News and Announcements from the Imperial House.
The cover of the new issue, showing Princess Romanoff in Dior.
A fascinating cover story interview with Grand Duke George and Princess Romanoff has been released in premier Russian fashion and society magazine, Sobaka.
The interview reveals the couple as a dedicated, modern couple committed to each other, to Russia, and to their new life in Moscow’s historic Arbat. From philanthropic projects to personal passions, a lot is revealed in this excellent piece.
Stay tuned for a translation!
The Christening of HH Prince Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia on 18 September, 1917 at the von Etter house at Porvoo (Borgo), Finland.
The answer is a resounding no.
In a piece which was recently posted on Facebook by historian, curator, and author Nicholas B.A. Nicholson, he notes that Grand Duke Kirill and his family were not the first Romanovs to leave for Finland, and were, in fact, among the last to leave the former Empire, in a well-researched and fully cited piece.
The author was kind enough to agree that we could reproduce his post here, and also to add it to our FAQ section in a slightly edited form. Herewith, NIcholson’s summary of the historical question.
Was Grand Duke Kirill the First Romanov to Leave Russia?
No. Untrue. Grand Duke Kirill did not “flee” the Russian Empire in 1917. And he was not the first to go to Finland. The first Romanov to leave Petrograd for Finland after the February Revolution (not “fleeing” – just traveling within the Empire) was Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia. Grand Duke George Mikhailovich began planning to leave Petrograd for his safety and his health in early April, 1917, and was living in Finland by May. Grand Duke Kirill left Petrograd in June, and traveled with his daughters. Finland was a Russian Grand Duchy. Finland was part of the Russian Empire, and had been since 1809. Finland was not independent. Finland WAS Russia, and both Grand Dukes were allowed to go there because everyone (including the new provisional government) acknowledged that leaving Petrograd for Finland was not ‘leaving the country’.
Many members of the Petrograd aristocracy and bourgeoisie had secondary properties in salubrious Finland, which was only two hours by train from the capital. Grand Duke George and Grand Duke Kirill leaving for Finland was no more “fleeing Russia” than it was for the other members of the dynasty who had gone to the Ukraine, the Crimea, or the Caucasus (all territories forming part of the Russian Empire) for work or rest during the periods both before and after the abdication of the Emperor Nicholas II. Many Russian families also went to Finland to escape the chaos in the capital, hoping to return shortly.
Grand Duke George Mikhailovich had started planning to leave Petrograd for his safety and health in April 1917, a month before Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Kirill received an invitation to go to Finland. The recently translated diaries of Grand Duke Michael, brother of Nicholas II, which make this clear:
“20 April, Thursday, Gatchina. […] At 12 o’clock, George arrived from Petrograd. He was planning on going to Finland today, but postponed departure for some time.” [1]
Grand Duke George was finally permitted to leave for Finland at the end of May, or in early June. We know from Grand Duke Michael’s diaries that George had already left Petrograd and was living in Finland by 5 June, 1917.
“5 June, Monday, Gatchina. In the morning I wrote to Olga Pavlovna, M.G. Donich, and George (the last of whom is living in Finland)...“ [2]
It is important to note that Grand Duke Michael did not regard Grand Duke George’s leaving Petrograd for Finland as “fleeing” or even that it was unusual in any way.
At the end of May in 1917, Alexander Sevastyanovich von Etter, a Chamberlain to Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Elder [3], and friend of the Vladimir family invited Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Kirill and their daughters to Finland to his family home, where his brother Ivan Sevastyanovich von Etter [4], a Russian General and hero of the First World War, had gone into retirement. Grand Duke Kirill had resigned from his posts in the Russian military by 10 March, 1917 [5], and had no reason to remain in the embattled Capital.
Finland was still peaceful, and the von Etter manor house at Haikko large and comfortable. Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna was pregnant, and her children had been frightened by the violence of the February Revolution. It seemed wise to get out of the capital for a brief time. Because they were members of the dynasty, all of whom were prohibited from any travel by the Provisional Government, Grand Duke George and Grand Duke Kirill were each required to apply to the Provisional Government for permission to leave the capital. Grand Duke Kirill noted in his memoirs that he left Petrograd with his daughters in June 1917. [6]
On 2 June, 1917, Kirill’s wife Grand Duchess Victoria wrote to her sister Queen Marie of Romania, when the whole family was still resident in Petrograd:
“We hope to go & breathe a little air in Finland soon as all our healths [sic] are a little giving way & the heat which took so long in coming is now oppressive in town. If all goes well, I think of returning here for my confinement towards the 17th August.“
Clearly, Kirill’s whole family was still in Petrograd after Grand Duke George had already moved to Finland, and they were planning to stay in Finland for only a few weeks, but to return to Petrograd in late August.
It wasn’t until July of 1917 that Grand Duchess Victoria joined her family in Finland. A letter dated 16 July 1917, survives, and was written two weeks after her arrival in Finland. Grand Duchess Victoria had a difficult pregnancy, labor, and birth of her son Prince Vladimir Kirillovich, and wrote to her sister Marie of Romania:
“As I am very near the end of my time & suffering from a large and weighty baby, you can imagine the sufferings I am going through. Several professors have now seen me and turned me onto my suffering legs so that once or twice a day I get to totter a few steps through the rooms, the tears of agony running down my cheeks. But with God’s help this will all pass with the birth – only I am weak, weak morally & physically.” [7]
Because of the delicate health of mother and son, after the birth of Prince Vladimir in August, and his christening in September, the family moved to a rented house at Porvoo (Borgo), and it was there, over the ensuing months, that they learned of the collapse of the Provisional Government, the success of the October Revolution, and, on December 6, 1917, that Finland had declared itself independent from Russia, and that they were no longer on Russian territory, and were in exile.
They had never crossed the border, but the border had finally crossed them.
Meanwhile, Grand Duke George left the villa he had rented in Retierve, and went to live in Helsingfors [Helsinki]. Desperate to be reunited with his family abroad after four years of separation, he made the mistake to ask for a new passport from the new Soviet representatives in Helskini, was arrested, and was deported to Russia, where ultimately, he was murdered. [8]
The family of Grand Duke Kirill were compelled to stay in Finland for two more years without papers, depending on charity and without any news of their Russian relatives, though they heard the news of the murder of the Imperial Family in late 1918.
In December of 1919, Grand Duchess Victoria sought the help of Lord Acton, the British Minister in Helsinki, against the wishes of her husband. Grand Duke Kirill was still furious at the British for ignoring the plight of Nicholas II and his family, blamed the British for what he perceived as their tacit support of the February Revolution, and he still smarted at the fact his wife, a British princess, had been rebuffed by Ambassador Buchanan when she had requested assistance in leaving Russia for Great Britain with her children. Lord Acton wrote:
“I was very much struck by the attitude towards me of the Grand Duke Cyril, who ostentatiously turned his back upon me. He is reported to be anti-entente, and to resent our alleged action in fathering the first Russian Revolution of Prince Lvov and Professor Miliukoff. In consequence of the Grand Duke’s attitude, I somewhat hesitate to contact the Grand Duchess at Borga, where they are staying, as I am not sure of my welcome as far as he is concerned.” [9]
The minister also noticed the toll the Revolution and time in Finland had taken on Victoria. He wrote that she:
“…looked aged and battered and has lost much of her beauty, which is not astonishing considering all that she has gone through. [10]
In March of 1920, Lord Acton informed Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Kirill that all White resistance to the Bolsheviks in the north had collapsed in Arkhangelsk, Karelia, and at Murmansk, and that any hope of a return to Petrograd was likely finished. That month, Finland and the Soviet Union began negotiating the Peace of Tartu, and Grand Duke Kyrill, Grand Duchess Victoria, and their three children were finally able to leave Finland for Germany in April of 1920, and were in Zurich with Victoria Melita’s mother the Duchess of Coburg by June of 1920. [11]
Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Kirill left Petrograd and lived in dangerous penury within the Empire (and then the former empire) with three young children for 22 months, finally leaving the former Empire not first, as people say, but one long year after the Dowager Empress and her family had already fled the German-occupied former Russian Crimea on the H.M.S. Marlborough in April of 1919.
NOTES:
[1] Azar & Nicholson, Michael Romanov: Brother of the Last Tsar, Academica Press, Washington DC/London: 2020, p. 70
[2] Ibid, p. 86
[3] Alexander Sevastyanovich von Etter (1867-1938), was a graduate of the Corps of Pages, and later in service to Her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Elder as Court Chamberlain. (cf. “Pridvornyi Kalendar’ 1903”, St. Petersburg: 1903, p. 264.)
[4] Johan-Emil (Ivan Sevastyanovich] von Etter (1863-1938) was educated at the Corps of Pages and graduated on August 12, 1883 as an ensign in the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment. During his service he was promoted to second lieutenant (August 30, 1884), lieutenant (August 30, 1887), staff captain (December 6, 1895), captain (December 6, 1899) and colonel (28 March 1904); for almost eleven years he commanded the company and for three years - the 1st battalion. From November 14, 1909, he commanded the 5th Kiev Grenadier Regiment. Promoted to major general on November 22, 1913, Etter was appointed commander of the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment. He retired from the Army in 1915 after the award of the Order of St. George. (cf. https://ru.rodovid.org/wk/Запись:921420 accessed 12 October 2021.)
[5] 10 March 1917, the Russian newspaper Priazovskii Krai published the official announcement: “Resignation FROM command. Petrograd. Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich visited the Minister of War A.I. Guchkov, and announced that he was surrendering his command of the Guards Crew. A.I. Guchkov accepted completely the full resignation of the Grand Duke.” Priazovskii Krai, 10 March 1917.
[6] Grand Duke Kirill, My Life in Russia’s Service, Selwyn & Blount, London: 1938, p. 213.
[7] Victoria Melita, letter to Queen Marie of Romania, 16 July 1917, copy from the Royal Archives Bucharest, John Wimbles Papers, Archivio Orléans-Borbón, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain.
[8] George remained in Finland until April of 1918, when he was arrested in independent Finland, deported to Petrograd, and subsequently exiled to Vologda. In July, he was returned to Petrograd and imprisoned, along with his brother Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich and their cousin Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich. In January 1919, the three grand dukes were executed by a Bolshevik firing squad.
[9] RA/PS/GV/P 1596/1, Lord Acton to George V, 1 March, 1920.
[10] Ibid. [11] Maria Alexandrovna Duchess of Coburg, letter to Queen Marie of Romania, 3 August 1920, reprinted in Bogdan, A.M., Doch I Sestra Imperatora, Saint Petersburg: 2011, p. 187
Parisian society magazine “Point de Vue” has featured the St Petersburg wedding of Grand Duke George and Princess Romanov in their October issue.
Full of pictures and a charming story, the magazine nites the impressive attendance by members of the Gotha.
A link is available to the full article HERE.
The church wedding took place on October 1, 2021 in St. Isaac’s Cathedral and was performed by the Metropolitan Barsanuphius of St. Petersburg. Grand Duke George Mikhailovich is the son of Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna and is a descendant of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, brutally murdered, along with his entire family after the October Revolution. His acquaintance with the Bulgarian Royal Family dates back to the years in exile in Madrid, where the two families live. In addition, Queen Giovanna is a godmother of Grand Duchess Mary. That is why H.R.H Grand Duke Boris was one of the bestmen at the wedding.
The bride, Rebecca Bettarini, is an Italian, a daughter of an Ambassador, after accepting the Eastern Orthodox faith, she also adopted the name Victoria Feodorovna.
This was the first Russian imperial wedding in more than 100 years. King Peter the Great was married in the same church in 1707.
After the newlyweds left St. Isaac’s Cathedral between guards of honor, they laid a wreath on the tomb of Peter the Great in the cathedral “St. Peter and St. Paul”.
At the wedding celebrations, together with King Simeon and Queen Margarita were H.R.H Princess Miriam and H.R.H Prince Boris of Tarnovo.
Among the guests were representatives of many Royal Families, including Albania, Egypt, Portugal, Italy, Georgia, Liechtenstein, Spain, France and others.
The King and the Queen attended all the events accompanying the wedding. The evening before the church ceremony, a reception was held at the Palace of Grand Duke Vladimir, now known as the House of Scientists in St. Petersburg, after the wedding the guests attended a gala dinner at the Ethnographic Museum, and on the next day lunch was held at the Constantine Palace in Strelna.
The Original article may be seen here [in Bulgarian].
On October 1st, the Hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia sent a congratulatory testament, or “gramota” to HIH Grand Duke George, and to HSH Princess Victoria Romanovna.
An image of the certificate, signed by Metropolitan Hilarion, Archbishop Kirill, and Bishop Nicholas was published on the FB page of the Head of the Russian Imperial Chancellery today. What follows is a copy of the original document, and a translation by a Mr. Gregory Walker Levitsky also posted there.
September 18/October 1, 2021
To His Imperial Highness,
the Sovereign Tsesarevich & Heir
Grand Duke
GEORGE MIKHAILOVICH
and
To Her Serene Highness,
the Serene Princess
VICTORIA ROMANOVNA
Your Imperial Highness, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich!
Your Serene Highness, Serene Princess Victoria Romanovna!
Noetically joining ourselves to the joint prayer of the faithful children of our Holy Russian people, both in the homeland and in the diaspora, we greet You with warm hearts on "this chosen and holy day" of Your blessed and praiseworthy matrimony, fervently wishing with God’s great mercies and blessings!
Your wedding is a most significant event, one which will be remembered for many years. May today’s joyous and grace-filled day become years both for You and for all of Your faithful subjects, that You might never know sadness or sorrow. But if they come nonetheless, may they speedily flee in the face of your memories of today’s good and radiant feast. No trials can withstand the power of love, total forgiveness, humble gratitude, and mutual patience and respect. And so, let Your good feelings of love be without limit, and your support of one another uncompromising. May the seeds of the Kingdom of Heaven, sown now in Your hearts and watered by the prayers of the Holy Right-Believing Great Prince Alexander Nevsky, born 800 years ago, and the saints who shone forth in the Russian Church Abroad – which this year celebrates the centennial of the I All Diaspora Council – bring forth abundant fruit in Your shared life and in Your service to Russia for many years!
With love in the Lord,
+HILARION
Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York
First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad
+KYRILL
Archbishop of San Francisco & Western America
Secretary of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad
+NICHOLAS
Bishop of Manhattan
Deputy Secretary of the Synod of Bishops
Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese
An amateur Canadian blogger is once again spreading disinformation online.
“On 1st October, the wedding of George Mikhailovich Romanov [a Spanish citizen] to his fiancé Rebecca Bettarini [a citizen of Italy] was held in St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg.”
On 1st October, the wedding of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia (a citizen of the Russian Federation, Spain, and Germany) and Victoria Romanovna Bettarini (a citizen of Italy, and now, thanks to her marriage, will be eligible to become a citizen of the Russian Federation), were indeed married in St. Petersburg at St. Isaac’s Cathedral.
“More than 1,500 guests crammed the historic cathedral. Guests refused to wear protective masks or practice social distancing, despite the record number of daily COVID-19 cases and deaths in Russia.”
1,500 guests did not “cram” the historic cathedral which can hold 15,000 congregants. The number 1,500 was decided upon to comply with current Russian restrictions for public gatherings.
For anyone arriving in the Russian Federation, proof of vaccination and a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours are required.
Additionally, Russian authorities from both the Federal government and the local St. Petersburg City government required that the 1,500 invited guests to the cathedral receive and produce a negative Covid-19 PCR test within 24 hours of admission to the Cathedral.
Tests were taken by all invited guests, and proof of negative results submitted to the event organizers. Special QR codes were then issued to guests to ensure that only people who had tested negative were admitted to the cathedral.
Each guest was handed a mask on entrance to the Cathedral, and it was understood that anyone who wished to wear a mask was able to do so. This is the same process that the Russian government used recently for the recent FIFA games, and also for the Summit in Moscow.
The Russian and some Western media outlets hailed the event as both the Romanov “wedding of the century” and the “first Romanov to marry in Russia”, since the fall of the Romanov dynasty in 1917. Neither are correct.
Agreed. The media has incorrectly reported this since the beginning. This is the first marriage of a member of the Russian Imperial House on Russian soil in over 100 years. HH Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia (1897-1976) was the last member of the Imperial house to marry on the territory of the Empire in 1918. That was over 100 years ago.
The 1993 wedding of Dimitri Romanovich Romanov to Dorrit Reventlow was not a marriage of a member of the Imperial House. Dimitri Romanovich Romanov was the product of an unequal marriage, and while he was a member of the Romanov Family, he was not a member of the Imperial House.
In the weeks leading up to the wedding, Maria Vladimirovna’s public relations team issued press releases, detailing an impressive list of royals and dignitaries who would attend her son’s nuptials, in reality, however, none of them attended.
Prominent on the guest list was Queen Sofia of Spain, who was present at George’s christening, but she failed to attend. None of the many Romanov descendants scattered around the world were even invited, as Maria and her son, both look down their noses at them.
No guest list for the event was ever released in advance of the event due to security concerns. One will certainly be released in the coming days. All media speculation on who would attend was simply that, speculation.
Despite the blogger’s assertion, several members of the extended Romanov family were invited, and a few accepted, later declining due to Covid-19 concerns. The blogger has no way to know this, as this has never been made public. The information was provided to RL by a wedding guest close to the organizers.
There were no reigning kings or queens of the European royal houses or ambassadors to represent them. The only “royals” in attendance, were a few princes and princesses and members of numerous, now defunct European royal houses.
Again, a deliberate falsehood. The reigning house of Liechtenstein was represented as was the reigning house of Belgium, and H.E. the Prime Minister of Luxembourg was present as chief minister of the Grsbd Duke. The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess were unable to attend due to a previous commitment.
Due to the difficulty of traveling during Covid, there were no reigning sovereigns present at the wedding of HRH Princess Beatrice of York, either. Sadly, this will likely be common at royal weddings for the foreseeable future.
In addition, the groom’s father Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia was notably “absent”.
The inability of HRH Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia to attend the wedding was due to a serious health condition which began only days before the ceremony. He was prohibited from travel on the advice of his doctors. We wish His Royal Highness a speedy recovery, and regret that he was unable to attend the wedding of his own son, which must have been distressing to him. He and the Prussian royal House were represented by his half-sister, Desirée, Princess of Prussia.
Prince Franz Wilhelm was a co-host of the wedding, and listed on the invitation. He came to Russia with his wife last year for the reception into Orthodoxy of Princess Victoria Romanovna held at the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul.
This distasteful attempt to create a political problem out of thin air is typical of this blogger.
It should also be noted that no live broadcast of the wedding was conducted on any federal or regional TV channel in Russia. So much for the “Romanov wedding of the century!”
False. The wedding was livestreamed internationally by both Russian channels and foreign services, and was covered by more than 265 news outlets over three days.
In a final bit of typical hysteria, the blogger coos over President Vladimir Putin’s asserted “non recognition" of the Imperial House. To be clear, the government of the Russian Federation cannot possibly and does not recognize ANY claimant to the non-existent Russian throne. Russia is not a monarchy. This is self-evident.
This senseless posturing on the part of the blogger obscures the fact that it was the Russian Department of Foreign Affairs which handled the organization of the events and the special visas required for all foreign visitors.
Russia is currently closed to foreigners without special permission of the Government via the Department of Foreign Affairs. Further, the Russian Federation allowed the use of the Presidential Palace and National Congress Center (the former Konstantinovsky Palace at Strelna) as a venue for the final event of the wedding weekend.
We at Russian Legitimist do not feel that any further information is necessary to understand the favorable position of the government regarding this event.
The international media continue their coverage of the Imperial Wedding at Petersburg;
Vanity Fair
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021/10/romanov-wedding-is-a-royal-russian-flashback
Barrons
https://www.barrons.com/?mod=BOL_LOGO
Houston Public Media
Daily Telegraph
WXXI News
https://www.wxxinews.org/post/after-100-years-russia-sees-another-royal-wedding
Yeni Safak
NPR
https://www.npr.org/2021/10/02/1042667310/after-100-years-russia-sees-another-royal-wedding
New York Post
https://nypost.com/2021/10/02/russia-celebrates-first-royal-wedding-in-more-than-a-century/
WJSU
https://www.wjsu.org/post/after-100-years-russia-sees-another-royal-wedding#stream/0
Russian Legitimist has obtained a copy of the service program used for the wedding of HIH Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia to his wife, HSH Princess Romanova.
The bilingual program (pictured here in English) is an education on the Orthodox wedding service. We hope you will read the program and watch the Imperial Wedding, available here in full on YouTube, in order to enhance your experience and share in the couple’s joy,
