Grand Duke Konstantin (KR) and his family- discussion and pictures, Part II

[Kalafrana]

Does anyone know how Natalia and Sir Charles Johnston met?

Ann

[Marc]

Does anyone know how Natalia and Sir Charles Johnston met?

Ann

I am not sure how exactly,but I know that during the war Princess Natalia worked as a secretary for the Yugoslav embassy in London while her husband worked as a diplomat for the British embassy...that might be the connection!

While in exile Prince Teimuraz and Princess Natalia lived in Bela Crkva,where they arrived only in 1927...Bela Crkva was the place where the most Russian emigrates were settled...In fact,the only Russian corpus left(1 out of 30) and still working in exile was "First Russian Cadet Corpus of the Great Prince Constantine Constantinovich" where boys were educated until reaching legal age.Prince Teimuraz firstly joined the 4th department of the Crimea Cadet Corpus.After the dissolution of the Crimea Cadet Corpus,Teimuraz continued his education in the First Russian Cadet Corpus,which was under the patronage of his grandfather,the Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich. After graduation,the prince enrolled at the Yugoslav Military Academy, served at the Artillery Regiment of the Yugoslav Army and fought against the German army.

Two great grandsons of the famous Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy,Oleg and Ilia were students of the Cadet Corpus in Bela Crkva.

Anyway,let's go back to Teimuraz:

On October 27,1940 in Belgrade,the young prince married firstly to Katarina Racic(1919-1946),a rich girl who was also a granddaughter of Serbia's most famous Prime minister Nikola Pasic...

After the breakdown of the Yugoslav Army,Prince Teimuraz immigrated to Switzerland with his wife.Up to 1949 he held different positions at Yugoslav embassies in Geneve,Paris and London.Unfortunately,his young wife Katarina,unable to deal with the tragedy brought by World War II,suddenly died on December 20,1946 in a Paris.

Here is a picture of her grave in Departement de l'Essonne Ile-de-France,France with written in Cyrillic letters: "Ekaterina Stefanovna Ratchitch Bagration-Mukhransky   Birth: Jul. 4,1919   Death:Dec. 20,1946":





After this tragedy,Teimuraz moved to the United States in 1949,where he married for the second time in New York Countess Irina Sergeevna Tchernyshev-Bezobrazov.He also died there(NY) in 1992,while his wife(born in 1926) should still be alive...If I am wrong correct me,please!

There was also a Russian Institute for girls in Bela Crkva,which was working until it was finally closed in 1941...The Girls Board School was called Mariin Don( Мариинский донской институт - still written today in Russian ),after the Institute Empress Maria Alexandrovna opened in 1853.The Institute was managed by Natalia Vladimirovna Duhonina,a widow of general Duhonin.From 1930,the Institute was under patronage of Queen Maria of Yugoslavia.Besides Russian girls,children from upper class Serbian families and as well as children of families that were once subjects of the Russian crown for generations were educated here.Princess Natalia Bagration also attended that Institute!

According to the testimonies of their school friends,Prince Teimuraz and Princess Natalia Bagration-Moukhransky had no privileges in their schools.They were very humble and took part in all activities and games with their school friends...

[Kalafrana]

After all the tragedy Natalia, her mother and brother went through, she deserved a happy marriage.

Ann

[Marc]

I wonder whether either Teimuraz or Natalia had ever met or had contact with Prince Philipp,who was their second cousin?

Prince Teimuraz held a high possession in the Yugoslav embassy in London,while Natalia was married to a British ambassador and we know that there were many formal occasions where they could have met,if they didn't know each other before?

After all,Philipp's grandmother Olga and their grandfather Konstantin were brother and sister...

[Kalafrana]

To kick off, are there any photographs of Tatiana's second husband, Alexander Korochenzov? And does anyone know anything about him beyond his being an ADC to her uncle? I read somewhere that he died of diphtheria. They had been married for less than three months.

Ann

[Inok Nikolai]

Paul Gilbert notes that recently a memorial service was conducted at the graves of Pr. George Constantinovich and Pr. Vera Constantinovna during the visit of G. D. Maria Vladimirovna to America:

http://www.angelfire.com/pa/ImperialRussian/news/564news.html

[Inok Nikolai]

To kick off, are there any photographs of Tatiana's second husband, Alexander Korochenzov? And does anyone know anything about him beyond his being an ADC to her uncle? I read somewhere that he died of diphtheria. They had been married for less than three months.

Ann

Alexander Vasilievich Korochentsov

His military service record (in Russian) can be found here:
http://www.grwar.ru/persons/persons.html?id=5216&PHPSESSID=08254ccd6ada73daf82e7aab4e6226d6

He was a cornet in the Life-Guard Horse Grenadiers.

The only photo I have seen of him is from the famous costume ball of 1903:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1903_ball_-_Alexandr_Vas._Korochentsov.jpeg

He as born in 1877, so he was 44 when he married Pr. Tatiana, and she was 31.

They were married in Geneva on Nov. 9, 1921, and he died in Lausanne on Feb. 6, 1922, from heart complications caused by the diphtheria.


On learning of his death, Dowager Queen Olga of Greece, Tatiana's aunt, wrote:
http://www.ippo.ru/osnovateli-i-podvizhniki-ippo/dinastiya-romanovyh-i-pravoslavie--4.html

"...She [Tatiana] knew Alexander Vasilievich for more than twenty years. He was my brother Dmitry's best friend. He was like a member of our family. Having lost so many very close and dear ones -- her father, her uncle (who had taken his place), her husband, her brothers, her homeland, she became attached with all her heart to Alexander Vasilievich, who untiringly took care of her and her children. They were married, and they enjoyed a rare happiness for only three months..."

[Kalafrana]

Inok Nikolai

Many thanks.

Ann

[Kalafrana]

I ok Nikolai

Since I can't read Russian, could you do a summary of Alexander Korochenzov's service record?

Many thanks

Ann

[Inok Nikolai]

Inok Nikolai

Since I can't read Russian, could you do a summary of Alexander Korochenzov's service record?

Many thanks

Ann

Voila!


http://www.grwar.ru/persons/persons.html?id=5216&PHPSESSID=08254ccd6ada73daf82e7aab4e6226d6

Korochentsov, Alexander Vasilievich
Born: August 17, 1887
Died: February 6, 1922 (N.S.)

Orthodox Christian. Of the gentry from the Don Cossack Host region. Son of retired Lieut.-General Vasily, Petrovich Korochenstov, former commander of the Life-Guard Cossack Regiment. Brother of Colonel Alexis Vasilievich Korochentsov.

He received his education at the Corps of Pages (1890-98; among the top students ).

He began his military service on September 1, 1896. He graduated from the Corps in 1898 with the rank of Cornet of the Life-Guard Horse-Grenadiers. Promoted to Lieutenant in 1902. Assigned to Grand Duke Dmitry Constantinovich in 1904, and to Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich in 1906.

Promoted to Staff-Captain in 1906.

Head of Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich's court (1907-1911).

In charge of Grand Duke Dmitry Constantinovich's affairs (1911-1917).

Promoted to Colonel in 1915.

At the beginning of 1917 — while in the same rank and fulfilling the same duties — he simultaneously served as aide-de-camp of the Grand Duke and remained enrolled in the Life-Guard Horse-Grenadiers Regiment.

After the Revolution, lived as an émigré. On November 9, 1921, he married Princess Tatiana Constantinovna (née, Romanova). He died suddenly in Lausanne (Switzerland).

Decorations:
Order of St. Stanislaus, second-class (1908); Order of St. Vladimir, fourth-class (1912).

Foreign Decorations:
The Order of the Griffin of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1902); Ordre du Nichan el Anouar, of France (1903); Order of Magnanimous Bukhara, and the Golden Star of Bukhara (1904); the Greek Knights Cross of the Saviour (1909).

Badges:
Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the Horse-Grenadiers Regiment; the 75th Anniversary Of Grand Duke Michael Nicholaevich as Colonel-in-Chief; the Tricentenary of the Romanov Dynasty, the Jubilee of the Corps of Pages.

Medals:
Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the War of 1812; the Tricentenary of the Romanov Dynasty.

[Inok Nikolai]

Does anyone know how Natalia and Sir Charles Johnston met?

Ann

I am not sure how exactly,but I know that during the war Princess Natalia worked as a secretary for the Yugoslav embassy in London while her husband worked as a diplomat for the British embassy...that might be the connection!

Bear in mind that Sir Johnson was serving as Second Secretary at the British Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, from 1942-1945, and they were married in 1944.

[Inok Nikolai]

There was also a Russian Institute for girls in Bela Crkva,which was working until it was finally closed in 1941...The Girls Board School was called Mariin Don( Мариинский донской институт - still written today in Russian ),after the Institute Empress Maria Alexandrovna opened in 1853.The Institute was managed by Natalia Vladimirovna Duhonina,a widow of general Duhonin.From 1930,the Institute was under patronage of Queen Maria of Yugoslavia.Besides Russian girls,children from upper class Serbian families and as well as children of families that were once subjects of the Russian crown for generations were educated here.Princess Natalia Bagration also attended that Institute!

According to the testimonies of their school friends,Prince Teimuraz and Princess Natalia Bagration-Moukhransky had no privileges in their schools.They were very humble and took part in all activities and games with their school friends...

I don't know whether this has been posted here already.

This is a Russian site on the Marinsky Institute in Serbia.

http://duchesselisa.livejournal.com/172447.html

The sixth photo down features Pr. Natalia Constantinovna Bagration-Moukhransky (eleventh from the right).

[Kalafrana]

Inok Nikolai

Many thanks for all this interesting information. By chance, I have just found Natalya Konstantinovna and Charles Johnson in the memoirs of Dame Felicity Peake, first Director of the Women's Royal Air Force. she got to know them when stationed in Cairo in 1946.

'The British Ambassador, Lord Killearn, and his wife were very kind to me during my time in Cairo, as were Charles Johnson, the First Secretary, and his wife Natasha, who was a cousin of Princess Marina and had the same great charm and sense of humour; everybody loved her. In their household they had a wonderful Sudanese servant called Mo, who knew everyone and went with them when they were posted to Cairo.... One cannot think of the Johnsons without thinking of Mo; he was so much a part of their lives and dearly loved by all their friends.'

Ann

[Mary Breheny]

I have just read about the actor Sebastian Acelus, who protrays the character Lucas in the Netflix series "House of Cards."  The article states that his maternal grandmother was Catherine Ioannovna who was the last royal princess born before the revolution.  His grandmother was the daughter of Ioann and the granddaughter of KR.  Very interesting.

[grandduchessella]

First--I *love* House of Cards--anyone who gets Netflix should definitely watch.

Secondly, yes, Sebastian is a descendant:

KR--Ioann--Catherine--Fiametta--Sebastian

He was present at the 1998 reburial of the Imperial Family. His grandmother, Catherine, was born in 1915 and only died in 2007. She was the last remaining Romanov who was born before the Revolution and her death marked the end of the male line of the Constantinovichi.