Prince Nicholas Romanov (b1922) and Prince Dimitri Romanov (b1926)

[MAfan]

A recent interview to Prince Nicholas Romanovic about "his family, emigration, relations with the Soviet authorities, Rasputin, succession to the throne, and how important it is not to stop being Russian and loving your homeland wherever you live".

I am very proud that I am a Romanov | New Style Magazine (english version)

[BeatrixFan]

He just can't give an interview without taking a dig at Maria and George can he? Sad man.

[NGalitzine]

A very good interview. I dont find him sad at all, rather up beat actually, he seems to have given a pretty accurate explanation of the situation within the Romanov family.

[AristoCat]

I admire his candor and I admire how he gave such an intelligent perspective of the situation. He was right that the Communist Revolution is something unprecedented and that the Soviets were never Russians.

[Vasillisos Markos]

I think he pretty much sums up that no one has a claim to the throne under the dynastic laws which applied at that time. I don't think he has made a dig at Maria; on the contrary, I think he feels everyone should realize that the monarchy is a pipe dream and the Romanovs will never return to reign in Russia.

[AristoCat]

I think he's right and it's a very non-antagonistic position to take.

[branchg]

Originally Posted by Vasillisos Markos

I think he pretty much sums up that no one has a claim to the throne under the dynastic laws which applied at that time. I don't think he has made a dig at Maria; on the contrary, I think he feels everyone should realize that the monarchy is a pipe dream and the Romanovs will never return to reign in Russia.

Except that he is wrong. He still makes clear his own interpretation of the Pauline Laws, which is that only Grand Dukes were bound to the equal marriage requirement and there are no Grand Dukes left, therefore, the Princes of the Blood who married unequally (like his father, Prince Roman) were able to transmit rights to the throne to morganauts. Which is patently incorrect.

From his perspective, that means he is the Head of the Imperial House, not Maria, because his status as a male morganaut take precedence over a female. Which again is totally incorrect.

An honest argument would be all the male-line descendants of dynasts are morganatic and the rights to be Head of the Imperial Family passed to the Serbian Royal House through an equal marriage of Princess Olga of Greece & Denmark after Vladimir's death in 1992.

[BeatrixFan]

Every time we hear from this man, we get his views that he is the head of the house and that Maria this, Maria that. When Maria is interviewed, she doesn't mention it. He seems to enjoy bringing it up. But what I don't understand about Nicholas is that he's a republican, he says monarchy isn't right for Russia etc etc. So why use the title of Prince? A title he isn't entitled to either. It's very strange and just makes him seem ridiculous IMO.

[branchg]

What bothers me is he has no problem disparaging Maria Vladimirovna (and reminding everyone her son is a Prussian Hohenzollern for good measure) and her grandfather, Grand Duke Cyril (remember the only dynasts after 1917 that refused to acknowledge Cyril as de-jure Tsar were his grandfather, Grand Duke Peter, and his great-uncle, Grand Duke Nicholas), but yet somehow manages to exempt himself from the very laws that his own ancestors held dear as the foundation of the imperial throne. And his daughters don't even speak Russian or have any commitment to Orthodox tradition.

And he is not a Prince of Russia under the family laws. He is simply Nicholas Romanov as a morganaut.

[BeatrixFan]

Perfectly put branchg. Now don't get me wrong folks, I'm not suggesting that Nicholas should have raised his daughters in the way Maria has raised George. That's entirely his choice as a father and it's not open for criticism in my view. However, there's a certain amount of hypocrisy here and I truly think it's a case of sour grapes. Somewhere along the way, he's had it drummed into him that he's the captain of the ship and he can't bear to be told otherwise. And if there was a third claimant, I'm sure he'd be just as sour.

[AristoCat]

How has he raised his daughters?

[BeatrixFan]

Well he hasn't taught them to speak Russian and they're not Orthodox Christians. Nuff said.

[Vasillisos Markos]

My dear Branchg

I did not know about Princess Olga's descendants. Who in your opinion is the head of the Imperial Family?

[NGalitzine]

What do the rules say about a dynast who married without the permission of the reigning Tsar? What about marriage in violation of the rules of the Russian Orthodox Church? What do we say about a dynast who violated their oath of loyalty to the Tsar and supported a government that overthrew a reigning Tsar or marched through the streets waving the flag of the revolution?

Originally Posted by AristoCat

How has he raised his daughters?

He raised them to be citizens of Italy and to get on with their lives living in the real world.

[branchg]

Originally Posted by NGalitzine

What do the rules say about a dynast who married without the permission of the reigning Tsar? What about marriage in violation of the rules of the Russian Orthodox Church? What do we say about a dynast who violated their oath of loyalty to the Tsar and supported a government that overthrew a reigning Tsar or marched through the streets waving the flag of the revolution?

If you're talking about Grand Duke Cyril, he married without permission of Nicholas II and was exiled from Russia. The Tsar rescinded this action and issued a decree that Victoria Melita was recognized as Orthodox Grand Duchess Viktoria Fedorovna with the rank of HIH. Their daughter, Marie, was recognized as a Princess of the Blood and listed as a dynast.

The cousin issue is irrelevant because Orthodoxy is filled with kissing cousins among royals and the Tsar could waive any religious requirements. Obviously, Nicholas II was perfectly fine and the Tsar ruled the Church.

The notion that Cyril betrayed the Empress was peddled by Grand Dukes Peter and Nicholas after the Revolution. All the other surviving dynasts publicly recognized Cyril as de-jure Tsar and Head of the Imperial House.

[MAfan]

Several posts discussing the dispute on the Headship of the Imperial Family and who is the rightful claimant to the Russian throne have been moved to the Monarchy and Restoration; Rival Families and Claimants thread.

MAfan
Russian Forums Moderator