Obituary – Prince Dimitri Romanovich Romanov (1926-2016)

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2017

Prince Dmitri Romanovich and his wife with Russian President Vladimir Putin, 2006; Photo Credit – By Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7386249

Prince Dimitri Romanovich Romanov died in a hospital in Denmark on December 31, 2016, at the age of 90. He was admitted to the hospital the week before his death after a deterioration in his health. Prince Dimitri is survived by his second wife Princess Theodora Alexeevna Romanov (née Dorrit Revetlow). He had no children from either of his marriages.  Prince Dimitri was the President of the Romanov Family Association and was recognized by most Romanovs as the head of the House of Romanov.

Born on May 17, 1926, in Cap d’Antibes, France, Prince Dimitri Romanovich Romanov was the second of the two children of Prince Roman Petrovich of Russia and Countess Praskovia Sheremeteva, a member of one of the wealthiest and most influential noble families of Russia. Prince Roman Petrovich was one of the 35 Romanovs who managed to escape Russia after the Russian Revolution. In April 1919, he left Russia aboard the British battleship HMS Marlborough. Prince Dimitri had one elder brother Prince Nicholas Romanovich Romanov, who served as the President of the Romanov Family Association and was a claimant to head the House of Romanov before his death in 2014. Prince Nicholas had no sons, so upon his death, his brother Prince Dimitri became the claimant to head the House of Romanov.

Prince Dimitri was a great-great-grandson of Nicholas I, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias (1796 – 1855).  His male-line descent from Emperor Nicholas I can be seen below.

Emperor Nicholas I of Russia married Princess Charlotte of Prussia > Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaievich married Princess Alexandra of Oldenburg > Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich married Princess Militsa of Montenegro > Prince Roman Petrovich married Countess Prascovia Sheremeteva > Prince Dimitri Romanov

Most of the descendants of Emperor Nicholas I except for the descendants of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich recognized Prince Dimitri and his brother before him as the head of the House of Romanov. The Romanov Family Association does not recognize the claim of Vladimir Kirillovich’s daughter Maria Vladimirovna, who styles herself Grand Duchess of Russia, that she is the head of the House of Romanov. Maria Vladimirovna’s descent from Alexander II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias can be seen below. Emperor Alexander II was the eldest son of Emperor Nicholas I.

Emperor Alexander II married Marie of Hesse and by Rhine > Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich married Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin > Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich married Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha > Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich married Leonida Bagration of Mukhrani > Maria Vladimirovna

The house laws of the House of Romanov state that the eldest son of the monarch shall inherit the throne, and then other dynasts according to primogeniture in the male line. A female could only succeed or the succession could only pass through the female line upon the extinction of all legitimately-born, male dynasts. Maria Vladimirovna claims that the marriage of Prince Roman Petrovich of Russia and Countess Praskovia Sheremeteva violated the house laws.

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Works Cited
http://tass.ru/obschestvo/3920211
“Prince Dimitri Romanov.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Jan. 2017. Web. 1 Jan. 2017.
“Line of succession to the former Russian throne.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Jan. 2017. Web. 1 Jan. 2017.
“Романов, Димитрий Романович.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 2017. Web. 1 Jan. 2017.