The Vladimirovitchi - discussion and pictures Part 1

[Marc]

Well,he just didn't seem to care to compete in "grandeur" with other relatives...unlike Vladimir whom I can imagine in some way doing it...although not like his wife,she was unstoppable in doing such things ;-)

[Eric_Lowe]

He didn't need to. He got it ! he gave nice things to his mistress who was a ballerina.

[grandduchessella]

Whose mistress?

[Eric_Lowe]

Nicholas II's mistress Mathilde Kessinkska. Later wife of Grand Duke Andrei, sister-in-law to Helen.

[ashdean]

The diadem was later worn by her daughter Olga in the 1960's while the bow brooch was a wedding present to daughter Marina in 1934 but seems to have been sold after Marina's death.

[Carolath Habsburg]

[Eric_Lowe]

Ellen was a beautiful woman with wonderful bone structures. No wonder her daughters became such beauties.

[Romanov_fan]

A funny story about Helen Vladmirovna of Russia-Greece and Prince Philip from Hessian Tapestry, page 358- I'm not sure of the year, but this was when Helen was older, after Marina married the Duke of Kent. At an evening party, Prince Philip, not sure how old he was at the time, but a young man, saw Helen's bare back in a evening gown and pressed an ice cold rim of a champagne glass against it as a prank. She was alarmed, but by the time she turned to see who it was who had done that, he had disapeared. So she accused everyone nearby and they vainly pleaded innocence- it says she was pretty outraged. As David Duff says '' In her young days, ladies' bare backs had been severely left alone at evening entertainments at Tsarskoe Selo''. This story was originally from Alexandra of Yugoslavia's memoirs.

[Janet Ashton]

Once again, the Empress Alexandra had her difficulties. But I really like her. I think some people better can "walk in someone elses footsteps" because they already had the same (or sort off) experience in their own lives as the Empress Alexandra. In my personal life, I also had/have to fight again and again mentally against outsiders, because they don't take the oppurtunity to give me (or others) a chance to explain what I (they) really mean.

But let we stop her to talk about the Empress Alexandra alone, this thread is about the Vladimirs'. Also a very interesting family.

On that topic (the Vladimirs, and Alexandra in their context) the curious thing is that in 1915 Andrei Vladimirovich admitted in his diary that a talk he and his mother had had with Alexandra had led him to a greater understanding of her and that "she looks at things exactly as we do." He effectively admitted that they Vladimirs had disliked her on the basis of what they ASSUMED she thought rather than the reality, whereas in truth on matters politcial they found themsleves all in accord. That should be food for thought when it comes to discussion of who caused what.....

I have no feelings as to whether I like or dislike Alexandra. I am not sure I would have found her someone I wanted to meet; I can't help being impatient when people are perpetually ill (which may be unfair), and none of her preoccupations are really mine. Equally, I find her relationship with Nicholas most disastrous because they fed one another's prejudices, at least on the political front: but she was certainly not the initiator of this despite the views of her detractors. Outside the strict issue of autocracy, she was certainly not always wrong or inhumane at all; on religious issues she was broad-minded, and she had a deep humanity when faced with other's sufferings - not just in hospitals, but also specifically in her reaction to some of the actions of Nicholas's governors in relation to minorities. This is a side of her that is often forgotten. I do still find the historiographical mess around her very entertaining to unpick when provoked, and I find a lot of the people around her pretty unattractive or selfish. If Nicholas and Alexandra wore blinkers, so did their enemies. To me, it is just a queston of balance in history, and demonising some people (with certain obvious historical excepions who SHOULD be demonised and shall be nameless!) is less interetsing than trying to look at their point of view. No-one was a saint in all of this, and no-one got to say "I told you so!" because they all at various points sat cursing the Duma and blaming the Jews or the British or Alexandra or whoever else they hated that week for the problems in their country as they percieved them.

[Aglaya]

GD Vladimir Alexandrovich

[Bryan von reyes]

Never did i get tired of reading articles about this remarkable lady. The way she carried herself was so Empress like let alone her Magnificent Collection of jewels which would easily outshone those of some Grand ducal and princely family during her time or perhaps some royal family like Greece or maybe Norway. i hope that her descendants though hated by most would inherit the throne of Russia. No other member of the former imperial family is qualified other than the Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna who continously represent the Former Imperial Family with dignity and Honor. though the restoration of the monarchy in russia is least likely to happen i feel that she would be the perfect figure head when that time comes.

[Aglaya]

GD Boris Vladimirovich

[Carolath Habsburg]

Me loves Boris *0*. Thanks for sharin Aglaya!!


Boris and Andrei (courtesy of Fabian from foros realeza)

[Aglaya]

GD Boris one more time

[Aglaya]

GD Boris