Who is the Head of the Imperial Family?

[PrincessKaimi]

Very interesting tidbit here. Thanks for keeping us posted on her whereabouts.

[AristoCat]

I just wonder, are the contesting heads taking into consideration the wishes of Russia? It should be up to Russia and the Russians, not the Romanovs themselves. Prince Nicholas seems interested more in moving forward while Maria is still eager to find out more about the death of Nicholas II and seems to really want a throne of her own to plonk down on. It's like Maria is holding it over the heads of the Russians all the time. A restoration is something that would be a massive undertaking and a restoration could never be done in it's past form.

[XeniaCasaraghi]

This situation has irritated me for a heck of a long time. It seems that they just can't resolve this issue. If 100% of Russians said they wanted their Tsar back tomorrow; would these people start another war trying to decide who would sit on the throne?

[AristoCat]

If 100% of Russians said they wanted their Tsar back tomorrow; would these people start another war trying to decide who would sit on the throne?

I think Maria would end up hiring a bunch of snipers while the opposing side would kidnap her and stuff her full of doughnuts, hoping she has a heart attack.

[Benjamin]

Originally Posted by AristoCat

I think Maria would end up hiring a bunch of snipers while the opposing side would kidnap her and stuff her full of doughnuts, hoping she has a heart attack.

LOL! One can actually envision such a scenario...wouldn't put it past either camp.

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Ok screw these crazy folks, centuries ago Russia chose who they wanted to be their Tsar and they chose Michael Romanov. If it ever came that they wanted the system to return, I say the choose again; hopefully from amongst the Romanov family.

[AristoCat]

I just don't know how on earth such a rivalry can last for so long.

[branchg]

Originally Posted by AristoCat

I think that's it really. She's so greedy for a throne and the body of the Dowager Empress was barely cold when Kiril staked his claim to be Head of the Imperial Family. Since then it's been a family split and Maria has claimed that only she and her (at hte time) mother and now her son are the only 'real' Romanovs and the rest might have the name, but not the rights.

Grand Duke Cyril had already assumed the Head of the Imperial House in-exile before the death of the Dowager Empress Marie. His claim was indisputable under the Pauline Laws and was publicly supported by almost all of the remaining dynasts.

The split comes down to whether you accept Vladmir's marriage to a Bagration princess as equal under the Pauline Law. The male descendants take the position she was not royalty and, therefore, Vladimir could not possibly transmit rights to the throne to Maria over the rights of the surviving males.

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Am I being too naive and nostalgic in thinking that after what the family went through and how close they were to being wiped out; that this argument is freakin tedious? You would think they would get a long better after the revolution and all this stuff about morganic marriages and such wouldn't matter.

[AristoCat]

At hte moment the nobility of Russia (other than Maria) have settled on the descendant of Grand Duchess Xenia and with Prince Rotislav as the Heir. Basically and Oldenburg.

[XeniaCasaraghi]

So there are 3 "claimants"
Maria
Prince Rostislav (descended from Xenia)
Nicholas Romanovich

[AristoCat]

Supposedly Prince Nicholas supports Rotislav and Maria is still determined to have Georgi as the one who will inherit.

[undermywords]

Great britian, maybe?

[AristoCat]

You mean one of the Windsors? That would certainly be a cruel irony; the Windors deny the Romanovs asylum and then go figure, inherit the Russian throne.

[XeniaCasaraghi]

Originally Posted by AristoCat

You mean one of the Windsors? That would certainly be a cruel irony; the Windors deny the Romanovs asylum and then go figure, inherit the Russian throne.

Im not Russian or British but even I have to go Whitney Houston and say "he-- to the naw"! It's bad enough the BRF has so many of the Romanov jewels.

[Warren]

Originally Posted by XeniaCasaraghi

It's bad enough the BRF has so many of the Romanov jewels.

"Bad enough"? At least some of them still exist and are still worn. The BRF has but a fraction of "the Romanov jewels"; if Queen Mary hadn't bought what she did, most of those would have been broken up into engagement rings and other trinkets long ago.

[doric44]

Originally Posted by AristoCat

You mean one of the Windsors? That would certainly be a cruel irony; the Windors deny the Romanovs asylum and then go figure, inherit the Russian throne.

actually there is a fiction book about that involving prince michael of kent becoming the new tzar the novel is called Icon

[AristoCat]

That would certainly be interesting, with Princess Michael as the Tsarina.

[Warren]

Prince and Princess Michael and the novel 'Icon' have been discussed in the Monarchy and Restoration thread.

[AristoCat]

I jsut wonder, why would they (the Romanovs) want to bother with the whole country. Many disputed heads might have made 'unequal' marriages, but it was mainly because they didn't presume that they would go back to Russia or that anything that has happened, would.