I have a question.
What does Maria Vladimirovna Romanova have to gain by getting death certificates? And why is she considered head of the family? She was the daughter of Vladimir Cyrillovitch of Russia, whom I thought was considered a pretender to the Russian throne, and Leonida Georgievna Kirby née Bagration-Moukhransky (the divorced wife of the American-born Sumner Moore Kirby). Aren't there other Romanovs with a more direct connection to the throne?
1. I believe I explained on an earlier post what could be gained from the death certificates, but I will repeat myself. I think it's important for Russia to establish whether or not the murders were a government execution or an extralegal (i.e. criminal) act. Also, the tsar's estate in Russia could not be legally settled within Russia absent a death certificate.
2. Maria Vladimirovna is indeed considered by many to be the Head of the Imperial House. At the time of the Revolution, the succession was Alexei, Michael, and then Kiril Vladimirovich. After the deaths of Alexei and Michael, Kiril became pretender to the throne. While the term "pretender" does have several meanings, in the dynastic sense, it means "one who sets forth a claim, as in pretender to the throne". Therefore, there is nothing pejorative about the term pretender. And, Kiril Vladimirovich's granddaughter Maria is also a pretender and the appropriate person to be persuing this matter.
3. Dynastically, and according to the Pauline Laws, Maria Vladimirovna is the head of the family. There is a rival claimant in Prince Nicholas Romanovich. Those closest in descent to the late tsar are descended in the maternal line through Nicholas' sisters Xenia and Olga. The Pauline Laws tend to subordinate the claims of maternal line descendants.
