As beast as i can discern the time context in the first week of november 1959, at the age of 5 years 2 and a half months my mother told me "...Your real father is the Tsar of Russia, and you're going to meet him real soon." 45 years later i recognise the sensations i clearly remember as being symptoms of shock. It got worse. After explaining that a Tsar was "like a king only better" my mother told me that i would meet this man, i would go away with him, and i woul never come back. "So get all yout toys together so you can take them with you when you go."
She carefully explained the man had a disese that if he started bleeding he couldn't stop. So i couldn't jump up on him or sit in his lap.
The next day a man came to our house. My mother introduced him saying "This is your father. Mister Romanov, the Tsar of Russia." Then she presented me with "This is your son. We call him Jeffery, but of corse, you can name him anthing you like." As if i was a cat or dog or some object.
I objected as strenuosly as i could "No he can't. No one can name me. Not unless i say so!" My mother started scolding me and he put a stop to it. He said "You are absolutely right Jeffery. No one can do such a thing without your permissin." That stopped my mother. I was greatful.
I asked him if he was realy a king and he said "No. Russia hasn't had a monarch in manny years. But when my father was alive he was Tsar." I had trouble with the word "monarch" at that age, he explained it to me.
I learned his name was Aleksei. After what my mother had said the thought came to me i might be better off chosing a name than having one stuck on me. I liked him and i liked the name so i asked if i could have it too. He said "Sure you can."
But i'd like to keep Jeffery as my middle name."
"Oh, it doesn't work that way. In Russian your middle name comes from your father's first name. So you would be Aleksei Alekseevich, because your father's name is Aleksei. Just like i am Aleksei Nikolaevich because my father's name was Nikolai." That is why i use the lable "Alekseevich" here.
My mother had either contacted or was concidering contactin Anna Anderson. His responce was an addamant "She is not my sister!"
He told me all the rest of the Family was killed. He had seen his father shot then they shot him. I aked how he got away. "They shot me. and i though i was dead. Then i woke up. it was a miricle."
I thought i had the answer when i said "they must have shot you with blanks."
He said "Even with blanks it sould have killed me." That surprised me, and he did his best to explain a blank wass "still an explosion. Lots of hot gasses. it can do a lot of damage." I remember the words exactly perhaps because i couldn't grasp their meening. When i said i didn't understand he replied "Thats alright. you don't have to." I asked where they shot him. "They put the gun right in my ear. I don't hear in this ear so good any more." indicating his left ear. He said he was shot again while he was unconsious. "the bullets were found in my clothing."
He told me he knew where his sister Maria was burried, but the rest of the family's remains were tossed down a deep mine. He believed they could not be recovered.
When we talked about birthdays he was put out, for lack of a better term, that at the age of 5 i could not tell there were 3 days difference between his birthday and mine. (August 12/August 15) At that age he had been taught how to do that. He had the real Aleksei Nikolaeviches birthday right. An age difference of 50 years 3 days.
He invited me to sit on his lap. I wouldn't because of what my mother had told me. He asked why and my mother said "I wouldn't want you to start bleeding." I can't recall his exact responce. my mother continued "Wouldn't you have to go to the hospital." His adamant tone reapered. "I do not have Hemophilia!"
"But they say"
"They were wrong!" It was the only time i saw him angry.
I don't remember much of what we talked about while i was on his lap. he produced a camera and asked my mother to take photographs of the two of us. He instructed her to get down and take the picture looking up at him. She refused. "Im not getting on my knees to take a picture." He said he would have to have it (the photo) fixed later.
Somewhere along the line we had time together without my mother. He said i wasn't suposed to be told he was my father. what should have happened was me being told he was a relative from Canada who didn't have an Heir and would i be willing to be his. He explained what an heir was, and i agreed to be his.
With my mother back in the room it was about time for him to leave. my mother told me "get all your toys." it was time for me to go. he told her "It doesn't work that way." I was suposed to stay where i was. She threatened my life right there in front of me. He said "what about your husband?" Refereing to the man i had called "Daddy" all my life. My mother's responce was "You are right here." I immediately questioned him about this, could big people do more than one marriage? He told me it was complicated and i would understand it later. Because he had been so good about explaining things i accepted his answer. He told me "it is important that you remember your mother and i were married in a Russian Orthodox church." Obviously he knew Pauline law. I told him i had trouble with that word that started with the O sound. "Just as long as you remember it was a Russian Church."
There are more details that i can't include today. I've typed about as much as i can. I'm going to be away for awhile so you can all have your way with this untill i can get back on line. Suffice it to say I recognised the photographs on John Kendrick's website soely from my recolection of what this man looked like. I found the site because i remembered he said he lived in Canada. To my five year old eye he was noticebly shorter than my mother who was all of 5 foot 2 inches tall. His hair had blond highlights exactly where it looks lighter in the photos, and his profile was unmistakable. Besides, i deliberately wispered a "secret" into his bad ear. If that isn't the man i met, he has the same left ear.
This is an interesting story.
Even if the man you thought was the son of Nicholas II may not have been Nicholas II's son, I'd like to hear more.
If indeed this man wasn't Nicholas II's son Alexei, as most suspect, it appears you may have been caught in a "lie" because this person was claiming he was.
If caught in a lie with others, including your mother and you, then others may also have believed him.
In the end, this may end up being a great true story about the intrigues of a man who ruined many lives not just your own.
You said your DNA proves you are related to someone. I forget to whom you say your related [other than Nicholas II]. So, this, alone, may be a whole new story for us to discover and ponder.
So, please, continue. Let's discover what's true.
AGRBear
