Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna: Current Claimant to the Throne 1: 2003 - Oct 2006

[Layla1971]

I think to determine who is the rightful head of the family and of the house, we need to examine the family tree.

Maria's father was Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovitch of Russia (although as we have discussed the legality of his marriage is in dispute), he was the only son of HIH Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovitch and HIH Grand Duchess Viktoria Feodorovna (formerly HRH Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha).

The Emperor Nicholas II disapproved of the marriage between Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovitch and Grand Duchess Viktoria Feodorovna because the two were first cousins and she was the divorced wife of HRH Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse.
Upon his marriage Grand Duke Cyril was stripped of all of his imperial titles and removed from the line of succession, it was deemed that he had violated the Pauline Laws.
But after the deaths of many possible successors, the family put Cyril third in line to the throne and Emperor Nicholas II reinstated Cyril's royal titles and Cyril's wife was given the title and style of 'HIH Grand Duchess Viktoria Feodorovna'.

His paternal grandparents were Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovitch of Russia and Maria Pavlovna (formerly HH Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin).

The parents of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovitch were Emperor Alexander II and his wife Maria Alexandrovna of Hesse (daughter of Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse).
He was Emperor Alexander II's third, but second surviving son, his older brother was Emperor Alexander III and therefore he was the uncle of Alexander III' son and heir Tsar Nicholas II.

The imperial line is guaranteed on Maria's fathers side, but then we must get back to her parents marriage and it's legality.

We could argue that her parents marriage was legal and therefore she is an eligible heir, but what about the children and grandchildren of Tsar Nicholas II's siblings, it seem they have rights to succession too if they had marriages that would be in the same category as the marriage of Maria's grandparents.

I'll find more info on those marriages later and post it.

 

[Layla1971]

Maria's family

Nicholas II Russia (born: 18 May, 1868 – 17 July 1918)

Obviously because of the Russian revolition and the Bolshvik party murdering the Tsar and his family, the Tsar didn’t leave any heirs.


Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia



Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich (born: 7 June, 1869 – died: 2 May, 1870)
Alexander died of meningitis in 1870.
His parents had him posthumously potographed and sketched to remember him.
The picture below is the only picture taken of the infant Grand Duke and was taken after his death.


HIH Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich, the infant son of Tsar Alexander III, on his bier, in 1870.


Grand Duke George Alexandrovich (born: 6 May, 1871 – died: 9 August, 1899)
As an infant George was stronger and healthier than his brother Nicholas, however as he entered childhood he began to have health problems, including respiratory concerns.
In 1894, Alexander III died and Nicholas assumed the throne. At the time Nicholas had no children, thus the next in the line of succession was George, who became Tsarevich.
George's health continued to be a problem. His health made it impossible for him to return to St. Petersburg for the christenings of Nicholas' elder daughters, Olga and Tatiana. Shortly after the birth of Nicholas’ third daughter, Maria, in June 1899, George wrote to his brother that his only regret in life was that he had never met his nieces.

When George died it left his family devastated. Nicholas was especially grief-stricken at losing his younger brother and childhood playmate. George would always tell great jokes that would amuse his brother very much, and Nicholas would dutifully write out the jokes on pieces of paper and store them in a box.
Years later the Tsar could be heard laughing by himself in his room, looking through his old box of George’s jokes.
George’s title was passed to their younger brother Mikhail, but when Nicholas’ son, Alexei, was born he received the title of Tsarevich.


Grand Duke George Alexandrovitch as a young man in the early 1890s.

 

[Layla1971]

Maria's family continued

Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna (born: 6 April, 1875 – died: 20 April, 1960)
She was the daughter of Tsar Alexander III of Russia and Dagmar of Denmark (Maria Fyodorovna after her marriage) and sister of the last Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and, his brief uncrowned successor, their brother Mikhail.
Xenia Alexandrovna married Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich (a grandson of Nicholas I of Russia on 6 August, 1894 at Peterhof. Together they had seven children.


Grand Duke Mikhail of Russia (born: 22 November, 1878 – died: about 12 June, 1918)

On March 2, 1917 Emperor Nicholas II abdicated in favor of his brother, saying, “We bequeath Our in heritance to Our brother the Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich and give him Our blessing on his accession to the throne.
One day later Mikhail signed a manifesto which stated in part, “I am firmly resolved to assume supreme power only if such is the will of our great people, who must now by universal suffrage and through their representatives in the Constituent Assembly establish a form of government and new fundamental laws of the Russian State”. For one day Mikhail entertained the idea of being elected by the people as ruler, but this was not to be.


Historians differ as to whether to view Mikhail as the last tsar. Some claim he became tsar the moment Nicholas’ abdication became effective, and Mikhail himself would have to abdicate in order to renounce the throne. His acceptance of the throne was subject to a condition that proved not to be met, and this is sometimes regarded as effectively an abdication. Thus, they claim, he technically reigned as tsar for a day. Others argue he could have become tsar only upon his full and unconditional acceptance of the throne, which never occurred.
The debate is of interest only to specialist historians because even if Mikhail was technically tsar:

# He only reigned for a maximum of one day.

# He never ruled.

# He was never crowned.

# He was never recognized by his people as ruler, and

# Nicholas II is universally recognized as the last effective tsar.



The best source material, archival from both Russia and elsewhere, seems to indicate that Mikhail was killed on the outskirts of Perm on June 12, 1918.
The order to execute him appears to have been given by the Perm Cheka.
Mikhail began a relationship withh Natalya Sergeyevna Sheremetevskaya, a twice-divorced commoner. Their only child, George, was born in 1910, and the couple married on October 29, 1912. She was not eligible to be known as Grand Duchess.
In 1928, Natalya and her son were created Countess Brasova and Count Brasov. Count Brasov died in a car crash at age 21 on July 22, 1931. On July 28, 1935, Countess Brasova was granted the title of HSH Princess Romanovskaya-Brasova by HIH Grand Duke Cyril of Russia, the pretender to the Russian throne.




Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovitch of Russia (1878-1918)



Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia (born: 13 June, 1882 – died:November 24, 1960)
Born in Alexandria Palace in Peterhof, Russia, she was the youngest daughter of Tsar Alexander III and his empress, Maria Fyodorovna, formerly Dagmar of Denmark.
At age 19 her marriage was arranged to Prince Peter of Oldenburg, but it ended in divorce.
During World War I, she worked as a medical nurse on the Russian front and in, November 1916, Olga married aptain Nikolai Kulikovsky with whom she had two sons, Tikhon and Guri.
Like her father, the Tsar, Olga preferred a quiet life to the grand baquets and lavish entertaining of the nobility. She played the violin for a hobby for most of her life. After the 1917 Revolution, stripped of most of their possessions, she and her husband fled Russia and lived in Denmark until 1948. They lived with Olga’s mother until she died in 1928. While there, in 1925, Olga traveled to Berlin, Germany to identify the woman claiming to be Anastasia, daughter of her brother, the Tsar Nikolai II. Olga, after changing her mind several times, eventually decided that the woman, Anna Anderson, was not her niece, saying, “she is not who she believes herself to be”.
Following World War II, Stalin’s propaganda machine declared that Grand Duchess Olga had conspired with Germany against Russia during the war. In 1948, with threats against her life, amidst the rising tensions of the Cold War, she and her husband left Denmark, moving to Canada.
When she was 65, she and her husband bought a rural property about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Toronto, Ontario. Although she lived with the horrific memories of her brother’s and his entire family’s murder, Olga never lived with any delusions of grandeur or dreams of a Romanov return to power. When her husband passed away in 1958, she moved to an apartment above a hairdressing salon in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The funeral for the last Grand Duchess of Russia was attended by numerous Russian immigrants to Canada who arranged a dignified guard of honor.
Newspapers have described her death as the end of Imperial Russia.


I don't have any pictures of Xenia or Olga and if anyone could find pics, I'd really appreciate it!

 

[branchg]

Grand Duke Cyril's marriage to Victoria was deemed unacceptable for a time because the Empress Alexandra was furious at Princess Victoria for divorcing her brother, Grand Duke Ernst of Hesse, although her brother was relieved they could separate after the death of Queen Victoria. It had nothing to do with the Pauline Laws or being cousins. Given the opposition of the Empress, Tsar Nicholas II stripped Cyril of his rank and title and banished him from Russia. Later, he reversed his decision and granted Cyril and Victoria recognition and approved the marriage.

Maria's credentials are no worse, or better, than other honorable, but morganatic descendants of imperial dynasts. Her father was the rightful Head of the Imperial House after the death of Grand Duke Cyril, but because his marriage to Leonida was not equal, therefore, he could not transmit rights of succession to his only child, Maria. There are other more senior lines of male dynasts who come before Maria given the dispensation of Vladimir that a marriage to a Bagration noble female constituted an equal marriage under the Pauline Laws.

 

[branchg]

I am sure Russia will one day restore it's monarchy. I think that Yugoslavia and Romania will do so too. Now the truth can be told, they will realise that their monarchs were badly treated.

What do we think?

There is no momentum in Russia for a restoration of the imperial throne, which despite some romanticism among the people, had a long, troubled history of horrific rule and feudal control. The country is trying to move forward, not backwards, and I don't think there is sufficient depth of democracy yet to permit anything close to a constitutional monarchy.

Russia has no tradition of collaborative government or the rule of law, which is why there still remains a dictatorial presidency with police state powers. The elite is not interested in a monarchy and there is no reason to believe this will change anytime soon.
.

 

[Layla1971]

Grand Duke Cyril's marriage to Victoria was deemed unacceptable for a time because the Empress Alexandra was furious at Princess Victoria for divorcing her brother, Grand Duke Ernst of Hesse, although her brother was relieved they could separate after the death of Queen Victoria. It had nothing to do with the Pauline Laws or being cousins. Given the opposition of the Empress, Tsar Nicholas II stripped Cyril of his rank and title and banished him from Russia. Later, he reversed his decision and granted Cyril and Victoria recognition and approved the marriage.

Maria's credentials are no worse, or better, than other honorable, but morganatic descendants of imperial dynasts. Her father was the rightful Head of the Imperial House after the death of Grand Duke Cyril, but because his marriage to Leonida was not equal, therefore, he could not transmit rights of succession to his only child, Maria. There are other more senior lines of male dynasts who come before Maria given the dispensation of Vladimir that a marriage to a Bagration noble female constituted an equal marriage under the Pauline Laws.

Oh, thanks for correcting me, I wasn't sure about the reasons behind the rift.

And I do agree that Maria's credentials are equal, but given that most of the possible successors are products of morganatic marriages (including Maria), the family must have only those morganatic heirs to choose from when deciding on an heir apparent.

And a question, if Maria's parents marriage was really morganatic, who are the children from legal marriages, that would qualify ahead of Maria?

And why did the Tsar reverse his decision, after all he was still married to Alexandra and she didn't seem like she would change her mind after feeling so strongly about the matter in the first place.
If he was influenced by his wife in making his decision, then did she change her mind about her former sister-in-law?

Also, I'm confused by something you said, "although her brother was relieved they could separate after the death of Queen Victoria", are you talking about Alexandra's brother? And if so, what's that matter about?
Thanks for whatever info you can provide.

 

[branchg]

If Maria's father married a morganaut, Princess Bagration, making her morganatic, then the senior morganaut representative would Michael Andrejevitch Romanov, great-great grandson of Tsar Nicholas I, as Head of the Romanov Family, but disqualified from the imperial succession under the Pauline Laws.

If we look back further to Grand Duke Cyril, his daughter, Grand Duchess Kira, made an equal and most compliant marriage under the Imperial Statute to Prince Louis-Ferdinand von Hohenzollern. This would mean her great-grandson, Prince Georg-Freidrich von Hohenzollern, the Head of the Prussian Royal House, is the heir to the Romanov Imperial House as well, with the death of Grand Duke Vladimir.

You could argue even further that if the monarchy was restored in Russia, very unlikely in my opinion, but not impossible, the Government could grant the throne to any number of Romanov descendants, including HRH Prince Michael of Kent, as the new Tsar.

 

[Warren]

Also, I'm confused by something you said, "although her brother was relieved they could separate after the death of Queen Victoria", are you talking about Alexandra's brother? And if so, what's that matter about?
Thanks for whatever info you can provide.

It is thought that Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine was gay. The reasons for the divorce were never discussed, as far as I know, by either of the parties involved.
.

 

[branchg]

Regarding Ernst's marriage to Victoria, they were very unhappy from the start, since Ernst is generally regarded as having been gay and Victoria was basically forced to marry him because her grandmother, Queen Victoria, wanted her to. After the Queen died, the couple went their separate ways and eventually divorced when Grand Duke Cyril asked Victoria to marry him.

 

[Layla1971]

Thanks branchg and Warren, I didn't know exactly what caused Grand Duke Cyril to be stripped of his titles, I just assumed it was because the marriage was considered morganatic.

You both seem to know alot more about this subject than me.
I should have researched it more before I posted, sorry for being incorrect, I'll try to be more accurate from now on.

 

[Layla1971]

Maria's mother was Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna Kirby née Bagration-Moukhransky, does anyone know who her parents were?
I've been able to find Maria's paternal grandparents. but no luck with her maternal grandparents.
Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[Layla1971]

Grand Duke Cyril's marriage to Victoria was deemed unacceptable for a time because the Empress Alexandra was furious at Princess Victoria for divorcing her brother, Grand Duke Ernst of Hesse, although her brother was relieved they could separate after the death of Queen Victoria. It had nothing to do with the Pauline Laws or being cousins. Given the opposition of the Empress, Tsar Nicholas II stripped Cyril of his rank and title and banished him from Russia. Later, he reversed his decision and granted Cyril and Victoria recognition and approved the marriage.

On another side of the argument, Grand Duke Cyril (after Empress Alexandra's anger at Princess Victoria), Alexandra must have blamed the Grand Duke for causing/contributing to her brothers divorce? And that's what motivated the Tsar to exile Grand Duke Cyril to the Far East?

In the Russo-Japanese War of 1904, Grand Duke Cyril (who I think was still in the Russian Navy at the time?) survived an attack on the Russian Fleet, and returned home to Moscow a war hero.

Then the Tsar finally allowed him to leave Russia and he went to Coburg to be with Princess Victoria.

My question is, did the Grand Duke's performance in the war influence the Tsar to allow him out of exile and to see Princess Victoria?

 

[branchg]

On another side of the argument, Grand Duke Cyril (after Empress Alexandra's anger at Princess Victoria), Alexandra must have blamed the Grand Duke for causing/contributing to her brothers divorce? And that's what motivated the Tsar to exile Grand Duke Cyril to the Far East?

In the Russo-Japanese War of 1904, Grand Duke Cyril (who I think was still in the Russian Navy at the time?) survived an attack on the Russian Fleet, and returned home to Moscow a war hero.

Then the Tsar finally allowed him to leave Russia and he went to Coburg to be with Princess Victoria.

My question is, did the Grand Duke's performance in the war influence the Tsar to allow him out of exile and to see Princess Victoria?

From what has been written by historians such as Massie, I think Nicholas II's decision to rescind the banishment and grant recognition to Cyril and Victoria had more to do with the fact that World War I was coming and he wanted them back in Russia. Given the state of the succession at the time, the poor health of the Tsarevitch, and the increasing upheavals among the people, the Tsar realized the throne needed to be secured.

Princess Victoria loved Cyril before her marriage to Grand Duke Ernst, but Queen Victoria disliked the Russian imperial family and made it clear she was opposed to another grandaughter marrying a Russian Grand Duke (Princesses Alexandra and Elizabeth of Hesse both married Tsar Nicholas and Grand Duke Serge with the Queen's deep reluctance). So, she was forced into a marriage with Ernst, rather than with the man she really loved.

 

[Layla1971]

From what has been written by historians such as Massie, I think Nicholas II's decision to rescind the banishment and grant recognition to Cyril and Victoria had more to do with the fact that World War I was coming and he wanted them back in Russia. Given the state of the succession at the time, the poor health of the Tsarevitch, and the increasing upheavals among the people, the Tsar realized the throne needed to be secured.

Princess Victoria loved Cyril before her marriage to Grand Duke Ernst, but Queen Victoria disliked the Russian imperial family and made it clear she was opposed to another grandaughter marrying a Russian Grand Duke (Princesses Alexandra and Elizabeth of Hesse both married Tsar Nicholas and Grand Duke Serge with the Queen's deep reluctance). So, she was forced into a marriage with Ernst, rather than with the man she really loved.

Thanks branchg, your help makes the situation easier to understand.

 

[tiaraprin]

Regarding Ernst's marriage to Victoria, they were very unhappy from the start, since Ernst is generally regarded as having been gay and Victoria was basically forced to marry him because her grandmother, Queen Victoria, wanted her to. After the Queen died, the couple went their separate ways and eventually divorced when Grand Duke Cyril asked Victoria to marry him.

They did manage to have one child, a daughter. She was called "Sunny" by her father and the apple of his eye. She was wrangled about in the divorce of her parents and shuffled between the two. She died before the age of 10.

 

[Layla1971]

They did manage to have one child, a daughter. She was called "Sunny" by her father and the apple of his eye. She was wrangled about in the divorce of her parents and shuffled between the two. She died before the age of 10.

Actually they had two children, you were right about a daughter, Elisabeth, she died at the age of eight of typhoid fever.
They also had a stillborn son in 1900.

 

[branchg]

One of Xenia's descendants would currently be the Head of the Romanov Family, but all of her children married morganatically, thus Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna currently holds that position.

Maria is also the child of a morganatic marriage, therefore, she is not a Grand Duchess, but a Princess Romanovsky-Bagration. The Romanov Imperial House is extinct with the death of Maria's father, Grand Duke Vladimir.

 

[branchg]

Do the existing Russian Royal families get to be recognised by their royal titles? do they get special treatment and stuff?

Strictly as a courtesy, King Juan Carlos grants Maria and her mother, Leonida, some recognition and precedence on occasion because the family has resided in Spain for seventy years. The other royal houses in Europe do not.

None of the current members of the Romanov family are royal. They are all morganatic descendants of imperial dynasts. Their use of the style "Prince Romanov" is meaningless and has no basis in the Pauline Law because they are not entitled to use the style of Highness or title of Prince of Russia as morganauts.

 

[Idriel]

Opinion: a monarchist view

From the Moscow Times

A Monarchist Solution for Russia

When former Soviet bloc countries shook off the one-party state and rejoined the community of nations, it seemed self-evident that they should all remain republics, even if some had been monarchies before the Nazi or communist takeover. Attempts in Bulgaria to restore a legitimate -- and still living -- sovereign to the throne produced ironic sniggers in civilized quarters.
In Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, monarchist movements have never been anything but a fringe element, even if it has now been acknowledged that its liberal democracy has failed. Elections for governors have been abolished, and while the president and the State Duma are still voted on, the process increasingly looks like Soviet-era rubber-stamping. Yet, for all the criticism of Vladimir Putin's "vertical of power," there has never been any question whether Russia should remain a republic.

 

[branchg]

I'm not sure she would be allowed to go to Russia, even for a family occassion.
Does anyone know her travel record to Russia?

Maria, Leonida and her son, George, have been to Russia many times, both privately and as official guests of the Government. She certainly is allowed to visit as a private citizen with the Government's permission.

Given the great chasm in the family, I'm not so sure the current descendants of Grand Duchess Xenia and Grand Duchess Olga are too excited about seeing Maria at the burial of the Dowager Empress Marie. Given the issues of protocol she always seems to raise, I won't be surprised if she is not invited by the family.

 

[branchg]

Yes. There are two rival claimants: Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, and Prince Nikolai Romanov.

And both are kidding themselves and not entitled to the styles, rank and titles they claim. They are morganatic under the Pauline Laws and are, at best, a Prince/Princess Romanovsky/Romanovskaya with the style of Serene Highness.

Grand Duke Vladimir knew his declaration in 1970 was weak, which is how the chasm started, and he had no right to elevate his daughter to imperial rank over the other descendants in the male line who also married Russian noble families. That's not the way royal house rules work. If Leonida was now a Grand Duchess and Imperial Highness (which she most certainly would not be in Imperial Russia), then so were the other wives of Russian noble descent.

 

[BeatrixFan]

Re:

According to Count Valdemar of Rosenborg , when Alexander III died, Nicholas was heard to say to his mother , "What do I do now? I don't want to be Tsar" - very telling indeed.

I think that Nicholas took too much advice from Alexandra (and of course Rasputin).

From what I know of Maria Vladimirovna she is all for Russia reinstating the royal family and for her title to be acknowledged by other royals in Europe but what reason, what honest to God reason does she have for wanting to be be Czarina of Russia again?

By addressing her as 'Your Imperial Highness' etc, you're showing Maria a courtesy according to her rank. I suppose that she wants to be Czarina because she has a true Monarchist passion - maybe she believes that a Monarchy is the only thing that can bring Russia together after all those years of Red-Rule. One thing is for sure, Putin is for a Monarchy and so if she wants a chance to sit on that throne - she better get in quick!

 

[Mapple]

...


By addressing her as 'Your Imperial Highness' etc, you're showing Maria a courtesy according to her rank. I suppose that she wants to be Czarina because she has a true Monarchist passion - maybe she believes that a Monarchy is the only thing that can bring Russia together after all those years of Red-Rule. One thing is for sure, Putin is for a Monarchy and so if she wants a chance to sit on that throne - she better get in quick!

Erm... Why do you ascribe monarchical feelings to our president?

 

[BeatrixFan]

Re;

President Putin reportedly said that he was in favour of the idea of Monarchy but that it had to be constitutional. I think it was a comment made when Yeltsin was still President and Putin was just another politician. I'll try and find the exact source though.
Yeltsin was a Monarchist though wasn't he?

 

[Mapple]

President Putin reportedly said that he was in favour of the idea of Monarchy but that it had to be constitutional. I think it was a comment made when Yeltsin was still President and Putin was just another politician. I'll try and find the exact source though.
Yeltsin was a Monarchist though wasn't he?

By God, no! Neither of them has even entertained the idea of restoring monarchy, they have been too busy establishing 'guided democracy' here.

Putin really said that he has no quarrel with constitutional monarchy, but it was a mere theoretical question asked by a journalist, IIRC.

 

[BeatrixFan]

Putin really said that he has no quarrel with constitutional monarchy, but it was a mere theoretical question asked by a journalist, IIRC.

Ah I see.

I think Yeltsin got the reputation of being a Monarchist due to his role at the re-burial, but any President would have attended and given the event the same dignity (I would hope!).

 

[Mapple]

Putin really said that he has no quarrel with constitutional monarchy, but it was a mere theoretical question asked by a journalist, IIRC.

Ah I see.

I think Yeltsin got the reputation of being a Monarchist due to his role at the re-burial, but any President would have attended and given the event the same dignity (I would hope!).

Certainly. I think Yeltsin viewed himself as a kind of Tsar, we even had the 'royal family' then! (I'm pro-Yeltsin, BTW) Why would he want to have a second monarch over here?

 

[branchg]

By God, no! Neither of them has even entertained the idea of restoring monarchy, they have been too busy establishing 'guided democracy' here.

Putin really said that he has no quarrel with constitutional monarchy, but it was a mere theoretical question asked by a journalist, IIRC.

There is no chance of a restoration of the imperial throne in Russia at the present time. Putin may have been quoted as saying he had no problem with a constitutional monarchy, but there isn't even a constitutional rule of law yet. It's still an imperial presidency with rule by decree and a powerless Duma.

Russia is a long way from a proper balance of powers and having a Tsar again isn't going to do much for democracy.

 

[Mapple]

There is no chance of a restoration of the imperial throne in Russia at the present time. Putin may have been quoted as saying he had no problem with a constitutional monarchy, but there isn't even a constitutional rule of law yet. It's still an imperial presidency with rule by decree and a powerless Duma.

Russia is a long way from a proper balance of powers and having a Tsar again isn't going to do much for democracy.

I think that we won't have 'constitutional rule of law', 'balance of powers' or something like that in the near (and not-so-near) future.

 

[Elizabeth_Leona]

Georgi and his mother Maria may put a claim in for the throne of Russia, two slight problems...woman can not inherit the throne of Russia and neither can their decentants (comes from Tsar Paul's hatred of his mother) AND Georgi is technically a Prince of Prussia and NOT a Grand Duke or Tsarvich or whatever he wants to come across to be of Russia. I really can not stand him and his mother (especially his mother!) I find she very pushy, too push, though I do have to say any pictures I have seen of him in recent years I can see that he has improved a lot! compared to the cubby smug looking brat he came across as a child.