice, Welcomes Four Children and Two Books

Paul married his first wife, Mary Evelyn Prince, in 1949. The marriage was annulled in 1951. In 1952 he married Angelica Philippa Kaufmann, and they had four children and nine grandchildren during their long marriage.

A son, Dmitri Pavlovich Romanovsky-Ilyinsky, arrived in May 1954, Paula was born in May 1956, Anna in September 1958 and Michael Pavlovich completed the family in November 1959.

When Paul left the military, he served on the board of Emery Industries, pursued photography and he was the author of two books titled Goodbye, Coney Island, Goodbye and The Annapolis Story, the Blue and Gold.

Audrey, Princess Ilyinsky lived her later years in Cincinnati, and she owned several properties in Palm Beach, Florida. After a few years in Palm Beach, Paul and the family lived in Cincinnati for two decades.

Audrey died in November 1971 in Palm Beach.

Three Time Mayor of Palm Beach, Florida: The Royal Mayor

In 1980 Paul returned to Palm Beach, where he served on the city council for eleven years. He was the Republican mayor for three consecutive terms between 1993 and 1999. He remains the only Romanov family member in history to hold public office.

Although he became the head of the Russian royal family in exile as the titular Duke of Holstein-Gottorp in 1992, Paul wasn't interested in the trappings of a royal life. When he was approached by a group of royalists from Russia who implored him to stake his claim for the country, he politely refused.

His health forced him to resign as mayor in 1999, and he passed away on 10th February 2004 at home in Palm Beach. He was seventy-six years old. Angelica, his wife of fifty-two years, survived him by seven years.

Paul and Angelica's son Dmitri Pavlovich inherited the Holstein-Gottorp title; he chose not to pursue his claim in Putin's Russia.

The ducal title can only be inherited by the male line; Dmitri Pavlovich has three daughters, no sons, and Michael Pavlovich has one daughter and no sons, so it's highly likely that this line of descent will become extinct within the next few decades.

Paul Ilyinsky's ghost is said to haunt Palm Beach's town hall. You can read more about that here.

Sources

• Empire of Russia - House of Romanov - Part II
  Empire of Russia - House of Romanov - Part II
• https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/17/us/paul-ilyinsky-a-romanov-76-and-a-mayor.html
  Paul Ilyinsky, who as mayor of Palm Beach, Fla, in 1990's laid claim to being only member of Romanov family to hold elected office, died Feb 10 at age 76 (S)
• His Serene Highness The Mayor | Unofficial Royalty
  

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.

© 2023 Joanne Hayle