The last page of the 1938 Declaration, with Romanov signatures.
A new article on the Dynasty’s 1938 Declaration has been added to our FAQ section.
Last week, a social media site described Andrew Romanoff (born in 1923) as Head of the Russian Imperial House and also referred to his half-sister Olga Romanoff (born in 1950) and his cousin Rostislav Romanoff (born in 1985) as members of the Imperial House.
These three individuals do indeed descend in the direct male line from members of the Imperial House, but they are not themselves members of the imperial dynasty.
Perhaps the simplest way to explain why this is so is to cite the declaration issued in 1938 with the permission of Grand Duke Vladimir, who had just succeeded as Head of the Imperial House. It was signed by the five dynasts who came directly after Grand Duke Vladimir in the line of succession: Grand Duke Boris (first in the line of succession after Grand Duke Vladimir), Grand Duke Andrew (second in line), Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich (third in line, representing the Pavlovich branch), Prince of the Imperial Blood Vsevelod Ioannovich (fourth in line, representing the Konstantinovich branch), and Prince of the Imperial Blood Gavriel Constantinovich (fifth in line, also of the Konstantinovich).
The 1938 declaration had two purposes.
The first purpose was to announce to the world that, following the death of Grand Duke Kirill, his only son Grand Duke Vladimir had succeeded as Head of the Imperial House.
The second purpose was to clarify tactfully to the world that the many morganatic children born in the 20th century to various Grand Dukes and Princes of the Imperial Blood were not members of the Imperial House and were not in the line of succession. How did the declaration accomplish this? It did so by listing in their order of succession all the living males who were members of the Imperial House. By omitting from this list the name of every single morganatic male child, the declaration made its point clearly
This article is available to read HERE.