Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich of Russia
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Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovitch of Russia, (Kirill Vladimirovitch Romanov) (October 12 (N.S.), 1876—October 12, 1938) was a member of the Russian Royal Family. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the death of Tsar Nicholas II and his brother Michael, Cyril became the Head of the Imperial Family of Russia and Titular Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias. He claimed the title, "Emperor in Exile", in 1924 and held it until his death.
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[edit] Early life
Grand Duke Cyril was born on October 12, 1876. His father was Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia, the third son of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and Maria Alexandrovna of Hesse. His mother was Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (later known as Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia), the daughter of Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Augusta of Reuss-Köstritz. As a grandson in the male line to a Russian Tsar, he was titled Grand Duke, with the style His Imperial Highness.
[edit] Marriage
Grand Duke Cyril married his first cousin, Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on October 8, 1905. Victoria was daughter of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria. Victoria's mother was Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia, a daughter of Tsar Alexander II and Cyril's paternal aunt.
The marriage caused a scandal in the courts of European Royalty as Princess Victoria was divorced from her first husband, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse, also her first cousin. The Grand Duke of Hesses's sister was Alexandra Fyodorovna of Hesse, the wife of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. The Tsarina already disliked her former sister-in-law and first cousin, being instrumental in leading the opposition to the marriage in the Russian court. Shortly after returning to Russia, the Tsar stripped Cyril of his imperial allowance and position in the navy.
However, after several deaths in the family had put Cyril third in the line of succession to the Imperial Throne, Nicholas reinstated Cyril, and the latter's wife came into favor, and was given the title Grand Duchess of Russia, who from then on was styled as Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Viktoria Feodorovna.
[edit] Children
The Grand Duke Cyril and Princess Victoria Melita had three children:
- Grand Duchess Maria Kyrilovna (February 2, 1907-October 27, 1951)
- Grand Duchess Kira Kyrilovna (May 9, 1909-September 8, 1967) who married Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia
- Grand Duke Vladmir Kyrilovitch (August 30, 1917-April 21, 1992) who became the claimant to the title 'Emperor of Russia' upon the death of his father
[edit] Revolution
During the February Revolution of 1917, upon the abdication of the tsar, Cyril came with his regiment to swear allegiance to the provisional government, wearing a red revolutionary band on his uniform.
After the October Revolution, Cyril and Victoria fled to Finland, then Coburg, Germany. Eventually the exiled family moved to France where they stayed for the rest of their lives.
[edit] Life Abroad
In 1924, Grand Duke Cyril proclaimed himself Emperor in exile in Paris: by the laws of the Russian Empire, he was the prime claimant after the execution of Tsar's family by Bolsheviks.
His sole son, Vladimir, succeeded him as head of the Romanov dynasty.
While living in exile, Cyril was supported by some emigres who styled themselves "legitimists" (legitimisti, in Russian легитимисты), underlining the "legitimacy" of Cyril's succession. The opponents of Cyril were known as the "un-predetermined" (nepredreshentsi, in Russian непредрешенцы), who believed that in the wake of the radical revolutionary events, the convening of a Zemsky Sobor was necessary in order to choose a new monarch for Russia.
Cyril found his strongest support amidst a group of legitimists known as the Mladorossi, a Russian emigre monarchist organization that was heavily influenced by fascism - although it distanced itself from other fascist movements. Progressively, the organization began to exhibit pro-Soviet sympathies, arguing that the monarchy and the Soviet Bolshevik systems could peacefully coexist (as per their slogan "Tsar and the Soviets"). Cyril became more wary of the organization when he learned that its founder, Alexander Kazem-Bek, was spotted meeting with an OGPU agent. Cyril accepted Kazem-Bek's voluntary resignation. His son, Vladimir, continued ties with the organization throughout World War II
| House of Romanov Born: 12 October 1876; Died: 12 October 1938 |
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| Titles in pretence | ||
| Vacant Title last held by Nicholas II |
* NOT REIGNING * Emperor of Russia (13 September 1924–12 October 1938) |
Succeeded by: Vladimir Cyrillovitch |
