I'm going to being this thread by saying I don't believe this claim whatsoever.
My sister's mother-in-law claims to have descended from the royal family. She is Russian - she came to Canada about ten years ago when she married a Canadian, bringing her son Viktor (my sister's boyfriend) and daughter Maria. Her own name is Olga - and she claims it's after Olga Nikolayevna, which is entirely possible, since it's not uncommon to name children after people in history. When my sister was pregnant, she was insisting that she name the baby Tatiana, since her grandmother was supposedly named Tatiana (though Viktor denies this). We do not know if she implies that her grandmother was Tatiana Nikolayevna, since the her age would work with being a granddaughter of the Grand Duchess had she survived, but she DOES claim that she is a descendent of the royal family. She's never specified through who, so it could be any Romanov relative, but I personally don't believe it. Olga Johnson, as she is now called, makes some outrageous claims all the time, about everything, and we've learned not to take her very seriously. This particular claim first came about when she was explaining why she hates communism in Russia - she told us that she hates communism since it's the fault of the communists that her relatives no longer hold the Russian throne. She's never indicated that she thinks anyone in the royal family survived, so I doubt her implication is that her grandmother is Tatiana Nikolayevna, but I'm not sure how many other Tatianas there were in the extended family in the early 20th century. Of course, as I've mentioned, Viktor says that he doesn't have a great-grandmother named Tatiana - he never denied that they're related to the family (he was probably raised to believe it himself), but he denied that was his mother's grandmother's name. I'm not sure what her maiden name was, otherwise I'd search if anyone in the royal family had descendents with that surname.
I didn't put this here to say, "I know someone related to the family!" but rather to gather everyone's opinions. I personally don't believe it, and I'm not sure anyone should, but it's interesting when someone you know personally makes a claim like that. Viktor just explains that his mother is nuts whenever she says things like this - we even got a 'history lesson' once from her about the, "evil Jews and good Hitler," and such.
You asked for opinion/comments. Here are mine: As has been repeated time and time again here, the geneaologies of the especially last Imperial Family/closely related members are probably finite to the smallest degree. Any off-spring claiming to be a descendant should be able to be traced rather easily, given the data (including DNA/associated tests) now available and even the lessened stigma of being born occasionally "on the wrong side of the bed." Having the data available in researched charts of descent published by professionals and proven to be accurate by reputable academics or historians/keepers of Imperial/Royal/Noble geneological data, rather well quenches the grotesque out-right lies/liaisons that some silly individuals ascribe to as their lineage.
We have just recently had two instances of geneology charts of descent come to the Forum's scrutiny: One was the stated/professionally documented descent of the union of Catherine II and a certain Count. Upon asking certain questions, the individual was able to produce a professionally clear-line of descent that would definitely appear to substantiate his statement. The other one was an exceptionally naive self-researched/constructed, I believe, by a youngster of her alleged descent from the 9th/10 century Russian Saint Olga of Kiev, as being her many-times great, ad infinitum grandmother, from ostensibly father to son, etc. to the present. A moderator characterized it a a rather "bold" claim. IMO, this was a travesty of working forward and cobbling together (without date /generation brackets) Wikipedia references to incorporate the most unlikely gaggle of noble/royal names, finally throwing in at the end some present, provable family names, to establish relationships known by living relatives. NO WHERE is set-forth published, accurate academically proof/references of this fantastically fabricated compendium of liaisons/descent. Every knowing adult member of the Forum, I am certain, had their secretively good laugh and dismissed the entire thing as the fantastic dream-world creation of (IMO) a relatively ordinary child's desire to show that they were "just as good as" the real thing.
I sent the (IMO) spurrious claim to friends of mine who live in the largest city near this individual to approach the social editor of the prime newspaper and have it checked out, perhaps going out and interviewing the family so that the whole thing could be used in the "Sunday
Supplement," perhaps as "The Famous Among Us." We have heard nothing to date and I presume it was given the due attention that it truly deserved. Why, just why, do I feel that the parents would be thoroughly puzzled at these revelations repeated to them by a reporter such that the ultimate whimpering confession of the creator would probably be , "I was just joking, having fun, you know, daydreaming, trying to impress my friends, etc."
In summation, here at the Forum, truth (PROVEN truth backed up by professional evidence) is prized, since others may well indeed use the results for important purposes in research themes, etc. Based on the three cases mentioned, I would tend to agree with "Brittany Catherine," that until conclusive, authorative documentation comes forth, your family member is "interesting"----just "interesting." As for the Empress Catherine II and the Count, IMO, I feel quite comfortable in the lineage displayed from the 18th to the 21st century. As to the "St. Olga", why don't we be kind to the poster and label it an "improvised /unproven family wished-for legend." The intent of posting such here on the Forum is blatently obvious. With all the tangled so-called lines of potential descent, SURELY there exists a well-known published history of the present family substantiating the "Olga" claim, no doubt in the Library of Congress which could be accessed easily via Inter Library Loan.
In closing, all is not lost! There ARE indeed well-documented descendants of the Imperial Romanov Family that post here occcasionally of unquestionable descent. Likewise, there are authentic representatives of noble families of unchallenged origin/s. Regards, AP.