Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia (; 13 June 1918) was the youngest son and fifth child of Emperor Alexander III of Russia and youngest brother of Nicholas II. He was designated Emperor of Russia after his brother abdicated in 1917 and proclaimed him "Emperor Michael II", but Michael declined to take power a day later.
Michael was born during the reign of his paternal grandfather, Alexander II. He was then fourth in line to the throne after his father and elder brothers Nicholas and George. After the assassination of his grandfather in 1881, he became third in line and, in 1894, after the death of his father, second in line. George died in 1899, leaving Michael as heir presumptive to NicholasII.
The birth of Nicholas's son Alexei in 1904 moved Michael back to second in line, but Alexei was gravely ill with haemophilia and Michael suspected the boy would die, leaving him as heir. Michael caused a commotion at the imperial court when he took Natalia Sergeyevna Wulfert, a married woman, as a lover. Nicholas sent Michael to Orel to avoid scandal but this did not deter Michael, who travelled frequently to see his mistress. After the couple's only child, George, was born in 1910, Michael brought Natalia to Saint Petersburg, where she was shunned by society. In 1912, Michael shocked Nicholas by marrying Natalia in the hope that he would be removed from the line of succession. Michael and Natalia left Russia to live in exile abroad in France, Switzerland and England.
After the outbreak of World War I, Michael returned to Russia, assuming command of a cavalry division. When Nicholas abdicated on , Michael was named as his successor instead of Alexei. Michael, however, deferred acceptance of the throne until ratification by an elected assembly. He was never confirmed as emperor and, following the Russian Revolution of 1917, he was imprisoned and murdered.
Early life
Michael was born at Anichkov Palace on Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg as the youngest son and penultimate child of Tsesarevich Alexander of Russia and his wife, Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark). His maternal grandparents were King Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel. His paternal grandmother Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse) died before his second birthday. His paternal grandfather, Emperor Alexander II of Russia, was assassinated on 1 March 1881 and, as a result, Michael's parents became Emperor and Empress of All the Russias before his third birthday.Crawford and Crawford, p. 20 After the assassination, the new Tsar Alexander III moved his family, including Michael, to the greater safety of Gatchina Palace, which was 29 miles southwest of Saint Petersburg and surrounded by a moat.Crawford and Crawford, pp. 17, 20
Michael was raised in the company of his younger sister, Olga, who nicknamed him "Floppy" because he "flopped" into chairs; his elder siblings and parents called him "Misha".Crawford and Crawford, p. 22 Conditions in the nursery were modest, even spartan.Crawford and Crawford, p. 23; Phenix, pp. 8–10; Vorres, p. 4 The children slept on hard camp beds, rose at dawn, washed in cold water and ate a simple porridge for breakfast. Michael, like his siblings, was taught by private tutors and was cared for by an English nanny, Mrs Elizabeth Franklin.Crawford and Crawford, pp. 22–23; Vorres, p. 3"Mrs" Franklin was not married; the "Mrs" was a courtesy title (Crawford and Crawford, p. 22).
Michael and Olga frequently went on hikes in the forests around Gatchina with their father, who took the opportunity to teach them woodsmanship.Vorres, p. 24 Physical activities such as equestrianism were also taught at an early age,Phenix, pp. 12–13; Vorres, pp. 26–27 as was religious observance. Though Christmas and Easter were times of celebration and extravagance, Lent was strictly observed—meat, dairy products and any form of entertainment were avoided.Vorres, p. 30 Family holidays were taken in the summer at Peterhof Palace and with Michael's grandparents in Denmark.Phenix, pp. 11, 24; Vorres, pp. 33–41
Michael was almost 16 when his father fell fatally ill; the annual trip to Denmark was cancelled.Vorres, pp. 48–52 On 1 November 1894, Alexander III died at the untimely age of 49.Phenix, pp. 30–31; Vorres, pp. 54, 57 Michael's eldest brother, Nicholas, became Tsar, and Michael's childhood was effectively over.Crawford and Crawford, p. 23
Military career and public duties
Michael's mother, Dowager Empress Marie, moved back to Anichkov Palace with Michael and Olga. Like most male members of his family, Michael was enrolled in the military. He completed training at a gunnery school and joined the Horse Guards Artillery.Crawford and Crawford, p. 24 In November 1898, he attained legal adulthood and, just eight months later, became heir presumptive to Nicholas as the middle brother, George, was killed in a motorcycle accident.Crawford and Crawford, p. 25 George's death and the subsequent change in the line of succession highlighted that Nicholas lacked a son. While women could inherit the throne they could only do so upon the extinction of all male dynasts, as the Emperor had brothers his daughters were thus ineligible. When Nicholas's wife, Alexandra, became pregnant in 1900 she hoped that the child would be male. She manoeuvred to get herself declared regent for her unborn child in the event of Nicholas's death, but the government disagreed and determined that Michael would succeed regardless of the unborn child's gender. She was delivered of a fourth daughter the following year.Crawford and Crawford, pp. 25–26
Michael was perceived as unremarkable, quiet and good-natured.e.g. "Misha keeps away from affairs of state, does not offer his opinions and, perhaps, hides behind the perception of him as a good-natured, unremarkable boy": Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich of Russia, quoted in Crawford and Crawford, p. 27 He performed the usual public duties expected of an heir to the throne. In 1901, he represented Russia at the funeral of Queen Victoria and was given the Order of the Bath. The following year he was made a Knight of the Garter in King Edward VII's coronation honours.Crawford and Crawford, p. 26 In June 1902, Michael transferred to the Blue Cuirassier Regiment and moved to Gatchina, where the regiment was based.Crawford and Crawford, pp. 47–48 Since coming of age, Michael had assumed financial independence. His assets included the largest sugar refinery in the country, capital amounting to millions of roubles, a collection of motor vehicles, and country estates at Otrovo in Russian Poland and Brasovo near Orel.Crawford and Crawford, p. 48Brasovo alone covered , and was self-sufficient in bread, meat and dairy products. It included sawmills, chemical plants, distilleries, brickworks, schools, hospitals, churches, 9 villages and of forest (Crawford and Crawford, p. 112).
Michael was heir presumptive until 12 August 1904, when the birth of Tsarevich Alexei to Nicholas and Alexandra provided an heir apparent. Michael again became second-in-line to the throne, but was named as co-regent for the boy, along with Alexandra, in the event of Nicholas's death.Crawford and Crawford, pp. 28–29
Romances
In 1902, Michael met Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. They fell in love and began to correspond in her native English.Crawford and Crawford, pp. 7–8 Michael spoke both French and English fluently.Crawford and Crawford, p. 5 At first it seemed they would marry; however, the Eastern Orthodox Church prohibited the marriage of first cousins, and Michael's father and Beatrice's mother were siblings. Nicholas refused to permit the marriage and, to Michael's and Beatrice's mutual dismay, their romance ended.Crawford and Crawford, pp. 8–9
Michael's attention turned to Alexandra Kossikovskaya (September 1875, Orel region – 1923, Berlin), known affectionately as "Dina", who was his sister Olga's lady-in-waiting. Dina's father, Vladimir Kossikovsky, was a lawyer and Dina was a commoner.Crawford and Crawford, p. 10 Michael rejected the notion, proposed by his friends, that he keep her as a mistress,Crawford and Crawford, p. 11 and in July 1906, he wrote to Nicholas asking permission to marry her. Nicholas and Dowager Empress Marie were appalled. Both felt that royalty should marry royalty and, according to Russian house law, any children of a marriage between a royal and a commoner would be ineligible for the succession. Nicholas threatened to revoke Michael's army commission and exile him from Russia if he married without his permission. Marie had Dina dismissed as Olga's lady-in-waiting and took Michael to Denmark until mid-September.
Shortly after his return to Russia, three British newspapers announced on 24 September 1906 that Michael was to marry Princess Patricia of Connaught,The Observer, The Sunday Times, and Reynold's News, of 7 October 1906 (N.S.), quoted in Crawford and Crawford, p. 12 but neither he nor Patricia knew anything about it. Buckingham Palace issued a denial.Crawford and Crawford, p. 13 Nevertheless, two years later, in October 1908, Michael visited London, and he and Patricia were "paired" at social engagements. It seems likely that Michael's mother was plotting to get him married to a more suitable brideCrawford and Crawford, p. 57 and the originator of the false report, Reuters correspondent Guy Beringer, read too much into the plans. Michael and Dina were planning to elope, but their plans were stymied as Dina was under surveillance by the Okhrana, Nicholas's secret police, and she was prevented from travelling.Crawford and Crawford, p. 14 Under family pressure and unable to see Dina, by August 1907 Michael appeared to be losing interest.Crawford and Crawford, p. 15 Dina went to live abroad. She never married and believed herself to be Michael's rightful fiancée, but their romance was over.Crawford and Crawford, p. 16
In early December 1907, Michael was introduced to Natalia Sergeyevna Wulfert, the wife of a fellow officer, and from 1908 they began a deep friendship.Crawford and Crawford, pp. 44 47 Natalia was a commoner who had a daughter from her first marriage. By August 1909, they were lovers,Crawford and Crawford, p. 77 and, by November 1909, Natalia was living apart from her second husband in an apartment in Moscow paid for by Michael.Crawford and Crawford, pp. 85–87 In an attempt to prevent scandal, Nicholas transferred Michael to the Chernigov Hussars at Orel, 250 miles from Moscow, but Michael travelled from there several times a month to see Natalia.Crawford and Crawford, pp. 74–91 Their only child, George (named after Michael's dead brother) was born in July 1910, before her divorce from her second husband was finalised.Crawford and Crawford, p. 104 To ensure that the child could be recognised as his, rather than Wulfert's, Michael had the date of the divorce back-dated. Nicholas issued a decree giving the boy the surname "Brasov", taken from Michael's estate at Brasovo, which was a tacit acknowledgement that Michael was the father.Crawford and Crawford, p. 107
In May 1911, Nicholas permitted Natalia to move from Moscow to Brasovo and granted her the surname "Brasova".Crawford and Crawford, p. 111 In May 1912, Michael went to Copenhagen for the funeral of his uncle King Frederik VIII of Denmark, where he fell ill with a stomach ulcer that was to trouble him for years afterwards.Crawford and Crawford, p. 112 After a holiday in France, where he and Natalia were trailed by the Okhrana, Michael was transferred back to Saint Petersburg to command the Chevalier Gardes. He took Natalia to the capital with him and set her up in an apartment, but she was shunned by society and, within a few months, he had moved her to a villa in Gatchina.Crawford and Crawford, pp. 116–119
Marriage