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Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia

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In this article, the patronymic is Alexandrovich.
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich
Born4 December [O.S. 22 November] 1878[1]
Anichkov Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Died13 June 1918(1918-06-13) (aged 39)
Perm, Russian Soviet Republic
Cause of deathMurder
Spouse
​
(m. 1912)​
IssueGeorge Mikhailovich, Count Brasov
Full name
Michael Alexandrovich Romanov
HouseHolstein-Gottorp-Romanov
FatherAlexander III of Russia
MotherDagmar of Denmark

Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia (Russian: Михаи́л Алекса́ндрович, romanized: Mikhail Aleksandrovich; 4 December [O.S. 22 November] 1878 – 13 June 1918) was the youngest son and fifth child of Emperor Alexander III, Empress Maria Feodorovna and the youngest brother of Nicholas II. He was designated Emperor of Russia after his brother abdicated in 1917 and proclaimed him "Emperor Michael II", but Michael declined to take power a day later.

Michael was born during the reign of his paternal grandfather, Alexander II. He was then fourth in line to the throne after his father and elder brothers Nicholas and George. After the assassination of his grandfather in 1881, he became third in line and, in 1894, after the death of his father, second in line. George died in 1899, leaving Michael as heir apparent to Nicholas II.

The birth of Nicholas's son Alexei in 1904 moved Michael back to second in line, but Alexei was gravely ill with hemophilia and Michael suspected the boy would die, leaving him as heir. Michael caused a scandal at the imperial court when he took Natalia Sergeyevna Wulfert, a married woman, as a lover. Nicholas sent Michael to Orel to avoid scandal but this did not stop Michael, who continued to travel to see her. After the couple's only child, George, was born in 1910, Michael brought Natalia to Saint Petersburg, where she was shunned by society. In 1912, Michael married Natalia hoping that he would be removed from the line of succession. Michael and Natalia left Russia to live in exile abroad in France, Switzerland and England.

After the outbreak of World War I, Michael returned to Russia, assuming command of a cavalry division. When Nicholas abdicated on 15 March [O.S. 2 March] 1917, Michael was named as his successor instead of Alexei, but he never accepted the throne. He was never confirmed as emperor and, following the Russian Revolution of 1917, he was imprisoned and murdered.[2]

Honours

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Russian orders[3]

Ancestry

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See also: Descendants of Christian IX of Denmark

References

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  1. ↑ All dates before 14 February [O.S. 1 February] 1918, unless otherwise stated, are shown in Old Style, using the Julian calendar; from that date, only Gregorian (New Style) dates apply.
  2. ↑ "The Abdication of Nicholas II: 100 Years Later". The Russian Legitimist. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  3. ↑ Russian Imperial Army – Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia Archived 18 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine (In Russian)
  4. ↑ Cite error: The named reference ruvigny was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
  5. ↑ Cite error: The named reference c230 was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
  6. ↑ Crawford and Crawford, p. 179
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