| Maria Vladimirovna Romanova | |
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| Grand Duchess of Russia | |
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| Time | 21 April 1992 - present |
| Predecessor | Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovich |
| Heir | Grand Duke George Mikhailovich |
| Spouse | Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia (m.1976, div.1985) |
| Issue | |
| Grand Duke George Mikhailovich | |
| Full name | |
| Maria Vladimirovna Romanova | |
| House | House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov |
| Father | Vladimir Cyrillovich, Grand Duke of Russia |
| Mother | Princess Leonida Bagration of Mukhrani |
| Born | 23 December 1953 Madrid, Spain |
Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia (Russian: Мари́я Влади́мировна Рома́нова; born 23 December 1953 in Madrid), has been a claimant to the headship of the Imperial Family of Russia and pretender to the titles Empress and Autocrat of All the Russias (historically the modern states of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland), since 1992. She has used Grand Duchess of Russia as her title of pretension with the style Imperial Highness throughout her life, though her right to this title is disputed.[1][2] She is a great-great-granddaughter in the male-line of Tsar Alexander II of Russia.
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HIH The Grand Duchess
Extended imperial family
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Maria Vladimirovna was born in Madrid, the only child of Vladimir Kirillovich, Grand Duke of Russia, Head of the Imperial Family of Russia and titular Emperor of Russia,[3] and Princess Leonida Bagration-Mukhrani who was half-Polish. Her paternal grandparents were Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich of Russia and Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna (née Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha). Maria was educated in Madrid and Paris, before spending a few terms at Oxford University, where she studied Russian history and literature.[4][5]
On 23 December 1969, upon reaching her dynastic majority, Maria swore an oath of loyalty to her father, to Russia, and to uphold the Fundamental Laws of Russia which governed succession to the defunct throne. At the same time, her father issued a controversial decree recognising her as heiress presumptive and declaring that, in the event he predeceased other Romanov males whom he had recognised as dynasts, then Maria would become the "Curatrix of the Imperial Throne".[6] until the death of the last male dynast. This has been viewed as an attempt by her father to ensure the succession remained in his branch of the imperial family,[4] while the heads of the other branches of the imperial family, the Princes Vsevolod Ioannovich of the (Konstantinovichi), Roman Petrovich of the (Nikolaevichi) and Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of the (Mihailovichi) declared that her father's actions were illegal.[1]
In Madrid on 22 September 1976, Maria married Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia[7], a Hohenzollern great-grandson of Germany's last emperor, Wilhelm II and, like his bride, a great-great grandchild of Victoria, Queen of the British Empire. Franz Wilhelm converted to the Orthodox faith prior to the wedding, taking the name Michael Pavlovich and receiving the title of a Grand Duke of Russia from Maria's father.[8][9]
The couple separated in 1982, a year after the birth of their only child George Mikhailovich, who had been granted the title Grand Duke of Russia at birth by his grandfather Vladimir. Following the divorce on 19 June 1985, Franz Wilhelm reverted to his Prussian name and style.[10]
Maria Vladimirovna lives in France and Spain. She is fluent in Russian, English, French and Spanish, and also speaks some German, Italian and Arabic.[6]
| Styles of Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia |
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| Reference style | Her Imperial Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Imperial Highness |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
Maria's grandfather's claim as emperor-in-exile was strongly disputed by other members of his family. One said: "To say the family is divided is a euphemism. The family is raving mad."[11] Her father, Vladimir Cyrillovich, was considered by some to be the last male dynast of the Romanov family.[5] When he died on 21 April 1992, Maria claimed to have succeeded him as head of the Russian Imperial Family, though this was disputed by Prince Nicholas Romanovich, a male-line great-great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I who also claimed to have succeeded Vladimir.
Following the discovery of the remains of Emperor Nicholas II and most of his immediate family in 1991, Maria Vladimirovna wrote to President Boris Yeltsin, regarding the burial of the remains, saying of her Romanov cousins, whom she does not recognise as members of the Imperial family (including the grandchildren of Nicholas II's sister Grand Duchess Xenia), that they "do not have the slightest right to speak their mind and wishes on this question. They can only go and pray at the grave, as can any other Russian, who so wishes".[12] At the behest of the Russian Orthodox Church Maria did not recognise the authenticity of the remains and declined to attend the reburial ceremony in 1998.[13] She has also said regarding her Romanov cousins, that "My feeling about them is that now that something important is happening in Russia, they suddenly have awakened and said, 'Ah ha! There might be something to gain out of this.'"[14]
Maria hopes for the restoration of the monarchy someday and is "ready to respond to a call from the people".[6] When questioned about the ongoing rift in the Romanov family, Maria said;
| “ | Attempts to disparage my rights have originated with people who, firstly, do not belong to the Imperial Family, and, secondly, either do not themselves know the relevant laws or think that others do not know these laws. In either case, there is unscrupulousness at work. The only thing that causes me regret is that some of our relatives waste their time and energy on little intrigues instead of striving to be of some use to their country. I have never quarreled with anyone about these matters and I remain open to a discussion and cooperation with all, including, of course, my relatives. But there can be no foundation for cooperation without respect for our dynastic laws, fulfilling these laws, and following our family traditions.[13] | ” |
In 2002, Maria became frustrated with the internal strife within the Russian monarchist movement. When representatives of the Union of Descendants of Noble Families, one of two rival nobility associations (the other, older one being the Russian Nobility Association) were discovered to be distributing chivalric titles and awards of the Order of St Nicholas the Wonderworker, without her approval, she published a relatively strongly worded disclaimer.[15]
On January 5, 2010, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna went to Istanbul, where she met with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and Mustafa Cagrici, Grand Mufti of Istanbul.[16] On 14 December of the same year, with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, she made a pilgrimage to Bari, Italy, and visited Pope Benedict XVI and Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal-Camerlengo Tarcisio Bertone in the Vatican.
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Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia
Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg
Born: 23 September 1953 |
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| Titles in pretence | ||
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| Preceded by Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovich |
— TITULAR — Empress of Russia 21 April 1992 – present Reason for succession failure: Empire abolished in 1917 |
Incumbent Heir: Grand Duke George Mikhailovich |
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