Prince Rostislav Romanov (1938–1999)

Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich
Born (1938-11-24)24 November 1938
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died 7 January 1999(1999-01-07) (aged 60)
London, England
Spouse Stephena Verdel Cook
Christia Ipsen
Issue Princess Stephena Rostislavovna
Princess Alexandra Rostislavovna
Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich
Prince Nikita Rostislavovich
Full name
Rostislav Rostislavovich Romanov
House Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
Father Prince Rostislav Alexandrovich of Russia
Mother Princess Alexandra Pavlovna Galitzine

Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich Romanov (3 December 1938 – 7 January 1999) was a descendant of the Imperial Family of Russia and a merchant banker.[1]

Biography

Known as "Rosti", he was born in Chicago, the only son of Prince Rostislav Alexandrovich of Russia and his first morganatic wife, Princess Alexandra Pavlovna Galitzine [2] (later Mrs. Armour) (1905–2006). He was a grandson of Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna and Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia, and thus the great-grandson of Tsar Alexander III. Prince Rotislav's parents divorced in 1944.

It is often alleged that Rostislav's birth was morganatic and not dynastic, arguing that his father's marriage with Princess Alexandra Galitzina would have been morganatic.

Prince Rostislav spent his early life in Chicago and after attending Phillips Academy, Andover he graduated from Yale University. He later moved to the United Kingdom where he worked in London as a merchant banker.[3]

In 1998 Prince Rostislav visited Russia for the funeral of his great uncle Emperor Nicholas II. Shortly after returning to the United Kingdom he was taken ill, with doctors believing he caught a rare disease from the dust at the church where the funeral took place. He subsequently fell into a coma, dying in London.[4]

Marriages and children

Prince Rostislav was married firstly on 9 September 1960 in Winnetka, Illinois to Stephena Verdel Cook (born 1938) and they had one daughter before the marriage was dissolved in 1980.[5]

He was married secondly in August, 1980 in Lake Forest, Illinois to Christia Ipsen and they had three children:[5]

Title and styles

N.B. After the Russian revolution morganatic descendants of the Imperial family tended to use the princely title with the surname Romanov.[6] However this title, and even his right to the surname Romanov was disputed by some.[7]

Ancestry

References

  1. ↑ Darnton, John (1993-07-10). "Scientists Confirm Identification of Bones as Czar's". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  2. ↑ Bassano. "Princess Alexandra Pavlovna Galitzine". National Portrait Gallery.
  3. ↑ Massie, Robert K. (1995). The Romanovs The Final Chapter. Jonathan Cape. p. 261. ISBN 0-224-04192-4.
  4. ↑ Christy, Mark (1999-11-21). "Real Life: The 4tsar hotel; B&B Landlady Tia is a Russian Princess". Sunday Mirror. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  5. 1 2 Theroff, Paul. "Russia". Online Gotha. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  6. ↑ Almanach de Gotha (186th ed.). 2003. p. 314. ISBN 0-9532142-4-9.
  7. ↑ "Dynastic Succession". imperialhouse.ru. Retrieved 26 July 2009.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 4/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.