Princess Marie of Greece and Denmark was born on March 3^rd, 1876 at Athens, Greece. She was the fifth child and second daughter of King George I of Greece and his consort, Queen Olga, (née Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia). Marie was the granddaughter of King Christian IX of Denmark, great-granddaughter of Tsar Nicholas I, niece of Queen Alexandra of Great Britain and Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia, and first cousin and confidant of Tsar Nicholas II.

On 30 April 1900, Marie married Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia. After her marriage, she took the name Grand Duchess Marie Georgievna. Together, they had two daughters: Princess Nina Georgievna (1901-1974), and Princess Xenia Georgievna (1903-1965).

Grand Duke George Mikhailovich, was the third son of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, and Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna (née Princess Cecilie of Baden). He was also a first cousin to Emperor Alexander III. He served as a General in the Russian Army during the First World War. During the Russian Revolution, he was imprisoned by the Bolsheviks and shot by a firing squad in 1919, along with his brother, Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich, and his cousins Grand Dukes Paul Alexandrovich and Dimitri Konstantinovich.

The Grand Duchess spent most of her life abroad: Russia, England, Italy—and on her return to Greece in 1940, she vowed never again to be driven into exile. During the Second World War, as the German army advanced on Athens and the Royal Family prepared to flee, Grand Duchess Marie passed away in 1940, at the age of 64.

Given her position in life, her travels, and the personal tragedies that she endured during her lifetime, she was to bear witness to some of the world’s most monumental historical events, and writes of them with skill and candor in her memoirs.

A Romanov Diary spans 50-years in the life of Royal Europe (1884-1934) during one of the most turbulent periods of history. In her memoirs, Grand Duchess Marie writes of emperors, kings, queens and royal cousins in their everyday private lives, as well as their intricate relationships which determined the course of history.

Some of the most compelling portions of A Romanov Diary are the letters written by her husband, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich, from prison after the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. These letters were smuggled from prison, and detail events up to shortly before the Grand Duke’s murder in 1919. Grand Duchess Marie has set forth extensive portions of these letters, and the last days of the Romanov dynasty come alive.

After being out of print for nearly 20 years, a new edition of A Romanov Diary: The Autobiography of the Grand Duchess Marie Georgievna has been published by Gilbert’s Books, the publishing division of Royal Russia.

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© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 12 June, 2012