| Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Walking his dog atChamps-Élysées in Paris, 1938 | |||||
| Head of the House of Romanov | |||||
| Tenure | 12 October 1938 – 21 April 1992 | ||||
| Predecessor | Kirill | ||||
| Successor | Maria Vladimirovna orNicholas Romanovich | ||||
| Born | 30 August [O.S. 17 August] 1917 Porvoo,Grand Duchy of Finland,Russian Empire | ||||
| Died | 21 April 1992(1992-04-21) (aged 74) Miami,Florida, United States | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | |||||
| Issue | Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia | ||||
| |||||
| House | Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov | ||||
| Father | Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia | ||||
| Mother | Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | ||||
Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia (Russian:Владимир Кириллович Романов; 30 August [O.S. 17 August] 1917 – 21 April 1992) was the Head of the Imperial Family of Russia, a position which he claimed from 1938 to his death in 1992.
Vladimir was born Prince Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia atPorvoo in theGrand Duchy of Finland, the only son ofGrand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich andGrand Duchess Viktoria Feodorovna (née Princess Victoria Melita ofSaxe-Coburg and Gotha). Vladimir's paternal grandparents wereGrand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia andGrand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (née Duchess Marie ofMecklenburg-Schwerin). His maternal grandparents wereAlfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (the second son and fourth child ofQueen Victoria) andGrand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia. He was described as a large and handsome child, who resembled his granduncleAlexander III.[1]
Vladimir's family had fled to Finland after theRussian Revolution of 1917. His family left Finland in 1920,[2] moving toCoburg, Germany. On 8 August 1922 Vladimir's father declared himself Curator of the Russian throne. Two years later on 31 August 1924 his father went a step further and assumed the titleEmperor and Autocrat of all the Russias.[3] With his father's assumption of the Imperial title Vladimir was granted the title ofTsesarevich (heir apparent) and Grand Duke with the style ofImperial Highness. In 1930 his family left Germany forSaint-Briac, France where his father set up hiscourt.[4]
In the 1930s Vladimir lived for a period in England studying at theUniversity of London[4] and working at the Blackstone agricultural equipment factory inLincolnshire. He later returned to France moving toBrittany where he became alandowner.[5]
.jpg)
On the death of his father on 12 October 1938, Vladimir assumed the Headship of the Imperial Family of Russia.[3] In 1938 there were suggestions that he would be made regent ofUkraine but he rebuffed the idea, saying he would not help dissolve Russia.[5]
DuringWorld War II, Vladimir was living inSaint-Briac-sur-Mer inBrittany. On June 26, 1941, he issued this statement: "In this grave hour, when Germany and almost all the nations of Europe have declared a crusade against Communism and Bolshevism, which has enslaved and oppressed the people of Russia for twenty-four years, I turn to all the faithful and loyal sons of our Homeland with this appeal: Do what you can, to the best of your ability, to bring down the Bolshevik regime and to liberate our Homeland from the terrible yoke of Communism."[citation needed] In 1942, Vladimir and his entourage were placed in aninternment camp atCompiègne after he refused to issue a manifesto calling on Russianémigrés to support Nazi Germany's war against the Soviet Union.[5]
In 1944 theGerman army moved the family inland out of fear of an invasion from the coast. The Germans were taking them to Paris when an order to drive toVittel was given. Even Vittel proved to be unsafe, so they were moved to Germany. Vladimir lived in a castle belonging to the husband of his elder sisterMaria Kirillovna inAmorbach,Bavaria until 1945. After Germany's defeat, Vladimir's fear of being captured by theSoviets prompted relocation to Austria and next to the border ofLiechtenstein. He tried to move with GeneralBoris Smyslovsky's army and cross the border, but neither Liechtenstein nor Switzerland would issue him an entry visa, so he stayed in Austria where he lived in theAmerican occupation zone.
Vladimir's maternal aunt,Infanta Beatrice of Orléans-Borbon, secured for him a Spanish visa. He subsequently lived with her inSanlúcar de Barrameda.
After the war he spent most of his time inMadrid, with frequent stays at his property inBrittany, as well as in Paris.
Vladimir marriedPrincess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Moukhransky on 13 August 1948 inLausanne.[6][7] Pre-revolutionaryRomanov house law dictated that only those born of an "equal marriage" between a Romanovdynast and a member of a "royal or sovereign house", were included in the Imperial line of succession to the Russian throne; children ofmorganatic marriages were ineligible to inherit the throne or dynastic status. The family to which Princess Leonida belonged, theBagrationi dynasty, had been kings inGeorgia from themedieval era until the early 19th century, but no male line ancestor of hers hadreigned as a king in Georgia since 1505 and her branch of the Bagrations, theHouse of Mukhrani, had beennaturalised among the non-rulingnobility of Russia after Georgia was annexed to theRussian Empire in 1801.[8] Yet the royal status of the House of Bagration had been recognized by Russia in the 1783Treaty of Georgievsk and was confirmed by Vladimir Kirillovich on 5 December 1946 as claimed head of the Russian imperial house. However the last ruling emperor of Imperial Russia Nicholas II had deemed marriage in this family of Princess Tatiana Constantinova in 1911, as morganatic.[9] Some controversy therefore arises as to whether Vladimir's marriage to Leonida was equal or morganatic, and whether his claim to the Imperial throne validly passed to his daughterMaria, to some other dynast, or to no one upon his death.[9]
Following Vladimir's public designation of his daughter as "curatrix of the throne", in anticipation that she would eventually succeed him as head of the dynasty in exile, the heads of three of the other branches of the imperial family — the PrincesVsevolod Ioannovich (Konstantinovichi),Roman Petrovich (Nikolaevichi) andAndrei Alexandrovich (Mihailovichi) — wrote to Vladimir in 1969, asserting that the dynastic status of his daughter was no different from that of their own children (Vsevolod Ioannovich was childless, but Roman Petrovich had two sons by Countess PrascoviaSheremetyev, while Andrei Alexandrovich had two sons by Donna ElisabethRuffo of a Russian branch of the Princes di San Sant' Antimo) and that his wife was of no higher status than the wives of the other Romanov princes.[10]
In 1952 he called on theWestern powers to wage war against the Soviet Union. On 23 December 1969 Vladimir issued a controversial decree whereby in the event he predeceased the living male Romanovs that he recognised as dynasts then his daughter Maria would become the "Curatrix of the Imperial Throne".[11] This has been viewed as an attempt by Vladimir to ensure the succession remained in his branch of the imperial family,[12] while the heads of the other branches declared that Vladimir's actions were illegal.[10]
Vladimir was able to visit Russia in November 1991 when he was invited to visitSt Petersburg by its MayorAnatoly Sobchak.[5]
Grand Duke Vladimir died while addressing a gathering of Spanish-speaking bankers and investors inNorthern Trust BankMiami in the United States on 21 April 1992. His body was returned to Russia and he was buried in thePeter and Paul Fortress inSt. Petersburg, the first Romanov to be honoured in this way since before the revolution. The press noted that the funeral "was regarded by civic and Russian authorities as an obligation to the Romanov family rather than a step toward restoration of the monarchy." As he was only a great-grandson of a recognized Russian emperor, his claimed title of "Grand Duke of Russia" caused problems as to what to put on his tombstone.[13]
After his death, his daughterMaria Vladimirovna assumed the headship of the Imperial Family of Russia according to his branch's interpretation of the Russianhouse laws. This was disputed byNicholas Romanov, Prince of Russia who had been chosen president of the self-styled "Romanov Family Association" prior to the death of Grand Duke Vladimir.[14][15]
| Ancestors of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia |
|---|
Media related toVladimir Kirillovich Romanov at Wikimedia Commons
Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia Cadet branch of theHouse of Oldenburg Born: 30 August 1917 Died: 21 April 1992 | ||
| Titles in pretence | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | — TITULAR — Emperor of Russia 12 October 1938 – 21 April 1992 Reason for succession failure: Empire abolished in 1917 | Succeeded by |
| Vladimirovichi line |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Nikolayevichi → Mikhaylovichi line | ||
| Leiningen line | Nicholas (since 2013) | |
