by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

• Unofficial Royalty: Russian Titles and Patronymics

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia was born on April 13, 1866, in Tbilisi (the capital of the present-day country of Georgia) in the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. His father Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich, the Governor of the Caucasus Viceroyalty, was the youngest child of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia. Sandro’s mother, born Princess Cecile of Baden, was the youngest child of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden and Princess Sofia of Sweden, daughter of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden.

Sandro had five brothers and one sister. Three of his brothers were murdered by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution.  See Unofficial Royalty: Execution of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and Five Other Romanovs – July 18, 1918 and Unofficial Royalty: Execution of Four Grand Dukes – January 28, 1919.

• Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia (1859 – 1919), unmarried, killed by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution with his brother George and two other Grand Dukes
• Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (1860 – 1922), married Friedrich Franz III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, had one son and two daughters
• Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia (1861 – 1929), married morganatically Sophie of Merenberg, had one son and two daughters
• Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia (1863 – 1919), married Maria of Greece and Denmark (Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna), had two daughters, killed by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution with his brother Nicholas and two other Russian Grand Dukes
• Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich (1869 – 1918), unmarried, killed by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution with Grand Duchess Elisabeth Feodorovna and four other Romanovs
• Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich of Russia (1875 – 1895), unmarried, died of tuberculosis

Sandro was a childhood friend of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. Sandro and Nicholas were first cousins once removed and were born only two years apart. A career in the Russian Imperial Navy was Sandro’s destiny. He graduated in 1885 from the Sea Cadet Corps, a school for training naval officers in Saint Petersburg. After graduation, Sandro enlisted in the Guards Crew, a naval unit of the Russian Imperial Guard.

From 1886-1890, Sandro served aboard the Rynda corvette (a small warship) as it made an around-the-world voyage. In 1890-1891, he sailed to India on his own yacht Tamara and in 1892, Sandro became commander of the destroyer Revel. Sandro was an officer aboard the armored cruiser Dmitrii Donskoi as it made a goodwill visit to America in 1893 to mark the 400th anniversary of America’s discovery.

After a long courtship and a long wait for permission to marry, Sandro married his first cousin once removed Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia on August 6, 1894, in the Saints Peter and Paul Chapel of the Peterhof Palace near St. Petersburg. Xenia was the sister of Sandro’s friend, the future Nicholas II, and the daughter of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia and Dagmar of Denmark (Empress Maria Feodorovna).

Sandro and Xenia had one daughter and six sons. They are the ancestors of most of the current Romanov descendants. The children of Sandro and Xenia were styled His/Her Highness Prince/Princess of Russia. They were the grandchildren of Emperor Alexander III through their mother and the great-grandchildren of Emperor Nicholas I through their father. Only grandchildren of an Emperor in the male line were styled His/Her Imperial Highness Grand Duke/ Grand Duchess of Russia. Great-grandchildren of an Emperor in the male line were styled His/Her Highness Prince/Princess of Russia. After the Russian Revolution members of the Imperial Family tended to drop the territorial designation “of Russia” and use the princely title with the surname Romanov.

• Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia (1895 – 1970), married Prince Felix Yusupov, one of the conspirators in Rasputin’s murder, had one daughter
• Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia (1897 – 1981), married (1) Donna Elisabeth Ruffo-Sasso, had four children (2) Nadine McDougall, had one daughter
• Prince Feodor Alexandrovich of Russia (1898 – 1968), married Princess Irina Pavlovna Paley, daughter of Xenia’s paternal uncle Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia and his morganatic wife Princess Olga Paley, had one son, divorced
• Prince Nikita Alexandrovich of Russia (1900 – 1974), married Countess Maria Vorontsova-Dashkova, had two sons
• Prince Dmitri Alexandrovich of Russia (1901 – 1980), married (1) Countess Marina Sergeyevna Golenischeva-Kutuzova, had one daughter, divorced (2) Margaret Sheila MacKellar, no children
• Prince Rostislav Alexandrovich of Russia (1902 – 1978), married (1) Princess Alexandra Pavlovna Galitzine, had one son, divorced (2) Alice Eilken, had one son, divorced (3) Hedwig von Chappuis, no children
• Prince Vasili Alexandrovich of Russia (1907 – 1989), married Princess Natalia Golitsyna, had one daughter

A few months after Sandro and Xenia’s wedding, Alexander III died and was succeeded by his son Nicholas II who would be the last Emperor of All Russia. During the early reign of Nicholas II, Sandro developed and led a program for strengthening the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Imperial Navy. In 1901-1902, Sandro commanded the Black Sea battleship Rostislav, the first ship of the Russian Imperial Navy to be commanded by a member of the House of Romanov.

On January 1, 1903, Sandro was promoted to Rear Admiral and became a member of the Svita,  His Imperial Majesty’s Retinue, a unit of personal aides to the Russian Emperor. In 1909, Sandro was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral and then he became an Admiral in 1915. Sandro played a major role in the development of Russian aviation and in 1910 helped found an officer aviation school.

While Sandro’s navy career was doing quite well, his marriage was not. In 1907, in Biarritz, France where Sandro and Xenia had a villa, Sandro began an affair. Eventually, Xenia also had an affair with a man believed to be the husband of Sandro’s lover. All this led to a breakdown in their marriage but Xenia and Sandro decided not to divorce. Sometimes they lived together and sometimes they lived apart. It was common knowledge that Xenia and Sandro were living separate lives.

The February Revolution was the first of two revolutions that occurred in Russia in 1917. The February Revolution was caused by military defeats during World War I, economic issues, and scandals surrounding the monarchy. The immediate result was the abdication of Xenia’s brother Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire. Later in 1917, the October Revolution occurred, paving the way for the establishment of the Soviet Union.

After the February Revolution, all the Romanovs were removed from the military. With the permission of the Provisional Government, Sandro was allowed to live in his estate Ai-Todor in the Crimea. Xenia arrived at Ai-Todor soon after Sandro’s arrival. Xenia’s mother Empress Maria Feodorovna and her sister Olga were also at Ai-Todor. Many other Romanovs also gathered at their palaces in the Crimea. There they witnessed the October Revolution later that year, and then in 1918 came the news of the murder of Nicholas II, his family, and their servants.

Being in the Crimea became precarious due to food shortages, visits to the home by the Bolshevik officials, and the threat of being murdered by the Bolsheviks. Sandro left the Crimea along with his eldest son and his wife on December 11, 1918, aboard the British military ship HMS Foresight. Xenia, her other children, and her mother left Russia on April 11, 1919, aboard the British battleship, HMS Marlborough. Xenia settled in England where her first cousin King George V provided her with grace and favor housing.

Sandro settled in France. He published a memoir called The Book of Remembrances and worked with the Society for Assistance to Children of Russian Emigration. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich died on February 26, 1933, at Villa St Thérèse in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France at the age of 66. Xenia and her sons attended his funeral on March 1, 1933, in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin where he was buried at the Cimetière de Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. When Xenia died in 1960, her wish was to be buried with Sandro.

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Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Alexander_Mikhailovich_of_Russia [Accessed 13 Mar. 2018].
• Hall, C. (2006). Little Mother of Russia. Teaneck, N.J.: Holmes & Meier.
• Perry, J. and Pleshakov, C. (1999). The Flight of the Romanovs. New York: Basic Books.
• Ru.wikipedia.org. (2018). Александр Михайлович (внук Николая I). [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80_%D0%9C%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87_(%D0%B2%D0%BD%D1%83%D0%BA_%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%8F_I) [Accessed 13 Mar. 2018].
• Van Der Kiste, J. and Hall, C. (2001). Once a Grand Duchess: Xenia, Sister of Nicholas II. London: Sutton Publishing.