Imperial Standard of the Tsesarevich of Russia

Tsesarevich (, ) was the title of the

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

or presumptive in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. It either preceded or replaced the given name and patronymic.

Usage

It is often confused with the much more general term

tsarevich Tsarevich (, ) was a title given to the sons of tsars. The female equivalent was ''tsarevna''. Under the 1797 Pauline Laws, Pauline house laws, the title was discontinued and replaced with ''tsesarevich'' for the heir apparent alone. His younger ...

, the title for any son of any

tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

, including non-Russian rulers such as those of

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Normally, there was only one ''tsesarevich'' at a time (an exception was Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, who was accorded the title until death, even though law gave it to his nephew), and the title was used exclusively in Russia. The title came to be used invariably in tandem with the formal style "Successor" (), as in "His Imperial Highness the Successor Tsesarevich and

Grand Prince Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) (; ; ; ; ) is a hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. Grand duke is the usual and established, though not litera ...

". The wife of the ''Tsesarevich'' was the tsesarevna ().

History

In 1721

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

discontinued use of "tsar" as his main title, and adopted that of ''imperator'' (emperor), whereupon the title of tsarevich (and "tsarevna", retained for life by

Ivan V Ivan V Alekseyevich (; – ) was Tsar of all Russia between 1682 and 1696, jointly ruling with his younger half-brother Peter I. Ivan was the youngest son of Alexis I of Russia by his first wife, Maria Miloslavskaya, while Peter was the ...

's daughters) fell into disuse. The Emperor's daughters were henceforth referred to as ''"tsesarevna"'' (Peter had no living son by this time). In 1762, upon succeeding to the imperial throne, Peter III accorded his only son Paul Petrovich (by the future

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

) the novel title of ''tsesarevich'', he being the first of nine Romanov heirs who would bear it. However, at the time the title was conferred, Paul was recognised as Peter's legal son, but not as his legal heir. Nor would he be officially recognised as such by his mother after her usurpation of the throne. More often he was internationally referred to by his other title of "

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...

" ("великий князь"; the actual meaning in Russian language is "

". "Grand Duke", a title not used, would have been "великий герцог" "velikij gertsog" from German Herzog, duke), which pre-dated ''tsesarevich'', being a holdover from the

Rurikid The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the ...

days before the grand dukes of

Muscovy Muscovy or Moscovia () is an alternative name for the Principality of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 *Muscovy duck (''Cairina mosch ...

adopted the title of tsar. When Paul acceded to the throne in 1796, he immediately declared his son Aleksandr Pavlovich ''tsesarevich'', and the title was confirmed by law in 1797 as the official title for the heir to the throne (incorporated into Article 145 of the Fundamental Laws). In 1799 Paul I granted the title ''tsesarevich'' to his second son Constantine Pavlovich, who, oddly, retained the title even after he renounced the throne in 1825 in favor of their younger brother, Nicholas I. Thenceforth, each Emperor's eldest son bore the title until 1894, when

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

conferred it on his brother Grand Duke George Aleksandrovich, with the stipulation that his entitlement to it would terminate upon the birth of a son to Nicholas, who was then

betrothed An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

to Alix of Hesse. When George died in 1899, Nicholas did not confer the title upon his oldest surviving brother Michael Aleksandrovich, although Nicholas's only son would not be born for another five years. That son, Alexei Nikolaevich (1904–1918), became the Russian Empire's last ''tsesarevich''.

Tsesarevich of Russia

Tsesarevna of Russia

The wife of an heir-tsesarevich bore the title Tsesarevna () – Grand Duchess. In first years of Russian Empire the female heirs of

Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...

bore this title: his daughters

Elizabeth of Russia Elizabeth or Elizaveta Petrovna (; ) was Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular List of Russian rulers, Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, ...

(born 1709),

Anna Petrovna Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia (; 27 January 1708 – 4 March 1728) was the eldest daughter of Peter the Great, Emperor Peter I of Russia and his wife Catherine I of Russia, Empress Catherine I. Her younger sister, Elizabeth of Russ ...

(1708–1728) and Natalia Petrovna (1718–1725). This word is not to be confused with

Tsarevna Tsarevna (, ) was a title given to the daughters of tsars in Russia before the 18th century. The male equivalent was ''tsarevich''. All of them died unmarried with the exception of the daughters of Ivan V. Notably, his daughter Catherine marrie ...

, used before 18th century for all the Tsar's daughters and daughters-in-law. Many princesses from Western Europe, who converted to

Orthodox Christianity Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

and changed their given names accordingly, were given the

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

''Fyodorovna'' not because their fathers were named "Theodore", but as an allegory based on the name of Theotokos of St. Theodore, the patron icon of the Romanov family.

Post-monarchy

After claiming the Russian throne in exile in 1924 Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich designated his son, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, ''Tsesarevich''. Since 1997 the title has been attributed to Vladimir's grandson, George Mikhailovich Romanov, whose mother, Maria Vladimirovna, conferred it on him in her capacity as

pretender 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 may often be used to either refer to a descendant of a deposed monarchy or a claim that is not legitimat ...

to the throne. Those who refer to him by a dynastic title, however, more usually address him as "grand duke". Until the end of the empire most people in Russia and abroad, verbally and in writing continued to refer to the Sovereign as "tsar". Perhaps for that reason the title of ''tsesarevich'' was less frequently used to refer to the heir apparent than either "tsarevich" or "grand duke".{{Citation needed, date=January 2019

References