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

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or 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 ...

who was the wife of one of the last

Russian grand duke This is a list of those members of the Russian imperial family who bore the title ''velikiy knjaz'' (usually translated into English as grand duke, but more accurately grand prince). This courtesy title was borne by the sons and male-line gran ...

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 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 who created the Gibson Girl, an iconic representation of the beautiful and independent American woman at the turn of the 20th century. He published his ...

and niece of

Lady Astor Nancy Witcher 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 was born in Danville, Virginia and rai ...

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

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 Conservative statesman who twice served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. ...

. 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 (born Dikran Sarkis Kouyoumdjian;, , 16 November 1895 – 23 June 1956) was an essayist, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and scriptwriter. He had his greatest successes in the 1920s while living and writing in England, ...

, 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 spouse ...

, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia (1891–1942), an exile after the

1917 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social change in Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government following two successive revolutions and a civil war. It ...

, 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 Grand Du ...

and King

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

. Dmitri's cousin,

Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich of Russia Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia (; ''Kirill Vladimirovich Romanov''; – 12 October 1938) was a son of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia, a grandson of Emperor Alexander II and a first cousin of Nicholas II, Russia's last ...

, elevated Audrey to Russian rank of '' knyaginya'' (a noble, not

dynastic A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. Historians ...

"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 () 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 oblast. The area of the district is . Its administrati ...

, Russia. Before their eventual divorce in 1937, she was the mother of one son: Prince

Paul Romanovsky-Ilyinsky Paul Dmitrievich Romanovsky-Ilyinsky (January 27, 1928 – February 10, 2004) was a three-time mayor of Palm Beach, Florida, and the only child of Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia and his morganatic wife, Cincinnati heiress Audrey Emery. H ...

(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 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 ende ...

), 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 20th-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 20th-century American people