() was the title introduced 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 ...

in 1886 for distant descendants of the emperor. The title was granted to great-grandchildren and their descendants (and their wives) instead of the more honorable "

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 ...

/Grand Duke" (; for children and grandchildren). It was introduced due to a significant increase in the number of members 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 ...

, in order to cut the expenses required by the law for Grand Princes/Princesses.

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In 1885 Emperor Alexander III formalised the use of titles in the Imperial House by amendment to the succession laws. Grand prince belonged henceforward only to sons and paternal grandsons of the Emperors of Russia, and Grand princess correspondingly only to daughters and paternal granddaughters, as well as to legitimate wives of Grand princes. One male infant only 9 days old at the time of Alexander's edict thus lost the title. Those Russian dynasts who genealogically were distant from Emperors (as not to be Grand princes) were entitled to titulary Prince of Russia.

Prince John Konstantinovich of Russia Prince John Konstantonovich of Russia, born as Grand Duke John Konstantinovich of Russia (; 5 July 1886 – 18 July 1918), sometimes also known as Prince Ivan, Prince Ioann or Prince Johan, was the eldest son of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantino ...

(1886–1918) was apparently the only who lost the grand ducal title accorded by convention at birth but removed by Alexander III. Alexander III's own grandchildren, children of his daughter Xenia Alexandrovna, were not yet born at the time of the edict, and accordingly became "only" Princes of Russia from their births, as they were great-grandchildren of Nicholas I (one generation too far) when looking at the male lineage. All were styled Highness.

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Princes of Russia of the House of Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp

Females

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