The curse of the Romanov family: what happened to the siblings of the last Russian emperor

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The faithful family man Alexander III and his wife Maria Feodorovna had six children: four sons - Nikolai, Alexander, George and Mikhail, as well as two daughters - Ksenia and Olga. The sisters got married, had children and had grandchildren. Ksenia died at the age of 85 in London, Ksenia Alexandrovna survived her by 7 months and died in Toronto at the age of 78. The fate of the brothers was tragic, none of them was destined to live to old age. The first victim of the "curse" of the Romanovs was the second child of the emperor - Alexander. He died in infancy from meningitis, 1 month before his first birthday. For Maria Feodorovna, this death was the first tragedy in her life, and in front of her she will have to go through all her sons.

Romantic Prince George: Georgian seclusion

The third son of Alexander III, George, grew up as a strong, beautiful and healthy child and even surpassed his older brother Nicholas in strength. Since childhood, the boy dreamed of sailing, and surrounded by him they predicted a career in the navy. But the disease, incurable for that time, canceled all plans. In 1890, Georgy and Nikolai set off on a long voyage on the ship "Memory of Azov". Suddenly, Jorge, as the family called him, had a fever, and when the ship docked on the shores of Bombay, the young man could not even leave the cabin. After the examination, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Doctors strongly recommended that the Grand Duke change the climate, so his parents decided to send him to Abastumani, a resort town in Georgia known for its healing air.

In 1894, another tragedy occurred in the royal family - the emperor died at the age of 49. The oath was taken by his eldest son Nikolai, who at that time did not yet have an heir, so George was declared Tsarevich, as the first in line of succession to the throne. The young man's health was so bad that the doctors categorically forbade him to go to his father's funeral in St. Petersburg.

"Poor Jorge": unhappy love and death at 28

In Abastumani the Tsarevich fell in love with the Georgian princess Liza Nizharadze. For the sake of marriage with his beloved, George was even ready to give up the status of heir to the throne, but Maria Feodorovna and the reigning brother were against it. To avoid problems, Liza's parents hastily married her off, and her departure from Abastumani greatly undermined the already poor health of George.

In June 1899, the Grand Duke was riding a tricycle from the Zekarsky Pass, and, according to eyewitnesses, he suddenly felt ill. It was not possible to save the heir to the throne; he died at the age of 28 from bleeding. An autopsy revealed an extreme degree of exhaustion and chronic tuberculosis at the stage of cavernous disintegration. On July 12, the coffin with the body of the Tsarevich was delivered to St. Petersburg, where he was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral next to his father.

Mikhail Alexandrovich: a secret wedding and tensions with his brother

Mikhail Alexandrovich, the youngest of the Romanov brothers, was considered the most democratic of the royal family, close to the people, but far from politics. Not having the status of heir to the throne, Mikhail was able to marry for love the twice-divorced Countess Natalya Sheremetyevskaya (Brasova), which at that time was considered an unthinkable debauchery. Nicholas II expressed his dissatisfaction with this misalliance, to which Mikhail promised his brother not to meet with the countess again, but did not keep his word. In 1910, his son was born, who was named George in honor of his deceased brother. In 1912, the lovers were secretly married in Serbia, and when the emperor found out about this, he fired his brother from military service and deprived him of his maintenance.

After his dismissal, Mikhail lived with his family in Europe for two years, and at the beginning of the First World War he asked to return to Russia for service. In the war, the prince showed himself to be a brave officer and led the Native Division in the Caucasus. The wartime was marked by numerous conspiracies against Nicholas II, but Mikhail Alexandrovich did not participate in any of them, remaining loyal to his brother.

Abdication and first execution in the Romanov family

In March 1917, Nicholas II was forced to renounce the throne. At first, he was going to transfer the throne to his son, but at the very last moment he changed his mind and abdicated for himself and for 12-year-old Tsarevich Alexei in favor of his only brother. On March 3, Alexander Kerensky called the Grand Duke and asked him to speak with members of the Council of Ministers. The delegates presented to Mikhail Alexandrovich two opinions on the situation. Most of them considered the accession of the Grand Duke to the throne impossible, the rest were in favor of his accession, but represented a minority. Mikhail Rodzianko warned the prince that if he did not give up the throne, then his reign would last no more than a day and end in civil war. Kerensky also persuaded Mikhail to abdicate the throne and declared that if he did not follow the advice, his life could be in danger.

According to his contemporaries, the youngest son of Alexander III was distinguished by his kindness and persistence in matters of moral duty, but at the same time he was a weak politician and tried not to participate in solving fateful issues. Realistically assessing the scope of the revolutionary movement, Mikhail Alexandrovich was forced to abdicate after his brother. The 300-year-old Romanov dynasty fell.

The next day, the Grand Duke left for Gatchina and no longer participated in the fate of Russia. Later he tried to emigrate to England, but the Provisional Government prevented this. In the spring of 1918, the youngest of the Romanov brothers was arrested and sent to the Perm province, and a few months later he was shot by the Bolsheviks at the age of 39. This execution was the beginning of the bloody massacre of the royal family.

Natalya Sheremetyevskaya managed to send little George to Denmark with false documents, but the family's "curse" overtook him too - a 20-year-old boy died in France in a car accident.

And some of the Romanovs were even declared insane. For example, got to the Tashkent representative of an eminent family. Although everything was completely ambiguous.