This is a list of those members of the Russian Imperial House who bore the title velikaia kniaginia () or velikaia knazhna () (usually translated into French and English as grand duchess, but more accurately grand princess). This courtesy title was borne (usually) by daughters and male-line granddaughters of the emperors and empresses of Russia, as well as by wives of grand dukes of Russia, all along with the style of Her Imperial Highness.
Grand duchesses of Russia by birth PictureNameFatherBornDiedMarriageNotesAnna PetrovnaPeter Alexeievich27 January 17084 March 1728Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp(m. 1725)Elizabeth Petrovnalater, Elizabeth, Empress of Russia29 December 17095 January 1762 Ascended the throne in 1741. Natalya AlexeyevnaAlexei Petrovich21 July 171422 November 1728Died unmarried.Anna LeopoldovnaKarl Leopold, Duke of Mecklenburg18 December 171819 March 1746Duke Anton Ulrich of Brunswick(m. 1739)Assumed title rather than received it. Anna Petrovna Peter Feodorovich9 December 17578 March 1759Died in infancy.Alexandra PavlovnaPavel Petrovich9 August 178316 March 1801Archduke Josef, Palatine of Hungary(m. 1799)Elena Pavlovna24 December 178424 September 1803Friedrich Ludwig, Hereditary Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin(m. 1799)Maria Pavlovna16 February 178623 June 1859Karl Friedrich, Hereditary Duke of Saxe-Weimar(m. 1804; d. 1853)Catherine Pavlovna21 May 17889 January 1819Duke Georg of Oldenburg(m. 1809; d. 1812)Wilhelm I, King of Württemberg(m. 1816)Olga Pavlovna 22 July 179226 January 1795Died in infancy.Anna Pavlovna18 January 17951 March 1865Willem II, King of the Netherlands(m. 1816; d. 1849) Maria Alexandrovna Alexander Pavlovich29 May 17998 August 1800Died in infancy. Elizabeth Alexandrovna 15 November 180612 May 1808Died in infancy.Maria NikolaievnaNikolai Pavlovich18 August 181921 February 1876Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg(m. 1839; d. 1852) Count Grigori Stroganov(m. 1854)Olga Nikolaievna11 September 182230 October 1892Karl, Crown Prince of Württemberg(m. 1846; d. 1891)Maria Mikhailovna Mikhail Pavlovich9 March 182519 November 1846Died unmarried.Alexandra NikolaievnaNikolai Pavlovich24 June 182510 August 1844Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel(m. 1844)Elizabeth Mikhailovna Mikhail Pavlovich26 May 182628 January 1845Adolf, Duke of Nassau(m. 1844)Catherine Mikhailovna28 August 182712 May 1894Duke Georg August of Mecklenburg-Strelitz(m. 1851; d. 1876) Alexandra Mikhailovna 28 January 183127 March 1832Died in infancy. Anna Mikhailovna 27 October 183422 March 1836Alexandra AlexandrovnaAlexander Nikolaievich30 August 1842 10 July 1849Olga KonstantinovnaKonstantin Nikolaievich3 September 185118 June 1926George I, King of the Hellenes(m. 1867; d. 1913)Maria AlexandrovnaAlexander Nikolaievich17 October 185324 October 1920Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh(m. 1874; d. 1900)Vera KonstantinovnaKonstantin Nikolaievich16 February 185411 April 1912Duke Eugen of Württemberg(m. 1874; d. 1877)Anastasia MikhailovnaMikhail Nikolaievich28 July 186011 March 1922Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin(m. 1879; d. 1897)Xenia AlexandrovnaAlexander Alexandrovich6 April 187520 April 1960Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich(m. 1894; d. 1933)Elena VladimirovnaVladimir Alexandrovich29 January 188213 March 1957 Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark(m. 1902; d. 1938)Olga AlexandrovnaAlexander Alexandrovich13 June 188224 November 1960Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg(m. 1901; ann. 1916)Nikolai Alexandrovich Kulikovsky(m. 1916; d. 1958)Maria PavlovnaPavel Alexandrovich18 April 189013 December 1958Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland(m. 1908; div. 1914)Prince Sergei Mikhailovich Putyatin(m. 1917; div. 1923)Olga NikolaevnaNikolai Alexandrovich15 November 189517 July 1918Died unmarried.Tatiana Nikolaevna10 June 189717 July 1918Maria Nikolaevna26 June 189917 July 1918Anastasia Nikolaevna18 June 190117 July 1918
Grand duchesses of Russia by pretence After 1917, no such daughter was born into the deposed imperial house who would have been entitled to the title grand duchess - i.e., had been a male-line granddaughter of a reigning emperor; although such would have been technically possible, as there lived sons of reigning emperors and their daughters would have been so entitled. PictureNameFatherBornDiedHusbandNotesMaria KirillovnaKirill Vladimirovich2 February 190725 October 1951Karl, 6th Prince of Leiningen(m. 1925; d. 1946)Born as Princess of Russia; adopted the style of Grand Duchess after her father's headship of the House of Romanov.Kira Kirillovna9 May 19098 September 1967Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia(m. 1938)Born as Princess of Russia; adopted the style of Grand Duchess after her father's headship of the House of Romanov.Maria VladimirovnaVladimir Kirillovich23 December 1953alivePrince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia(m. 1976; div. 1985)Born after the abolition of the monarchy; adopted the style of Grand Duchess of Russia in pretense.
Grand duchesses of Russia by marriage PictureNameHusbandDate of marriageBornDiedNotesCharlotte Christine of Brunswick-LüneburgAlexei Petrovich25 October 171129 August 169413 November 1715 Sophie of Anhalt-ZerbstCatherine AlexeievnaPeter Feodorovich1 September 17452 May 172917 November 1796Known to history as 'Catherine the Great'.Became Empress Consort when her husband succeeded as Peter III in 1762.Became Empress Regnant 9 July 1762 on deposing her husband.Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-DarmstadtNatalia AlexeievnaPavel Petrovich10 October 177325 June 175526 April 1776Sophie Dorothea of WürttembergMaria FeodorovnaPavel Petrovich7 October 177625 October 17595 November 1828Became Empress when her husband succeeded as Paul I in 1796.Louise of BadenElizabeth AlexeievnaAlexander Pavlovich9 October 179324 January 177916 May 1826Became Empress when her husband succeeded as Alexander I in 1801.Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-SaalfeldAnna FeodorovnaKonstantin Pavlovich26 February 179623 September 178115 August 1860Annulled 1820. Charlotte of PrussiaAlexandra FeodorovnaNikolai Pavlovich13 July 181713 July 17981 November 1860Became Empress when her husband succeeded as Nicholas I in 1825.Charlotte of WürttembergElena PavlovnaMikhail Pavlovich19 February 18249 January 18072 February 1873 Marie of Hesse and by RhineMaria AlexandrovnaAlexander Nikolaievich28 April 18418 August 18243 June 1880Became Empress when her husband succeeded as Alexander II in 1855.Alexandra of Saxe-AltenburgAlexandra IosifovnaKonstantin Nikolaievich11 September 18488 July 18306 July 1911 Alexandra of OldenburgAlexandra PetrovnaNikolai Nikolaievich6 February 18562 June 183825 April 1900 Cecilie of BadenOlga FeodorovnaMikhail Nikolaievich28 August 185720 September 183912 April 1891 Dagmar of DenmarkMaria FeodorovnaAlexander Alexandrovich9 November 186626 November 184713 October 1928Became Empress when her husband succeeded as Alexander III in 1881.Marie of Mecklenburg-SchwerinMaria PavlovnaVladimir Alexandrovich28 August 187414 May 18546 September 1920 Elisabeth of Saxe-AltenburgElizabeth MavrikievnaKonstantin Konstantinovich27 April 188425 January 186524 March 1927 Elisabeth of Hesse and by RhineElizabeth FeodorovnaSergei Alexandrovich15 June 18841 November 186417 or 18 July 1918 Alexandra of Greece and DenmarkAlexandra GeorgievnaPavel Alexandrovich17 June 188930 August 187024 September 1891 Milica of MontenegroMilitza NikolaevnaPeter Nikolaievich26 July 188914 July 18665 September 1951 Alix of Hesse and by RhineAlexandra FeodorovnaNicholas Alexandrovich26 November 18946 June 187217 July 1918Became Grand Duchess of Russia after she was received into the Russian Orthodox Church.This was a day after her fiancé succeeded as Emperor Nicholas II.Became Empress on her marriage to the Emperor on 26 November 1894.Maria of Greece and DenmarkMaria GeorgievnaGeorge Mikhailovich12 May 19003 March 187614 December 1940 Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and GothaVictoria FeodorovnaKirill Vladimirovich8 October 190525 November 18762 March 1936 Anastasia of MontenegroAnastasia NikolaievnaNikolai Nikolaievich29 April 19074 January 186825 January 1929 Leonida Bagration of MukhraniLeonida GeorgievnaVladimir Kirillovich13 August 19486 October 191423 May 2010Wife and mother of the heads of the House of Romanov in exile.
Although male grand dukes of Russia (sons or male-line grandsons of reigning emperors) existed after 1917, when the imperial house was deposed, none of them contracted an equal marriage after that date; so the title grand duchess was not gained by marriage thereafter — though it would have been technically possible.
Note that a grand duke or grand duchess as a translation is not necessarily associated with a grand duchy; see the relevant articles for more information.
A Russian grand duchess was styled as Her Imperial Highness. With the exception of Charlotte-Christine, women marrying into the Imperial family converted to Russian Orthodoxy (except for the Montenegrin and Greek princesses, who were already Orthodox). They also took Russian names — of the 17 converts: four took patronyms using their fathers' names, eight took Fyodorovna (after the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, notable examples include Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia) three took Alexeievna (Catherine II and her daughter in law, Natalia Alexeievna (Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt)) one took Alexandrovna (her husband's name) and one Pavlovna (her husband's patronym, the late Paul I); eight also changed their own given name.
See also List of grand dukes of Russia
References