Details of official inclusion of Derevenko in the lists of the court household in 1906:
The palace chancellery tried to find precedents to explain the appearance of the sailor Derevenko with the Tsarevich. In October 1906 Nikitin, Office of the Clerk of Empress Alexandra, prepared a certificate stating "...that the former clerk's office of Alexander III, now state councillor Siegel, that there never took place "uncles" ... until 1888. To the children was attached Guards sailor Bukin for about 5 years ... on retirement was defined as valet to their Imperial Highnesses..."
Count Rostovtsev, head of the Office of the Empress, wrote to Frau M. Geringer on November 12, 1906 that "Her Majesty the Empress Alexandra said on May 13, 1906 in the rooms of HIH Tsarevich Alexei N. that Quartermaster Guard crew Andrei Derevenko was called "uncle" with His Imperial Highness". Thus the registration procedure of "uncle" had become official.
RSHA F. 525 Op. 1
By 1913 the officials started to become concerned when Nagorny was appointed. In December Dr. E. Botkin wrote to Count Rostovtsev " On the appointment of the newly recruited ... sailor Nagorny, assistant to Derevenko. From what Her Majesty said to me, I realized that in fact ... Derevenko will still be called uncle ... But legally it has to take the place of a valet, and his assistant Nagorny, cloakroom attendant".
Joanna