Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia (Russian: Михаил Михайлович; 16 October 1861 – 26 April 1929) was a son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a grandson of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia.
He was raised in the Caucasus, where he lived between 1862 and 1881 with his family, and was educated by private tutors. As Romanov tradition demanded, he follow a military career. He served in the Russo-Turkish War in 1877, became a Colonel and was adjutant at the Imperial court. In 1891 he contracted a morganatic marriage with Countess Sophie von Merenberg, a morganatic daughter of Prince Nicholas William of Nassau and a granddaughter of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. For contracting this marriage without permission, Emperor Alexander III of Russia stripped him of his military titles and banished the couple from the Russian Empire.
For some years he lived in Wiesbaden, Nassau and in Cannes. He settled permanently in England in 1900, leasing Keele Hall in Staffordshire and later Kenwood House on the outskirts of London. He became a prominent member of British society, one of his daughters marrying into the British aristocracy and another marrying a great-grandson of Queen Victoria. He lost his fortune with the fall of the Russian monarchy in 1918. Three of his brothers were killed by the Bolsheviks, but he escaped the Russian Revolution because he was living abroad. He spent his last years living under reduced circumstances with the financial help of his son-in-law, Sir Harold Wernher.
Early life
Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich was born at Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg on , the third child and second son of the seven children of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and his wife, Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna (born Princess Cecile of Baden).Cockfield, White Crow, p. 17
Known in the family as Miche-Miche, he was a year old when, in 1862, the family moved to Tiflis, Georgia, on the occasion of his father's being named Viceroy of the Caucasus. Grand Duke Michael spent his youth in the Caucasus, where his family lived for twenty years. He had a spartan upbringing that included sleeping on army cots and taking cold baths.Alexander, Once a Grand Duke, p. 16 He was educated at home by private tutors. The relationship with his parents was troublesome. His father, occupied in military and governmental endeavours, remained a distant figure.Alexander, Once a Grand Duke, p. 20Cockfield, White Crow, p. 7 His demanding mother was a strict disciplinarian who did not show affection towards her children.Alexander, Once a Grand Duke, p. 21 He was a disappointment to his mother, who compared him unfavourably with his more intelligent eldest brother, Grand Duke Nicholas. Michael was considered the least gifted of the seven children and his mother referred to him as "stupid".
Nevertheless, in 1881, he had "a great flirtation" with Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (1863-1950), who was known for her intelligence. Later, his daughter Nada would marry her son George.
During the years in the Caucasus, the Grand Duke excelled at horsemanship and started his military career. As a young man, he served in the Russo-Turkish War and became a colonel. He loved the military life and served in the Egersky (Chasseurs) Regiment of the guards.Alexander, Once a Grand Duke, p. 149 In 1882, when Grand Duke Michael was twenty years old, he returned with his family to St. Petersburg upon his father's appointment as chairman of the State Council. Michael was shallow and not particularly bright, but he was tall and handsome. He became popular on the social circuit in the capital, spending a great deal of his time on endless parties, dancing and gambling. Tsar Alexander III referred to him as a 'fool'.
Marriage
Grand Duke Michael lived in St. Petersburg's Mikhailovsky Palace with his parents, but he intended to marry soon, and to house his expected family, he ordered the construction of a large residence in the imperial capital. The palace was built between 1885 and 1891. It was designed by architect Maximilian Messmacher in Neo-Renaissance-style with its front entrance on the Admiralty Embankment 8. The building was innovative for the end of the 19th century, having gas pipelines, electricity and a telephone. However, the grand duke was not destined to live there. By the time the palace was finished Grand Duke Michael had gone into exile from Russia.
In the spring of 1886 the grand duke was in London in search of a wife. He made unsuccessful overtures for the hand of Princess Mary of Teck.Beéche, The Other Grand Dukes, p. 184. While Mary's grandmother, the Duchess of Cambridge, was in favour of the marriage, both the Duke of Cambridge and Mary's father, the Duke of Teck were against it, considering the Romanovs to be "notoriously bad husbands".Trevelyan, Grand Dukes and Diamonds, p. 205.
The same year Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich proposed marriage to Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine.Cockfield, White Crow, p. 32 But she was in love with her first cousin, Prince Henry of Prussia, she rejected him. In 1887 he proposed to Princess Louise, the eldest daughter of the Prince of Wales. He admitted to Louise that he could never love her and he was turned down for a third time.
After that, he attempted to marry within the Russian nobility, which caused confrontations with his parents. In 1888, he had an affair with Princess Walewska. Later, he fell in love with Countess Catherine Nikolaevna Ignatieva (1869–1914), the daughter of the former Minister of Interior, Nicholas Pavlovich Ignatiev. He tried to get permission to marry her and he went with his father to talk to Tsar Alexander III.Cockfield, White Crow, p. 102 However, his mother and the Empress Maria Feodorovna made it impossible for him to marry Catherine. Olga Feodorovna opposed the misalliance vehemently. "He has so openly provoked me" she wrote of her son, mentioning his "lack of respect, affection and attention".Cockfield, White Crow, p. 103 To break off the relationship, the parents decided to send him abroad.
While in Nice, in 1891, Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich fell in love with Countess Sophie von Merenberg, his third cousin once removed, daughter of Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau and his morganatic wife, née Natalia Alexandrovna Pushkina, a member of the minor Russian nobility. Sophie's maternal grandfather was the renowned poet-author Alexander Pushkin; through him, she had black African ancestry (one part in 32) as a direct descendant of Peter the Great's protégé, Abram Petrovich Gannibal. The grand duke met Sophie when he saved her from a horse that had run away with her. He did not bother to ask for the necessary permission for the marriage from the Tsar or his parents because he knew it would not be granted. They were married in San Remo on 26 February 1891.
The marriage was not only morganatic but also illegal (3rd cousins) under the Imperial house laws and caused a scandal at the Russian court, despite the bride's dynastic paternal ancestry. Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich was deprived of his military rank and of his position as adjutant at the Imperial Court. He was also forbidden to return to Russia for life.Crawford, Michael and Natasha, p. 148 When his mother heard of his morganatic marriage, she collapsed with shock and went by train to the Crimea to recover, but then had a heart attack and died, for which Michael was blamed. He was not allowed to attend his mother's funeral.Cockfield, White Crow, p. 64
Exile
Because of his morganatic marriage, Grand Duke Michael would spend the rest of his life living in exile in England, France and Germany. His wife was granted the title of Countess de Torby by her uncle Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. The couple initially lived in Wiesbaden, where Sophie's ancestors once reigned. Two of their three children were born there. In 1899, they settled more permanently in Cannes where they had a villa, named Kazbek, after a mountain in Georgia. They lived comfortably: Five footmen, a butler, a valet, a lady's maid, a governess, a nursery maid and six chefs attended them.Trevelyan, Grand Dukes and Diamonds, p. 207. Michael afforded this lifestyle as owner of a factory near Borjomi (Georgia) that bottled mineral water. Grand Duke Michael was involved in the construction of the St. Michael the Archangel Church in Cannes and in laying the cornerstones for hotels and casinos in the area.Cockfield, White Crow, p. 33 He was an excellent golfer and hosted parties with his wife. They became prominent figures in the international set in the French Riviera, where the grand duke came to be known as the "Uncrowned King of Cannes".
The family maintained their contacts in British society, appearing in Country Life magazine in 1899. In 1900, the grand duke began renting Keele Hall, a stately home in Staffordshire, a few miles from Newcastle-under-Lyme. During the ten years he lived there, he entered country society. Michael was very pleased when the town council of Newcastle-under-Lyme in late 1902 conferred on him the distinction of Lord High Steward of the borough. In 1903 he unveiled a statue of Queen Victoria in Newcastle-under-Lyme. The statue (with inscription to him) now stands in the Queen's Gardens by the Ironmarket. He was also a frequent visitor to North Berwick, a seaside resort in Scotland. In July 1901, Edward VII appointed him an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO), the house order of the royal family.
Part of the year was spent at his villa in the south of France. The grand duke was the founder and president of the Cannes Golf Club, where he often played during the winter season. In the south of France, he usually met his relatives, particularly his sister Anastasia who owned a villa nearby. In 1903, Michael's father had a stroke and was moved to Cannes. The old grand duke was charmed by his daughter-in-law and his Torby grandchildren. The presence of Michael's father also frequently brought Michael's brother Alexander and his family to Cannes, and these were later followed by other grand dukes. He socialised there with other royalty who also stayed at the Riviera. Grand Duke Michael helped finance the Carlton Hotel in Cannes.
During the Russo-Japanese War, Michael Mikhailovich organised a hospital for wounded Russian officers. It was around this time that he shaved off his beard and stopped dyeing his hair. He was described as a born autocrat, single-minded, and a stickler for protocol.
In 1908, Michael published a novel, Never Say Die, about a morganatic marriage, written in resentment at not being allowed back into Russia. In the preface he wrote: "Belonging, as I do, to the Imperial Blood, and being a member of one of the reigning houses, I should like to prove to the world how wrong it is in thinking – as the majority of mankind is apt to do – that we are the happiest beings on this earth. There is no doubt that we are well situated, but is wealth the only happiness in the world?"Wynn, Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich and Kenwood, p. 326–327 While remaining "devoted" to Sophie, Michael nevertheless often fell in love with pretty girls.
At the death of his father in Cannes on 18 December 1909, Michael was allowed to come to Russia for the funeral; however, his wife refused to go with him as she still resented the insults which had marred their marriage so many years before.
After leaving Keele, the grand duke moved with his family to Hampstead in 1909, taking a long lease on Kenwood House, a house owned by the Earl of Mansfield, overlooking London's Hampstead Heath. Michael became president of the Hampstead General Hospital, to which he donated an ambulance, as well as president of the Hampstead Art Society. They lived in splendour, enjoying a privileged place in British society. Every year Grand Duke Michael and his wife would visit Edward VII at Windsor Castle or Sandringham and attend luncheons at Buckingham Palace.