Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia
Princess Irina Alexandrovna | |
---|---|
Princess Felix Yusupov | |
Born | Farm Palace, Peterhof, Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire | 15 July 1895
Died | 26 February 1970 Paris, France | (aged 74)
Burial | |
Spouse |
Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov (m. 1914; died 1967) |
Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov | |
Father | Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia |
Mother | Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia |
Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia (Russian: Ирина Александровна; 15 July [
Early life
Before her marriage on 22 February [O.S. 9 February] 1914, Irina, the eldest child and only daughter in a family of seven children, was considered one of the most elegant women in Imperial Russia. Her family had spent long periods living in the south of France beginning in about 1906 because of her father's political disagreements with the Tsar.[1]
Irina's father,
Marriage
Her husband-to-be, Felix Yusupov, was a man from a very wealthy family
Felix, being
Although Irina was understanding about Yusupov's wild past, her parents were not.[12] When her parents and maternal grandmother Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna heard the rumours about Felix, they wanted to call off the wedding. Most of the stories that they heard had originated from Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia, Irina's first cousin once removed, who had been one of Felix's friends and, it has been speculated, might have been involved in a romantic relationship with Felix. Dmitri told Felix he was also interested in marrying Irina, but Irina said she preferred Felix. Felix was able to persuade Irina's reluctant family to relent and allow the ceremony to go forward.[13]
However, neither he nor Irina appeared to have objected to the
Irina was given away by her uncle,
World War I
The Yusupovs were on their honeymoon in Europe and the Middle East when World War I broke out. They were briefly detained in Berlin after the outbreak of hostilities. Irina asked her first cousin, Crown Princess Cecilie of Prussia to intervene with her father-in-law, Kaiser Wilhelm II, who refused to permit them to leave, but offered them a choice of three country estates to live in for the duration of the war. Felix's father appealed to the Spanish ambassador and won permission for them to return to Russia via neutral Denmark to Finland and from there to Petrograd.[16] Upon leaving they were belittled by the German people who called them "Russian pigs" and other names.[11][page needed]
Felix converted a wing of his
Felix and Irina's only daughter, Princess
Killing of Rasputin
Both Felix and Irina were aware of salacious rumors regarding
On the night of the murder, 16/17 December 1916, Rasputin was invited to Felix's apartment at the Moika Palace. He was told that Irina would be in residence and Rasputin would have an opportunity to meet her. Rasputin had often expressed interest in meeting the beautiful 21-year-old princess.[23] Irina, however, was on a visit to the Crimea. Irina had been aware that Felix had talked about eliminating Rasputin and it was originally intended that she participate in the murder. "You too must take part in it," Felix wrote to her before the murder. "Dm(itri) Pavl(ovich) knows all about it and is helping. It will all take place in the middle of December, when Dm(itri) comes back."[24] In late November 1916, Irina wrote to Felix: "Thanks for your insane letter. I didn't understand the half of it. I see that you're planning to do something wild. Please take care and do not get mixed up in any shady business. The dirtiest thing is that you have decided to do it all without me. I don't see how I can take part in it now, since it's all arranged... In a word, be careful. I see from your letter that you're in a state of wild enthusiasm and ready to climb a wall... I'll be in Petrograd on the 12th or 13th, so don't dare do anything without me, or else I won't come at all."[25]
Felix responded on 27 November 1916: "Your presence by the middle of December is essential. The plan I'm writing you about has been worked out in detail and is three-quarters done, and only the finale is left, and for that your arrival is awaited. It (the murder) is the only way of saving a situation that is almost hopeless.... You will serve as the lure.... Of course, not a word to anyone."[26] A frightened Irina suddenly backed out of the plan on 3 December 1916: "I know that if I come, I shall certainly get sick... You don't know how things are with me. I want to cry all the time. My mood is terrible. I've never had one like it before... I don't know myself what's happening to me. Don't drag me to Petrograd. Come down here instead. Forgive me, my dear one, for writing such things to you. But I can't go on any more, I don't know what's the matter with me. Neurasthenia, I think. Don't be angry with me, please don't be angry. I love you terribly. I can't live without you. May the Lord protect you."[27]
Again, on 9 December 1916, she warned Felix, reporting a foreboding conversation she had had with their 21-month-old daughter: "Something unbelievable's been going on with Baby. A couple of nights ago she didn't sleep well and kept repeating, "War, nanny, war!" The next day she was asked, "War or peace?" And Baby answered, "War!" The next day I said, "Say, 'peace.' " And she looked right at me and answered, "War!" It's very strange."[28]
Irina's pleas were in vain. Her husband and his co-conspirators went forward with the plan without her. After the killing, Nicolas exiled both Yusupov and Dmitri Pavlovich.
Felix still hoped that Nicholas and the Russian government would respond to Rasputin's death by taking steps to address the increasing political unrest.
Exile
Following the abdication of the Tsar, the Yusupovs returned to the Moika Palace before going to Crimea. They later returned to the Palace to retrieve jewellery and two paintings by Rembrandt, the sale proceeds of which helped sustain the family in exile. In Crimea, the family boarded a British warship, HMS Marlborough, which took them from Yalta to Malta. Felix enjoyed boasting about killing Rasputin while he was on the ship. One of the British officers noted that Irina "appeared shy and retiring at first, but it was only necessary to take a little notice of her pretty, small daughter to break through her reserve and discover that she was also very charming and spoke fluent English".[34] From there, they traveled to Italy and by train to Paris. In Italy, lacking a visa, Felix bribed the officials with diamonds. In Paris, they stayed a few days in Hôtel de Vendôme before they went on to London.
In 1920, they returned to Paris and bought a house on the Rue Gutenberg in
Later the family lived from the proceeds of a lawsuit they won against
Felix also wrote his memoirs and continued to be both celebrated and infamous as the man who murdered Rasputin. For the rest of his life, he was haunted by the killing and suffered from nightmares. However, he also had a reputation as a faith healer.
Irina and Felix, close to one another as they were distant from their daughter, enjoyed a happy and successful marriage for more than 50 years.[4] When Felix died in 1967, Irina was stricken by grief and died three years later.[37]
Descendants
Descendants of Felix and Irina are:
- Princess Irina Felixovna Yusupova, (21 March 1915, Saint Petersburg, Russia – 30 August 1983, Cormeilles-en-Parisis, France), married Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Sheremetev (28 October 1904, Moscow, Russia – 5 February 1979, Paris, France), son of Count Dmitry Sergeevich Sheremetev and wife Countess Irina Ilarionovna Vorontzova-Dachkova and a descendant of Boris Petrovich Sheremetev; had issue:
- Countess Xenia Nikolaevna Sheremeteva (born 1 March 1942, Rome, Italy), married on 20 June 1965 in Athens, Greece, to Ilias Sfiris (born 20 August 1932, Athens, Greece); had issue:
- Tatiana Sfiris (born 28 August 1968, Athens, Greece), married in May 1996 in Athens to Alexis Giannakoupoulos (born 1963), divorced, no issue; married Anthony Vamvakidis and has issue:
- Marilia Vamvakidis (born 7 July 2004)
- Yasmine Xenia Vamvakidis (born 17 May 2006)[citation needed]
- Tatiana Sfiris (born 28 August 1968, Athens, Greece), married in May 1996 in Athens to Alexis Giannakoupoulos (born 1963), divorced, no issue; married Anthony Vamvakidis and has issue:
- Countess Xenia Nikolaevna Sheremeteva (born 1 March 1942, Rome, Italy), married on 20 June 1965 in Athens, Greece, to Ilias Sfiris (born 20 August 1932, Athens, Greece); had issue:
Ancestry
Ancestors of Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia |
---|
Footnotes
- ^ Zeepvat 2004, p. 38.
- ^ King 1995, p. 108.
- ^ Maylunas & Mironenko 1997, pp. 312–313.
- ^ a b King 1995, p. 109.
- ^ King 1995, p. 62.
- ^ King 1995, pp. 83–89.
- ^ King 1995, p. 98.
- ^ King 1995, pp. 93–97.
- ^ a b King 1995, p. 97.
- ^ a b King 1995, p. 112.
- ^ a b c d Yusupov 1952.
- ^ King 1995, pp. 109–110.
- ^ King 1995, pp. 110–111.
- ^ Yusupov 1952, § XVIII.
- ^ King 1995, p. 111.
- ^ King 1995, pp. 114–115.
- ^ King 1995, pp. 115–116.
- ^ Bokhanov et al. 1993, p. 24.
- ^ King 1995, p. 116.
- ^ King 1995, pp. 118–119.
- ^ King 1995, p. 130.
- ^ Radzinsky 2000, pp. 439–440.
- ^ King 1995, p. 144.
- ^ Radzinsky 2000, p. 435.
- ^ Radzinsky 2000, p. 440.
- ^ Radzinsky 2000, p. 400.
- ^ Radzinsky 2000, pp. 444–445.
- ^ Radzinsky 2000, p. 447.
- ^ King 1995, p. 189.
- ^ King 1995, pp. 190–191.
- ^ Maylunas & Mironenko 1997, p. 530.
- ^ King 1995, p. 193.
- ^ Maylunas & Mironenko 1997, p. 534.
- ^ King 1995, p. 209.
- ^ King 1995, pp. 257–258.
- ^ King 1995, pp. 240–241.
- ^ King 1995, p. 275.
Inline citations
- ^ Tsarina Alexandra. "Letters of the Tsaritsa to the Tsar From 1914–1917". alexanderpalace.org. Retrieved 1 January 2007.
- ^ Youssoupoff v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., 19 A.D.2d 865 (1963).
- ^ Thomas W. Ennis (6 September 1983). "Carleton Eldridge Jr., Lawyer". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 September 2017 – via www.nytimes.com.
References
- Bokhanov, A.; et al., eds. (1993). The Romanovs: Love, Power, and Tragedy. Leppi Publications. ISBN 095216440X.
- King, G. (1995). The Man Who Killed Rasputin. Carol Publishing Group. ISBN 0806519711.
- Massie, R. K. (1995). The Romanovs: The Final Chapter. New York: ISBN 0394580486.
- Maylunas, A.; Mironenko, S. (1997). A Lifelong Passion: Nicholas and Alexandra: Their Own Story. New York: ISBN 0385486731.
- ISBN 0465024629.
- Radzinsky, E. (2000). The Rasputin File. New York: ISBN 0385489099.
- Yusupov, F. (1952). Lost Splendor.[ISBN missing]
- ISBN 0750930497.