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

House of Romanov The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff; , ) was the reigning dynasty, imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of all Russi ...

. He was a great-nephew of

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 ...

, the last Emperor of Russia.

Early life

Prince Michael Andreevich was born in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

, 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 (; 13 April 1866 – 26 February 1933) was a Russian grand duke and dynast of the House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov, House of Romanov. He was also a naval officer, author, explorer, as well as the first ...

and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna 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 Xenia may refer to: People * Xenia (name), a feminine given name; includes a list of people with this name Places United States ''listed alphabetically by state'' * Xenia, Illinois, a village in Clay County ** Xenia Township, Clay County, Il ...

and a younger brother

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

. 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 (UK), public school in Old Windsor, Old Windsor in Berkshire. Founded and run by the Society of Jesus, it offered a Roman Catholic public school education in rural surroundings, while l ...

in Old Windsor, and lived with his parents and his grandmother Grand Duchess Xenia in exile at

Craigowan Lodge Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a List of British royal residences, residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, Aberdeenshire, Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Abe ...

on the Balmoral Estate in Scotland as well as at Frogmore Cottage on the grounds of

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

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

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. During the war Michael served in Australia with the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

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

Marriages and later life

Prince Michael Andreevich was married three times in his life. On 24 February 1953 in 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 in Sydney he married Shirley Cramond (1916–1983). On 14 July 1993 in 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, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

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

Romanov Family Association The Romanov Family Association (RFA, frequently written as Romanoff; ) is an organization for descendants of the former Russian Imperial House. It was created in 1979 and officially registered in Switzerland. The current head of the organization ...

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

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

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

Ancestry

References

External links

Website about the life and legacy of Prince Michael Andreevich of Russia

The Romanoff Family Association

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michael Andreevich Of Russia, Prince 1920 births 2008 deaths House of Romanov in exile People educated at Beaumont College Princes of royal blood (Russia) Royal Navy personnel of World War II White Russian emigrants to Australia White Russian emigrants to France White Russian emigrants to the United Kingdom