Grand Duchess Ksenia and Grand Duke Alexander

[Laura Mabee]

I read this too, it's in "Once A Grand Duchess: Xenia, Sister to Nicholas II" by John Van Der Kiste and Coryne Hall

[samcr]

I was on another forum and they mentioned mother martha , and also the book as well. I didnt know weather it was true or not??

[Sainte-Claire1875]

Hi RomanovFan--

I can answer most if not all of your questions.
Ksenia was born on 6 April 1875 (25 March, O.S.), at the Anitchkov Palace in St. Petersburg.
She passed away at her last residence in England, the Wilderness House and was buried at Roquebrune in France, with her husband who had died in the 1930s. She passed away on 20 April 1960. Olga died in Toronto on 24 November of the same year. Don't know the last words of either of them. Hope this helped!  

[Sainte-Claire1875]

Post Script for Zarevna:

By the way, the pictures you weren't sure of the dates from, where you put (1888?) are from 1891, to be exact--they were taken sometime that year before Xenia turned sixteen, which is why her hair isn't yet put up. The one with the family for a walk is about 1890.

[Sainte-Claire1875]

Mother Martha was a very jealous woman--she adored Grand Duchess Xenia and didn't like it when she had visitors--not even her relatives. Xenia was actually somewhat afraid of Mother Martha (not afraid like she's dangerous, but hopefully you know what I mean). Xenia wouldn't even go out with friends for a drive because she was afraid of MM's dislike of this. She was a controlling woman who wanted Xenia all to herself, but she was devoted to Xenia and she did so much to help Xenia--Xenia praised her for doing everything for her, and she even left her a large portion of her meager savings after she died.

[Svetabel]

This one posted by ZarevnaOlga





And this one,almost similar dress and pose...

[Sainte-Claire1875]

Coryne continues to seek the identity of F.[aine]

I am just dying to know the real identity of 'F.' I am almost certain that the speculation of him being an English nobleman whose last name was Fane or Faine is probably correct, otherwise there is a great chance that he was a Russian prince. But I wonder if there was ever a photograph taken with them together, without anyone else knowing that it was he--there is a photograph in the jewel album book of Nicky (where his watercolours of the jewels are reproduced, along with many rare family photographs). The photograph has Xenia and some 'friends' relaxing on a Caucasian rug in a meadow, and Xenia is on her stomach, resting on her elbows, looking at the camera. Beside her is a very attractive 'young' man with eyeglasses. They are lying right beside each other, so close their arms are touching. It doesn't say who he is, and I have never seen him in any photographs anywhere before. His uniform looks like one of some officer of some sort. Could this be the mysterious 'F.'? It looks like it was taken around the time that he came to the Crimea to be with her, in 1911.

I would post it myself if I had the ability to post photos, but I'm afraid that isn't possible for me to do...

[LisaDavidson]

???If my memory serves me right, I seem to recall that on at least two occassions Sandro asked Xenia for a divorce but that she always said she would have to confer with her priest.  I think that was in one of his bios he penned.

Much of what he wrote was embellished. What I wrote about this couple is directly from their family, who knew them and stayed with them. These are their impressions, and I have found them to generally be accurate and reliable.

[lancashireladandre]

Annie that is a wonderful suggestion, I almost wish it to be true!
Without wanting to become too salacious, it would have been a very glamorous affair, Sandro and Zenaida, Xenia and Felix senior, all of them terriby attractive.
Sadly, I think, as someone else has remarked, "F" was an Englishman.
Is it  the case that Xenai was romantically involved with Prince Dolgorouky?

Much has been speculated about Xenia and Prince D.The gossip of a governess to his neice who recounted the tale in her memoirs.The suicide of his beautiful wife at the start of the revolution.But if there had been anything going on would in later years princess D's daughter ( by her first marriage to Count Vorontsov-Dashkov) have married Xenia's son...as Coryne Hall rightly said highly unlikely. True as chamberlain to the dowager,Prince D had unobtrusive access to X both before & after the revolution.He left  Russia in MF's entourage and till her death remained in attendance.But he did not settle in London after 1928.His mother had died in 1927 so he had no ties (his younger brother was dead,two of his sisters had settled in Rome,another in Austria only the eldest was in Versaillies).If there had been any continuing liason would he not have wanted to have settled nearer.He died in 1933.But I would be very suprised if he was F....

[Sainte-Claire1875]

Much has been speculated about Xenia and Prince D.The gossip of a governess to his neice who recounted the tale in her memoirs.The suicide of his beautiful wife at the start of the revolution.But if there had been anything going on would in later years princess D's daughter ( by her first marriage to Count Vorontsov-Dashkov) have married Xenia's son...as Coryne Hall rightly said highly unlikely. True as chamberlain to the dowager,Prince D had unobtrusive access to X both before & after the revolution.He left  Russia in MF's entourage and till her death remained in attendance.But he did not settle in London after 1928.His mother had died in 1927 so he had no ties (his younger brother was dead,two of his sisters had settled in Rome,another in Austria only the eldest was in Versaillies).If there had been any continuing liason would he not have wanted to have settled nearer.He died in 1933.But I would be very suprised if he was F....

Prince Dolgoruky could not have been F. because it is highly unlikely that Ksenia would have wrote about this same person in her diary under two completely different names--in her diaries, she referred to Prince D. as Seriozha, which was his nickname.

[Svetabel]

Whoops,the exact title of the book is "A Ball in Russia in the XVIII beginning of the XIX cent", sorry... The book is in Russian and does not contain much rare photos of the Romanovs. The ISBN is 5-352-01428-2.

I can't say anything about using that image on your website. I did not find out exact copyright resctrictions in the book though I figured that all pictures were only for non-commercial usage of course. :-/

[Svetabel]

Not valid? The ISBN is correct, I checked the book once again  :-/.



One more photo of Xenia. This one is not so official, here are Xenia with her mother and brother Nicky in Spala.

[Sainte-Claire1875]

Whoops,the exact title of the book is "A Ball in Russia in the XVIII beginning of the XIX cent", sorry... The book is in Russian and does not contain much rare photos of the Romanovs. The ISBN is 5-352-01428-2.

I can't say anything about using that image on your website. I did not find out exact copyright resctrictions in the book though I figured that all pictures were only for non-commercial usage of course. :-/

Thank you for correcting the title, and thanks for the ISBN. I don't mind that it's in Russian at all. I'm still learning Russian, but I've already purchased some books in Russian anyway. As for the picture, thanks for letting me know about that.

Also thanks for that new picture at Spala. I've seen it in Xenia's biography, but the picture is so much smaller that you can't really see the detail of it, which is disappointing. But yours on here is perfect!!

[Svetabel]

A sort of a candid photo. You can see the Emperor Alexnder III who looks to the camera, Empress Maria Fedorovna is in profile by her husband's side. And Xenia is in profile too next to her father. All of them hold some sheet in the hands -- possibly programmes...

[grandduchessella]

Some info about Xenia and her jewels (courtesy of Ursula whose page is linked here--it has more info and pictures)

Quote Once A Grand Duchess: Xenia, Sister of Nicholas II -

"With no real experience of handling money, Xenia was easy pray for unscruplulous opportunists, In Decemeber 1921 a self-styled financier, Marurice Sternbach, came to England...He told her that he was in a good position to get her a fair price for her jewellery, and she entrusted him with a considerable amount..."

Here is the damage:
Rope of Pearls: Sold for £4,000. £500 of which she was given, the £3,500 was given to Sternbach and Calvert ( Calvert was Sternbach's business partner)
Second Rope of Pearls: Sold for £5,000, Sternbach and Calvert were handed £3,500
Later Xenia pawned a Pearl Necklace for £5,000 and the whole of which was handed to Sternbach and Calvert

She was giving them so much to entrust in a business that she was assured "Would bring her wealth beyond the dreams of avarice"

In April 1923 Xenia claimed court action, which she was plaintiff and Calvert was Defendant. After the mess of the case Xenia left with £10,000 for the damage

CZAR'S SISTER WINS PEARL SWINDLE SUIT; Grand Duchess Gets 10,000 Verdict Against Calvert and Sternbach, American.

NYT Apr 18, 1923

LONDON, April 17. -- Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandroyna of Russia, sister of the murdered Czar, obtained a verdict today of 10,000 against Albert Frederick Calvert of Hampstead, and Maurice Sternbach, an American citizen, who was recently deported from this country.

The article had a weird symbol so I don't know whether it means GBP or $. The byline was from London though so probably the former.

April1919 –
As she was leaving from her own home, Xenia was able to ensure that the most valuable possessions, including her jewels and 54-piece set of solid gold plate, were packed ready for loading at Yalta the next day. Among the hastily packed possessions were several cases marked “Fragile – Belaoussoff" , which belonged to Xenia´s old laundress. Later they were found to contain mainly useless rubbish.

The Captain handed Xenia his binoculars so that she could have a last look at the coastline. “What are those little black things all along the shore?” she asked. “Madame”, he replied, “that is your silver.” The servants had been so afraid they would be left behind that they had not loaded the chests. In all, about fifty-four cases were left on the quay. Xenia said it did not matter, but over the coming years there must have been many times she regretted it.

Olga and her husband went to live in the flat over Sandro´s wine cellar, taking with them all Dagmar and Xenia´s jewels concealed in cocoa tins (which, at the first sign of trouble, they hid in a hole in the bottom of a rock by the sea).

The link (which shows some of Xenia's jewels and points out the ones she was wearing at the famous 1903 ball--some serious jewelry!)

http://www.royal-magazin.de/russia/grossfuerstin-xenia-alexandrowna.htm

more jewelry (and a list of her wedding presents--complete sets of rubies and emeralds and sapphires and some great pearls--incredible)

http://www.royal-magazin.de/russia/ksenia-alexandrovna.htm

and her diamonds (along with a great photo of her in court dress)
http://www.royal-magazin.de/russia/romanov-xenia.htm

I am absolutely drooling over her collection!