Identification of the remains found in 2007: Alexei and Marie (Coble, 2009)

[Ex-Princess Lisa]

Originally Posted by lexi4

Good for you! I haven't even tried...at least not yet. Do you find it difficult?
Lexi

Yes, I find it very difficult.

[Ex-Princess Lisa]

Originally Posted by COUNTESS

DNA can be traced from both men and women. Mitrochondrial "Eeve", can only be traced through women. Prince Michael was a DNA donor to establish Romanov identity.

I did not know that Prince Michaels DNA was used to establish the Imperial familys remains.

Is his mothers female line the same female line as Alix?

Both descended on the female side from Queen Victoria? As is Prince Philip.

I do not think the scientists were able to test the nuclear DNA, does anyone know?

[COUNTESS]

Prince Michael's mother, was Marina of Greece, her mother was Helen or Elena Vladimirovich, daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich and Maria Pavlona. Princess Helen was the wife of Nicholas of Greece an uncle of Prince Philip. Prince Michael would also be related to Alix, through his father, George, Duke of Kent, who was King George V son, thus making him a greatgrandson of Queen Victoria and Prince Michael a great-great grandson. Alix was Queen Victoria's granddaughter. Her mother was Princess Alice.

[Ex-Princess Lisa]

Maybe it was not mtDNA he was being tested for, maybe it was nuclear DNA.

Maybe the scientists are trying to make a profile of Romanov family nuclear DNA.

[Ex-Princess Lisa]

Originally Posted by COUNTESS

Prince Michael's mother, was Marina of Greece, her mother was Helen or Elena Vladimirovich, daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich and Maria Pavlona. Princess Helen was the wife of Nicholas of Greece an uncle of Prince Philip. Prince Michael would also be related to Alix, through his father, George, Duke of Kent, who was King George V son, thus making him a greatgrandson of Queen Victoria and Prince Michael a great-great grandson. Alix was Queen Victoria's granddaughter. Her mother was Princess Alice.

Thankyou for this information. I can't see how testing his mtDNA would be of any help.
To compare Alixs mtDNA it would have to be Prince Philips.
And to compare Nicholas IIs mtdna it would have to be female descendents of his sisters. But I can't remember if Xenia and Olga had daughters, I'll have to look it up. I do remember reading that Nicholas II mtDNA haplotype is T.

[Ex-Princess Lisa]

I've just looked it up. Nicholas IIs mtDNA was compared to his brother George and Tihon (son of Olga, sister of Nicholas) and James Carnegie, 3rd Duke of Fife.

[Russophile]

Originally Posted by Ex-Princess Lisa

Thankyou for this information. I can't see how testing his mtDNA would be of any help.
To compare Alixs mtDNA it would have to be Prince Philips.
And to compare Nicholas IIs mtdna it would have to be female descendents of his sisters. But I can't remember if Xenia and Olga had daughters, I'll have to look it up. I do remember reading that Nicholas II mtDNA haplotype is T.

Olga had 2 sons, Tikhon and Yuri, I believe.
Xenia had 1 daughter, Irina who married Felix Yussupov, they had a daughter Irina, who ended up marrying into a Greek oil tycoon family. Tiflis? I think their name was??

[COUNTESS]

I have seen it in print as Sfiris, his first name was Ilya, which would indicate that he was Russian. But your spelling, certainly, could be another way, translated into English letter. Her daughter Tatiana married Alexis Giannakoupoulas. Who was definitely Greek.

[morhange]

Is it possible to test for a hemophilia gene, or would the bones be too decomposed for that?

[Ex-Princess Lisa]

It is possible to test for a haemophilia gene and the Russians are trying to do that.
If I quote from reply 34 on this thread which is a translation from a Russian newspaper Izvestia:

'This time we shall try to investigate DNA for genetically determined disease.'

[Russophile]

Originally Posted by COUNTESS

I have seen it in print as Sfiris, his first name was Ilya, which would indicate that he was Russian. But your spelling, certainly, could be another way, translated into English letter. Her daughter Tatiana married Alexis Giannakoupoulas. Who was definitely Greek.

My spelling sucks due to my reading this stuff years ago.
Countess, Lexi, have you guys read the fictional novel: Property of a Lady? By Elizabeth Adler? I think she wraps a lot of this whole thing up in an engaging story.

[COUNTESS]

I never read that, and I got that info from a new book, which is a biography, by John Ver Der Kriste and Coryne Hall, called Once a Grand Duchess, Xenia, Sister of Nicholas II. Never read historical fiction.

[Russophile]

It's fun. Mind candy, really. I would throw one of those in after something huge, like Massie, or in between a Victor Hugo or Melville. It would spark something else. I read a fictional bio on Coco Chanel and that's what got me into the Romanovs (GDDmitry) and Misia Sert. There's one good bio. on her. Excellent read.

[lexi4]

Originally Posted by Ex-Princess Lisa

Maybe it was not mtDNA he was being tested for, maybe it was nuclear DNA.

Maybe the scientists are trying to make a profile of Romanov family nuclear DNA.

No, it was not nuclear DNA. Here is a link to Gill's findings, if you are interested.
re.com/ng/journal/v6/n2/abs/ng0294-130.html
You will note, that Nicholas's mtDNA had to be cloned to demonstrate heteroplasmy. One of these sequences matched two living maternal realtives of the Tsar.
The remains were too decayed to use nuclear DNA.

Lexi

[lexi4]

Originally Posted by Ex-Princess Lisa

It is possible to test for a haemophilia gene and the Russians are trying to do that.
If I quote from reply 34 on this thread which is a translation from a Russian newspaper Izvestia:

'This time we shall try to investigate DNA for genetically determined disease.'

They did not test for the haemophilia gene on Alexandra. They planned to, but that was scrapped at the last minute supposedly because of the cost.
Lexi

[Ex-Princess Lisa]

Originally Posted by COUNTESS

Prince Michael was a DNA donor to establish Romanov identity.

Do you have a source for this because I do not believe it.

[plkbvt]

Originally Posted by JPhinala

Doubtful. They certainly didn't do that at the Dowager Empress Marie's re-burial, though she always was the unifying force abroad after the revolution.

This is a little misleading. She was a "unifying force" only in the sense that no one in the family dared to make a move without her blessing and permission (apart from Kyrill, whose "Romanov" heritage was far greater than MF's). This was a dynastic and generational thing, based ONLY on MF's position as Empress Mother -- she played no role whatsoever in emigre politics apart from keeping completely silent. pk

[lexi4]

For the DNA tests on the bodies found in Koptyaki Forest, DNA from Prince Phillip was used. His mother, Princess Alice of Greece, was the daughter of Alexandra's oldest sister, Victoria. Both Alexandra and Victoria shared the same mtDNA. Testing for Nicholas proved to be more complicated. His nearest living relative was his sister Olga's son. He believed the bones found to be a hoax engineered by the KGB and refused to cooperate with the testing. Consequently, the lab cloned the DNA of Nicholas using the PCR process but this too proved problematic. In the end, the body of Nicholas's brother, Grand Duke George Alexandrovich, was exhumed and a match obtained.
So, the DNA used for Nicolas and Alexandra was that of Prince Phillip and Grand Duke George.
Lexi

[lucien]

As for the investigation,mr.Nikolai Nevolin will hold a press conference at the appropiate time,it is far too early to say anything at this time.

Untill the US laboratories have completed their own DNA studies,some time after the Russians have concluded their work,nothing will be confirmed either way.

courtesy Margarita Nelipa,AP/SEARCH Foundation.

[Anna was Franziska]

Originally Posted by lucien

I will wait what the Search Foundation's reaction will be through Margarita Nelipa on behalve of Peter Sarandinaki,President of the SEARCH Foundation.

Exactly. This is the best thing any of us can do. There is a thread on the Alexander Palace forum where all the latest updates are posted. If anyone has any questions, they can read the whole thing. You will see all the details and why specialists are so certain these are the remains of the lost children.

Keep checking this thread for the real story.

The Imperial Children's Remains Discovered FAQs. Please Read!