Danylo Skoropadskyj ( uk, Данило Скоропадський; 13 February 1904,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

– 23 February 1957,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

) was a Ukrainian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, leader of the Ukrainian

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...

movement and

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

from 1918 to 1919. He was the eldest surviving son of

Hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military co ...

Pavlo Skoropadskyj. Royal Standard of the Prince of the Hetman of Ukraine (1918)

During the Hetmanate he studied at the First Gymnasium in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

in 1918. In 1919, Skoropadskyj, along with other members of the House of Skoropadskyj, was forced to flee from

due to the collapse of his father's regime immediately prior to the Soviet-Polish War. He subsequently lived and studied in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and then in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, where his father had been granted political asylum in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. He moved to

in 1939. From 1932, he assisted his father Pavlo Skoropadskyj in leading the Ukrainian monarchist movement. In 1948 after the death of the Hetman, Skoropadskyj became the leader of Ukrainian monarchism as

pretender to the throne A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...

. Skoropadskyj was engaged on 13 February 1957 to Halyna Melnyk-Kaluzhynska, however, he died a week and a half after being poisoned by agents of the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

in an operation to eliminate Ukrainian independence leaders. He is alleged to have had a child

out of wedlock Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

with Olesya Tukhai-Bei, although this has never been proven.

Fiancée

Halyna Kaluzhynska was born in Volhynia near Trostyanka in 1914. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she lived in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. She later married changed her surname name to Melnyk-Kaluzhynska. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Kaluzhynska relocated to the

along with many other

displaced persons Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...

. She met Skoropadsky through a mutual friend.

Skoropadskyi in literature

* Lytovchenko, Timur and Olena. Prince of Ukraine (historical detective) — Kharkiv: Folio. 2017. — 320 p.

References

* Тамара Ралдугіна Штрихи до портрета спадкоємця останнього гетьмана України Данила Скоропадського (1904–1957 рр.) (Tamara Ralduhina. The portrait of heir of the last Hetman of Ukraine Danylo Skoropadskyi) – Ukrainian historic journal. 2004. No. 6 ISSN 0130-5247 1904 births 1957 deaths 20th-century Ukrainian people Ukrainian politicians before 1991 Ukrainian nobility Politicians from Kyiv Ukrainian monarchists Ukrainian expatriates in England Ukrainian people murdered abroad Assassinated Ukrainian politicians Ukrainian emigrants to the United Kingdom {{ukraine-politician-stub