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Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia

His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovitch of Russia, Vladimir Kirillovitch Romanov (Влади́мир Кири́ллович Рома́нов) (August 30 (N.S.), 1917 - April 21, 1992) was the Head of the Imperial Family of Russia and Titular Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias from 1938 to his death.

His Highness Prince Vladimir Cyrillovitch was born in 1917, at Borgo, Finland , the only son of HIH Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovitch and HIH Grand Duchess Viktoria Feodorovna née HRH Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

His paternal grandparents were Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovitch of Russia and Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin . His maternal grandparents were Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia.

In 1924, when his father proclaimed himself Emperor, he also granted Vladimir the title of Czarevitch and Grand Duke with the style of Imperial Highness.

In 1938, his father died, making him the Head of the Imperial Family of Russia.

He married HIllH Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Moukhransky on August 13, 1948.

For the first seventy-four years of his life, he never set foot in Russia. He visited the Soviet Union in 1991 to mark the seventy-fourth anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Grand Duke Vladimir died of an apparent heart attack while addressing a gathering of Spanish speaking bankers and investors in Miami, Florida on April 21, 1992. He was buried with full pomp and splendor in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, the first Romanov to be honored so much since the revolution. However, the press was careful to state that the honorable funeral "was regarded by civic and Russian authorities as an obligation to the Romanov family rather than a step toward restoration of the monarchy." According to a government spokesman, it was a way of "cleansing our guilt." Regardless of these statements, it was a huge morale booster for the "Vladimirs," the only branch of the family who is truly pushing for the restoration of the monarchy.

After his death, his daughter Maria declared that she was the Head of the Imperial Family of Russia. Though she has support in this position, because the rules concerning succession are complicated (under Russia's semi-Salic succession, for Maria to succeed all eligible males must be dead or otherwise ineligible, and the status of some people ruled ineligible because of "unequal marriages" depends on who is considered arbiter of "equality"), that support is not universal.

Titles from birth to death

Here is a list of Grand Duke Vladimir's titles from birth to death in chronological order:

  • His Highness Prince Vladimir Cyrillovitch of Russia
  • His Imperial Highness Czarevitch Vladimir Cyrillovitch of Russia
  • His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovitch of Russia
Last updated: 06-05-2009 13:38:31
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