TASS Press service announces marriage of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich and Rebecca Bettarini at St. Isaac’s Cathedral.

The Russian National Press service has reported that George Mikhailovich Romanov and Rebecca Bettarini’s wedding location has been confirmed and scheduled for October 1 at St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg. 

“This was announced to TASS on Thursday by the press secretary of the state museum-monument "St. Isaac's Cathedral" Igor Staheev. “The wedding of a Spanish citizen, Georgy Mikhailovich Romanov, and an Italian citizen, Rebecca Bettarini, is scheduled for October 1," the agency's interlocutor said. 

According to the Chancellery of the Russian Imperial House, Georgy Romanov is a citizen of the Russian Federation.

Georgy Mikhailovich Romanov is the son and heir of the head of the Russian Imperial House, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna - the only child from the marriage of Vladimir Kirillovich Romanov, the head of the Russian Imperial House in exile (the son of the Russian Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, who declared himself emperor in exile in 1924) and Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Mukhranskaya. The question of the legality of her use of the title of Grand Duchess is a subject of dispute with other descendants of the Romanovs (an association of members of the Romanov family) belonging to the Nikolaevich branch, which traces its history from the grandson of Nicholas I, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Younger.

On July 12, 2020, Rebecca Bettarini converted to Orthodoxy in the Peter and Paul Cathedral of St. Petersburg with the assumption of the name Victoria Romanovna. The wedding of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich and Bettarini "will be the first full-fledged, open, socially significant and decorated in full accordance with modern state laws of the Russian Federation and, at the same time, with the current norms of historical Russian dynastic law, the marriage of a member of the Russian Imperial House on the territory of Russia after the 1917 revolution," Alexander Zakatov, director of the Chancellery of the Russian Imperial House, candidate of Historical Sciences, told TASS.

According to him, after the revolution of 1917, "during the beginning of the troubles and the Civil War, marriages several junior members of the Russian Imperial House took place on Russian territory."  In April 1917, Prince of the blood imperial Gavriil Konstantinovich was married to his first wife, in June 1918, Prince of the blood imperial Andrei Alexandrovich entered into his first marriage. "However, since the members of the Romanov dynasty were then discriminated against, were separated from one another, and were unable to contact the Head of the Russian Imperial House, the abdicated Emperor Nicholas II, who was in prison, these weddings were held in a purely private manner, and were not taken in accordance with dynastic law, did not receive any public notice," Zakatov noted.

The building of St. Isaac's Cathedral was built by the architect Auguste Montferrand and opened in 1858, it is included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. The cathedral became a museum in 1928, since 1990 Orthodox services have been resumed in it.”

TASS neglected to note that this will be the first wedding of any Romanov at St. Isaac’s since Emperor Peter the Great married Catherine (Marfa) Skavronskaya at the first St Isaac’s in 1707.

Source: TASS. https://tass.ru/obschestvo/12287797

Rostislav and Foteini Romanoff, relatives of the Imperial House, to celebrate Orthodox Ceremony in Paris

The October 2020 marriage of the Romanoffs. Source: Instagram via blog

Sources close to the Russian Orthodox Church in Paris have informed us that Rostislav Romanoff, whose grandfather was a member of the Russian Imperial House, is to marry the former Foteini Georganta in an Orthodox ceremony at the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Paris on September 12. If this report is accurate, The Russian Legitimist sends the newlyweds its best wishes on their religious marriage. The couple's civil wedding occurred in October 2019 in the United Kingdom.

Rostislav Romanoff, an artist who was born in Illinois, U.S.A., in 1985, is a grandson of His Highness the late Prince Rostislav of Russia (died 1978), one of the six sons of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia. In 1924, Prince Rostislav, along with his father and several of his brothers, signed an oath of allegiance to Grand Duke Kirill as Emperor of Russia and Head of the Imperial House and to Grand Duke Vladimir as Tsesarevich and Heir.

His Highness Prince Rostislav of Russia, a member of the Imperial House, was married three times. All of his marriages were morganatic. Therefore, under the dynastic laws, none of his descendants is a member of the Russian Imperial House. His grandson Rostislav Romanoff, however, remains related to the Imperial House and has traveled frequently to the country of his ancestors.

Many years to the happy couple!

For more information about Rostislav Romanov, see HERE.

Cathédrale St. Alexandre Nevsky, Paris.

Civil Marriage date set for Grand Duke George Mikhailovich and Victoria Romanovna Bettarini

Banns signed at Moscow City Hall

On Thursday, August 5, 2021, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich and Victoria Romanovna Bettarini went to the City Hall of Moscow to finalize the administrative procedure of Civil Marriage by signing their banns. "In a month, we can get married civilly," explains the bride-to-be.

Histoires Royales revealed that the son of Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia and Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia will marry the daughter of Italian Ambassador Roberto Bettarini on Friday, September 24, 2021 at 2 p.m. at Moscow City Hall, one week before their religious wedding at St. Isaac's Cathedral in Petersburg.

In the photograph, the bride and groom sign their wedding banns. (Photo: Instagram / rebecca_bettarini)

"The day will be followed by a party," says Victoria Romanovna. The location of the Civil reception is not yet known. The witnesses of the civil marriage "will be among close Russian friends" as well as others close to the Chancellery of the Imperial Household.

Name Day of the Head of the House of Romanoff

On July 22/August 4 the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast day of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene—the heavenly patron saint of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. The Grand Duchess Maria of Russia.

In the morning of this very solemn day, Hieromonk Nikon (Levachev-Belavenets) served a Divine Liturgy at the church of the Entry of the Most Pure Mother of God at the Saltykov Bridge in Moscow, and that evening also an intercessory prayer service, or moleben, following royal rubrics, for the health of Her Imperial Highness, her son and heir, H.I.H. The Grand Duke George of Russia, and his fiancée, Victoria Romanovna Bettarini.

Hieromonk Nikon was joined at these services by Fr. Deacon Aleksei Kulikov of the Moscow Region Diocese.

Attending the moleben were H.I.H. The Grand Duke George; the Deputy Head of the Department of Civil Service and Personnel in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, A. M. Kovalev; the Chairman of the Public Council in the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, M. Iu. Lermontov; the advisor to the Moscow Patriarchate, A. V. Bugaevsky; members of the Chancellery of the Head of the Imperial House; members of the Russian Nobility Association, led by its President, O. V. Shcherbachev; members of the organization For Faith and Fatherland, led by the Deputy Chairman of its Governing Board, A. R. Karpov; the President of the National Foundation “Restoration of Russian Country Estate Houses,” V. I. Alyavdin; the former First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, F. V. Shelov-Kovedyaev; members of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society; members of the Orthodox motorcyclist association “Motorcyclist Brethren in Christ,” led by its President, A. P. Maslov; the President of the Russian-Georgian Friendship Society, “Dzalisi,” T. I. Dzhanieri; and parishioners of the church of the Entry of the Mother of God at the Saltykov Bridge.

At the conclusion of the moleben, Hieromonk Nikon (Head of the Department of Historical and Memorial Activities in the Chancellery of the Head of the Imperial House of Russia) greeted all those gathered, and noted the special nature of this year’s celebration of the Grand Duchess’s name day in that Grand Duke George was in attendance.

Then followed an investiture ceremony for those who have distinguished themselves in service to the nation, presided over by the King of Arms and Head of the Office of Heraldry in the Chancellery, S. V. Dumin, and the Secretary of the Knights’ Council of the Order of St. Anna, A. Iu. Korolev-Pereleshin.

A Joyous Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul!

Today is the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul — it is the feast day of the Petropavlovsky Cathedral, and also the feast of the City of St. Petersburg. Today is also the one-year anniversary of the acceptance of Orthodoxy by the fiancee of Grand Duke George, Miss Victoria Romanovna Bettarini. The date has been the subject of a number of posts and articles. A nice one from the Russian paper “Dobrie Liudi” may be found here.

Grand Duke George Mikhailovich Interview: "I was raised to serve my country,"

A fascinating and informative interview was recently published in an international magazine out of Hungary known as “Gentleman’s Review.” The Grand Duke answered a number of important questions about his life, his history, his new life in Russia, and his upcoming marriage. One of the early questions is regarding his status not as a Prince of Prussia (his father’s family) but as a Grand Duke of Russia, and heir to the Headship of the House of Romanov:

“I am glad that you ask this question because there is a lot of incorrect and misleading information online about this subject, and you give me the opportunity to clarify. I am first of all Grand Duke of Russia and my surname in my official documents is Romanov in virtue of the fact that before the marriage of my parents a dynastic agreement was drawn up, according to which my father converted to Orthodoxy, received the title and name of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia, and pledged to raise his children in the Orthodox faith and in the consciousness of belonging to the Russian Imperial House. The title of Prince of Prussia is also among my historical titles, but only after the Russian ones. It should be remembered that all the emperors of Russia, starting with Peter III, who reigned in 1761-1762, are Romanovs through the female line, and in the male line they belong to the Holstein-Gottorp line of the House of Oldenburg. But all of them were Romanovs. This is a common practice of all dynasties that allow inheritance through the female line. It’s the same principle that makes Prince Charles of Wales be a member of the Windsor dynasty and that prevailing upon the name of his father, Prince Philip, God rests his soul.”

For a link to the original article (in English) CLICK HERE.

For a link to an article about the Grand Duke’s special status on Russian Legitimist, CLICK HERE

Grand Duke George Mikhailovich Participates in Moscow Paschal Services

On the Feast of the Resurrection of Christ in 2021, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich and his fiancée Victoria Romanovna prayed during the all-night Easter service in the Church of the Presentation near the Saltykov Bridge. Victoria Romanovna's father, His Excellency Ambassador R. Bettarini, was also present for the services, which were followed by the Easter feast at home.

Paschal Greetings from the Head of the Russian Imperial House

CHRIST IS RISEN!

The Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. The Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, her son and heir, H.I.H. The Grand Duke George of Russia, joined by his fiancée, Miss Victoria Romanovna Bettarini, extend their greetings to all their countrymen on the Bright Feast of the Resurrection of Christ, and thank all those who have sent Paschal greetings to them.

Their Imperial Highnesses wish good health, the joy of Pascha, prosperity, and God’s help to all their countrymen and to all the friends of Russia around the world.

INDEED HE IS RISEN!