Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich
Michael Nikolaevich, c. 1880–90
Born(1832-10-25)25 October 1832
Peterhof Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Died18 December 1909(1909-12-18) (aged 77)
Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1857; died 1891)​
Issue
HouseHolstein-Gottorp-Romanov
FatherNicholas I of Russia
MotherCharlotte of Prussia
Military career
Allegiance Russian Empire
Service/branch Imperial Russian Army
Years of service1846–1909
RankGeneralfeldmarschall
Commands heldCaucasus Military District

Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia (25 October 1832 – 18 December 1909) was the fourth son and seventh child of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia. He was the first owner of the New Michael Palace on the Palace Quay in Saint Petersburg.

Marriage and issue

On 16 August 1857, he married Princess Cecilie of Baden (1839–1891), daughter of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden and Sophie of Sweden. Cecily adopted the name Olga Feodorovna, and had the following children with him:

  Name Birth Death Spouse (dates of birth & death) and children[1][2]
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia
184026 April
1859		 191928 January
1919		 Unmarried. He was killed by the Bolsheviks during the Russian revolution;
no issue
Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia 186028 July
1860		 192211 March
1922		 Married 1879 (24 January),
Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1851–1897);
1 son, 2 daughters; 1 illegitimate son.
Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia 186116 October
1861		 192926 April
1929		 Married 1891 (26 February),
Sophie of Merenberg (1868–1927);
1 son, 2 daughters.
Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia 186323 August
1863		 191928 January
1919		 Married 1900 (12 May),
Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark (1876–1940);
2 daughters.

He was killed by the Bolsheviks during the Russian revolution.

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia 186613 April
1866		 193326 February
1933		 Married 1894 (6 August),
Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia (1875–1960);
1 daughter, 6 sons.
Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia 18697 October
1869		 191818 July
1918		 Unmarried. He was killed by the Bolsheviks during the Russian revolution;
no issue
Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich of Russia 187528 December
1875		 18952 March
1895		 Unmarried;
no issue

Career

Michael Nicolaevich as a young man

He served 20 years (1862–1882) as the Governor General of Caucasia, being seated in Tbilisi, the town which most of his children remembered as the home of their childhood. In the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878), he was nominal Commander-in-Chief of the Russian troops in the Caucasus and was appointed Field Marshal General in April 1878.

In the course of his life, four members of his family ruled as Emperors of Russia: his father, Nicholas I; his brother, Alexander II; his nephew, Alexander III; as well as his grand-nephew, Nicholas II, whose second daughter, Grand Duchess Tatiana, the Grand Duke was godfather to.

He died in Cannes, France, on 18 December 1909. He was the last surviving legitimate grandchild of Paul I of Russia.

Legacy

He was remembered by Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, granddaughter of his eldest brother, in her memoirs: "My great-uncle, Grand Duke Michael came from time to time to pay us visits. He was an old gentleman of great height and unforgettable elegance; he fascinated us by the perfection and harmony of his gestures, by his affability and his air of a grand seigneur of an epoch already vanished. He was the last of the Grand Dukes who, according to the custom of my grandfather's time, tutoi-ed the men, and in spite of his age he bowed with touching grace before the women as he kissed their hands."[3]

Honours

National orders and decorations[4]
Foreign orders and decorations[4]

Ancestors

References

  1. ^ Whitaker's Almanack (1900) Facsimile Reprint 1998, London: Stationery Office, ISBN 0-11-702247-0, p. 86
  2. ^ Whitaker's Almanack, 1993, Concise Edition, (ISBN 0-85021-232-4), pages 134–136
  3. ^ Pavlovna Romanova, Grand Duchess Maria (1930). The Education of a Princess, A Memoir. Blue Ribbon Books, New York.
  4. ^ a b Russian Imperial Army - Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich (In Russian)
  5. ^ Liste der Ritter des Königlich Preußischen Hohen Ordens vom Schwarzen Adler (1851), "Von Seiner Majestät dem Könige Friedrich Wilhelm IV. ernannte Ritter" p. 20
  6. ^ Lehmann, Gustaf (1913). Die Ritter des Ordens pour le mérite 1812–1913 [The Knights of the Order of the Pour le Mérite] (in German). Vol. 2. Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn. p. 532.
  7. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1907), "Königliche Orden" p. 27, 64
  8. ^ "A Szent István Rend tagjai" Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" p. 10
  10. ^ Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1855), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 11 Archived 2019-12-05 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1868), "Großherzogliche Orden" pp. 50, 54, 60
  12. ^ Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Bayern (1908), "Königliche Orden" p. 8
  13. ^ Almanacco di corte. 1858. p. 242.
  14. ^ Staatshandbuch für den Freistaat Sachsen: 1865/66. Heinrich. 1866. p. 4.
  15. ^ Staat Oldenburg (1854). Hof- und Staatshandbuch des Großherzogtums Oldenburg: für ... 1854. Schulze. p. 27.
  16. ^ Cibrario, Luigi (1869). Notizia storica del nobilissimo ordine supremo della santissima Annunziata. Sunto degli statuti, catalogo dei cavalieri (in Italian). Eredi Botta. p. 115. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  17. ^ M. Wattel, B. Wattel. (2009). Les Grand'Croix de la Légion d'honneur de 1805 à nos jours. Titulaires français et étrangers. Paris: Archives & Culture. p. 516. ISBN 978-2-35077-135-9.
  18. ^ Bille-Hansen, A. C.; Holck, Harald, eds. (1900) [1st pub.:1801]. Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1900 [State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1900] (PDF). Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender (in Danish). Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 30 April 2020 – via da:DIS Danmark.
  19. ^ Sveriges statskalender (in Swedish). 1905. p. 440. Retrieved 2018-01-06 – via runeberg.org.
Categories