Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovitch,his 1st wife Alexandra & their family

[aleksandr pavlovich]

Re Posting # 71:  It might interest you to know that Grand Duke Paul's great-grandson posts here occasionally.     AP.

[bestfriendsgirl]

Foreals? How facinating! What's his screen name? Or is that you, AP?

[aleksandr pavlovich]

The information to which I referred is "for real." Nothing further should be "read" into it.  Regards,  AP. 

[LisaDavidson]

There is really no mystery here. Grand Duke Paul has a number of great grandchildren, including the grandchildren of Lennart, Count Bernadotte, and the grandchildren of Grand Duke Dmitri. (And also for the record, great grand children through Princess Irene Paley). However, by process of elimination, I believe he is referring to HSH Prince Michael Pavlovich Ilyinsky, a very fine gentleman with great interest in his family history. Who does post here on occasion.

[Carolath Habsburg]

 

[ashanti01]

GD Paul in costume

[bestfriendsgirl]

the difference from other Grand Dukes of the time was that he didn't let that resentment get in the way of his religious believes and that is why I think that Nicholas was softer with him and his wife, perhaps because they shared that religious sense of duty.

I think something else they shared was the fact they both loved their wives to distraction. A lot of people around Nicholas at the time understood that he did not share Alix's devotion to Rasputin, but could not bear to hurt her by banishing him from the court. I think Grand Duke Paul got that, having given up everything, even guardianship of his children, to be with Olga. This, in turn, made him a little more sympathetic than some of the other grand dukes to Nicholas' position, even if he didn't condone his actions and tried to change his mind. MHO only ...

[ashdean]

Alexandra dressed for court

Her daughter Marie Pavlovna describes in her memoirs how she hid this diadem (dismantled) in a ink bottle during the early days of the revolution till all her gems could be smuggled out of Russia with the help of the Swedish embassy.
The pearls must include the necklace which Marie  hung onto  in exile till selling it after all  her other important gems..

[ashanti01]

ashdean you must have read my mind. I was going to ask if GD Maria inherited her mother's jewelry.

[Svetabel]

ashdean you must have read my mind. I was going to ask if GD Maria inherited her mother's jewelry.

She did inherite. Though she doesn't detail in her memoirs how many items she got.

[ashanti01]

Is there any records of GD Alexandra's jewels? What she received as wedding gifts or was given to her by GD Paul?

[LisaDavidson]

I think Nicholas and Paul's relatiionship was a bit more complex than that. Alexandra really did not do too well with other women in Russia unless they were rather submissive to her, and Olga Paley was smart enough to play that card. Thus, Paul and family were able to spend more time with the Imperial Family than other members of the dynasty. Also, the two men were closer in age - only 6 years apart - than most uncles and cousins. In addition, Nicholas and Alexandra partially raised Paul's two eldest children, and it seems that formed a kind of bond, at least with Paul.

[bestfriendsgirl]

I think you're right about the relationship between Paul and Nicholas II, Lisa. I read a post in the Paley thread with a translation of an article about Olga and it sort of implied that Paul and Nicky socialized together some when Paul was between wives and Nicholas was still Tsarevich and they were heavily involved with regimental life. Also - and this is pure speculation on my part - I think family dynamics made them close growing up. Paul was the baby of the AII family. His father took up with Katherine Dolgursky when he was very small, his mother was not well - like a lot of "youngests" in large families, he was probably lost in the shuffle. Nicholas, however, was the first grandchild and the new baby of the family, giving Paul a chance to be the big one and the leader. Nicholas, in turn, thought Uncle Paul a hero and this was good for both of them - MHO only.
I love the photo of Paul with MP ... that's an awfully nipped-looking waist, though. Could he be rocking a corset like big brother Serge was known to do? 

[Carolath Habsburg]

Gd Pavel and Gdss Alexandra



 

[Sara Araújo]

I've just read that the remais of Grand Duke Paul along with the other Grand Dukes who were murdered with him have just been discovered!