Grand Duke Kyrill (1876-1938) and Grand Duchess Victoria Melita 'Ducky' (1876-1936)

[Marengo]

Kirill Vladimirovitch, Grand Duke of Russia (Tsarskoie-Selo, 30 September 1876 - Neuilly, 13 October 1938); married in Tegernsee on 8 October 1905, Princess Victoria Melita of Great Britain and Ireland, Princess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Malta, 25 November 1876 - Amorbach, 2 March 1936)

Children: Fuerstin Maria Kirilovna of Leiningen; Princess Kira Kirilovna of Prussia and Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovitch of Russia

Parents Kyril: Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovitch of Russia and Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Parents Victoria Melita: Duke Alfred of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha, Prince of Great-Britain, Duke of Edinburgh and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrowna of Russia

Siblings Kyril: Grand Duke Alexander Vladimirovitch of Russia; Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovitch of Russia; Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovitch of Russia and Princess Helen of Greece

Siblings Victoria Melita: Hereditairy Duke Alfred of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha; Queen Marie of Roumenia; Fuerstin Alexandra of Hohenlohe-Langeburg and Princess Beatrice of Spain, Duchess of Galliera

 

[Marengo]

Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich of Russia, (Kirill Vladimirovich Romanov) (October 12, 1876 (N.S.)–October 12, 1938) was a member of the Russian Imperial Family. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the death of Tsar Nicholas II and his brother Michael, Cyril became the Head of the Imperial Family of Russia and Titular Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias. He claimed the title, "Emperor in Exile", in 1924 and held it until his death.

Grand Duke Cyril was born on October 12, 1876 in Tsarskoye Selo. His father was Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia, the third son of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and Maria Alexandrovna of Hesse. His mother was Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (later known as Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia), the daughter of Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Augusta of Reuss-Köstritz. As a grandson in the male line to a Russian Tsar, he was titled Grand Duke, with the style His Imperial Highness.

Cyril served in the Russian Navy during the Russo-Japanese War. While serving as First Officer on the Petropavlovsk, the ship was blown up by a Japanese mine at Port Arthur in April 1904. Cyril barely escaped with his life, and was invalided out of the service suffering from burns, back injuries and shell shock.

Grand Duke Cyril married his first cousin, Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on October 8, 1905. Victoria's father was Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria. Victoria's mother was Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia, a daughter of Tsar Alexander II and Cyril's paternal aunt.
The marriage caused a scandal in the courts of European Royalty as Princess Victoria was divorced from her first husband, Grand DukeErnst Ludwig of Hesse, also her first cousin. The Grand Duke of Hesse's sister was Tsarina Alexandra Fyodorovna, the wife of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. The Tsarina already disliked her former sister-in-law and first cousin, being instrumental in leading the opposition to the marriage in the Russian court. Shortly after returning to Russia, the Tsar stripped Cyril of his imperial allowance and position in the navy.
However, after several deaths in the family had put Cyril third in the line of succession to the Imperial Throne, Nicholas reinstated Cyril, and the latter's wife came into favor, and was given the title Grand Duchess of Russia, who from then on was styled as Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Viktoria Feodorovna.

Read the entire wikipedia article here.

 

[Marengo]

Grand Duchess Viktoria Feodorovna of Russia, born Princess Victoria Melita (25 November 1876 – 2 March 1936), was a member of the British Royal Family, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Victoria held the titles of Grand Duchess of Hesse (1894-1901), and Grand Duchess Viktoria Feodorovna of Russia.
Victoria scandalized the royal families of Europe with her divorce and remarriage in the early 20th century.

Victoria was born on 25 November 1876 in the San Antonio Palace in Malta, hence her second name, Melita. Her father, who was stationed on the island as an officer in the Royal Navy, was Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second-eldest son of Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort. Her mother was Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, a daughter of Alexander II of Russia and his first Empress Consort Marie of Hesse. As a grandchild of the British monarch, she was styled Her Royal Highness Princess Victoria of Edinburgh. To her family, she was always known as Ducky. At the time of her birth, she was tenth in the line of succession to the British throne.
"Ducky" had a difficult temperament, according to her elder sister Marie, Queen of Romania. When they were children, Victoria was shy, serious and sensitive, and incapable of being dishonest or insincere, in the judgment of her sister. "This passionate child was often misunderstood," Marie of Romania wrote. Her mother raised the children to ignore illness and to be active physically. To help Victoria overcome her shyness, Marie forced the little girl to spend part of each afternoon walking around a circle of empty chairs, pretending to chat with invisible company under her mother's guidance. Her mother also insisted that the children eat anything put before them, no matter how awful it tasted.

As a son of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Victoria's father was in the line of succession to the duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Alfred became the heir apparent to the duchy, when his older brother and Victoria's uncle, the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) renounced his succession rights. Subsequently, the family moved to Coburg, Germany in 1889. Their pro-German mother immediately began attempting to Germanise her daughters by installing a new governess, buying them plain clothing, and having them confirmed in the German Lutheran church, even though they had previously been raised in the Anglican church. The children rebelled and some of the new restrictions were eased.

The teenage Victoria was a "tall, dark girl, with violet eyes ... with the assuredness of an Empress and the high spirits of a tomboy," according to one observer. Victoria had "too little chin to be conventionally beautiful," in the opinion of one of her biographers, but "she had a good figure, deep blue eyes, and dark complexion." In 1891, Victoria travelled with her mother to the funeral of Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna of Russia, the wife of her mother's brother Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich. There Victoria met her first cousin Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich. Although the two were deeply attracted to one another, Victoria's mother was reluctant to allow her to marry him because the Russian Orthodox religion forbids the marriage of two first cousins. She was also suspicious of the morality of the Romanov men. When her teenage daughters were impressed by their handsome cousins, their mother told them, "Don't you know that the cousins who seem so charming were also kissing the maid behind the parlour door?"
Soon after her sister Marie was married to the Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania, a search was made for a suitable husband for Victoria. Queen Victoria observed that Victoria had good relations with her cousin, Prince Ernest Louis of Hesse, the heir to grand ducal throne of Hesse and eldest son of Her Royal Highness Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, Queen Victoria's second eldest daughter. Queen Victoria was very keen for her two grandchildren to marry. However both Victoria and Ernst were reluctant; Victoria had also met Kirill again in St Petersburg and had fallen in love.

Read the entire wikipedia article here.

 

[Russophile]

Did Ducky ever convert to Orthodox? I am at work and haven't my books and stuff.

 

[branchg]

Did Ducky ever convert to Orthodox? I am at work and haven't my books and stuff.

Yes, she converted.

 

[CarolinaLandgrave]

Does anyone have any good pictures of Victoria Melita?

 

[Leslie2006]

She converted in 1907 before giving birth to Maria. That's why sometimes she's mentioned as Victoria Feodorovna.

 

[CarolinaLandgrave]

I have read somewhere (and it escapes me now where) that Victoria Melita and her sisters were very proud to be English princesses - dispite their mother wanting them to be raised as "good Germans"....
any info?
Thanks!

 

[Cumberland]

I also believe like her sisters Sandra, and Bee she and her husband were also supporters of the 3rd reich. I don't think any of the Coburg girls had a sustaining relationship with their English cousins with the exception of Marie.

 

[COUNTESS]

Why would their mother want them to be "Good German" princesses. She was Russian and there was little love lost between Germans and Russians.

 

[EmpressRouge]

Their mother also despised the English court (and the English didn't exactly like her). Grand Duchess Marie vetoed the idea of her eldest Marie marrying the future George V even though both the fathers approved.

 

[Russophile]

Why would their mother want them to be "Good German" princesses. She was Russian and there was little love lost between Germans and Russians.

How so Countess? Didn't a number of Grand Dukes get their wives from Germany? Catherine the Great was German if I recall.

 

[Cumberland]

Most if not all of the Tsar's wives were of German extraction. Possibly the friction between Germany/Prussia & Russia goes back to Frederick The Great & Catherine The Great, or before.

 

[COUNTESS]

Oh, quite correct. Catherine was really Sophia Augusta Fredricka of Anhalt-Zerbst. And, yes, a good many Tsarinas were of German extraction, but somehow they tried to emphasize the Russian part. I doubt if George V, even the obedient son that he was, would have considered Marie. She was too flighty. The perfect Queen of Romania. He was too serious. She was lovely, though.

 

[CarolinaLandgrave]

Thanks for the info - I am not sure where I would have read that.
But I do remember seeing somewhere that Victoria Melita sold some of her jewels (or gave them to) the Nazi cause.

And I knew that the Duchess of Edinburgh hated the English court and all things English. That was one of her main road-blocks to Princess Marie and the Duke of York's courtship.

 

[Warren]

Why would their mother want them to be "Good German" princesses. She was Russian and there was little love lost between Germans and Russians.

Maria wore several hats during her lifetime, among them Duchess (-Consort) of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha from 1893 to 1900, and thereafter Dowager Duchess of S-C&G.

. . . . . . . . . .

Victoria Melita, Grand Duchess Kyrill
and
Grand Duke Kyrill 1891
copright expired

 

[Russophile]

Oh, quite correct. Catherine was really Sophia Augusta Fredricka of Anhalt-Zerbst. And, yes, a good many Tsarinas were of German extraction, but somehow they tried to emphasize the Russian part. I doubt if George V, even the obedient son that he was, would have considered Marie. She was too flighty. The perfect Queen of Romania. He was too serious. She was lovely, though.

You're talking about Missie, correct?
I want a book that they have downtown, it's a hotel and used to be the Multnomah hotel. They have a book on the hotel and how it's changed and pictures of Queen Marie (Missie) when she came to Oregon. They have a Queen Marie Ballroom dedicated to her. And then there's Maryhill. . . .

 

[Cumberland]

I think Marie is the most fascinating of the Coburgs, and probably the most likeable. The others don't seem to have the flair that she did. Didn't she
tour the USA shortly before her death?

 

[Cumberland]

She converted in 1907 before giving birth to Maria. That's why sometimes she's mentioned as Victoria Feodorovna.

Did she have to as part of the agreement that allowed Kyrill back into Russia, and restored his titles, monies, etc? I often wonder what QV would have thought about the divorce, and then Victoria Melita's 2nd marriage to Kyrill, to have 3 granddaughters in Russia, would have sent her on to glory if nothing else would have. Afterall she arranged that marriage.

 

[acdc1]

Was Marie "Ducky" the one that was married to Empress Alexandra (Alix of Hesse's) brother? And didn't she have a daughter who died? I'm not sure if she is or if I am mistaking her for someone else.

 

[Warren]

You're correct..

Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and bei Rhine, who married Princess Alice of GB, had 7 children:

• Victoria (1863-1950) married Prince Louis of Battenberg, later 1st Marquess of Milford-Haven
• Elisabeth (1864-1918) married Grand Duke Serge of Russia
• Irene (1866-1953) marrried Prince Henry of Prussia
• Ernest Ludwig 1868-1937) later Grand Duke, married Victoria Melita
• Friedrich-Wilhelm (1870-1873) [fell from a window]
• Alix (1872-1918) Tsarina of Russia
• Marie (1874-1878)

Grand Duke Ernest Ludwig married Victoria Melita in 1894, divorced in 1901, and had:

• a son, stillborn, 1900
• Elisabeth (1895-1903)
.

 

[slavona]

Does anyone have images about their children?

 

[Leslie2006]

After divorcing Ducky in 1901, Ernie married Princess Eleonore Solms-Hohensolms-Lich on 2 February 1905.

Their children:

*Georg Dontus (1906-1937) married Princess Cecile of Prussia (sister of the current Duke of Edinburgh).

*Ludwig (1908-1968). No issue.

Georg and Cecile had four children; 3 perished with them in an airplane accident in 1937; their fourth child, a daughter, died of meningitis in 1939.

 

[maria-olivia]

Grand Duchess Victoria Melita "Ducky"i s Georg von Hohenzollern Great Grandmother ?

 

[MAfan]

Georg Donatus married Cecile of Greece and Denmark, not of Prussia; they died in 1937 together with his mother and theyr two sons Ludwig and Alexander and a third stilborn son, going to London for the wedding of his brother Ludwig and the Hon. Margaret Campbell-Geddes, who later adopted Georg and Cecile's daugter Johanna.

Victoria Melita (who was only Grand Duchess of Hesse and not of Russia, because Orthodox Churh never recognized her marriage to Kirill because they were first cousins) and Kirill had three chidren: Maria, who married Prince Karl of Leiningen, Wladimir and Kira, who married Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, with whom had 7 children, including Marie Cecile, Duchess of Oldenburg, and Louis Ferdinand II, the father of Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia.

 

[maria-olivia]

Maria , Wladimir and Kira were not Victoria Melitta's children ?
Marie Cécile of Prussia divorced the Duc of Oldenburg ; Georg's mother Donata is now Duchess of Oldenburg. I never understood why Donata married her ex-brother in law?

 

[MAfan]

Maria , Wladimir and Kira were not Victoria Melitta's children ?
Marie Cécile of Prussia divorced the Duc of Oldenburg ; Georg's mother Donata is now Duchess of Oldenburg. I never understood why Donata married her ex-brother in law?

Yes, Maria, Kira and Wladimir were Victoria Melita and Kirill's children.

About Marie Cecile, she and Friedrich August divorced, but, if I don't mistake, until she will remarried, she retains the title of Duchess of Oldenburg (like Chantal, Princess of Hannover, the ex-wife of Prince Ernst-August).

 

[CarolinaLandgrave]

Here is YouTube clip that shows some of the Imperial Family...
a few have names and captions....
you can recognize Nicholas II, Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna (the Elder), Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna, Grand Duchess Victoria Melita, Grand Duke Kyril, Grand Duchess Xenia, Grand Duchess Ella......

Any others that can be named?

YouTube - GD Cyril and Victoria Melita in the court. Кири́лл и Виктория Мелита

 

[Marengo]

I believe the duchess of Edinburgh & Saxe-Coburg, nee Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia can been seen too. Shortly after the emperor.

 

[Royal Fan]

Very cool clip werent that brance of the Family known to be Haughty?