#vladimirovichi

[romanovsonelastdance]

Viktoria Feodorovna, Alexandra Feodorovna, and Elizaveta Feodorovna.

[imperial-russia]

What was Tsar Nicholas's relationship with other Grand Dukes? Which one did he not like and which ones did he greatly respect and admire?

Assuming you mean Nicholas II:

Among his uncles, Nicholas was not very fond of Vladimir Alexandrovich, because the latter had a very forceful personality and intimidated Nicholas. They also had a great conflict over Kyril´s marriage, which resulted in Vladimir shouting at Nicholas and even tearing off his epaulettes and throwing them into the Tsar´s face.

With Grand Dukes Sergei and Pavel Nicky had a good relationship, especially because he was very fond of their wives, but Sergei was later murdered and Pavel, after the death of his first wife, married a commoner without Nicholas´ permission, thus earning exile and the relationship was pretty much completely severed, up until the revolution.

His favourite uncle was Grand Duke Alexei. We know him as a person who loved life and was pretty much useless when it came to doing any meaningful work, either in politics or Navy, in which he had the post, but he was funny, always kind to Nicholas and pretty much an antithesis to Vladimir. Tsarevich Alexei was named after him.

When it came to cousins and other Grand Dukes, with most of them nicholas had good and even close relationships when he was younger, but as the time went by and the Imperial family closed off themselves (because of Alexei´s hemophilia and other issues) from the rest of the Romanovs, most of those relationships deteriorated. Mikhail Alexandrovich and Kdyril Vladimirovich married without permission and pretty much against the family law. Boris and Andrei Vladimirovichi were good for nothings with loose morals. Sandro had distinctly different political (and other) views (and frankly suffered from a big head, especially in later years).

The favourite relatives, besides Grand Duke Alexei, who died in 1905, were Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, whom both Nicholas and Alexandra, for the longest time, treated with great love and warmth , until the moment he involved himself with Rasputin´s murder, after which he pretty much ceased to exist to Alexandra and Nicholas had him banished (which ironically saved his life). The other great favourite was grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich (KR). His whole family remained close to the Tsar, his daughters being friends with OTMA, his sons serving during the war at the front and in the headquarters.

[loiladadiani]

Romanov Family Group: From left to right: 1. Grand Duchess Elizabeta Mavrikievna, wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich; 2. Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg (Olga Alexandrovna's first husband); 3. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna; 4. In front, with a cigar and white sideburns: Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich; 5. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna; 6. Emperor Nicholas II; Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich; 7. (with hand over the head of one of Konstantin Konstantinovich's children) I do not recognize him; 8 and 9 are the two elder sons of Konstantin Konstantinovich, Prince John (in back) and Prince Gavril (in front) and 10. This could be Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich, but I am not 100% sure.

The Importance of Family

The Romanov dynasty went on for as long as the different branches of the Romanov family stayed together and interacted with each other. Whoever was Tzar at the time would act as the head of the family politically and personally and would act as the referee in the inevitable family squabbles.

After the assassination of Tsar Alexander II, security measures around the Romanovs tightened; Alexander III's life took place away from his people, but the Romanov's family life seemed to go on somehow, and even if Alexander III was not a social animal, his wife Minnie was. We still have photographs from his hunting trips, the trips to Finland, and the reunions with Minnie's family, and we still see Mikhailovichi, Konstantinovichi, and Vladimirovichi in those photos. There were frequent outings to opera and ballet during the season, and there were balls. Minnie danced away (one of her favorite partners was Alexis, Sacha's brother.)

When Nicholas II succeeded to the throne, security around him became even tighter as political unrest grew. Alexandra and Nicholas were deeply private individuals who preferred spending time with each other and their children; the combination of factors not only alienated the Tzar further from his people but also pushed him away from the rambunctious members of his extended family. Without the Tzar and Tzarina at the center, court life ceased to exist. An "alternate court" emerged around Grand Duke Vladimir and his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Elder (Miechen), which caused more harm than good. We still see family photos, but during Nicholas' reign they are mostly of the children, the Imperial Couple, and a few very close court associates and staff.

Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich, the younger son of Nicholas I and the only one left alive by the time Nicholas became Tzar, was considered a patriarchal figure of respect in the family. Once he died, the get-togethers among the different branches of the Romanov dwindled to a minimum. There was one morganatic marriage after another, resignations from important positions, etc. The dynasty was falling apart at an accelerated pace at the worse possible moment.

[loiladadiani]

The Vladimirovichi Children

I have never seen this picture or one of these children (Kyrill, Boris, and Andre) so young. I guess Elena had not been born yet. A real treasure.

The three eldest children of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna: Grand Duke Kirill, Grand Duke Boris and Grand Duke Andrei with their nannies at the beach, in 1879

[annalaurendet70]

The Russian Imperial Family was split into four main branches named after the sons of Emperor Nicholas I:

The Alexandrovichi (descendants of Emperor Alexander II of

Russia

with further subdivisions named after two of Alexander

ll's younger sons

-The Vladimirovichi

-The Pavlovichi

The Konstantinovichi (descendants of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov of Russia)

The Nikolaevichi (descendants of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov of Russia the Older)

The Mikhailovichi (descendants of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich Romanov of Russia)

[aw-laurendet]

Vladimirovichi Edit Emperor Nicholas I (1796-1855) = Princess Charlotte of Prussia (1798-1860) | +-- Emperor Alexander II (1818-1881) = Princess Marie of Hesse (1824-1880) | +-- Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich (1847-1909) = Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1854-1920) | +-- Grand Duke Alexander Vladimirovich (1875-1877) | +-- Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich (1876-1938) | = Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh (1875-1936) | | | +-- Princess Maria Kirillovna (1907-1951) cr. Grand Duchess of Russia[citation needed] | | = Friedrich Karl, Prince of Leiningen (1898-1946) | | | +-- Princess Kira Kirillovna (1909-1967) cr. Grand Duchess of Russia[citation needed] | | = Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia (1907-1994) | | | +-- Prince Vladimir Kirillovich (1917-1992) cr. Grand Duke of Russia[citation needed] | = Princess Leonida Bagration-Moukhransky (1914-2010) | | | +-- Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna[citation needed] (b. 1953) | = Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia (b. 1943)cr. Grand Duke of Russia div. | | | +-- Prince George of Prussia (b. 1981) cr. Grand Duke of Russia[citation needed] | +-- Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich (1877-1943) | = Zinaida Rashevskaya (1898-1963) | +-- Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich (1879-1956) | = Mathilde Kschessinska (1872-1971) cr. Princess Romanovskya-Krassinskya | | | +-- Prince Vladimir Romanovsky-Krasinsky (1902-1974) | +-- Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna (1882-1957) = Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark (1872-1938)

[carolathhabsburg]

Grand duchess Maria Pavlovna, the elder, neé duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. 1890s.

[romanovsonelastdance]

Elena Vladimirovna with her daughters Elizabeth, Marina and Olga.

[romanovsonelastdance]

Nicholas, Alexandra and their daughters with members of the Vladimiriovichi (and Greek) side of the familly.

In the first photo, seated, you have Maria Pavlovna, Alexandra Feodorovna, Nicholas II, Elena Vladimirovna, Boris Vladimirovich and Andrei Vladimirovich. The little girls with Maria and Anastasia are Elena's daughters Olga (the tallest), Elizabeth, and Marina (the smallest). The second photo appears to be a more candid shot after the group photo was taken.

[romanovsonelastdance]

Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna, Princess of Greece.

[romanovsonelastdance]

HIH Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna, Princess of Greece.

[romanovsonelastdance]

Kira Kirillovna with her father-in-law Crown Prince Wilhelm.

[romanovsonelastdance]

Grand Duchess Viktoria Feodorovna, nee Victoria Melita.

[romanovsonelastdance]

Princess Elizabeth of Greece, signed with her nickname "Woolly."

Elizabeth was the second daughter of Prince Nicholas of Greece & Denmark and Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna. She was nicknamed "Woolly" because of her thick, curly hair. She visited Russia often in her childhood, and she and her sister Olga were "great chums" with their second cousin, Alexei Nikolaevich, as the trio were very close in age: Olga was born in 1903 and Alexei and Elizabeth were both born in 1904.

[romanovsonelastdance]

Kira (not Kiria!) Kirillovna in The Tatler, 1926.

[romanovsonelastdance]

Close up of Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna, Princess of Greece.