The First Romanov Tsar...

[amcbelladonna]

the first elector of hanover was  Ernst August Herzog von Braunschweig-L?eburg in Hannover (1679-92), cr Kurf?st von Hannover (1692-98), *Herzberg 30.11.1629, +Herrenhausen 2.2.1698; m.Heidelberg 17.10.1658 Pfgfn Sofie von Simmern (*14.10.1630, +8.6.1714); the British Act of Settlement provided that, in order to secure the Protestant succession, Sofie and her heirs would inherit the British throne upon the issueless deaths of King William III and Queen Anne (Sofie was daughter of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia, daughter of King James I & VI; Anne survived Sofie by 2 months, or Sofie would have been Queen of Great Britain; Sofie's rights bypassed a few dozen Catholics with stronger claims, including her own niece/sister-in-law, the Duchess Benedikte Henriette  his son would end up being george the first

[rus]

As I understand, is it widely acceppted that Michael Romanov was the first Romanoff Czar?

And who was Russia's first Czar?   I have a bet with one person. I have always thought it was Ivan IV.  But do some consider it to be Ivan's father, or grandfather?

Thanks.

[Naslednik Norvezhskiy]

I stumbled upon a very interesting quote regarding the oddity of Mikhail Romanov being chosen Tsar when he was only related to Ivan the Terrible by marriage (and possibly a Rurikid through the female line):

It's from page 8 of a pdf called "Succession to the Imperial Throne of Russia" from the homepage of the pro-Maria Vladimirovna Russian Imperial Union-Order:

"Let us begin by saying a few words about the calling of Michael Feodorovich Romanov to the throne. Today this
act is sometimes incorrectly interpreted as the "election" of an acceptable candidate for the throne by popular suffrage.
From this interpretation deductions are made and applied to the question of a restoration of the monarchy in our days.
The fact is that the Great All Russian Assembly in 1613 set itself the task of calling to the throne the nearest next of kin to
the extinct dynasty, and none other. According to the views on succession to the throne which were then held in
Muscovite Russia and which were based on the Byzantine Nomocanon, close connection had an advantage over distant
blood kinship. [My emphasis.] Boris Godunov, for instance, as brother in law of the deceased Tsar Feodor Ivanovich, was not regard
ed as a usurper (he was accused of other things) while Vasiliy Shuyskiy, a Rurikid, was considered a usurper. The per
sons who in 1613 were regarded as the rightful heirs were the descendants of Nikita Romanovich, brother of Ivan IV’s
first wife Anastasia Romanovna. The senior among them, Feodor Nikitich, the future Patriarch Philaret, was at that time
already in monastic orders and for that reason could not accede to the throne. After him the heir was his son Michael.
He it was who was called to the throne.*"

[agordon2000]

The first one to use this term was Ivan II the grandfather of Ivan the Terrible but only in correspondence.