Prince Kirill Romanovsky-Iskander

Prince Kirill Alexandrovich Romanovsky-Iskander, or Cyril Iskander Romanov (Russian: князь, Кирилл Александрович Искандер, romanized: knyaz, Kirill Alexandrovich Iskander) (5 December 1914 – 1992), or simply Prince Iskander, was one of the last two members of the House of Romanov to remain alive in Russia following the Revolution.

Kirill Alexandrovich Iskander Romanov
Prince Romanovsky-Iskander of Russia
Born5 December 1914
Tashkent, Russian Empire
Died1992
Moscow, Russian Federation
Names
Kirill Alexandrovich Iskander Romanov,
Kirill Nikolaievich Androsov
HouseHouse of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
FatherAlexander Nikolaevich Romanov, Prince Romanovsky-Iskander
MotherOlga Iosifovna Rogowska
ReligionEastern Orthodox

Family

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Prince Kirill and his sister Princess Natalia, in Tashkent province, Soviet Union (now Uzbekistan) in 1919

He was the son of Prince Romanovsky-Iskander (15 November 1887 N.S. – 26 January 1957), né Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov [ru], and his first wife, Olga Iosifovna Rogowska. He was a grandson of Grand Duke Nicholas Constantinovich, the disgraced grandson of Tsar Nicholas I; thus, Kirill was a patrilineal great-great-grandson of Nicholas I.

Grand Duke Constantine Nicholaevich's son, Grand Duke Nicholas Constantinovich, was exiled to Central Asia in disgrace for stealing his mother's diamonds. Grand Duke Nicholas established a palace in Tashkent and lived in grand style where he sired a son, whom Tsar Alexander III (his great-uncle) granted the title Prince Iskander (Iskander was the Arabic form of Alexander[1]). This prince, in turn, fathered the Prince Iskander.

His second cousins are Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark[2] and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Early life

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He was born in Tashkent, a member of the Constantinovichi branch of the Russian Imperial Family. He had a sister, Princess Natalia Romanovskaya-Iskander (1917 - 1999). Their parents, who had been married since 1912, separated, and in 1924 Kirill and his sister moved with their mother to Moscow (first moved to Plyushchikha Street, later to Arbat), where Olga remarried to Nicholas Androsov.

Kirill's stepfather adopted him and his sister, and Prince Iskander was renamed Kirill Nikolaievich Androsov (Russian: Кирилл Николаевич Андросов). His father also remarried, to Natalia Hanykova (30 December 1893 – 20 April 1982), in 1930 in Paris.

Adult life

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After the Russian Revolution, Kirill and his sister Natalia were the only two Romanov descendants in the male line in the USSR; the rest either left or were killed. They lived their entire lives in the USSR.[3] Upon Kirill's death, the male line of the Constantinovich branch of the Romanov family died out.

Styles of
Prince Kirill Romanovsky-Iskander
Reference styleHis Highness
Spoken styleYour Highness

Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^ Campbell, Mike. "Meaning, origin and history of the name Iskandar". Behind the Name. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  2. ^ About the family by Andrei Voznesensky Archived 2011-08-15 at the Wayback Machine includes Князь Михаил Греческий "Биография Великого Князя Николая Константиновича" and О.Лунькова "Княжна на мотоцикле".
  3. ^ Interview with Eleonora Dostal-Oruç (1999-2000's archive) Sabah News 29 January 2000, retrieved 19 June 2011.
Prince Kirill Romanovsky-Iskander
Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg
Born: 5 December 1914 Died: 1992
Russian royalty
Titles in pretence
Preceded by
Alexander Nikolaievich,
Prince Romanosky-Iskander
— TITULAR —
Prince Romanovsky-Iskander of Russia
1957 – 1992
Reason for succession failure:
1917 revolution
Succeeded by