Prince Michael Andreevich of Russia (15 July 1920 – 22 September 2008) was a descendant of the

House of Romanov The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to th ...

, which ruled Russia from 1613 to 1917. He was a great-nephew of

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

, the last Emperor of Russia.

Early life

Prince Michael Andreevich was born in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

, the second child and eldest son of Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia and Donna Elisabetta di Sasso-Ruffo (1886–1940). He was a grandson of

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia (russian: Александр Михайлович ''Aleksandr Mikhailovich''; 13 April 1866 – 26 February 1933) was a dynast of the Russian Empire, a naval officer, an author, explorer, the brother-i ...

and

Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia (russian: Ксения Александровна Романова; – 20 April 1960) was the elder daughter and fourth child of Tsar Alexander III of Russia and Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia ...

and a great nephew of

, the last Emperor of Russia. From his father's first marriage he had two siblings, an older sister Xenia and a younger brother

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

. From his father's second marriage he had one half sister, Olga. Neither Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich nor his son Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovich (who were heads of the

from 1924 to 1992) recognised Michael as a ''Prince of Russia''. Cyril and Vladimir held that the marriage of Prince Michael Andreevitch's parents was not dynastic and that Michael had no succession rights to the Russian throne. They accorded him the title ''HSH Prince Romanovsky-di Sasso Ruffo." Prince Michael Andreevich was educated at

Beaumont College Beaumont College was between 1861 and 1967 a public school in Old Windsor in Berkshire. Founded and run by the Society of Jesus, it offered a Roman Catholic public school education in rural surroundings, while lying, like the neighbouring Eto ...

in Old Windsor, and lived with his parents and his grandmother Grand Duchess Xenia in exile at Craigowan Lodge on the Balmoral Estate in Scotland as well as at Frogmore Cottage on the grounds of

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

. The family later stayed at Wilderness House until Michael was commissioned to serve in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

during

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 ...

. During the war Michael served in Australia with the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

. He moved there permanently following the conclusion of the war and became an aviation engineer.

Marriages and later life

Prince Michael Andreevich married three times. On 24 February 1953 at Sydney he married Jill Esther Blanche Murphy (1921-2006); the marriage was short lived and was dissolved by divorce in September 1953. On 23 July 1954 at Sydney he married Shirley Cramond (1916–1983). On 14 July 1993 at Sydney he married Giulia Crespi (b. 1930). Michael had no children from any of his marriages. In 1980 Prince Michael Andreevich became Imperial protector of the Sovereign Order of the Orthodox Knights Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem which was formerly under the protection of his father Prince Andrei and uncle Prince Vasili. In 2006 he was elected Grand Prior. This group is not recognised by the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

, or the Associated Orders of St. John. He was also vice-president of the

Romanov Family Association The Romanov Family Association (russian: Объединение Членов Рода Романовых, Obyedineniye Chlenov Roda Romanovykh) is an organization for descendants of the former Russian Imperial House. It was created in 1979 and of ...

. Prince Michael Andreevich died at 2 am on 22 September 2008 in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, the same day as his cousin, Prince Michael Feodorovich of Russia, the son of Prince Feodor Alexandrovich of Russia.

Ancestry

References

External links

The Romanoff Family Association

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michael Andreevich Of Russia, Prince House of Romanov in exile 1920 births 2008 deaths Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Australia Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France People educated at Beaumont College