by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2013
Credit – Wikipedia
HSH Prince Paul Romanovsky-Ilyinsky was born in 1928 at the American Embassy in London, the only son of Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia and his wife, Audrey Emery, later created HSH Princess Romanovskaya-Ilyinskaya.
His father, Grand Duke Dmitri was the son of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich (a son of Tsar Alexander II) and Princess Alexandra of Greece (a daughter of King George I). His mother, Audrey Emery, was an American heiress, the daughter of John Emery and his wife Lela Alexander.
After his parents’ divorce in 1937, Prince Paul grew up primarily with his mother, attending The Woodberry Forest School in Virginia, and then The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England. He joined the US Marine Corps in 1946, eventually retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. While in the Marines, he served as a combat photographer during the Korean War. After leaving the military, he worked as an author and photographer, as well as serving on the board of his grandfather’s company, Emery Industries. He moved to Palm Beach, Florida in 1980 where he went on to serve on the City Council, including three terms as Mayor of Palm Beach before retiring in 1999 due to ill health. To date, this makes him the only Romanov family member to serve in public office.
According to many historians, Prince Paul became the titular Duke of Holstein-Gottorp upon the death of his cousin, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich in 1992, although this is disputed by other claimants to the title. Prince Paul never used any of his titles, preferring to be known simply as Paul Ilyinsky.
Despite shying away from his royal background, he was reportedly approached by a group from Russia in the early 1990s, wanting him to come to Russia and claim the throne. He politely declined.
Mayor Paul Ilyinsky died at his home in Palm Beach, Florida in 2004, survived by his wife and children.
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