Russian Nobility of the French Riviera

[Nabonnand]

Hello.

I am studying the work of a familiy of French rose creator named Nabonnand. They worked on the french Riviera (Cannes - Golfe-Juan - Antibes etc.) and they named roses after some of their russian customers.
I wondered if you could help me to identify these people. A picture of them would be great.
Here is the list.
Please note that I am following the spelling from the French rose catalogues, which maybe incorrect.
The dates given are the date of the first distribution of the rose.

Madame Anna de Besobrasoff (1877 )
Prince Wasiltchikoff (1874 )
Madame Elise Stchegoleff (1881 )
General D. Mertchansky (1890 )
General Schablikine (1879 )
Grande-Duchesse Anastasie (1898 )
Imperatrice Maria Feodorowna (1884 )
La Princesse Vera - no date
Lily Mestchersky (1878 )
Marie Wolkoff (1896)
Mariet(t)a de Besobrasoff (1879)
Mia Silvanski (1901 )
Natasha Metschersky (1879 )
Prince Cretwertinsky (1888 )
Souvenir de Katia Metschersky (1884 )
Wasily Chludoff (1886 or 1896 )
Comtesse Prozor (1922 )
Comtesse Maggi Starzynska (1910 ) : i have a doubt about the nationality of this name. Is this actually Polish?

Thank you for your help.
N.

[dp5486]

Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was, I think, the only Romanov to live principally in Cannes. She was a widow and detested Mecklenburg-Schwerin, where her late husband was from. You can find a great deal of information and pictures of her under the Imperial Family Topic. There should be a thread on her on the second or third page. It could be farther along though. I believe that Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich had a home here and perhaps Grand Duchess Anastasia's brother Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich.

[frimousse]

GDss Anastasia Mikhailovna lived in the French Riviera in Cannes, but use to stay also in the Italian Riviera, especially in winter in San Remo (Hôtel Royal) and Bordighera.
Her little Brother died in 1895 in San Remo aged 20.
Her husband died in Cannes in 1897 (Suicide ?). She died near Nice in 1922.

She was not of course the only member of the Romanov family to live in the Côte d'Azur. You forget GD Sandro who is buried in Roquebrunne and lived in Beaulieu. GD André was too poor to own any house there. GD Boris spent many times in the Nice or Cannes' area palaces ( Martinez, Negresco, Eden Rock, Palm Beach...) or rented villas during summer.

[frimousse]

I forget to specify that GD Andrei Wladimirovich lived for a while in Cap d'Ail ( French Riviera) soon after his escape from Russia.

GD Nikolasha and his wife née princess of Montenegro owned a villa bought in 1922 in Antibes (near Nice).

The wife of GD Boris Wladimirovich built a villa in Nice.

Russian orthodox churches were built at the end of XIX century in Nice, Cannes, Menton ( on the Riviera) and Biarritz (Atlantic Coast) by different members of the imperial family.
Their parishioners from nowaday are still the descendants of Russian nobility and other Russian families...

[lancashireladandre]

Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovitch "Miche-Miche" and his wife Countess Sophie De Torby owned a villa (Villa Kazbek ?) at Cannes.In later years it was the home of their younger daughter Nada,Marchioness of Milford Haven.

[dp5486]

Thank you! I could have sworn I read somewhere that "Miche-Miche" lived in Cannes too.

When Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich, the father of the Mikhailovichi, was in his later years, Sandro wrote about how he and his siblings would gather here for a holiday.

[lancashireladandre]

Prince Andrei A. Lobanov -Rostovsky who in 1935 wrote "The Grinding Mill" (Macmillan) speaks of his mother's villa in Nice where she lived prior to the revolution.

[ukupeeter]

"I forget to specify that GD Andrei Wladimirovich lived for a while in Cap d'Ail ( French Riviera) soon after his escape from Russia. "

He lost his money because his wife  Marie-Mathilde Kchessinska was a gambler. Monte Carlo:)

[frimousse]

Yes she was definitly a gambler. The villa ( villa Alam)  was her's. Bought before WWI with GD Serge Mikhailovich' money !!! They moved to Paris after that.
GD Anatasia Mikhailovna' villa ( villa Fantasia) was in Eze near Nice where she died.
Also Princess Yourievsky lived in Nice till her death.  

[Nabonnand]

Who was that mysterious 'General Shablikine"?  Was he a general during the Crimean War?







[size=9]coucou etienne[/size]

[frimousse]

Beautiful rose ( 1878) of mysterious General Schablikine

[frimousse]

The first member of the Imperial Family to come to Nice was the widow of Emperor Nicolas I, Empress Dowager Alexandra Feodorovna in winter 1856- 1857.  October,17th till May, 31st.
 Nice belonged to France in 1860.
In the winter 1859-1860 she rented the villa "Bermond" and hosted her sister-in-law Grand Duchess Helen ( widow of Grand Duke Mikhail), her daughter Grand Duchess Olga ( wife of Crown Prince of Württemberg), Duchess of Leuchtenberg and her family, Grand Dukes Constantin, Nicholas, Mikhail, etc...
She had TWO HUNDRED people with her !!

She had a bad health and didn't want to die out of Russia, so she left for Saint Petersburg where she died in November.  

[frimousse]

The second Empress to spend the winter season in Nice was Maria Alexandrovna. Her brothers the Dukes of Hessen-Darmstadt used to come there frequently.
When she announced in 1864 that she would rest in the Riviera, Emperor Napoleon III ordered that all the railways from Darmstadt to the Riviera should be controlled and those after the frontier to be renovated.
The Imperial couple rented the villa "Peillon" with a 200.000 square meters park.
Tzar Alexandre II only stayed a few days to meet Napoleon III and left for Saint Petersburg.
Maria Alexandrovna was very happy to receive her son Tzarevitch Nicholas, who by then was doing an European journey. He arrived in Nice on November, 13th 1864.
He was mysterioulsy in a bad shape and her mother rented for him the quiet villa "Diesbach", but in January 1865 he felt very ill and moved to his mother's villa. He died four months afterwards...
The grief of the family was immense.
A church was built there in the memory of Nicholas.

Empress Maria Alexandrovna only came back in the French Riviera in 1879, but not in Nice, in Cannes, villa "Les Dunes".
She came with her own train (6 wagons: bedroom in white and blue silk and sateen, drawing rooms, boudoirs, dining room, offices,etc...and 530 suitcases, pieces of luggage etc...); She had only 70 people with her as it was a very private journey. She was old and ill...

She came back to Russia in February to spend her last moments.

[frimousse]

GD Constantin Nikolaïevitch and his spouse Alexandra of Sachsen-Altenburg spent many winters there. He represented the Imperial Family when the first stone of the Russian church in Nice, rue de Longchamp, was laid.

His brother Nicholas also stayed with his wife née Princess of Oldenburg in Nice. And his sons (the future Nikolasha) would die under the sky of the French Riviera, where they were so happy in their youth.

GD Mikhail Nikolaïevitch and his wife Princess of Baden prefered to "winter" in Cannes where he died in 1900.

Gdss Olga Nikolaïevna ( the wife of Crown Prince of Württemberg) gave a  charity ball with her aunt Gdss Helen of 5000 guests including local people...

Tzarevitch Alexandre Alexandrovitch came only to visit his brother's church and very briefly.

On the contrary GD Wladimir Alexandrovitch (his wife the formidable Maria Pavlovna prefered Biarritz or Vittel ) and GD Paul Alexandrovitch would come very often. GD Serge was too busy in Moscow and seldom in his mature years  travelled abroad except for some family gatherings.
 

[frimousse]

The first Russian church in Nice.
A second one, the Russian cathedral, was built in Park Bermond, Nice in 1903. Nicholas II attended to these churches.



Aquarelle, Musée Masséna, Nice.