Anna Audrey Emery (January 4, 1904 – November 25, 1971) was an American heiress and

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...

who was the wife of one of the last Russian grand dukes.

Early life

Audrey was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on 4 January 1904. She was the youngest daughter of John Josiah Emery (1835–1908), a real-estate millionaire, and his wife, the former Lela Amelia Alexander (1867–1953), daughter of General Charles T. Alexander, of Washington. She had two sisters, Alexandra (Mrs. Benjamin Moore and Mrs. Robert Gordon McKay) and Lela (Mrs. Alastair Mackintosh and Duchess of Talleyrand), and two brothers, Thomas Emery and

John Josiah Emery John Josiah Emery Jr. (January 28, 1898 — September 24, 1976) was an American real estate developer. He was the developer of the Carew Tower (1931) in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the time the tallest building west of the Alleghenies, and the Netherland ...

, Jr. (who married Irene Gibson Post, the daughter of the artist

Charles Dana Gibson Charles Dana Gibson (September 14, 1867 – December 23, 1944) was an American illustrator. He was best known for his creation of the Gibson Girl, an iconic representation of the beautiful and independent Euro-American woman at the turn of the ...

and niece of

Lady Astor Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, Viscountess Astor, (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor's first husband was America ...

). After her father's death, her mother remarried to the Hon. Alfred

Anson Anson may refer to: People * Anson (name), a give name and surname ** Anson family, a British aristocratic family with the surname Place names ;United States * Anson, Indiana * Anson, Kansas * Anson, Maine ** Anson (CDP), Maine * Anson, Missour ...

, a British stockbroker living in New York City, in 1912. Anson was the seventh son of

Thomas Anson, 2nd Earl of Lichfield Thomas George Anson, 2nd Earl of Lichfield (15 August 1825 – 7 January 1892), known as Viscount Anson from 1831 to 1854, was a British politician from the Anson family. Early life Lichfield was the eldest of four sons and four daughters born t ...

and Lady Harriett Georgiana Louisa, daughter of

James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, (21 January 1811 – 31 October 1885), styled Viscount Hamilton from 1814 to 1818 and The Marquess of Abercorn from 1818 to 1868, was a British Conservative statesman who twice served as Lord Lieutenant of I ...

. Her maternal grandparents were General Charles Tripler Alexander and Julia (née Barrett) Alexander of St. Paul, Minnesota and Bar Harbor, Maine. Following the death of her mother, she inherited a $40-million real estate fortune.

Personal life

Her romantic attachments, including an involvement in summer 1926 with the popular novelist

Michael Arlen Michael Arlen (16 November 1895 – 23 June 1956), born Dikran Kouyoumdjian ( hy, Տիգրան Գոյումճեան), was a British essayist, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and scriptwriter of Armenians, Armenian origin, who had his ...

, attracted press attention. In November 1926, she married,

morganatically Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...

, Grand Duke

Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia (russian: Великий Князь Дмитрий Павлович; 18 September 1891 – 5 March 1942) was a son of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, a grandson of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and a ...

(1891–1942), an exile after the 1917 Russian Revolution, in Biarritz. The Grand Duke, a son of Grand Duke Paul and the late Princess Alexandra of Greece, was a grandson of both Tsar

Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...

and King

George I of Greece George I ( Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination in 1913. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen, and seemed destined for ...

. Dmitri's cousin,

Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich of Russia Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia (russian: Кирилл Владимирович Романов; ''Kirill Vladimirovich Romanov''; – 12 October 1938) was a son of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia, a grandson of Emperor A ...

, elevated Audrey to Russian rank of ''

knyaginya , or (Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependin ...

'' (a noble, not

dynastic A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A d ...

"princess") with the usual name ''Romanovsky'' and granted her the suffix, ''Ilyinsky'', from Dmitri's former property at Ilyinskoye in

Krasnogorsky District, Moscow Oblast Krasnogorsky District (russian: Красного́рский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #11/2013-OZ and municipalLaw #70/2005-OZ district (raion), one of the thirty-six in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located in the center of the obla ...

, Russia. Before their eventual divorce in 1937, she was the mother of one son: Prince Paul Romanovsky-Ilyinsky (1928–2004), who became an American citizen, served in the U.S. Marine Corps, and was a three-time mayor of Palm Beach, Florida. After her divorce, Audrey moved to France with her son, marrying that same year to

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

Prince

Dimitri Djordjadze Prince Dimitri Aleksandrovich Jorjadze ( ka, დიმიტრი ჯორჯაძე) (26 October 189826 October 1985) was a Georgian nobleman, Ambassador Hotel executive, and race car driver. Biography Dimitri (Mito) Jorjadze was born in ...

(1898–1985). Audrey and Djordjadze also divorced. After the end of both marriages, she resumed her maiden name and was known as Mrs. Audrey Emery. In the 1940s, she lived in South Carolina, later moving to Biarritz, France. Over the years, she owned several houses in Palm Beach (she was a member of the

Everglades Club The Everglades Club is a social club in Palm Beach, Florida. When its construction began in July 1918, it was to be called the ''Touchstone Convalescent Club'', and it was intended to be a hospital for the wounded of World War I. But the war ended ...

), Florida. In the 1960s, she built a house in Cincinnati, Ohio, to which she moved in order to be closer to her son and his family.Skott, Staffan (1997). Kõik need Bernadotid. She died in Palm Beach on November 25, 1971.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emery, Audrey 1904 births 1971 deaths 19th-century American women American socialites House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov Nobility of Georgia (country) Morganatic spouses of Russian royalty Russian princesses by marriage House of Romanov in exile People from Cincinnati