First Cousins: Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia (1868 – 1917)

(All photos credits – Wikipedia unless otherwise noted)

Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia was born May 18, 1868, at Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo, Russia. He was the eldest son of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia and Princess Dagmar of Denmark (Empress Maria Feodorovna). His paternal grandparents were Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia and his first wife Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (Empress Maria Alexandrovna). His maternal grandparents were Christian IX, King of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Nicholas II married Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, and had four daughters and one son.

Nicholas II had 22 paternal first cousins and 33  maternal first cousins for a total of 55 first cousins. He shares his first cousins with his siblings Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich (died young of meningitis), Grand Duke George Alexandrovich, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, and Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna.

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Paternal Aunts and Uncles: Children of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia and his first wife Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine

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Paternal Aunts and Uncles: Children of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia and his morganatic second wife Princess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova, Princess Yurievskaya

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Maternal Aunts and Uncles: Children of Christian IX, King of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel

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PATERNAL FIRST COUSINS

Paternal First Cousins: Children of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia and Princess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Grand Duke Alexander Vladimirovich of Russia (1875 – 1877)

Grand Duke Alexander Vladimirovich was born on August 31, 1875, and died nineteen months later on March 16, 1877.

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Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia (1876 – 1938)

Kirill married his first cousin Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and had three children. Following the abdication of Nicholas II in 1917, Kirill and his family left Russia. They settled first in Finland, before moving on to Munich and then Zurich. Eventually, they settled permanently in Saint-Briac, France, in the mid-1920s. In addition, they had inherited property in Coburg from his wife’s mother, which they retained until their deaths. Bolstered by a group of supporters, and the laws of the former Imperial Family (under which Kirill was the rightful heir to the throne), on August 31, 1924, Kirill declared himself Emperor of all the Russias. This claim was later taken by his son, Vladimir, and then Vladimir’s daughter, Maria Vladimirovna, who declared herself Head of the Imperial House in 1992.

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Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia (1877 – 1943)

Boris had a military career and was known as a notorious playboy. After the Russian Revolution, he left Russia with his longtime mistress, Zinaida Rashevskaya, whom he married in exile. The couple had no children Eventually, he settled in France where he spent the rest of his life.

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Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia (1879 – 1956)

In 1921, Andrei married his mistress Matilde Kschessinskaya, one of the most famous ballerinas of the Maryinsky Ballet (now the Kirov Ballet) in St. Petersburg, Russia, known as Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya after her marriage. Mathilde had an affair with Nicholas II before he married. While she was having an affair with Andrei, she was also involved with his cousin Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich. Mathilde’s son Prince Vladimir Romanovsky-Krasinsky could be the son of either Andrei or Sergei but Andrei officially adopted Vladimir. Andrei and Mathilde lived in the south of France until 1929 when they moved permanently to Paris, where Mathilde opened a ballet school.

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Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, Princess of Greece (1882 – 1957)

In 1902, Elena married her second cousin, Prince Nicholas of Greece, the son of King George I of Greece and Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia. They had three daughters including Princess Marina of Greece who married Prince George, Duke of Kent, son of King George V of the United Kingdom. Elena is the maternal grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II’s first cousins Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra of Kent, and Prince Michael of Kent.

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Paternal First Cousins: Child of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia and his (probable) morganatic wife Alexandra Vasilievna Zhukovskaya

Count Alexei Alexandrovich Belevsky-Zhukovsky (1871 – circa 1931)

Alexei married twice: to Princess Maria Petrovna Troubetskaya with whom he had four children and later divorced, and then to Baroness Natalia von Schoeppingk, with who, he had no children. After the Russian Revolution, Alexei remained in the Soviet Union while his wife and children emigrated. He was killed by the Soviets in the Caucasus sometime in 1930, 1931, or 1932.

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia and Prince Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duke of Edinburgh

Prince Alfred of Edinburgh, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1874 – 1899)

In August 1893, Alfred’s father succeeded to the ducal throne of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and young Alfred became the Hereditary Prince. In January 1899, he was noticeably absent from the celebrations for his parents’ 25th wedding anniversary. The details surrounding his death were never formally given, and vary from source to source. Some say he was suffering from a breakdown, others a tumor, others tuberculosis. More than likely, he was suffering serious effects of syphilis he had contracted some years earlier. It is generally accepted that Alfred shot himself while the rest of the family was gathered for the anniversary celebrations. He survived the gunshot and was cared for at Schloss Friedenstein in Gotha, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, before being moved, against the doctors’ recommendation, to the Martinnsbrunn Sanatorium in Gratsch, near Meran, Austria, where 24-year-old Alfred died.

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Princess Marie of Edinburgh, Queen of Romania (1875 – 1938)

In 1893, Marie married Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania. The couple officially had six children. The two youngest children are believed to have been fathered by Marie’s lover but were formally acknowledged by Ferdinand as his own. Being very free-spirited, Marie found the strict Romanian court to be stifling. Her husband’s uncle King Carol controlled every aspect of the couple’s lives. In 1914, Ferdinand became King of Romania upon the death of his uncle and reigned until his death in 1927. Marie spent her remaining years enjoying the company of her grandchildren and enjoying her homes at Bran Castle and Balchik Palace. Throughout the years, she had written her memoirs, which were published in several volumes.

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Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia (1876 – 1936)

In 1894, Victoria Melita married her first cousin Ernst II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. They were both grandchildren of Queen Victoria. The couple had one surviving child Princess Elisabeth who sadly died of typhoid at age 8. Victoria Melita and Ernst were terribly mismatched but waited until after the death of their grandmother Queen Victoria to divorce. In 1905, Victoria Melita married another first cousin Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia, also a first cousin of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia (see above). The couple had two daughters and one son. Following the abdication of Nicholas II in 1917, the family left Russia. They settled first in Finland, before moving on to Munich and then Zurich. Eventually, they settled permanently in Saint-Briac, France, in the mid-1920s. In addition, they had inherited property in Coburg from Victoria Melita’s mother, which they retained until their deaths.

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Princess Alexandra of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1878 – 1942)

In 1896, that Alexandra married Prince Ernst of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Alexandra and Ernst were second cousins – their grandmothers, Queen Victoria and Princess Feodora of Leiningen were half-sisters. The couple had two sons and three daughters. After her mother’s death in 1920, Alexandra inherited Palais Edinburg in Coburg, and, along with her sisters and leased Schloss Rosenau from the state until the late 1930s. In 1937, Alexandra joined her husband, and some of her children, as a member of the Nazi Party.

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Princess Beatrice of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess of Galliera (1884-1966)

In 1906, Beatrice’s cousin, Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, married King Alfonso XIII of Spain in Madrid, Spain. It was at the wedding that Beatrice met her future husband, Alfonso XIII’s first cousin Infante Alfonso of Spain. The couple married in 1909, in Coburg. A civil ceremony was held at Schloss Rosenau, followed by a Catholic ceremony at St. Augustine’s Church, and a Lutheran ceremony at Schloss Callenberg. Unlike her cousin, Victoria Eugenie, Beatrice chose not to convert to Catholicism prior to her marriage. She did later convert in 1913. Beatrice and Alfonso had three sons.

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia and his first wife Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark

Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia, Princess of Sweden,
Princess Sergei Mikhailovich Putyatin (1890 – 1958)

Maria Pavlovna was a first cousin of both Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. When Maria Pavlovna was only seventeen months old, her mother died shortly after giving premature birth to her second child, Maria Pavlovna’s brother. In 1908, Maria Pavlovna married Prince Wilhelm of Sweden, son of King Gustav V of Sweden. The couple had one son Lennart but the marriage was not a happy one. In 1913, Maria left her husband and son and returned to Russia which caused a great scandal in Sweden. Her marriage was officially dissolved and then confirmed by an edict issued by Nicholas II. In 1917, Maria Pavlovna married Prince Sergei Mikhailovich Putyatin and the couple had one son who died in 1919. Maria Pavlovna and Sergei Mikhailovich were able to leave Russia and they settled in Paris, France but they divorced in 1923. In 1929, Maria emigrated to the United States where she wrote her two best-selling- memoirs, The Education of a Princess and A Princess in Exile. She also worked for the department store Bergdorf Goodman in New York City purchasing fashionable clothing from France. Maria’s interest in photography got her jobs with Hearst and Vogue as a photojournalist. In 1937, Maria Pavlovna was reunited with her son Lennart at his estate on the island of Mainau in Lake Constance, Germany.

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Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia  (1891–1942)

Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia was one of the conspirators in the murder of Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin and also a first cousin of both Nicholas II, the last Emperor of All Russia and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Shortly after Dmitri’s birth, his 21-year-old mother died from childbirth complications. Dmitri and his sister were brought up by English nannies and mostly lived with their paternal uncle and aunt, Grand Duke Sergei and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna of Russia. Dmitri participated in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm in the Equestrian Individual and Team Jumping events. After the murder of Rasputin, Dmitri was exiled to Persia (now Iran), a move that most likely saved his life during the Russian Revolution. In 1926, in the Russian Orthodox Church in Biarritz, France, Dmitri married the rich American heiress Audrey Emery, and the couple had one son.

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich and his morganatic second wife Olga Karnovich

Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley (1897 – 1918)

Vladimir grew up in Paris and then attended the Corps des Pages, a military academy in Saint Petersburg, Russia. During World War I, he fought with the Emperor’s Hussars and was a decorated war hero. A talented poet from an early age, Vladimir published two volumes of poetry and wrote several plays and essays. Vladimir was one of the five Romanovs executed on July 18, 1918, with Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, the sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

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Princess Irina Pavlovna Paley (1903 – 1990)

Both Irina’s father Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich and her brother Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley, were killed by the Bolsheviks. Irina, her mother, and her sister Natalia later escaped to France in 1920. In 1923, Irina married her first cousin once removed, Prince Feodor Alexandrovich of Russia, son of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia, and the couple had one son. in Paris. During her marriage to Feodor, Irina began an affair with Count Hubert de Monbrison and gave birth to Hubert’s daughter. Irina and Feodor were divorced in 1936, and she married Hubert in 1950,

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Princess Natalia Pavlovna Paley (1905–1981)

After the Russian Revolution, Natalia first lived in France and later in the United States where she became a naturalized American citizen. She became a fashion model and briefly pursued a career as a film actress. In 1927, Natalia married Lucien Lelong, a French fashion designer. The couple had no children and divorced in 1937. Soon after the divorce, Natalia married John Chapman Wilson, an American theatre director and producer.  The couple had no children and the marriage lasted until Wilson’s death in 1961.

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of Prince George Alexandrovich Yurievsky and Countess Alexandra von Zarnekau

Alexander Georgiyevich Yuryevsky, Prince Yuryevsky (1900 – 1988)

Alexander was the paternal grandson of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia and his morganatic second wife Princess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova, Princess Yurievskaya. After the divorce of his parents, Alexander went to live with his paternal grandmother Princess Yurievskaya who had moved to Nice, France after the assassination of her husband Alexander II.  Alexander married Ursule Anne Marie Beer de Grüneck and the couple had one son.

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of Princess Olga Alexandrovna Yurievskaya and Count Georg-Nikolaus von Merenberg

The surviving two children of Princess Olga Alexandrovna Yurievskaya and Count Georg-Nikolaus von Merenberg: Countess Olga Ekaterina Adda von Merenberg and Count Georg-Michael von Merenberg, circa 1900

The children of Princess Olga Alexandrovna Yurievskaya are the paternal grandchildren of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia and his morganatic second wife Princess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova, Princess Yurievskaya. Their father Count Georg-Nikolaus von Merenberg was the son of Prince Nicholas Wilhelm of Nassau (brother of the Grand Duke Adolph of Luxembourg) and Natalia Alexandrovna Pushkina), daughter of the Russian writer Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.

Count Alexander-Adolf von Merenberg (1897 – 1898)

Alexander-Adolf was the twin of Count Georg-Michael von Merenberg but he died when he was six months old.

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Count Georg-Michael von Merenberg (1897 – 1965)

In 1926, Georg-Michael married Baroness Paulette von Koever de Györgys-Saint-Miklós. The marriage was childless and the marriage ended in divorce after two years. Georg-Michael married Elisabeth Müller-Ury in 1940 and the couple had one daughter. In 1941, Georg-Michael was drafted into the German Army and sent to the Eastern Front. He was an opponent of the Nazi Party and was tried twice by a military tribunal: the first time, for refusing to do the Nazi Party salute, the second time, for desecrating the Nazi Party symbol.

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Countess Olga Ekaterina Adda von Merenberg (1898 – 1983)

Olga married Count Mikhail Tarielovich Loris-Melikov and they had one son.

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Paternal First Cousins: Children of Princess Ekaterina Alexandrovna Yurievskaya and Prince Alexander Vladimirovich Baryatinsky

The children of Princess Ekaterina Alexandrovna Yurievskaya are the paternal grandchildren of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia and his morganatic second wife Princess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova, Princess Yurievskaya.

Prince Andrei Baryatinsky (1902 – 1944)

Andrei Alexandrovich was born in Paris, France and after the death of his father and grandfather, he inherited one of the richest fortunes in Russia. In 1925, he married  Marie Paule Jedlinski and they had one daughter.

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Prince Alexander Baryatinsky (1905 – 1992)

Alexander Alexandrovich was born in Paris, France. He was married twice but had no children

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MATERNAL FIRST COUSINS

Maternal First Cousins: Children of Frederick VIII, King of Denmark and Princess Louise of Sweden

Christian X, King of Denmark of Denmark (1870 – 1947)

Christian X married Princess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1898 and had two sons including Frederik IX, King of Denmark. In 1940, during World War II, Germany occupied Denmark. Unlike King Haakon VII of Norway (Christian’s brother, born Prince Carl of Denmark) and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, both of whom went into exile during the German occupation of their countries, King Christian X remained in Denmark. He is remembered for his daily horse ride without a guard through the streets of Copenhagen during the Nazi occupation of Denmark, a symbol of Danish sovereignty.

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Haakon VII, King of Norway (1872 – 1957)

A Danish prince who became King Haakon VII of Norway and one of a few elected monarchs, he was born Prince Carl of Denmark. In 1896, Carl married his first cousin Princess Maud of Wales (who was also a first cousin of Nicholas II). The couple had one son, born Prince Alexander of Denmark, later King Olav V of Norway.

In 1905, upon the dissolution of the Union between Sweden and Norway, the Norwegian government began searching for candidates to become King of Norway. Because of his descent from prior Norwegian monarchs, as well as his wife’s British connections, Carl was the overwhelming favorite. Before accepting, Carl insisted that the voices of the Norwegian people be heard in regards to retaining a monarchy. Following a referendum with a 79% majority in favor, Prince Carl was formally offered and then accepted the throne.  He took the name Haakon VII and his two-year-old son was renamed Olav and became Crown Prince of Norway.

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Princess Louise of Denmark, Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe (1875 – 1906)

In 1896, Louise married Prince Frederick of Schaumburg-Lippe and the couple had three children. Louise suffered from depression and homesickness and spent much time visiting her family in Denmark, staying for two to three months at a time. Her father also came and visited with her each year. She died at the age of 31, and although the official cause of her death was meningitis, it is suspected that Louise drowned herself in a lake. She had tried this before but had been saved by the palace gardener.

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Prince Harald of Denmark (1876 – 1949)

Harald served in the Royal Danish Army for most of his life and reached the rank of Lieutenant General. In 1909,  Harald married his second cousin Princess Helena of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Harald and Helena had five children.

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Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, Princess of Sweden ( 1878 – 1958)

In 1897, Ingeborg married Prince Carl of Sweden. Carl and Ingeborg had four children including Märtha who married her first cousin the future King Olav V of Norway (Märtha died before her husband became king) and Astrid who married King Leopold III of Belgium. The current royal families of Belgium, Luxembourg, and Norway descend from Carl and Ingeborg. Belgian Kings Baudouin and Albert II, Norwegian King Harald V, and Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg, the wife of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg are all grandchildren of Carl and Ingeborg.

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Princess Thyra of Denmark (1880 – 1945)

Thyra never married and lived her entire adult life in an apartment on Amaliegade, a street in Copenhagen, Denmark, close to Amalienborg Palace, where the Danish royal family lived. She was considered very friendly and understanding, and her apartment was a popular meeting place for her siblings and her relatives.

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Prince Gustav of Denmark (1887 – 1944)

As a child, Gustav suffered from an illness that made him severely overweight. He had a brief career in the military. Gustav never married and he spent much of his life with his unmarried sister, Princess Thyra. Together, they often visited their brother King Haakon VII of Norway.

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Princess Dagmar Of Denmark, Mrs. Castenskiold (1890 – 1961)

In 1922, Dagmar married Jørgen Castenskjold, the son of Anton Castenskiold, the Royal Danish Court Chamberlain. Dagmar and Jørgen had five children.

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Princess Alexandra of Denmark, Queen of the United Kingdom and Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom

Prince Albert Victor of the United Kingdom, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (1864 – 1892)

Prince Albert Victor, known as Eddy, was the eldest child of the then Prince and Princess of Wales, the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Queen Alexandra, born Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Eddy, who was inattentive and lazy, never excelled in his studies. Perhaps this was due to his premature birth which can be associated with learning disabilities. On December 3, 1891, Eddy and Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (Mary or May) became engaged. The wedding was set for February 27, 1892, but on  January 14, 1892, Eddy died from pneumonia. The following year, Princess Victoria Mary of Teck married Eddy’s brother George, and they eventually became the beloved King George V and Queen Mary.

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George V, King of the United Kingdom (1865 – 1936)

After the death of George’s elder brother Prince Eddy (above), George, now second in the line of succession to the British throne, and Eddy’s fiancee Mary spent much time together. As time passed and their common grief eased, there was hope that a marriage might take place between them. The couple married on July 6, 1893, and eventually became the beloved King George V and Queen Mary. George and Mary had six children. During World War I, on July 17, 1917, King George V issued a proclamation changing the name of the British Royal Family from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor, due to the anti-German sentiment.

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Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife (1867 – 1931)

In 1889, Louise married a husband from the British nobility. Seventeen years older than his bride, Alexander William George Duff was the only son of James Duff, 5th Earl Fife and Lady Agnes Hay, daughter of the 18th Earl of Erroll and Lady Elizabeth FitzClarence who was an illegitimate daughter of King William IV. Louise and her husband had two daughters. As the eldest daughter of King Edward VII, Louise was created Princess Royal during her father’s reign, in 1905.

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Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom (1868 – 1935)

Victoria’s elder sisters Louise and Maud escaped into marriage, leaving her at home as her mother’s constant companion. She had several suitors but her mother actively discouraged her from marrying anyone. Instead, Victoria remained a companion to her mother, Queen Alexandra, whom she lived with until the Queen’s death in 1925. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, Toria’s first cousin, described her as little more than “a glorified maid.” When her mother died, Victoria was 57 and was able to live her own life at last. She purchased a country home, Coppins, in Iver, Buckinghamshire, England. Toria became active in the village life of Iver and was the honorary president of the Iver Horticultural Society.

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Princess Maud of Wales, Queen of Norway

In 1896, Maud married her first cousin Prince Carl of Denmark (later King Haakon VII of Norway), who was also a first cousin of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. The couple had one son, born Prince Alexander of Denmark, later King Olav V of Norway. In 1905, upon the dissolution of the Union between Sweden and Norway, the Norwegian government began searching for candidates to become King of Norway. Because of his descent from prior Norwegian monarchs, as well as his wife’s British connections, Carl was the overwhelming favorite.  He took the name Haakon VII and his two-year-old son was renamed Olav and became Crown Prince of Norway. Maud and her husband made certain that their son was raised as a Norwegian, although Maud never became fluent in Norwegian. Maud never gave up her love for her native country and visited often. However, she did fulfill her duties as Queen of Norway. Maud became active in women’s rights and in the welfare of unmarried women.

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Prince Alexander John of Wales (born and died 1871)

Prince Alexander John of Wales was born prematurely at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England on April 6, 1872, at 2:45 p.m., and died the next day. He was christened privately in the evening after his birth. The christening was attended by his parents, The Prince and Princess of Wales, a lady-in-waiting, and a doctor who had been at the birth.

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of George I, King of Greece and Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia

Note: George I, King of Greece was born Prince Vilhelm of Denmark, the brother of Princess Dagmar of Denmark (Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia), Nicholas II’s mother.

 

Constantine I, King of Greece (1868 – 1923)

In 1889, Constantine married Princess Sophie of Prussia, daughter of Friedrich III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal, the eldest child of Queen Victoria. Sophie and Constantine had six children and there is a 23-year age gap between their eldest and youngest child. In 1913, Constantine’s father King George I was assassinated and he acceded to the Greek throne as King Constantine I. Constantine reigned until 1917 when he was forced to abdicate. He reigned for a second time, from 1920 – to 1922 when he was again forced to abdicate.

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Prince George of Greece and Denmark (1869 – 1957)

In 1907, George married Princess Marie Bonaparte, daughter of Prince Roland Bonaparte, a grandson of Lucien Bonaparte, Emperor Napoleon I’s brother. Marie was quite wealthy in her own right, having been left a vast fortune by her mother, Marie-Félix Blanc, the daughter of François Blanc who was the principal developer of Monte Carlo and the Monte Carlo Casino. George and Marie had a son and a daughter.

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Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna of Russia (1870 – 1891)

Alexandra’s family usually spent their vacations in Russia or Denmark with their British, Danish, and Russian relatives and so Alexandra had early contact with the family of Alexander II, Emperor of all Russia, including her future husband Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich who was the youngest child of Alexander II and his wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna, born Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine. In 1888, Alexandra and Grand Duke Paul married and Alexandra became Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna of Russia. The couple had two children: Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, who were also first cousins (through their father) of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. Alexandra gave birth prematurely to her son, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, and then she lapsed into a coma. She did not recover consciousness and died six days later on September 24, 1891, at the age of 21.

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Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark (1872 – 1938)

In 1902, Nicholas married his second cousin Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia. Elena was the only daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia (a son of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia) and Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Elena was also a first cousin of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia. Nicholas and Elena had three daughters including Princess Marina of Greece who married Prince George, Duke of Kent, son of King George V of the United Kingdom. Nicholas and Elena are the maternal grandparents of Queen Elizabeth II’s first cousins Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra of Kent, and Prince Michael of Kent.

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Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark, Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna of Russia (1876–1940)

In 1900, Maria married Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia. Maria and her husband had two daughters. When World War I began, Maria was living in Harrogate, England with her two daughters and chose to remain there and not return to Russia.  Her husband, like many in the Russian Imperial Family, was murdered by the Bolsheviks with three other Grand Dukes of Russia in January 1919, leaving Maria a widow. In 1920, Maria was able to return to Greece when her eldest brother, King Constantine I, was brought back to power. She traveled aboard a Greek destroyer commanded by Admiral Pericles Ioannidis, and a romance developed. The couple married two years later, on December 16, 1922, in Wiesbaden, Germany. They had no children.

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Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark (born and died 1870)

Olga died at the age of seven months.

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Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (1882 – 1944)

At the coronation of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom in August 1902, Andreas first met Princess Alice of Battenberg. She was the eldest daughter of Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. The couple married in 1903, and over the next 18 years, they had five children including Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. By the early 1930s, Andreas had less and less contact with his family. His wife suffered a nervous breakdown and was institutionalized, his four daughters had all married into former German royal families, and his son was attending school first in Germany and then in the United Kingdom. Somewhat at a loss, having been basically forced into a life of retirement, Andreas moved to the French Riviera. There, he enjoyed a life of leisure, spending much of his time living aboard the yacht of his mistress Countess Andrée de La Bigne.

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Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark (1888 – 1940)

In 1920, Christopher married Nancy Stewart Worthington Leeds, an American widow of a Cleveland tin manufacturer. The bride, who was a divorcee as well as a widow, was fifteen years older than Christopher. During her marriage to Christopher, Nancy was known as Princess Anastasia after she joined the Greek Orthodox Church. Sadly, Anastasia was diagnosed with cancer not long after the wedding and died in London in 1923. Six years later, Christopher made a more acceptable dynastic marriage to French Princess Francoise of Orleans, and the couple had one son.

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Princess Thyra of Denmark, Crown Princess of Hanover and Ernst August II, Crown Prince of Hanover and 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale

Princess Marie Louise of Hanover and Cumberland, Margravine of Baden (1879 – 1948)

In 1900, Marie Louise married Prince Maximilian of Baden, later titular Margrave of Baden and they had a son and a daughter. Their son Prince Berthold of Baden married Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, a daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. Prince Berthold was the brother-in-law of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

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Georg Wilhelm, Hereditary Prince of Hanover (1880 – 1912)

Georg Wilhelm was an enthusiastic fan of automobile racing and took part in races several times. He was killed in a car accident after skidding on a newly laid road surface and hitting a tree while driving to the funeral of his uncle King Frederik VIII of Denmark. His valet was also killed in the accident.

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Princess Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland, Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1882 – 1963)

In 1904, Alexandra married Friedrich Franz IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and they had five children. Following her husband’s abdication on November 14, 1918, after World War I, the family was forced to leave the Grand Duchy. They traveled to Denmark at the invitation of Queen Alexandrine, Friedrich Franz’s sister, and stayed for a year at Sorgenfri Palace. The following year, they were permitted to return to Mecklenburg and recovered several of their properties.

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Princess Olga of Hanover and Cumberland (1884 – 1958)

Olga never married and lived with her family in Gmunden, Austria. She was a companion to her parents until their respective deaths in 1923 and 1933. Shortly before Olga’s death in 1958, her nephew Prince Ernest August IV of Hanover and his wife Princess Ortrud of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg named their daughter after her.

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Prince Christian of Hanover and Cumberland (1885 – 1901)

Prince Christian fell ill with appendicitis which was not recognized and treated. He died at the age of 16 from the peritonitis caused by the appendicitis being untreated.

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Ernst August III, Prince of Hanover and Duke of Brunswick (1887 – 1953)

Ernst August was the last reigning Duke of Brunswick and the pretender to the throne of Hanover. In 1913, he married Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King of Prussia. Their wedding was one of the last large gatherings of European royalty before World War I began the following year. Ernst August and Viktoria Luise had five children. Following his father’s death in 1923, Ernst August became head of the House of Hanover. However, he was unable to inherit his father’s British title, Duke of Cumberland, as that title had been suspended by the British government under the Titles Deprivation Act of 1917.

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Maternal First Cousins: Children of Prince Valdemar of Denmark and Princess Marie of Orléans

Prince Aage, Count of Rosenborg (1887 – 1940)

In 1914, Aage married Matilda Calvi dei conti di Bergolo. Due to the unequal marriage, he renounced his place in the line of succession to the Danish throne, forfeited the title Prince of Denmark, and assumed the style of Prince Aage, Count of Rosenborg. Aage and Matilda had one son, and they divorced in 1939. In 1922, Aage received permission from King Christian X of Denmark to leave the Danish army in order to join the French Foreign Legion.

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Prince Axel of Denmark (1888 – 1964)

Axel was a popular patron of sports. He was a longtime and active member of the  International Olympic Committee. In 1919, Axel married Princess Margaretha of Sweden, his first cousin once removed, and the couple had two sons. Axel and his wife often officially represented King Christian X and King Frederik IX at events abroad.

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Prince Erik, Count of Rosenborg (1890 – 1950)

In 1924, Erik married Lois Frances Booth, a Canadian. Due to the unequal marriage, he renounced his place in the line of succession to the Danish throne, forfeited the title Prince of Denmark, and was styled Prince Erik, Count of Rosenborg. Erik and his wife had one son and one daughter and divorced in 1937.

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Prince Viggo, Count of Rosenborg (1893 – 1970)

In 1924, Viggo married American Eleonor Green. Due to the unequal marriage, he renounced his place in the line of succession to the Danish throne, forfeited the title Prince of Denmark, and was styled Prince Viggo, Count of Rosenborg. Viggo and Eleanor had no children.

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Princess Margrethe of Denmark, Princess of Bourbon-Parma (1895 – 1992)

Margrethe’s parents Prince Valdemar of Denmark and Princess Marie of Orléans had agreed that all their sons would be raised Lutheran, their father’s religion, and all their daughters Roman Catholic, their mother’s religion. Margrethe was the first Danish princess since the Reformation raised a Roman Catholic. In 1921, she married Prince René of Bourbon-Parma, and the couple had three sons and one daughter including Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma who married King Michael I of Romania.

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This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Lundy, D. (2022). Main Page. [online] Thepeerage.com. Available at: http://www.thepeerage.com/. (for genealogy information)
  • Unofficial Royalty. (2022). Unofficial Royalty. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com. (for biographical and genealogy information)
  • Wikipedia. (2022 Main Page. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/.  (for biographical and genealogy information)

Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz, Princess of Monaco

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Maria Carolina Gibert de Lametz, Princess of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Born on July 18, 1793, in Coulommiers, France, Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz, wife of Florestan, Prince of Monaco, was the only child of Marie Francoise Henriette le Gras de Vaubercy (1766 – 1845) and the second of her three husbands Charles-Thomas Gibert (1765 – ?) who was a lawyer. Marie Francoise’s first husband Augustin Musnier de Mauroy, Baron Musnier de Mauroy had died in 1789. She then married Charles-Thomas Gibert and the couple divorced in 1797.

Maria Caroline had an elder half-brother from her mother’s first marriage to Augustin Musnier de Mauroy, Baron Musnier de Mauroy:

  • Louis Pierre Musnier de Mauroy, Baron Musnier de Mauroy (1788 – 1851), married Amélie d’Aumont, had two sons

After divorcing Maria Caroline’s father, Marie Francoise married her third husband Antoine Rouyer de Lametz (1762 – 1836), Chevalier d’Empire and Knight of the Legion of Honor. The marriage did not produce any children but Antoine Rouyer de Lametz officially adopted his wife’s daughter Maria Caroline and she added “de Lametz” to her name.

In 1814, Marie Caroline’s half-brother Louis Pierre Musnier de Mauroy married Amélie d’Aumont at the Château de Lametz (link in French), the home of his mother’s third husband Antoine Rouyer de Lametz. Amélie d’Aumont was the illegitimate daughter of Louise d’Aumont, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye in her own right. Louise d’Aumont had also been Hereditary Princess of Monaco as the wife of the future Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco but the couple had divorced in 1798 before Honoré IV became Sovereign Prince of Monaco.

Florestan, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Prince Florestan of Monaco, Louise d’Aumont’s younger son with Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco, attended his half-sister’s wedding celebrations and met Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz, the half-sister of the groom. Florestan spent the summer of 1815 at the Château de Lametz and the couple decided to marry. Because Florestan’s family did not approve of the marriage, the wedding, on November 27, 1816, was quiet and modest.

Florestan and Maria Caroline had two children:

Florestan and Maria Carolina lived in France. In 1641, during the reign of Honoré II, Monaco became a French protectorate, and the Princes of Monaco became vassals of the Kings of France while remaining sovereign princes. Many successive Princes of Monaco and their families spent most of their lives in France and intermarried with French and Italian noble families. In January 1793, during the French Revolution, Honoré III, Prince of Monaco was officially declared deposed and the Principality of Monaco was annexed by France.

After Napoleon’s defeat in 1814 and the Bourbon Restoration which saw Louis XVIII, a younger brother of the beheaded King Louis XVI, become King of France, Florestan’s uncle Joseph petitioned King Louis XVIII to restore the Principality of Monaco to the Grimaldi family. Florestan’s father Honoré IV finally became Sovereign Prince of Monaco in 1814. The independence of Monaco lasted for only one year. In 1815, the Congress of Vienna, an international diplomatic conference that reconstituted the European political order after the downfall of  Napoleon I, declared that Monaco would be a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Florestan’s mother Louise, d’Aumont was Louise was the great-great-great-granddaughter of Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye, the mistress of King Charles II of England, and one of the two heirs of her uncle Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the First Minister of King Louis XIV of France. Louise was the heir of Hortense Mancini’s titles and the Mazarin family wealth. When Florestan’s mother Louise died in 1826, she left her entire fortune to her younger son Florestan because her elder son Honoré V had an illegitimate child. Maria Caroline was a skillful businesswoman. She handled the family finances and successfully managed the fortune Florestan inherited from his mother.

Florestan’s elder brother Honoré V, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Because Florestan’s brother Honoré V, Prince of Monaco had never married, Florestan was the heir to the throne of Monaco. After a reign of twenty-two years, Honoré V, Prince of Monaco died on October 2, 1841, in Paris, France, aged 63, and was succeeded by his brother Florestan.

Florestan had lived in France his entire life and had never been to Monaco. He was ill-prepared to assume the role of Sovereign Prince. During his reign, the real power lay in the hands of his wife Maria Caroline. She took over the finances of Monaco just as she had done with the family finances. Maria Caroline ruled Monaco with an iron fist because her indecisive and politically disinclined husband left all affairs of state to her.

By 1842, Maria Carolina’s son Charles was disturbed by his mother’s takeover of Monaco. He realized his father was content with the situation and would not intervene. Charles wrote a stern letter to his mother criticizing her actions and threatening to request the Kingdom of Sardinia (Monaco was still a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia) to force his father Florestan to abdicate in his favor. Maria Caroline replied with a scathing letter. Charles made a request to Sardinia that was squelched by his mother. Maria Carolina and her son Charles came to an understanding. For the rest of Florestan’s reign, Maria Caroline ruled Monaco with an iron fist because her indecisive and politically disinclined husband left all affairs of state to her.

Charles III, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

After a reign of nearly fifteen years, Florestan, Prince of Monaco died, aged 70, on June 20, 1856, in Paris, France. He was succeeded by his 38-year-old son Charles III, Prince of Monaco. At the time of Florestan’s death, Monaco was a weakened country with little prospect of financial security. However, Charles III had been well prepared by his mother Maria Caroline to reign as the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. He benefitted from his mother’s advice for most of his reign as she was alive for twenty-three years of his thirty-three-year-long reign.

During Charles III’s early reign, the towns of Menton and Roquebrune, which made up 95% of Monaco’s territory, were formally ceded to France, resulting in France’s formal recognition of Monaco’s independence. However, rebellions in these towns had exhausted Monaco’s military resources for decades.

Casino de Monte-Carlo before 1878; Credit – Wikipedia

It should not be surprising that to solve Monaco’s financial issues, the idea of opening a gambling casino in Monaco and developing Monaco into a seaside resort was Maria Caroline’s idea. She recalled visiting Hesse-Homburg, a small sovereign landgraviate in central Germany that was prosperous because of a gambling casino. The Casino de Monte-Carlo, named after Charles III as Carlo is the Italian for Charles (Monte-Carlo = Mount Charles in English), opened in 1865, nine years after the death of Florestan, and saved Monaco from bankruptcy. Fearing that the citizens of Monaco would squander their money on gambling, Maria Carolina had the idea to ban all citizens of Monaco from gambling at the casino. That rule is still in effect.

When the casino was built, Monaco’s population was approximately 1,000. Within three years, thousands of people from England and other European countries had built homes in Monaco. Maria Caroline remained an advisor to her son for the rest of her life. Her assistance was especially needed after her son Charles III began to go blind and his wife Antoinette de Mérode died from cancer in 1864 at the age of 35.

Grave of Maria Caroline, Princess of Monaco; Credit – https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7832623/caroline-gilbert_de-lametz#view-photo=2562571

Maria Caroline survived her husband Florestan, Prince of Monaco by twenty-three years, dying at the age of 86, on November 25, 1879, in Monaco. She was interred at the new larger church, still under construction, the Cathedral of Monaco, that her son Charles III was building to replace the Church of Saint Nicholas.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Edwards, Anne, 2017. The Grimaldis of Monaco. Blue Ridge Summit: Lyons Press.
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Charles III, Prince of Monaco – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III,_Prince_of_Monaco> [Accessed 27 April 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Caroline_Gibert_de_Lametz> [Accessed 27 April 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Florestan, Prince of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/florestan-prince-of-monaco/> [Accessed 27 April 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Caroline Gibert — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Gibert> [Accessed 27 April 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Charles III (prince de Monaco) — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III_(prince_de_Monaco)> [Accessed 27 April 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Florestan — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florestan> [Accessed 27 April 2022].
  • Geneanet. 2022. Family tree of Louis Pierre MUSNIER de MAUROY. [online] Available at: <https://gw.geneanet.org/peter781?lang=en&p=louis+pierre&n=musnier+de+mauroy> [Accessed 27 April 2022].
  • Thepeerage.com. 2022. Person Page – Marie Francoise Le Gras de Vaubercy. [online] Available at: <http://www.thepeerage.com/p74097.htm#i740962> [Accessed 27 April 2022].
  • Wikitree.com. 2022. Marie-Louise Charlotte Gabrielle (Gibert) de Monaco (1793-1879) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree. [online] Available at: <https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gibert-4> [Accessed 27 April 2022].

Grand Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Grand Church of the Winter Palace by Edward Petrovich Hau, 1866; Credit

The most important church in the lives of the Romanovs was the Grand Church located in the Winter Palace. The Winter Palace, on the banks of the Neva River in Saint Petersburg, served as the official residence of the Russian Emperors and Empresses from 1732 to 1917. This writer has visited the Winter Palace and it is truly awe-inspiring. Today, part of the Winter Palace houses the State Hermitage Museum, one of the world’s premier art museums. The Winter Palace’s monumental scale was intended to reflect the might and power of Imperial Russia and it is still a mighty and powerful building. It is said to contain 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows, 1,500 rooms, and 117 staircases.

The Winter Palace from the Neva River. The golden cupola of the Grand Church can be seen on the left side; Credit – By Alex ‘Florstein’ Fedorov, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49250446

Aerial view of the Winter Palace; The golden cupola of the Grand Church can be seen on the left side; Credit – By Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51992181

The Grand Church, a Russian Orthodox church that had cathedral status, was the site of most christenings, weddings, conversions of foreign princesses marrying into the family, and memorial services. Funerals were usually held at the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, the burial site of the Romanovs from Peter I (the Great) to Nicholas II, (with the exception of Peter II and Ivan VI) located in the Peter and Paul Fortress across the Neva River from the Winter Palace.

Before the founding of St. Petersburg by Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia in 1703, the seat of power and the important churches were in the Moscow Kremlin. Male rulers of the Rurik dynasty and the early Romanov dynasty along with close male relatives and some Russian noblemen were interred at the Archangel Cathedral. Women of the Rurik dynasty and women of the early Romanov dynasty along with some Russian noblewomen were interred at the Ascension Cathedral of the Ascension Convent. Assumption Cathedral was the site of the coronations of the sovereign Tsars, Emperors, and Empresses of Russia, and some consorts from 1547 to 1896. It remained the coronation cathedral after the founding of St. Petersburg.

View of the Small Church in the Winter Palace by Eduard Hau, 1862; Credit – Wikipedia

A second smaller church, the Sretenskaya Church or Small Church of the Winter Palace, was conveniently located near the residential wing of the Winter Palace and was used by the Imperial Family for private worship. Today the former church displays Russian Orthodox church vestments of the 17th – early 20th centuries from the State Hermitage Museum collection.

The display of Orthodox church vestments in the former Sretenskaya Church; Credit – Автор: Netelo – собственная работа, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=106021534

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History of the Grand Church of the Winter Palace

View of the Grand Church of the Winter Palace by Alexey Vasilievich Tyranov, 1829 before the fire of 1837; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1753, Elizabeth, Empress of All Russia ordered the construction of a new (and the present) Winter Palace with a large church. Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, an Italian architect who worked mainly in Russia, was responsible for the design of the palace and the church. He designed the Grand Church in the Baroque style with an interior similar to a palace hall. Construction on the church began in 1753 and was completed in 1762. On July 12, 1763, Archbishop Gavriil Kremenetsky of St Petersburg consecrated the Grand Church. In 1807, Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia issued a decree giving the Grand Church the status of a Court Cathedral.

Fire in the Winter Palace by Pierre Marie Joseph Vernet, 1838; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 29, 1837, a fire broke out after smoke from an unswept chimney spread through a vent in a partition between the wooden and main walls in the Field Marshal’s Hall. The wall began to smolder and a fire broke out in the ceiling of the Small Throne Room. The fire lasted about 30 hours, and the Winter Palace smoldered for almost three days. Most of the second and third floors of the Winter Palace were severely damaged. The two-year restoration was led by Russian architect Vasily Petrovich Stasov. Some of the decorations of the Grand Church were able to be saved and Stasov was able to recreate the style of Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli’s original plans. The Grand Church was reconsecrated on March 25, 1839, in a ceremony conducted by Metropolitan Filaret Drozdov of Moscow in the presence of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia and his family,

After the Russian Revolution, in May 1918, the Grand Church was officially closed for worship. In 1938, the iconostasis, the pulpit, the lantern, and the altar canopy were removed and the former church became one of the State Hermitage Museum’s exhibition spaces.

Restoration work done from 2012 until 2014 was described by the State Hermitage Museum as a “recreation of the original design of the Court Cathedral” with “the icons, the candelabra, the standard lamps and pieces of the iconostasis, the pulpit, the lantern, and the altar canopy returned to their original place.”

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The Interior of the Grand Church of the Winter Palace

Orthodox churches are set up differently than other Christian churches. They are divided into three main parts: the narthex, the nave, and the sanctuary. The narthex is the connection between the church and the outside world. It used to be the practice that non-Orthodox people had to remain in the narthex but this practice has mostly fallen into disuse. The congregation stands in the nave during services. Traditionally there is no sitting during Orthodox services and so Orthodox churches usually do not have pews or chairs.

The iconostasis after the fire of 1837; Credit – By Januarius-zick – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42460200

In Orthodox Christianity, an iconostasis is a wall of icons, religious paintings, that divides the sanctuary from the nave. The sanctuary is where the Eucharist or Divine Liturgy is performed behind the iconostasis. The iconostasis usually has three doors, one in the middle and one on either side. The middle doors are traditionally called the Royal Doors and are only used by the clergy.

The gilded stucco walls; Credit – By Januarius-zick – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42460204

The Grand Church is divided by Corinthian columns into three sections and is brightly lit by large windows on opposite sides. Above the central area is a dome. The walls are richly embellished with gilded stucco in a Rococo design.

The pulpit; Credit – By Januarius-zick – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42460653

After the fire of 1837, architect Vasily Petrovich Stasov made every effort to restore the church as it was before the fire although there were few drawings to guide him. The gilded iconostasis, canopy, and pulpit were carved according to the original drawings. Some of the icons saved during the fire were returned to their places. The Royal Doors had survived the fire and were placed in the new iconstasis. After being repaired, the original silver chandelier was returned to its place in the dome.

The ceiling painting Ascension of Christ by Pyotr Vasilievich Basin; Credit – By Januarius-zick – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42460199

The new ceiling, painted by Russian painter Pyotr Vasilievich Basin depicts the Ascension of Christ and the lunettes, half-moon-shaped architectural spaces below the dome, depict the Four Evangelists, Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, by Russian painter Fyodor Antonovich Bruni.

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Wedding of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia and Alix of Hesse and by Rhine by Laurits Tuxen, 1895; Credit – Wikipedia (Among those depicted in this painting against the wall and to the right of the window, from left to right: King Christian IX of Denmark, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna,  Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, Queen Olga Konstantinovna of Greece, the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Grand Duke George Alexandrovich and Prince Heinrich of Prussia)

The Grand Church of the Winter Palace was the family church of the Romanovs and was where most important religious rites of passage were held including christenings, weddings, and the conversions to Russian Orthodoxy of the foreign princesses marrying into the Romanov family.

The many weddings held at the Grand Church include:

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

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Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Grand Church of the Winter Palace – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Church_of_the_Winter_Palace> [Accessed 26 April 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Winter Palace – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Palace> [Accessed 26 April 2022].
  • Encspb.ru. 2022. Энциклопедия Санкт-Петербурга. [online] Available at: <http://encspb.ru/object/2805467476> [Accessed 26 April 2022].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2022. Большая церковь Зимнего дворца — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%88%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%86%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%8C_%D0%97%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D0%B4%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%86%D0%B0> [Accessed 26 April 2022].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2022. Сретенская церковь (Зимний дворец) — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%86%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%8C_(%D0%97%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%B4%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%86)> [Accessed 26 April 2022].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2022. Пожар в Зимнем дворце — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B0%D1%80_%D0%B2_%D0%97%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BC_%D0%B4%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%86%D0%B5> [Accessed 26 April 2022].

Florestan, Prince of Monaco

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Florestan, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Tancrède Florestan Roger Louis Grimaldi was born in Paris, France on October 10, 1785. He was the younger of the two sons of Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco and Louise d’Aumont, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye in her own right. Honoré V’s paternal grandparents were Honoré III, Prince of Monaco and Maria Caterina Brignole who came from a Republic of Genoa (now in Italy) noble family. His maternal grandparents were Louis Marie Guy d’Aumont, Duke of Aumont (link in French) and Louise Jeanne de Durfort, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye (link in French).


Florestan’s parents Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco and Louise, d’Aumont; Credit – Wikipedia

Florestan’s mother Louise, d’Aumont was the great-great-great-granddaughter of Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye, the mistress of King Charles II of England, and one of the two heirs of her uncle Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the First Minister of King Louis XIV of France. Louise was the heir of Hortense Mancini’s titles and the Mazarin family wealth.

Florestan’s elder brother Honoré V, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Florestan had one elder brother:

In 1641, during the reign of Honoré II, Monaco became a French protectorate, and the Princes of Monaco became vassals of the Kings of France while remaining sovereign princes. Many successive Princes of Monaco and their families spent most of their lives in France and intermarried with French and Italian noble families.

Florestan’s grandfather, Honoré III, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

The French Revolution had dire consequences for the princely family of Monaco. In January 1793, Florestan’s grandfather Honoré III, Prince of Monaco was officially declared deposed and the Principality of Monaco was annexed by France. The members of the former ruling Grimaldi dynasty lost all aristocratic privileges in France, were dispossessed of their French property, and became French citizens. During the Reign of Terror, in September 1793, eight-year-old brother Florestan, his parents Honoré IV and Louise, and his grandfather Honoré III were arrested and imprisoned in Paris as enemies of the people.

Heads of aristocrats on pikes during the Reign of Terror; Credit -Wikipedia

Florestan and his mother Louise were rescued by a family doctor who forged release papers and hid them in his home until the Reign of Terror was over. The wife of Florestan’s paternal uncle Prince Joseph of Monaco was not as lucky. Joseph spent most of his time abroad negotiating foreign loans, making him a suspect of counter-revolutionary activities. When Joseph did become involved in a counter-revolution, his wife Marie Thérèse de Choiseul was arrested in the absence of her husband, condemned to death, and guillotined in 1794, one of the last victims before the end of the Reign of Terror.

In October 1794, Florestan’s grandfather Honoré III and father Honoré IV were released from prison. Honoré III never recovered from his imprisonment and died in Paris on March 21, 1795, at the age of 74. Honoré IV, whose chronic ill health had been worsened by imprisonment, would have become Prince of Monaco but Monaco was no longer a sovereign monarchy. However, Honoré IV’s family properties in France which had been confiscated were returned to him but they were in poor condition and all of the contents were gone.

In 1794, Florestan’s mother Louise had given birth to an illegitimate daughter Amélie Céleste Erodore d’Aumont while her husband Honoré IV was still imprisoned. The father of the child is believed to have been Antoine de Montazet, Archbishop of Lyon. After Honoré IV’s release from prison, Louise and Honoré IV’s marriage became unhappy and the couple separated, eventually divorcing in 1798. Louise made a second marriage to René François Tirnand-d’Arcis on February 6, 1801, and divorced him in 1803.

While growing up, Florestan saw his father infrequently and the seven-year age gap between Florestan and his brother Honoré V meant that Florestan stayed with his mother while his brother had a successful career in Napoleon’s army. To his mother’s shock, at the age of seventeen, Florestan became an actor in the Théâtre de l’Ambigu-Comique in Paris. Florestan joined the French army after being threatened with disinheritance by his mother. He struggled with army life and never rose above the rank of corporal. Florestan was taken prisoner in 1812 during the unsuccessful French invasion of Russia and was not released until 1814.

After Napoleon’s defeat in 1814 and the Bourbon Restoration which saw Louis XVIII, a younger brother of the beheaded King Louis XVI, become King of France, Florestan’s uncle Joseph petitioned King Louis XVIII to restore the Principality of Monaco to the Grimaldi family. Florestan’s father Honoré IV finally became Sovereign Prince of Monaco in 1814. The independence of Monaco lasted for only one year. In 1815, the Congress of Vienna, an international diplomatic conference that reconstituted the European political order after the downfall of  Napoleon I, declared that Monaco would be a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

By the time Honoré IV became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, his physical condition had worsened and he was now paralyzed on one side of his body. Because of his condition, a regency was established to rule in his name. Honoré IV’s brother Joseph was regent from 1814 -1815 and then Florestan’s brother Honoré V served as regent until his father died in 1819 when he succeeded him as Honoré V, Prince of Monaco.

Florestan’s wife Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1814, Amélie d’Aumont, the illegitimate daughter of Florestan’s mother, and therefore, his half-sister, married Louis Pierre Musnier de Mauroy at the Château de Lametz (link in French). During the wedding celebrations, Florestan met Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz, the half-sister of the groom. Florestan spent the summer of 1815 at the Château de Lametz and the couple decided to marry. Because Florestan’s family did not approve of the marriage, the wedding, on November 27, 1816 was quiet and modest.

Florestan and Maria Caroline had two children:

When Florestan’s mother Louise died in Paris, France on December 13, 1826, aged 67, she left her entire fortune to her younger son Florestan because her elder son Honoré V had an illegitimate child. After this, Honoré V and Florestan never spoke to each other. Florestan’s wife Maria Caroline was a skillful businesswoman. She handled the finances of the family, and successfully managed the fortune Florestan inherited from his mother.

Because Honoré V had never married, Florestan was the heir to the throne of Monaco. Neither Florestan nor his son Charles had ever been to Monaco. Honoré V had lived in Paris, making only two annual trips to Monaco. After a reign of twenty-two years, Honoré V, Prince of Monaco died on October 2, 1841, in Paris, France, aged 63, and was succeeded by his brother Florestan.

Florestan had lived in France his entire life and had never been to Monaco. He was ill-prepared to assume the role of Sovereign Prince. During his reign, the real power lay in the hands of his wife Maria Caroline. She took over Monaco’s finances just as she did with the family finances. Maria Caroline ruled Monaco with an iron fist because her indecisive and politically disinclined husband left all affairs of state to her.

By 1842, Florestan’s son Charles was disturbed by his mother’s takeover of Monaco. He realized his father was content with the situation and would not intervene. Charles wrote a stern letter to his mother criticizing her actions and threatening to request the Kingdom of Sardinia (Monaco was still a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia) to force his father Florestan to abdicate in his favor. Maria Caroline replied with a scathing letter. Charles did make a request to Sardinia that was squelched by his mother. Maria Carolina and her son Charles came to an understanding. For the rest of Florestan’s reign, Maria Caroline ruled Monaco with an iron fist because her indecisive and politically disinclined husband left all affairs of state to her.

Entrance to the common vault where the Grimaldi family members originally buried at the Church of St. Nicholas are buried; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Florestan, Prince of Monaco died, aged 70, on June 20, 1856, in Paris, France. He was buried at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Monaco. During the reign of Florestan’s son Charles III, Prince of Monaco, a new and larger church, the Cathedral of Monaco, was built on the site of the Church of Saint Nicholas. The original church was demolished in 1874 but the current cathedral was built over the areas of the previous church and the old burial site so that the sovereign princes and consorts originally buried at the Church of Saint Nicholas are now buried in the Cathedral of Monaco.

At the time of Florestan’s death, Monaco was a weakened country with little prospect of financial security. It was not until the reign of Florestan and Maria Caroline’s son Charles III, that the finances of Monaco would finally be in order. It should not be surprising that the idea of opening a gambling casino in Monaco was Maria Caroline’s idea. The Casino de Monte-Carlo opened in 1865, nine years after the death of Florestan, and saved Monaco from bankruptcy. Maria Caroline survived her husband by twenty-three years, dying at the age of 86, on November 25, 1879, in Monaco.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Edwards, Anne, 2017. The Grimaldis of Monaco. Blue Ridge Summit: Lyons Press.
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Florestan, Prince of Monaco – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florestan,_Prince_of_Monaco> [Accessed 22 April 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Caroline_Gibert_de_Lametz> [Accessed 22 April 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/honore-iv-prince-of-monaco/> [Accessed 3 April 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Honoré V, Prince of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/honore-v-prince-of-monaco/> [Accessed 22 April 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Louise d’Aumont, Hereditary Princess of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/louise-daumont-hereditary-princess-of-monaco/> [Accessed 3 April 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Florestan — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florestan> [Accessed 22 April 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Caroline Gibert — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Gibert> [Accessed 22 April 2022].

Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee Weekend – Thursday, June 2, 2022 to Sunday, June 5, 2022

© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Queen Elizabeth II, official photo for the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne; Credit – The Royal Family Facebook page

On February 6, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom marked seventy years on the British throne. Celebrations were held in the United Kingdom from Thursday, June 2, 2022 to Sunday, June 5, 2022.

Thursday, June 2, 2002

The Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace balcony witnessing the Royal Air Force fly-past

Trooping the Colour: Queen Elizabeth II did not take the Salute due to her mobility issues. Instead, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge, and The Princess Royal took the salute accompanied by members of the Royal Family at the Birthday Parade on Horse Guards (Trooping the Colour) at Whitehall, London. The Royal Family, including The Queen, witnessed a fly-past by the Royal Air Force from the balcony at Buckingham Palace.

Queen Elizabeth II beginning the beacon lighting

Platinum Jubilee Beacons: Over 1,500 beacons were lit throughout the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom Overseas Territories, continuing the long tradition of celebrating Royal Jubilees, Royal Weddings, and Coronations with a chain of lights across the country. Queen Elizabeth II began the ceremony by touching a globe representing the Commonwealth nations,  sending a chain of lights from Windsor Castle to Buckingham Palace.

Friday, June 3, 2022

Members of the Royal Family and other guests listen to Prime Minister Boris Johnson speak

Service of Thanksgiving: A Service of Thanksgiving for Queen Elizabeth II‘s 70-year reign was held at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Due to her mobility issues, The Queen did not attend.

Saturday, June 4, 2022

The Princess Royal watches a race with her son Peter Phillips and his girlfriend Lindsay Wallace

The Derby at Epsom Downs: Members of the Royal Family attended the Derby at Epsom Downs. Due to her mobility issues, The Queen did not attend.

The audience including members of the Royal Family enjoying the concert

Platinum Party at the Palace: A music concert that was held in front of Buckingham Palace featuring “the world’s biggest entertainment stars.” The Queen did not attend but she would have been able to see the concert from Buckingham Palace.

Sunday, June 5, 2022

The Earl of Wessex joins the crowds taking part in the Big Jubilee Lunch on the Long Walk in Windsor Great Park 

The Big Jubilee Lunch: Communities across the United Kingdom came together for The Big Jubilee Lunch as part of the official celebrations for HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. More than 70,000 Big Lunches were held across the United Kingdom.

Crowds gather to see Queen Elizabeth II stand on the balcony during the Platinum Jubilee Pageant in front of Buckingham Palace

The Platinum Jubilee Pageant: A pageant featuring approximately 5,000 people from across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth was held against the backdrop of Buckingham Palace combined with street arts, theatre, music, circus, carnival, and costumes.

Unofficial Royalty’s Queen Elizabeth II Resources

 

As a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II’s seventy years on the throne, Unofficial Royalty proudly lists all our resources regarding Her Majesty.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in St. Petersburg, Russia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia; Photo Credit – By Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51961358

On an island in the Neva River that flows through St. Petersburg, Russia is the Peter and Paul Fortress, the original citadel of the city established by Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia in 1703. Inside the fortress is a Russian Orthodox cathedral, the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, which this writer has visited. The cathedral was built during the reign of Peter I (the Great) and designed by Domenico Trezzini, a Swiss architect who designed many of the first buildings in St. Petersburg. The Peter and Paul Cathedral is the burial place of all but two of the Russian sovereign emperors and empresses from Peter the Great to Nicholas II, who was finally laid to rest in July 1998. Only Peter II and Ivan VI are not buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

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History of the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in St. Petersburg, Russia

View of the Peter and Paul Fortress from the Neva River in the 1870s; Credit – Wikipedia

From 1703 to 1704, Peter I (the Great) had a wooden church, used for military purposes, built in the Peter and Paul Fortress. To strengthen the position of his new capital city of St. Petersburg among the cities of Russia, Peter the Great wanted to build a church that would be taller than the Ivan the Great Bell Tower (the tallest structure in the Moscow Kremlin) and the Menshikov Tower of the Church of Archangel Gabriel in Moscow. He wanted the new church to become the most significant building in St. Petersburg and be located in the heart of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Swiss architect Domenico Trezzini was commissioned to design a church that was intended to be the main cathedral of the Russian Empire and the burial place of the House of Romanov. Construction work began in 1712. When Peter the Great died in 1725, only the foundations and the tower were standing. The cathedral was completed in 1733 after twenty-one years of construction. A cathedral in Russia could mean the seat of a bishop or a large or important church. Peter and Paul Cathedral, an important church, was the cathedral church of St. Petersburg until 1858 when St. Isaac Cathedral became St. Petersburg’s cathedral. At that time, Peter and Paul Cathedral came under the jurisdiction of the Russian imperial court.

The original wooden spire was rebuilt after a lightning strike in 1756. In 1773, the Chapel of Saint Catherine, dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, now the burial site of Nicholas II, his family, their doctor, and their three servants, was completed. In 1777, the spire was damaged by a storm. Restoration work was carried out by the architect Peter Paton and a new angel and cross was made by Antonio Rinaldi. In 1830, roofer Pyotr Teluschkin became famous when he used a rope ladder to climb the spire to replace the angel and cross which had been that had been damaged by lightning. The spire was rebuilt in metal in 1858 and covered with gilded copper plates.

In 1919, the Soviet regime closed the Peter and Paul Cathedral, and then in 1924, it was turned into a museum. Most of the valuable items of the late 17th – early 18th centuries such as silver items, books, vestments, and icons were given to museums. During World War II, the Peter and Paul Cathedral was badly damaged. In 1952, the facades were restored, and then from 1956 to 1957, the interior was restored. Peter and Paul Cathedral is still officially a museum, and in 1954, the cathedral came under the jurisdiction of the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg.

Since the 1990s, memorial services for Russian emperors and empresses have been held on the date of their deaths. Other religious services resumed in 2000. The first Easter service since 1917 was held in 2008. For the 300th anniversary in 2012, the cathedral was extensively restored.

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The Exterior of the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul

Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul; Credit – Автор: Никонико962 – собственная работа, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81987560

The Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Pau is rectangular in shape, with a dome on the eastern end and a bell tower with a spire on the western entrance. The exterior of the Peter and Paul Cathedral does not have the five typical domes representing Jesus Christ and the Four Evangelists as do most other Orthodox churches. Instead, the dominant part of the cathedral’s exterior is the bell tower. The first three tiers of the bell tower provide a smooth transition from the main part of the cathedral to the spire. The base of the spire is an octagonal structure with narrow vertical openings topped by an octagonal golden crown.

The angel on the spire of the Peter and Paul Cathedral; Credit – Автор: Ad Meskens – собственная работа, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77086740

Atop the 131-foot/40-meter spire is a weather vane in the shape of an angel (height: 10.4 feet/3.2 meters, wingspan: 12.4 feet/3.8 meters) revolving around a 21-foot/6.4-meter-tall cross on its gilded spire. The 402-foot/122.5 meter Peter and Paul Cathedral remained St. Petersburg’s tallest building, as ordered by Peter the Great, until the Construction of the municipal television tower in 1962. However, the Peter and Paul Cathedral still has the world’s tallest Orthodox bell tower.

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The Interior of the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul

The nave of the Peter and Paul Cathedral looking toward the iconostasis; Credit – By Deror avi – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8367790

Orthodox churches are set up differently than other Christian churches. They are divided into three main parts: the narthex, the nave, and the sanctuary. The narthex is the connection between the church and the outside world. It used to be the practice that non-Orthodox people had to remain in the narthex but this practice has mostly fallen into disuse. The congregation stands in the nave during services. Traditionally there is no sitting during Orthodox services and so Orthodox churches usually do not have pews or chairs.

Ceiling fresco paintings; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

The Peter and Paul Cathedral is a hall church, with a nave and side aisles. The interior of the cathedral is divided into three parts by pillars, painted to imitate marble. The ceiling vaults are decorated with multicolored fresco paintings and gilded moldings. The cathedral is lit by twelve large windows. Although a cathedral because of its importance, the Peter and Paul Cathedral is nowhere near the size of other cathedrals this writer has visited. There are no pews in the nave but the pillars and tombs combined with lots of people made moving around (and not losing your tour guide) difficult.

There’s our tour guide with the pulpit and lots of people in the background; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

In Orthodox Christianity, an iconostasis is a wall of icons, religious paintings, that divides the sanctuary from the nave. The sanctuary is where the Eucharist or Divine Liturgy is performed behind the iconostasis. The iconostasis usually has three doors, one in the middle and one on either side. The middle doors are traditionally called the Royal Doors and are only used by the clergy.

The iconostasis; Credit – By Poudou99 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57887255

The carved, gilded 65-foot/20-meter high iconostasis was made from 1722 to 1726 in the Kremlin Armory in Moscow, then brought in parts to St. Petersburg, and mounted in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. All decorative details and sculptural elements of the iconostasis were carved from linden wood and the frame of the iconostasis was made from larch wood.

Some of the icons on the iconostasis

Forty-three icons for the iconostasis were painted from 1726 to 1729 by Moscow icon painters and include images of the patron saints of St. Petersburg: St. Alexander Nevsky, the Apostles Peter and Paul, holy princes and princesses from the Rurik dynasty: Prince Vladimir I (the Great), Princess Olga, and the brothers and martyrs Prince Boris of Rostov and Prince Gleb of Murom.

The iconostasis rising into the cathedral’s dome; Credit – CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=136587

The central part of the iconostasis is designed in the form of the triumphal arch that spans the Royal Doors and rises into the space beneath the dome to a height of 66 feet/20 meters. Near the iconostasis is a pulpit to the left, and the Tsar’s Place to the right, a special spot where the Emperor stood when there was a service.

The Tsar’s Place; Credit – By Perfektangelll – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21354345

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Burials in the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul

The burial service for Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia in 1894

Before the building of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, male rulers of the Rurik dynasty and the early Romanov dynasty along with close male relatives and some Russian noblemen were interred at the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. Likewise, women of the Rurik dynasty and women of the early Romanov dynasty along with some Russian noblewomen were interred at the Ascension Cathedral of the Ascension Convent in the Moscow Kremlin.

Several members of the Romanov family who died before the Peter and Paul Cathedral was completed were interred in the unfinished cathedral under the bell tower or in the entrance to the cathedral. After the death of Peter I (the Great) in 1725, his coffin was placed in a temporary chapel in the unfinished cathedral. He was interred in his final resting place on May 29, 1731. In 1831, Nicholas I ordered that his brother Grand Duke Konstantine Pavlovich be buried in the cathedral. Since that time, close relatives of the emperors began to be buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Graves of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, his wife Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Tsarevna of Russia, and his aunt Tsarevna Maria Alexeievna – They died before the cathedral was finished and were interred at the entrance to the cathedral. The original white marble tombstones still mark their graves; Credit – Wikipedia

Originally, graves were marked by white marble tombstones as seen in the above photo. In 1865, all the tombstones were replaced with the white marble sarcophagi with a large bronze cross coated in gold as seen in the photo below.

Sarcophagi in the Peter and Paul Cathedral; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

The sarcophagi of emperors and empresses have four bronze emblems of the Russian Empire at four corners as seen in the photo below of the sarcophagus of Peter I (the Great).

Sarcophagus of Peter I (the Great); Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

By order of Alexander III, new sarcophagi were made for his parents: the sarcophagus of Alexander II from green Altai jasper and the sarcophagus of Empress Maria Alexandrovna from pink Urals rhodonite as seen in the photo below.

Sarcophagi of Alexander II (left) and his first wife Maria Feodorovna (right); Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Interred in the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul

Peter and Paul Cathedral – Row 1 left to right: Tombs of Elizabeth I, Catherine I, Peter I; Row 2 left to right: Tombs of Catherine II, Peter III, Anna I; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

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Reburials at the Peter and Paul Cathedral

St. Catherine Chapel, the burial site of Nicholas II, his family and his servants; Credit – By Dr Graham Beards – Own work, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13260852

Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, born Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and their five children, along with three of their most loyal servants and the court doctor, were shot to death by a firing squad on July 17, 1918, at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, Siberia, Russia. The bodies were taken to a remote site north of Yekaterinburg. The initial plan was to burn the bodies but when this took longer than expected, the bodies were buried in an unmarked pit. After acid was poured on the bodies, they were covered with railroad ties, and the pit was smoothed over with dirt and ash.

In 1934, Yakov Yurovsky, the commandant of the Ipatiev House, produced an account of the execution and disposal of the bodies. His account later matched the remains of nine bodies found north of Yekaterinburg in 1991. In 1994, when the bodies of the Romanovs were exhumed, two were missing – one daughter, either Maria or Anastasia, and Alexei, the hemophiliac son. The remains of the nine bodies recovered were confirmed as those of the three servants, Dr. Botkin, Nicholas, Alexandra, and three of their daughters. The remains of Olga and Tatiana were definitely identified based on the expected skeletal structure of young women of their age. The remains of the third daughter were either Maria or Anastasia.

The family and their servants were canonized as new martyrs in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in 1981, and as passion bearers in the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000. The formal burial of Nicholas, Alexandra, Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia, Dr. Botkin, and the three servants took place on July 17, 1998, the 80th anniversary of their deaths, in St. Catherine Chapel at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg. Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia, many Romanov family members, and family members of Dr. Botkin and the servants attended the ceremony. Prince Michael of Kent represented his first cousin Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Three of his grandparents were first cousins of Nicholas II.

Until 2009, it was not entirely clear whether the remains of Maria or Anastasia were missing. On August 24, 2007, a Russian team of archaeologists announced that they had found the remains of Alexei and his missing sister in July 2007. In 2009, DNA and skeletal analysis identified the remains found in 2007 as Alexei and his sister Maria. In addition, it determined that the royal hemophilia was the rare, severe form of hemophilia, known as Hemophilia B or Christmas disease. The results showed that Alexei had Hemophilia B and that his mother Empress Alexandra and his sister Anastasia were carriers of the disease. The remains of Alexei and Maria have not yet been buried. The Russian Orthodox Church has questioned whether the remains are authentic and blocked the burial.

Sarcophagus of Empress Maria Feodorovna; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Maria Feodorovna, Empress of All Russia, born Princess Dagmar of Denmark, wife of Alexander III and mother of Nicholas II, died on October 13, 1928, at Hvidøre, the holiday villa she had purchased with her sister Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom in 1906, near Copenhagen, Denmark. Following services in Copenhagen’s Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Church, Maria Feodorovna was interred in the crypt of the Christian IX Chapel at Roskilde Cathedral, the traditional burial place of the Danish royal family in Roskilde, Denmark. She had wished that at some point in time she could be buried with her husband.

The coffin of Maria Feodorovna being lowered into the crypt

In 2005, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed, along with their governments, that Maria Feodorovna’s wish should be fulfilled. Her remains were transported to St. Petersburg. Following a service at Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, she was interred next to her husband Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia in the Peter and Paul Cathedral on September 28, 2006.

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Originally Buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral

Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna was the first wife of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich. While pregnant with her second child, Alexandra collapsed in the middle of a ball with violent labor pains, gave birth prematurely to a son, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, and then lapsed into a coma. Alexandra did not recover consciousness and died six days later on September 24, 1891, at the age of 21. Originally, it was thought that a fall caused her premature labor. However, an autopsy showed that Alexandra’s premature labor was caused by eclampsia, a condition that causes a pregnant woman, usually previously diagnosed with preeclampsia (high blood pressure and protein in the urine), to develop seizures or coma. Nephritis, a kidney disorder, and heart damage were also detected.

In 1939, at the request of Alexandra’s nephew King George II of Greece and the Greek government, the Soviet government allowed Alexandra’s remains to be transferred to Greece. Her coffin was removed from the Peter and Paul Cathedral, put aboard a Greek ship, and brought back to Greece where it was reinterred at the traditional burial site of the Greek royal family, the Royal Cemetery on the grounds of Tatoi Palace. Alexandra’s original marble tomb in the Peter and Paul Cathedral remains at its original site and is the only tomb in the cathedral over an empty grave.

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The Grand Ducal Mausoleum

The Grand Ducal Mausoleum; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

The Grand Ducal Mausoleum is located on the left side of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. There is a corridor between the mausoleum and the cathedral. Because of decreasing room for burials at the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the Grand Ducal Mausoleum was constructed. It was designed by architect David Ivanovich Grimm in 1896. After Grimm’s death in 1898, architects Antony Tomishko and Leon Benois took over the project. The mausoleum, completed in 1908, was expected to hold up to sixty burials but by the time of the Russian Revolution, there had been only thirteen burials. For each burial, a marble slab was placed in the floor, on which was inscribed the title, name, date of birth and death, and date of burial.

Graves of Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna (left) and Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich (right) in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum; Credit – www.pointurier.org

After the Russian Revolution, much of the interior of the mausoleum was damaged due to plans to turn it into a museum and also during World War II due to the German Siege of Leningrad, as St. Petersburg was called during the Soviet regime. Major restoration work occurred in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1980s. In 2006, the stained glass window depicting the resurrection of Jesus was recreated. In 2008, the restoration of the facade and roof was carried out. The Grand Ducal Mausoleum opened to the public in September 2016.

Interior of the Grand Ducal Mausoleum with several burial slabs; Credit – By Poudou99 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57886041

The remains of those who died before the completion of the Grand Ducal Mausoleum in 1908 were transferred from the Peter and Paul Cathedral. The remains of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich and his wife Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna (Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria) were transferred from Coburg, Germany in 1995. Their only son Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich was interred in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum after his death in 1992 as was his wife Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Mukhranskaya, Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna after her death in 2010.

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Interred in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum

The funeral of Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna in 2010 in the Peter and Paul Cathedral before the burial in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum

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This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Peter-und-Paul-Kathedrale (Sankt Petersburg) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter-und-Paul-Kathedrale_(Sankt_Petersburg)> [Accessed 20 April 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints_Peter_and_Paul_Cathedral,_Saint_Petersburg> [Accessed 20 April 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2017. Romanov Burial Sites. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/royal-burial-sites/romanov-burial-sites/> [Accessed 20 April 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Mausolée grand-ducal de Saint-Pétersbourg — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausol%C3%A9e_grand-ducal_de_Saint-P%C3%A9tersbourg> [Accessed 20 April 2022].
  • Pt.wikipedia.org. 2022. Jazigo dos Grão-Duques – Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre. [online] Available at: <https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazigo_dos_Gr%C3%A3o-Duques> [Accessed 20 April 2022].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2022. Петропавловский собор — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80> [Accessed 20 April 2022].
  • Spbmuseum.ru. 2022. Петропавловский собор и Великокняжеская усыпальница. [online] Available at: <https://www.spbmuseum.ru/exhibits_and_exhibitions/92/1316/> [Accessed 20 April 2022].

Elizabeth: The Firstborn Windsor

by The Laird o’ Thistle (Special Edition)
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Queen Elizabeth II, official photo for the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne; Credit – The Royal Family Facebook page

I hope that many who read this were able to see the BBC’s The Unseen Queen on May 29, 2022 or subsequently online. I found it an amazing and moving record of Her Majesty’s life, mostly based on the family’s own home movies, with narration mostly from written and recorded comments by Her Majesty, including some reflections recorded as recently as the last month. I found some of the earliest clips of the Queen with her grandparents, George V and Queen Mary, and with her uncles, the Dukes of Windsor and Kent, particularly fascinating.

It occurred to me some time ago that Elizabeth II is now the last living person who can be said to have known several members of the royal family (and some other historical figures as well). First and foremost on that list is King George V, the founder of the House of Windsor, who died in January 1936, about three months before Elizabeth’s 10th birthday.

Elizabeth knew the old King and was a great favorite of his. As a tiny child, not yet 3 years old, Princess Elizabeth was brought to Bognor (Regis) in early 1929 to keep the King and Queen Mary company as George recuperated from surgery and a nearly fatal bout of septicemia. Accounts say that the princess and the King would chat away… as best she could at that age… while she played in the sand. Later accounts by Marion Crawford, Elizabeth and Margaret’s governess, tell of the King’s expressed desire that she learn to write in “a decent hand.” Various photos show young Princess Elizabeth riding to church with her grandparents at Crathie Kirk (Balmoral), and the two princesses participating in King George’s Silver Jubilee events in 1935, including the procession, thanksgiving service, and balcony appearance. I have mentioned previously here that there is also newsreel footage of Princess Elizabeth and her parents following the old king’s coffin into St. George’s Chapel on the day of his funeral… a clip not included in The Unseen Queen. (See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgJJbq8FvvQ, look at the 9:30 minute mark.) Elizabeth was the youngest royal attendee, and the only one now living.

A well-known story tells that George V… given his testy relationship with his eldest son and heir… bluntly attested his hope at the end of his life that “nothing come between Bertie (George VI), Elizabeth, and the throne.” He saw in her the future. Providence, in due course, granted his wish.

In point of fact, Queen Elizabeth II is the actual firstborn member of the House of Windsor, the first member of the royal family born with the Windsor surname. (Her two elder cousins, the sons of her aunt, Princess Mary, were Lascelles, not Windsors. All of the other elder family members had their surname changed to Windsor in 1917.) That seems both a simple happenstance and incredibly significant.

As well as George V, the Queen is also the only living member of the current royal family who can remember several others, such as her grandfather’s sisters Princess Victoria (d. 1935), and Queen Maud of Norway (d. 1938). [She might, or might not, remember Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife, who died in January 1931.] There are several other senior royals, who died in the first half of the 1940s, that HM remembers along with her cousins Prince Edward (the Duke of Kent, b. 1935) and his sister Princess Alexandra (b. 1936). First and foremost of these is the Kents’ father, Prince George, who was killed in 1942 on active duty in WWII. The others are the last three surviving children of Queen Victoria: Princess Louise (Duchess of Argyll, d. December 1939); Prince Arthur (Duke of Connaught, d. 1942); and Princess Beatrice (widow of Prince Henry of Battenberg, d. 1944.)

In her comments in The Unseen Queen, HM notes that “looking back” is a way of also looking toward the future. It’s a matter of perspective. This week Britain, the Commonwealth, and the world celebrate the unprecedented Platinum Jubilee of the little princess who waved so enthusiastically from carriage and balcony at the 1935 Silver Jubilee, and who grew up around those to whom Queen Victoria was “Grandmama” and even “Mama”, and so on. She’s also the 96-year-old “Gan-gan” of little ones who will remember her as she remembers those others, especially Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis… the family future. The firstborn Windsor will be standing in a unique spot on Thursday as she (hopefully) appears on the balcony at Buckingham Palace with the currently “working” family and the Cambridge children. She will be standing as much at a point in time, as in a physical place. She will be looking “onward” as well as outward. Hopefully someday in the future… God and the British People willing… Prince George will himself stand there in turn, thinking back to a June day in 2022 with his Gan-gan, and also ahead into a then still unfolding future. That, I think, is clearly what HM is hoping.

Yours Aye,
Ken Cuthbertson – the Laird o’ Thistle
May 30, 2022

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Honoré V, Prince of Monaco

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Honoré V, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Honoré Gabriel Grimaldi was born on May 13, 1778, in Paris, France. He was the elder of the two sons of Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco and Louise d’Aumont, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye in her own right. Honoré V’s paternal grandparents were Honoré III, Prince of Monaco and Maria Caterina Brignole who came from a Republic of Genoa (now in Italy) noble family. His maternal grandparents were Louis Marie Guy d’Aumont, Duke of Aumont (link in French) and Louise Jeanne de Durfort, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye (link in French).


Honoré V’s parents Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco and Louise, d’Aumont; Credit – Wikipedia

Honoré V’s mother Louise, d’Aumont was the great-great-great-granddaughter of Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye, the mistress of King Charles II of England, and one of the two heirs of her uncle Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the First Minister of King Louis XIV of France. Louise was the heir of Hortense Mancini’s titles and the Mazarin family wealth.

Honoré V had one younger brother:

In 1641, during the reign of Honoré II, Monaco became a French protectorate, and the Princes of Monaco became vassals of the Kings of France while remaining sovereign princes. Many successive Princes of Monaco and their families spent most of their lives in France and intermarried with French and Italian noble families. Honoré and his brother Florestan spent much of their time in France.

Honoré V’s grandfather, Honoré III, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

The French Revolution had dire consequences for the princely family of Monaco. In January 1793, Honoré V’s grandfather Honoré III, Prince of Monaco was officially declared deposed and France annexed the Principality of Monaco. The members of the former ruling Grimaldi dynasty lost all aristocratic privileges in France, were dispossessed of their French property, and became French citizens. During the Reign of Terror, in September 1793, Honoré V’s parents Honoré IV and Louise, his eight-year-old brother Florestan, and his grandfather Honoré III were arrested and imprisoned in Paris as enemies of the people. Fifteen-year-old Honoré V somehow escaped imprisonment.

Heads of aristocrats on pikes during the Reign of Terror; Credit -Wikipedia

Honoré V’s mother Louise and his brother Florestan were rescued by a family doctor who forged release papers and then hid them in his home until the Reign of Terror was over. The wife of Honoré V’s paternal uncle Prince Joseph of Monaco was not as lucky. Joseph spent most of his time abroad negotiating foreign loans which made him a suspect of counter-revolutionary activities. When Joseph did become involved in a counter-revolution, his wife Marie Thérèse de Choiseul was arrested in the absence of her husband, condemned to death, and guillotined in 1794, one of the last victims before the end of the Reign of Terror.

In October 1794, Honoré V’s grandfather Honoré III and father Honoré IV were released from prison. Honoré III never recovered from his imprisonment and died in Paris on March 21, 1795, at the age of 74. Honoré IV, whose chronic ill health had been worsened by imprisonment, would have become Prince of Monaco but Monaco was no longer a sovereign monarchy. However, Honoré IV’s family properties in France which had been confiscated were returned to him but they were in poor condition and all of the contents were gone.

In 1794, Honoré V’s mother Louise had given birth to an illegitimate daughter Amélie Céleste Erodore d’Aumont while her husband Honoré IV was still imprisoned. The father of the child is believed to have been Antoine de Montazet, Archbishop of Lyon. After Honoré IV’s release from prison, Louise and Honoré IV’s marriage became unhappy and the couple separated. In 1798, Louise divorced Honoré IV, giving Louise sole access to her fortune. Louise married René François Tirnand-d’Arcis on February 6, 1801, and divorced him in 1803. When Honoré V’s mother Louise died in Paris, France on December 13, 1826, aged 67, she left her entire fortune to her younger son Florestan because Honoré V had an illegitimate child. (Explained below.)

Murat leading a cavalry charge during the Battle of Jena. Presumably, Honoré V is one of the officers following him

During the latter part of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte rose to prominence and in 1799, he became the First Consul of France. Later Napoleon was Emperor of the French (1804–1814 and 1815). In 1798, Honoré V joined the French army and served as an officer under General Emmanuel de Grouchy, 2nd Marquis of Grouchy in the French Revolutionary Wars. Honoré V’s courage in battle was noted many times. He was wounded during the Battle of Hohenlinden. Honoré V fought in the Battle of Jena in the ranks of the cavalry corps led by the brother-in-law of Napoleon, Joachim Murat, with whom he forced an entire enemy battalion to surrender. Because of his heroic deeds, Honoré V received the Legion of Honor and the title Baron of Monaco of the Napoleonic Empire.

After Napoleon’s defeat in 1814 and the Bourbon Restoration which saw Louis XVIII, a younger brother of the beheaded King Louis XVI, become King of France, Honoré V’s uncle Joseph petitioned King Louis XVIII to restore the Principality of Monaco to the Grimaldi family. Honoré V’s father Honoré IV finally became Sovereign Prince of Monaco in 1814. However, Honoré IV’s physical condition had worsened and he was now paralyzed on one side of his body. Because of Honoré IV’s condition, a regency was established to rule in his name. Honoré IV’s brother Joseph was regent from 1814 -1815 and then Honoré V served as regent until his father’s death in 1819 when he succeeded him as Honoré V, Prince of Monaco.

The powers in Europe were determined to eliminate the French interest in Monaco because of the role Monaco had played in the rise of Napoleon. Monaco was designated a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia (which included the island of Sardinia, Piedmont, Savoy, Aosta, and Nice) by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Monaco remained a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia until 1860, during the reign of Honoré V’s nephew Charles III, Prince of Monaco, when, by the Treaty of Turin, the Sardinian forces pulled out of Monaco and it became a French protectorate once again.

However, the immediate result of becoming a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1815 was an economic one. The Sardinian government closed the tobacco plantations that Honoré III had planted in Piedmont and blocked an important source of income for Monaco. Honoré V made a trip to Turin, Savoy to try to persuade Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy to reopen the tobacco plantations but was unsuccessful. Honoré V was forced to increase the taxes in Monaco which increased his unpopularity. The economic situation in Monaco caused the population to rebel, necessitating army troops from Savoy to quell the rebellion.

Honoré V never married. With his mistress Félicité de Gamaches (1781 – 1819), Honoré V had one son Louis Gabriel Oscar Grimaldi, called Oscar, born on June 9, 1814, in Paris, France. At the time of his birth, it was noted that Oscar was “born to an unknown father and mother”. A few months after his birth, on November 28, 1814, Honoré V came before Paris notary Alexandre Toussaint Delacour and declared that Oscar was his son. However, officially, his mother remained undetermined for the rest of his life. Oscar was legitimized and given the title Marquis of Baux which was not recognized in France. Oscar had a career as a lawyer and a French government official. When his father Honoré V died in 1841, Oscar received his personal property. He never married and died in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France on July 15, 1894, aged 80.

Entrance to the common vault where the Grimaldi family members originally buried at the Church of St. Nicholas are buried; Credit – www.findagrave.com

After a reign of twenty-two years, Honoré V, Prince of Monaco died on October 2, 1841, in Paris, France, aged 63, and was succeeded by his brother Florestan. He was buried at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Monaco. During the late 19th century, a new and larger church, the Cathedral of Monaco, was built on the site of the Church of Saint Nicholas. The original church was demolished in 1874 but the current cathedral was built over the areas of the previous church and the old burial site so that the sovereign princes and consorts originally buried at the Church of Saint Nicholas are now buried in the Cathedral of Monaco.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Edwards, Anne, 2017. The Grimaldis of Monaco. Blue Ridge Summit: Lyons Press.
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Honoré V, Prince of Monaco – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_V,_Prince_of_Monaco> [Accessed 3 April 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/honore-iv-prince-of-monaco/> [Accessed 3 April 2022].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Louise d’Aumont, Hereditary Princess of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/louise-daumont-hereditary-princess-of-monaco/> [Accessed 3 April 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Honoré V (prince de Monaco) — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_V_(prince_de_Monaco)> [Accessed 3 April 2022].
  • Fr.wikipedia.org. 2022. Oscar Grimaldi — Wikipédia. [online] Available at: <https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Grimaldi> [Accessed 3 April 2022].
  • It.wikipedia.org. 2022. Onorato V di Monaco – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onorato_V_di_Monaco> [Accessed 3 April 2022].

Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin in Moscow, Russia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin; Credit – By Petar Milošević – Transferred from sr.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by User:PetarM using CommonsHelper., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12820131

The coronation cathedral of Russian rulers, the Assumption Cathedral, also known as the Dormition Cathedral and Uspensky Cathedral in Russian, is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God, the Orthodox feast celebrated on August 15, of the “falling asleep” (death) of Mary the Theotokos (Mother of God, literally translated as God-Bearer), and her being taken bodily up into heaven (Assumption of Mary in the Roman Catholic religion). The cathedral is located in the Moscow Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. The Moscow Kremlin is a fortified complex founded by the Rurik dynasty in the late 15th century. It includes five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall. Before the founding of St. Petersburg by Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia in 1703, the Moscow Kremlin was the seat of power for the Rurik and early Romanov rulers of Russia. The Moscow Kremlin now serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation.

Since 1382, Assumption Cathedral has been the burial site of most Metropolitans of Moscow (similar to an archbishop) and Patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, the head of the Russian Old-Orthodox Church. Assumption Cathedral was the site of the coronations of the sovereign Tsars, Emperors, and Empresses of Russia, and some consorts from 1547 to 1896.

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History of the Assumption Cathedral

Worshippers at the Assumption Cathedral in the mid-19th century

A wooden church was built on the site in the 12th century and was replaced by a limestone church around 1326. In the 14th century, (Saint) Peter, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Rus persuaded Ivan I Kalita, Grand Prince of Moscow to build a cathedral to the Theotokos (Blessed Virgin Mary) in the Moscow Kremlin. Construction of the cathedral began on August 4, 1326, and the cathedral was finished and consecrated on August 4, 1327.

However, by the end of the 15th century, the Assumption Cathedral had deteriorated and it was suggested that a new cathedral should be built. The design and the construction of the new cathedral were entrusted to Moscow architects Ivan Myschkin and <unknown first name > Kriwzow. Construction began in April 1472 but two years later, in May 1474, when the new Assumption Cathedral was nearly completed, it collapsed due to an earthquake.

Following the disaster, Ivan III, Grand Prince of Moscow decided to give Aristotele Fioravanti, a renowned architect and engineer from Bologna, then part of the Papal States, now in Italy, the task of designing the cathedral in the traditions of Russian architecture and supervising the construction. Aristotele Fioravanti made a careful study of Russian architecture and then designed a light and spacious masterpiece that combined the spirit of the Renaissance with Russian traditions. Construction began in 1475, and in 1479, the new Assumption Cathedral was consecrated.

In 1918, after the Russian Revolution, the Assumption Cathedral and the other churches in the Kremlin were closed as houses of worship. The new Bolshevik government moved its headquarters from St. Petersburg to the Moscow Kremlin. The Assumption Cathedral was converted into a museum. The museum staff made every effort to retain the interior. During restoration work, almost all the original paintings of the icons and murals were uncovered from under the later paintings. With the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Assumption Cathedral once again became a Russian Orthodox church.

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The Exterior and Interior of the Assumption Cathedral

Assumption Cathedral; Credit – By Don-vip – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83068810

Italian architect Aristotele Fioravanti followed the style of the 1160 Assumption Cathedral in the city of Vladimir and designed the Assumption Cathedral in the style of a traditional Russian cross-domed church, with five domes representing Jesus Christ and the Four Evangelists, Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Exterior frescoes; By Skif-Kerch – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62603284

The Renaissance-style exterior has white-stone walls, columned friezes, and semicircles of blind arches. Fresco paintings in the upper part of the walls in semicircular vaults depict the Virgin Mary, Archangels Michael and Gabriel, and saints.

Fioravanti’s architectural originality was more visible in the interior. All the areas of the cathedral were larger than in the past. Pillars were placed further apart which created an impression of an immense palatial room. People of the time were astonished by the cathedral’s “unusual majesty and height, luminosity and spaciousness”.

Orthodox churches are set up differently than other Christian churches. They are divided into three main parts: the narthex, the nave, and the sanctuary. The narthex is the connection between the church and the outside world. It used to be the practice that non-Orthodox people had to remain in the narthex but this practice has mostly fallen into disuse. The congregation stands in the nave during services. Traditionally there is no sitting during Orthodox services and so Orthodox churches usually do not have pews or chairs. In Orthodox Christianity, an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings that divides the sanctuary from the nave. The sanctuary behind the Royal Doors is where the Eucharist or Divine Liturgy is performed, behind the iconostasis. Only priests and servers may enter through the Royal Doors.

Frescoes in the interior of the Assumption Cathedral; Credit – By Shakko – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86775440

The interior of the Assumption Cathedral is richly decorated with fresco paintings from 1642 -1643 and the huge, magnificent 53 feet/16-meter iconostasis of 1653.

Looking toward the iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral

Originally, a three-tiered iconostasis, the Assumption Cathedral’s iconostasis gained two additional tiers in 1626 and 1653 – 1654.

Part of the iconostasis; Credit – Von Schoschi, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14625675

In addition to its religious function, the Assumption Cathedral iconostasis also served as a sort of trophy wall. The Russian rulers would add the most important icons from cities they had conquered to the iconostasis. The Mother of God, the Archangel Gabriel, and the Four Evangelists are depicted on the Royal Doors of the Assumption Cathedral.

The Royal Doors; Credit – By shakko – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7078552

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Coronations at Assumption Cathedral

Anointing of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia in front of the iconostasis and the Royal Doors by Vasili Fedorovich  Timm, 1856; Credit – Wikipedia

The seat of the Grand Princes of Moscow from the Rurik dynasty was in the Moscow Kremlin. It was therefore obvious that the Tsars of the Tsardom of Russia which followed the Grand Principality of Moscow and then the Emperors of the Russian Empire would have themselves crowned there. In addition to the Tsars, all the crowned Emperors and Empresses from Catherine I to Nicholas II were anointed and crowned in the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. Many of the wives of the Tsars and Emperors were crowned at the same time as their husbands.

Coronation of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia Laurits Tuxen; Credit – Wikipedia

The Russian coronation emphasized that the secular ruler of Russia was closely connected with the Russian Orthodox Church. No layperson was ever permitted to pass through the Royal Doors, however, during the Russian rulers’ coronation, they were permitted to do so. They received both parts of Communion (bread and wine) in the sanctuary behind the Royal Doors of the iconostasis. The Russian rulers used their hands to take the bread and the chalice of wine, symbolizing their spiritual equality among Russia’s clergy just this once in their lives.

When Peter I (the Great) moved the seat of power from Moscow to his new city St. Petersburg, the coronations continued to take place at the Assumption Cathedral. Moscow remained the spiritual center of Russia, and tradition required that coronations continue to be held there.

Coronations held at the Assumption Cathedral:

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

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Works Cited

  • Assumption-cathedral.kreml.ru. 2022. Museums of the Moscow Kremlin: ASSUMPTION CATHEDRAL. [online] Available at: <https://assumption-cathedral.kreml.ru/en-Us/museum-assumption-cathedral/> [Accessed 2 April 2022].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Krönung der russischen Zaren und Kaiser – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kr%C3%B6nung_der_russischen_Zaren_und_Kaiser> [Accessed 2 April 2022].
  • De.wikipedia.org. 2022. Mariä-Entschlafens-Kathedrale (Moskau) – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari%C3%A4-Entschlafens-Kathedrale_(Moskau)> [Accessed 2 April 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Coronation of the Russian monarch – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_the_Russian_monarch> [Accessed 2 April 2022].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2022. Dormition Cathedral, Moscow – Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dormition_Cathedral,_Moscow> [Accessed 2 April 2022].
  • Jenkins, Simon, 2021. Europe’s 100 Best Cathedrals. Dublin: Penguin Random House.
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. 2022. Успенский собор (Московский Кремль) — Википедия. [online] Available at: <https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80_(%D0%9C%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%9A%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BB%D1%8C)> [Accessed 2 April 2022].
  • Православие.RU. 2022. Crowned, anointed, and communed as clergy: On the coronations of Russian empresses regnant. [online] Available at: <https://www.pravoslavie.ru/80559.html> [Accessed 2 April 2022].

Louise d’Aumont, Hereditary Princess of Monaco

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2022

Louise d’Aumont, Hereditary Princess of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Louise d’Aumont was the wife of Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco. However, Louise divorced Honoré before he became Prince of Monaco, and so the title she held during their marriage was Hereditary Princess of Monaco. Louise Félicité Victoire d’Aumont, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye was born on October 22, 1759, at the Hôtel d’Aumont in Paris, France. She was the only child of Louis Marie Guy d’Aumont, Duke of Aumont (link in French) (1732 – 1799), and Louise Jeanne de Durfort, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye (link in French) (1735 – 1781). Her paternal grandparents were Louis Marie Augustin d’Aumont de Rochebaron, Duke of Aumont (1709 – 1782) and Victoire Felicite de Durfort. Her maternal grandparents were Emmanuel Félicité de Durfort, Duke of Duras (1715 – 1789) and his first wife Charlotte Antoinette de La Porte (1719 – 1735).

Louise’s mother Louise Jeanne de Durfort, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye; Credit – Wikipedia

Through her mother, Louise was the great-great-great-granddaughter of Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin, Duchess of Mayenne, Duchess of Meilleraye, the mistress of King Charles II of England, and one of the two heirs of her uncle Cardinal Jules Mazarin, the First Minister of King Louis XIV of France. Louise was the heir of Hortense Mancini’s titles and the Mazarin family wealth.

Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco; Credit – Wikipedia

Noting the family wealth and the large dowry that would come with marriage, Honoré III, Prince of Monaco arranged a marriage for his son and heir Honoré (IV) to Louise. The couple married on July 15, 1777.

Louise and Honoré (IV) had two sons, both Sovereign Princes of Monaco:

The French Revolution had dire consequences for the princely family of Monaco. In January 1793, Honoré III, Prince of Monaco was officially declared deposed and the Principality of Monaco was annexed by France. The members of the former ruling Grimaldi dynasty lost all aristocratic privileges in France, were dispossessed of their French property, and became French citizens. During the Reign of Terror, in September 1793, Honoré (IV), Louise, their son Florestan, and Honoré (IV)’s father Honoré III were arrested and imprisoned in Paris as enemies of the people. Louise and her son Florestan were rescued by a family doctor who forged release papers and hid them in his home until the Reign of Terror was over. The wife of Honoré IV’s brother Joseph was not as lucky. Joseph spent most of his time abroad negotiating foreign loans, making him a suspect of counter-revolutionary activities. When Joseph did become involved in a counter-revolution, his wife Marie Thérèse de Choiseul was arrested in the absence of her husband, condemned to death, and guillotined in 1794, one of the last victims before the end of the Reign of Terror.

In October 1794, Honoré III and Honoré (IV) were released from prison. Honoré III never recovered from his imprisonment and died in Paris on March 21, 1795, at the age of 74, but his burial place is unknown. Honoré IV, whose chronic ill health had been worsened by imprisonment, would have become Prince of Monaco but Monaco was no longer a sovereign monarchy. However, Honoré IV’s family properties in France were returned to him but they were in poor condition and all of the contents were gone.

Louise on a Monaco postage stamp; Credit – The Peerage

In 1794, while Honoré IV was still in prison, Louise gave birth to an illegitimate daughter Amélie Céleste Erodore d’Aumont. The father of the child is believed to have been Antoine de Montazet, Archbishop of Lyon. After Honoré IV’s release from prison, Louise and Honoré IV’s marriage became unhappy and the couple separated. In 1798, Louise divorced Honoré IV, giving Louise sole access to her fortune. Louise married René François Tirnand-d’Arcis on February 6, 1801, and divorced him in 1803.

After Napoleon’s defeat in 1814 and the Bourbon Restoration which saw Louis XVIII, a younger brother of the beheaded King Louis XVI, become King of France, Honoré IV’s brother Joseph petitioned King Louis XVIII to restore the Principality of Monaco to the Grimaldi family. Louise’s former husband Honoré IV finally became Sovereign Prince of Monaco in 1814. However, his physical condition had worsened and he was now paralyzed on one side of his body. Because of Honoré IV’s condition, a regency was established to rule in his name. Honoré IV’s brother Joseph was regent from 1814 -1815, and then Louise and Honoré IV’s elder son Honoré served as regent until his father died in 1819 when he succeeded him as Honoré V, Prince of Monaco. In a somewhat hypocritical move, Louise removed her elder son Honoré V, Prince of Monaco from her will because he had an illegitimate child, and left her entire fortune to her younger son Florestan who became Sovereign Prince of Monaco upon his unmarried elder brother’s death in 1841.

Louise’s first burial site at Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris; Credit – CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22545708

Louise died in Paris, France on December 13, 1826, aged 67. She was initially interred in a mausoleum at Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris but in 1885, her grandson Charles III, Prince of Monaco ordered her remains transferred to the new Cathedral of Monaco.

Louise’s grave at the Cathedral of Monaco; Credit – https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7832648/louise-d_aumont_mazarin#view-photo=2562563

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Edwards, Anne, 2017. The Grimaldis of Monaco. Blue Ridge Summit: Lyons Press.
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  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Honoré IV, Prince of Monaco. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/honore-iv-prince-of-monaco/> [Accessed 23 March 2022].
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