Chancellery of the Russian Imperial House Responds to False “Declaration”

Alexander Nikolaevich Zakatov, Head of the Chancellery of the Russian Imperial House has published a response to the ludicrous “declaration” which the “Romanoff Family Association” apparently released to the Russian News Agency TASS. A translation was promptly posted which we are pleased to reprint here:

On October 29, 2022, the TASS news agency, which had previously provided objective information about the birth of Prince Alexander Georgievich (named after Prince St. Alexander Nevsky), the son of Grand Duke George of Russia and Her Serene Highness Princess Victoria Romanovna (https://tass.ru/obschestvo/16124113), has unfortunately now published in a recent article the contents of a scandalous letter that in no way is accurate historically or in terms of dynastic laws.

In the TASS article, the private opinions of the foreign organization—"Romanoff Family Association”—are treated as if they were worthy of the attention of the Russian public. The article repeats the contents of a letter sent to TASS that includes the utterly dismissible opinion that His Serene Highness Prince Alexander Georgievich “has no right to bear the surname” Romanoff because of dynastic laws.

Mrs. Olga Matthew and Mr. Rostislav Romanoff, who signed the letter as “Princess Romanova” and “Prince Romanoff,” refer to a certain mythical “Statute [Statut] of the Imperial Family.”

It should first be made clear that, in accordance with the dynastic laws, these signatories do not have the right to the princely titles they use, because they both are descendants of marriages that were not only unequal, but also contracted without the permission of the Head of the Imperial House of Russia, as the dynastic rules clearly require (as stated in Article 183 of the Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire).

Moreover, no so-called "Statute of the Imperial Family" has ever existed, but there are historical laws of succession to the throne and also the “Institution [Uchrezhdenie] of the Imperial Family,” which together give the right to decide all dynastic matters (including the recognition of marriages and the titles of members of the Romanoff dynasty) to the legitimate hereditary Heads of the Imperial House of Russia.

The attempt by Mrs. Olga Matthew and Mr. Rostislav Romanoff to besmirch the Grand Duke George Mikhailovich by pointing out that he is a descendant of the Romanoff dynasty in the female line is utterly ignorant and laughable.

All Russian Emperors and Heads of the dynasty after the Revolution of 1917, as well as other members of the Imperial House and their relatives, have been descendants of the Romanoff dynasty through the female line since 1761, when Emperor Peter III, who was the grandson of Peter I the Great through his daughter Anna Petrovna, Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp, ascended the throne of the Russian Empire. Peter III was the ancestor of all subsequent generations of Romanoffs.

It should be quite clear to Mrs. Olga Matthew and Mr. Rostislav Romanoff, who both live in the United Kingdom, that King Charles III, who ascended the throne of Great Britain this year, is also a descendant of the House of Windsor through the female line, which does not in any way provide a foundation to challenge his rights, or prohibit him from using his dynastic name and titles or to be called a "prince of Greece."

The "Romanoff Family Association" is a private foreign organization that is recognized only by its own members, has no legal standing, and changes its leaders depending on the mood of the day. Its members have apparently forgotten that the name Romanoff is not something useful for hosting fancy balls and starring in reality shows; it is a historic name today associated with genuine charity and philanthropy. How easy it is for them to criticize from London or Paris the work in Russia of members of the Imperial House, whose organizations annually help more than 1.5 million people in need.

Grand Duke George and Princess Victoria are of course aware of the opinions and hurtful behavior of some of their relatives, but still it was difficult for them to imagine that the birth of their son should become an occasion for these relatives to disseminate false news stories which, as usual, have the sole purpose of calling attention to themselves.

In addition to publishing these nonsensical attacks by foreigners who are only trying to discredit members of the Russian Imperial House living in and serving Russia, TASS correspondents have from time to time stubbornly repeated an idea that only goes to demonstrate their ignorance of the simplest facts about the modern history of the Romanoffs: “[Grand Duchess Maria of Russia’s] right to use the title of Grand Duchess,” they have written, “is a matter of some dispute among the other descendants of the Romanoffs, who belong to the Nikolaevichi branch of the family, which traces its line back to the grandson of Nicholas I, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich the Younger.” But it has already many times been explained in the public space that 1) there is no “issue” in dispute here; 2) Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Younger had no offspring; and 3) the line descending from his brother Grand Duke Peter Nikolayevich died out in 2016.

It remains only to express deep regret that so respected a media outlet as TASS is spreading uninformed, fringe opinions that serve to misinform the public, opinions that generate negative attitudes towards a child—a descendant of the glorious Romanoff family, the first to be born in his homeland in more than 100 years.

As a matter of principle, it is shameful and beyond the pale when a 7-day-old baby becomes the subject of fake news.

And this is particularly unacceptable at this difficult moment in history. Common sense itself should have suggested that it would be extremely reproachful to indulge the opinions of foreign, no-account rabble-rousers against Romanoffs who live in Russia, help their countrymen to the best of their ability, and sincerely care about their country and about all the peoples that belong to the single cultural space that once was the Russian Empire.