Kyrill Vladimirovich Romanov

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Kyrill Vladimirovich Romanov
Grand Duke Kyrill with his wife Viktoria Fyodorovna and daughter Marie, 1909

Grand Duke Kyrill Wladimirowitsch Romanow , Russian Кирилл Владимирович , scientific transliteration Kirill Vladimirovič ; (* September 30th July / October 12th  1876 greg. In Tsarskoje Selo ; † October 12th 1938 in Neuilly-sur-Seine , France ) was a Russian Grand Duke. After the October Revolution and the assassination of Tsar Nicholas II and his brother Michael , the Tsar's cousin became head of the Romanov family and pretender to the throne . From 1924 until his death he called himself Kaiser in Exile .

Life

Grand Duke Kyrill was born as the son of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrowitsch and Grand Duchess Maria Pawlowna , before she converted to the Russian Orthodox faith, Duchess Marie zu Mecklenburg. Thus he was a grandson of Tsar Alexander II .

As a direct descendant of a tsar, he had the title of Grand Duke as well as that of Imperial Highness. He became Rear Admiral of the Russian Navy and Commander of the Tsar's Palace Guard. During the Russo-Japanese War he survived the sinking of the ship of the line Petropavlovsk in 1904 after a mine explosion.

marriage

On October 8, 1905, Kyrill married his paternal cousin, Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . She was a daughter of Duke Alfred von Sachsen-Coburg and Gotha , the second eldest son of Victoria . Her mother was Kyrill's aunt, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna , a sister of his father.

The marriage caused a sensation among the European nobility, as Victoria had only just divorced her first husband, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig von Hessen-Darmstadt. This was a brother of Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna , b. from Hessen-Darmstadt, which in any case was not easy to talk to either her former sister-in-law or her cousin Kyrill. Hence, she became a driving force in the movement against this marriage. Shortly after returning to Russia, Nikolaus Kyrill recognized his privileges and titles.

After several deaths within the Tsar's family, however, the Tsar was forced to take Kyrill back into the family. Thus, he was third in line to the throne, and Victoria received the title of Grand Duchess of Russia (HRH Grand Duchess Viktoria Fyodorovna).

The couple had three children:

revolution

After the Tsar was deposed in 1917, Kyrill pledged his loyalty to the Provisional Government by wearing the red ribbon on his uniform.

After the October Revolution , Kyrill and his family fled first to Finland and then to Coburg to the family of his wife, Grand Duchess Viktoria Fyodorovna. Finally, they went to France, where the couple lived until his death.

In exile

Kyrill and Viktoria with their youngest children Kira and Wladimir

1924 Cyril proclaimed in Paris the emperor in exile . According to the laws of succession to the throne of the Tsarist House, he became pretender to the throne after the assassination of Nicholas II by the Bolsheviks .

In exile, Cyril received support from supporters who called themselves legitimists and saw in Cyril the true heir to the throne. Opposite them were those who were convinced that a new tsar could only be appointed by the Semsky Sobor , a kind of assembly of estates.

His most vehement supporters were the Mladorossy ( Young Russians ), a group of legitimists with strong fascist traits. In their opinion, the monarchy and the Soviet system could have coexisted. Their motto was Tsar of the Soviets . Kyrill became suspicious of them when it emerged that the founder of the organization, Alexander Kasem-Bek , had contacts with the Gossudarstvennoe Politicheskoje Uprawleniye (GPU) . Kasem-Bek then resigned from his office. During the Second World War , Kyrill's son Vladimir Kirillowitsch also kept in touch with the Mladorossy .

Kyrill Wladimirowitsch died in 1938 and was buried in the ducal mausoleum in Coburg . As head of the Romanov family and Russian pretender to the throne, he was followed by his only son, Vladimir Kirillovich . The mortal remains of Cyril were transferred to Saint Petersburg in 1995 and buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral .

literature

  • C. Arnold McNaughton: The Book of Kings. A Royal Genealogy . 3 volumes. Garnstone Press, London 1973.
  • Marlene A. Eilers: Queen Victoria's Descendants . Genealogical Publishing, Baltimore MD 1987, ISBN 0-8063-1202-5 .

Web links

Commons : Kyrill Wladimirowitsch Romanow  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Romanov, Kyrill Vladimirovich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cyril of Russia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Grand Duke of Russia, Titular Tsar
DATE OF BIRTH October 12, 1876
PLACE OF BIRTH Tsarskoye Selo
DATE OF DEATH October 12, 1938
Place of death Neuilly-sur-Seine , France