Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna Romanova (1875 - 1960) - Part 2 of 3Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovn

Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna Romanova (1875 - 1960) - Part 2 of 3

Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna and Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich got married in 1894. Unfortunately, her wedding was the last public event Tsar Alexander III attended.  They married in August and the Tsar died in November. Xenia’s brother Nicky ascended to the throne of Russia as Nicholas II and married Princess Alix of Hesse, who became Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. 

The two couples developed a very close relationship. Sandro held important posts during Nicholas II’s reign but he does not seem to have acquired the influence he should have as the Tsar’s brother-in-law, a relationship that placed him in extremely close proximity to the seat of power. The relationship between Nicholas and Alexandra and Sandro and Xenia was, indeed, a close one during the first few years of their marriage, yet it eroded slowly. The reasons for this are multiple and varied. Xenia and Sandro’s lifestyle was not as “sheltered” as Nicholas and Alexandra’s. Also, as the Empress gave birth to four beautiful girls in succession, Xenia’s first born  daughter Irina was followed by six consecutive healthy sons. This could not have been a comfortable state of affairs for Alexandra who was eager to produce just one boy and seemingly could not. Although this was probably not the determinant factor in the cooling of her relationship with her sister in law, it must have contributed to it. What doomed the relationship was the fact that as the young Empress gained influence over Nicholas, his mother, the dowager, lost hers; Xenia sided with her mother.  And let us not forget the gradual involvement of the imperial couple in matters related to mysticism (first in the guise of Monsieur Phillipe, and much later through the person of Rasputin) an interest not at all shared by Xenia and Sandro at that point.

Xenia and Sandro’s marriage seems to have been a love match. Given Grand Duke Alexander’s restless personality, it is no surprise that he would eventually find other love interests. The grand-ducal couple spent long periods of time outside of Russia, making the rounds of Biarritz, Cannes, etc with their ever expanding brood in tow.  During Xenia’s pregnancy with her last child, Grand Duke Alexander fell in love with a Spanish/Italian woman we only know as Maria Ivanova, who was a frequent guest at the parties Xenia and Sandro gave. He decided to come clean to Xenia, and they opted to live “together but apart” for the sake of the children. They never got a divorce although Sandro asked Xenia for one several times through the years. The affair with Maria Ivanova lasted a number of years. Afterwards, there were other women in Sandro’s life;  Xenia also took a lover (whose identity is not known for sure; there is speculation that this lover was an Englishman we know only as “Fane;” while others mention Prince Sergei Dolgoruky, an adjutant to the Dowager Empress - it is possible that these are two individuals Xenia had relationships with at different points in time.)  Although both Sandro and Xenia were extremelly discreet, the state of their marriage was more or less an open secret. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna greatly pitied “poor litte Xenia with that terrible husband.”

Xenia and her mother remained very close. The Dowager Empress came to depend on Sandro and grew particularly close to Xenia’s children, especially beautiful, ethereal Irina. She derived all the enjoyment from these grandchildren that  she could not from her son Nicholas’ offspring, since her contact with them was limited.

When World War I erupted, Xenia, Sandro, Maria Feodorovna, Irina, who by now was married to the eccentric Prince Felix Yusupov (one of the richest men in Russia) were all out of Russia. They hurried back home to serve their country for what they did not know would be one last time.

Photographs: 1. Illustration of different “scenes” from Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna’s wedding to Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich (this was the last public event that Alexander III was able to attend due to his final illness.)     2. A very young Xenia (she must have been between 18 and 19 years old) holding her first born child and only daughter Irina); 3. Grand Duchess Xenia wearing a beautiful and very becoming boyarina costume; 4. Formal portrait of Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna; 5. Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna at sea    6. Xenia and Sandro with their seven children, Irina, Andrei, Feodor, Nikita, Dmitry, Rostilav and Vasily; 7. Grand Duchess Xenia and her children;    8. Xenia, her daughter Irina and her granddaughter Bebe; 9. Xenia and Sandro with friends; 10. Xenia, a very dapper Sandro and entourage in Biarritz