Prince Nikita Alexandrovich of Russia (17 January O.S._4_January.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 January">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 January1900 – 12 September 1974) was the third son and fourth child 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. He was a nephew of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Born in Imperial Russia during the reign of his uncle, Prince Nikita escaped the fate of many of his relatives who were killed by the Bolsheviks. He left Russia in April 1919, at age nineteen. In 1922, he married Countess Maria

Vorontsova-Dashkova Yekaterina Romanovna Vorontsova (russian: Екатери́на Рома́новна Воронцо́ва) (28 March, 1743 – 15 January, 1810) This source reports that Prince Dashkov died in 1761. was an influential noblewoman, a major figure o ...

. The couple had two children.

Russian prince

Prince Nikita Alexandrovich was born in

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 ...

at his parents' palace at 106, Moika street. He was the son of

and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia. Through his mother he was a grandson of Tsar

Alexander III of Russia Alexander III ( rus, Алекса́ндр III Алекса́ндрович, r=Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 18 ...

and his consort, the Tsarina Maria Feodorovna of Russia (born Princess Dagmar of Denmark). Prince Nikita spent his childhood and adolescence in fabulous splendor under the reign of his uncle, Tsar Nicholas II. He also traveled with his parents through Europe. A favorite destination was Ai-Todor, his father's estate, located in

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

on the shores of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

. It was there where Prince Nikita and his immediate family found refuge from the disturbances in the former Imperial capital after the fall of the monarchy in Russia in February 1917. For a time, they lived there undisturbed. Their situation deteriorated after the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

rose to power. Prince Nikita was placed under house arrest with his parents and other members of the Romanov family in Crimea for sometime. He left Russia on 11 April 1919 with the help of his great aunt

Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King ...

(formerly Princess Alexandra of Denmark), a sister of the Dowager Tsarina Maria.

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

sent the British warship HMS ''Marlborough'', which brought Prince Nikita's family and other members of the Romanov dynasty, headed by the Dowager Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, from the Crimea over the

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and then to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Exile

During his first years in exile, Prince Nikita lived in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

in the house of his sister Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia. He moved later to

where he graduated from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. During his student years, Prince Nikita was president of the Oxford University Russian Club. Prince Nikita Alexandrovich married a childhood friend: Countess Maria

(13 February 1903 in Tsarskoye Selo, Russia – 15 June 1997 in

Cannes, France Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ci ...

) in

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. Well known by White Russians in exile for her elegance and grace, the Princess was a daughter of Count Hilarion Vorontsov Illarionovich - Dashkov and his first wife, Irina, born Naryshkina. Maria was a direct descendant of several Russian noble families, including

Dolgorukov The House of Dolgorukov () is a princely Russian family of Rurikid stock. They are a cadet branch of the Obolenskiy family (until 1494 the rulers of Obolensk, one of the Upper Oka Principalities) and as such claiming patrilineal descent from ...

, Naryshkin, and Shuvalov. The wedding took place on 19 February 1922 in Paris. The couple had two sons: *

Prince Nikita Romanov Prince Nikita Nikitich Romanov (13 May 1923 – 3 May 2007) was a British born, American historian and writer, author of a book about Ivan the Terrible. He was a member of the Romanov family, a son of Prince Nikita Alexandrovich of Russia and a g ...

(13 May 1923 in

London, England 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 major se ...

– 3 May 2007 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) *

Prince Alexander Romanov Prince Alexander Nikitich Romanov (4 November 1929 – 22 September 2002) was a member of the Romanov family. He was a son of Prince Nikita Alexandrovich of Russia and a great nephew of Nicholas II of Russia, the last Tsar. Born in France, he t ...

(4 November 1929 in

– 21 September 2002 in

). In the early 1920s in Paris, the Princess, with her husband's helped to create a collection for the company IRFE owned by Prince Felix Yusupov and his wife Princess Irina Alexandrovna, Nikita's sister. After the birth of his youngest son, Prince Nikita moved his family from Paris to England where his mother, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna lived. In exile, Nikita Alexandrovich was an active in the monarchist movement. He was a member of the oldest monarchist organization, the Supreme Monarchist Council. He was particularly involved during the 1920s and 1930s. At the outbreak

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Prince Nikita was living in Paris with his family. Unable to return to London, they moved to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and later to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. As the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

advanced on the Eastern Front, fearing to end up in Soviet-occupied territory, the family moved back to Paris. When the war ended, they emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in 1946 settling in

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under b ...

where Prince Nikita Alexandrovich taught Russian in army units. He later moved to

New York city New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, working in banks and offices. In 1969, Prince Nikita Alexandrovich publicly dismissed Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich's claims to Grand Ducal status. Throughout his life, Prince Nikita Aleksandrovich did not adopt any nationality, he decided to remain only Russian. In the early 1970s, Prince Nikita Alexandrovich and his wife returned to France. He died in 1974 in

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ...

. He had wished to be buried in Ai-Todor in Crimea, but was buried in

Roquebrune-Cap-Martin Roquebrune-Cap-Martin (; oc, Ròcabruna Caup Martin or ; it, Roccabruna-Capo Martino, ; Mentonasc: ''Rocabrüna''; Roquebrune until 1921) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Southeastern F ...

, next to his parents.

Ancestry

Notes

References

*Kiste, John van der, & Hall, Coryne. ''Once a Grand Duchess: Xenia, Sister of Nicholas II'', Sutton Publishing, 2002. . *Willis, Daniel. ''The Romanovs in the 21st Century: a genealogical Biography'', VDM, 2009. .
About Prince Nikita of Russia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikita Of Russia Nikita Alexandrovitch 1974 deaths Princes of royal blood (Russia) Royalty from Saint Petersburg Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Italy Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States