http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/chi-0612120143dec12,1,2315486.story?ctrack=1&cset=trueFrom the Chicago Tribune, Princess Alexandra, who was known in the US as Mrs. Lester Armour, died on December 5, 2006. She was born Princess Alexandra Pavlovna Galitzine.
She was the first wife of HSH Prince Rostislav Alexandrovich, son of HIH The Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich and HIH The Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, making her a niece by marriage to the late Emperor Nicholas II. She and Rostislav had one son, Prince Rostislav Rostislavovich, known as "Rosti", who we lost in 1999.
Rosti said his mother had been badly treated by the Bolsheviks and so made him promise from the time he was very young that he would never go to Russia. She always felt something bad would happen to him if he did. His promise, which I know weighed heavily on him, proved impossible to keep. He keenly felt a responsibility to his late great uncle, the Tsar, and so he donated a blood sample to help identify other Romanovs and was present when the results of Anna Anderson's DNA testing were announced.
And, when it came time to bury the Tsar and those found in the grave in Koptyaki Forest, Rosti felt he had to be there, even though his mother remained worried, and as they always spent their summers together, their time would be shortened. One of his cousins told me that Rosti contracted an infection at the Cathedral which lead to his death while in Russia. Others have told me he died of cancer, but I always felt badly for Mrs. Armour, as Rosti was her only child, and they adored one another.
