An equestrian statue of Peter the Great stands guard in the courtyard of the Constantine Palace at Strelna.

In 1797, the Constantine Palace at Strelna (near St. Petersburg) was granted to Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich (the second son of Emperor Paul I) and his wife Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna. Constantine did not have any direct heirs and therefore upon his death in 1831, his brother Emperor Nicholas I presented the palace to his son, Grand Duke Constantine Nicholayevich who was only three years old at the time. After his death in 1892, the palace devolved to his son, Grand Duke Dmitri Constantinovich. His brother, Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich "KR" and his family were frequent visitors to the palace inbetween stays at their other residences of Pavlovsk and the Marble Palace.

Many years back I visited the palace when it was in a terrible state of disrepair. Several years later, it was announced that in preparation for the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the founding St. Petersburg, the Russian government decided to restore the palace and its grounds as a state conference center and presidential residence.

I returned in 2005 and met Galina Nicholayevna Eregina, who offered me a private tour of the newly restored palace. I was shown the grand halls and the private study of Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich. My hostess held the former poet in high regard and was the custodian of a small museum dedicated to the Konstantinovichi branch of the Romanov family.

It was during this visit that Mrs. Eregina presented me with a copy of the English edition of her book, Strelna: Konstantinovsky Palace and Park Ensemble and Historic Places which she personalised for me.

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 13 March, 2013

Further to my original January 9th post, please note the following update which includes a revised publication date, plus 3 additional articles and their respective authors for this issue--PG. 

I am pleased to announce that I will publish a second issue of Royal Russia Annual this year in honour of the 400th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. Royal Russia Annual No. 4 will go to the printers in July and available for purchase in late August 2013. 

Included in this issue will be the following full-length articles [Note: this is just a partial list of the full-length articles scheduled to be published in this issue and is subject to change without notice]:

The Coronation of Emperor Alexander III

- A first-hand account of the ceremonies marking the coronation of Emperor Alexander III at Moscow on 27th May [O.S. 15th], 1883. Richly illustrated with full-page reproductions from the coronation album.

My Russia: The Children's Island at Tsarskoye Selo

- Located in the Alexander Park, the Children's Island is often overlooked by visitors to Tsarskoye Selo. This article explores the history of this unique folly built for the children of Emperor Nicholas I. Illustrated with photographs by Paul Gilbert.   

The Museum of Imperial Court Carriages

- A history of the Museum of Imperial Court Carriages in St. Petersburg, and what happened to the collection after the museum was closed by the Bolsheviks in 1920.

plus, these articles by Russian and British historians:

• Russia's Thespian Mentors by Irene W. Galaktionova 
• The Five Daughters of Emperor Paul I by Gema Faye O. Nicdao
• An Interview With Anna Vyrubova by Rheta Childe Dorr
• Bloody Sunday: A Tragedy That Became a Sign by Andrei Mantsov
• Princess Zenaida Yusupova by Meriel Buchanan

 Plus 2 collections of rare and vintage photographs:

• Frozen in Time featuring photographic memories of the Russian Imperial family
• The Lost World of Imperial Russia featuring vintage photographs of Imperial Russia before the Revolution

Note: This publication announcement is for information purposes only. I am not accepting any pre-orders for this issue at this time.

© Gilbert's Books. 12 March, 2013

V. E. Iakobidze interviews HIH Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna in the February edition of the Russian newspaper Dobryeliudi [Kind People].

||| Click Here to Read the Interview With HIH Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna |||

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 11 March, 2013

Prince Willem-Alexander at the Peter the Great exhibit, Amsterdam Hermitage 

On March 8, Prince of Orange Willem-Alexander presided over the opening ceremony of the exhibition “Peter the Great, the Inspired Czar” at the Hermitage Amsterdam. The exhibition paints a picture of this unconventional, inspired and inquisitive Russian tsar, who by the time he took power at the age of 17 was determined to transform his country.

Peter is credited with reforming the military and the church, expanding trade and industry, and improving education and public health. He turned Russia into a great European power with a brand-new capital city: St Petersburg, his “window on the West.” With historical artifacts, paintings, gold jewelry from the ancient world, weapons and unique documents, the exhibition will sketch the life of this peerless ruler. From his youth Peter collected art, including a Rembrandt, planting the seed for St Petersburg’s later Hermitage collection.

An enthusiastic traveler, he visited Western Europe, including the Dutch Republic. It was the city of Amsterdam, in particular, that inspired him to found his new capital. Peter befriended many leading figures in Dutch society, such as Nicolaas Witsen (mayor of Amsterdam), Christoffel van Brants (shipper, and grain and arms merchant), Albert Seba (apothecary and collector of natural curiosities) and Frederik Ruysch (physician, anatomist and botanist).

Like a sponge, he absorbed what they taught him about shipbuilding, making instruments, carpentry, etching, dissection, pulling teeth, making paper, gardening, bookmaking, and much more. Find out how this knowledge bore fruit in Russia during your visit to Peter the Great, an Inspired Tsar. You will also find many of Peter’s personal effects, such as his suits and one of his coaches, which show how profoundly he was influenced by Western tastes.

The exhibition will be based on the collection of the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, with additional pieces from the collections of museums and institutions in the Netherlands and elsewhere.

In 2013, the Netherlands, Russia, and the city of Amsterdam are celebrating their special relationship. The two countries have been major trading partners since the Dutch Golden Age, and their ties grew stronger in the centuries that followed. When Napoleon was defeated in 1813, Russian Cossacks advanced as far as the gates of Amsterdam. One Dutch prince even married the sister of a tsar. The year 2009 saw a crowning moment in Dutch-Russian relations: the opening of the Hermitage Amsterdam, the only European satellite of the famous St Petersburg museum.

© Russkiy Mir. 11 March, 2013

A collection of seven 19th century glassware which belonged to the Russian Imperial Family is to be sold at auction.

The items, once owned by Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich (1861-1929), whose grandfather was Tsar Nicholas I, are said to have come from three separate banquet services made by the Imperial Glass Factory for use in palaces.

They bear three different monograms or ciphers, one of which is for Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich (1832-1909), the father of Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich.

The glass pieces, which have been valued collectively at £18,000, are being auctioned off as separate lots by Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh on Tuesday March 26.

The Grand Duke was banished to England after entering a "socially unequal" marriage with Countess Sophie de Meckenberg and the glassware is thought to have descended through the family to their daughter, Countess Anastasia de Torby, who later became Lady Zia Wernher of Luton Hoo.

Douglas Girton, a ceramics and glass specialist at Lyon & Turnbull auctioneers, said: "In the context of European Royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social standing which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage.

"Now rare, it is also known as a left-handed marriage because in the wedding ceremony the groom traditionally held his bride's right hand with his left hand instead of his right."

Photo Credit: Lyon & Turnbull 

© Paisley Daily Express. 11 March, 2013

The Dormition Cathedral Omsk is one of the largest churches in Siberia. Its fanciful design of many shapes and colors utilizes a plethora of elements from the Russian and Byzantine medieval architectural vocabulary. The main square of Omsk takes its name from the cathedral.

The first stone of a new church was laid by Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich (the future Tsar Nicholas II)  during his journey across Siberia in 1891. A revivalist design was commissioned from Ernest Würrich, a fashionable architect based in Saint Petersburg. The church was consecrated in 1898. It was shut down after the Russian Revolution and was blown up in 1935. The Russian Orthodox Church had the edifice rebuilt to Würrich's original designs in the early 21st century.

The worshippers from all over Siberia come to the church in order to venerate the relics of Bishop Sylvester, a Admiral Kolchak supporter who was martyred by the Bolsheviks in 1920.

© Royal Russia. 10 March, 2013

Celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty through the pages of Royal Russia.

This unique publication offers new, previously unpublished articles and photographs about the Russian Imperial family, monarchy and the history of Tsarist Russia by experts from around the world including Russia.

Each issue features a beautiful full-colour cover, a large 8-1/2" x 11" format with more than 100 pages of text, and more than 100 rare black-and-white photographs.

Royal Russia is published once a year as an annual and each issue is completely free of advertisements. 

For more information on the contents of each issue, please refer to the following links;

Royal Russia Annual No. 3 (2013)

Royal Russia Annual No. 2 (2012)

Royal Russia Annual No. 1 (2011)

In honour of the 400th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty this year, a second issue of Royal Russia (No. 4) will be published this summer. The cover story is dedicated to the Coronation of Emperor Alexander III in 1883. 

Issue after issue, Royal Russia builds into a beautiful and authoritative collection. 

Royal Russia is available through our online bookshop (links provided above), or from the following booksellers: Amazon.com (USA); Librairie Galignani (Paris, France); and Booksellers Van Hoogstraten (Den Haag, Netherlands).

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 09 March, 2013

HIH Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna with Zurab Tsereteli (right) 

HIH Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna has been made an Honourary Member of the Academy of Arts. The award was presented to HIH by Zurab Tsereteli, President of the Academy of Arts in Moscow.

"My parents would be very happy," she said, putting on the traditional hat and mantle of an academician.

In turn, Tsereteli was granted the Imperial Order of St. Anne, Ist Class by HIH. The Grand Duchess Maria had signed the edict for the award in 2009, but was waiting for the right time to present him with the award.

The exchange of honours and awards took place in a symbolic place--set against the backdrop of Night at the Ipatiev House, a sculptural composition dedicated to the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II and his family.

||| Click Here to Learn More About Night at the Ipatiev House by Tsereteli |||

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 07 March, 2013

HIH Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, Head of the Russian Imperial House attended a Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Dormition on Wednesday.

The Liturgy was performed by Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus, Kirill to mark the 400th anniversary of the election of the first Romanov tsar, Mikhail Feodorovich on March 6th [O.S. February 21st] 1613.

During the Liturgy His Holiness offered prayers "for the repose of souls of the departed servants of God, blessed memory of the rulers of the Holy Rus, the faithful princes and princesses, tsars and tsarinas, and all the power of the former, who had custody of the Immaculate faith and diligence, in the faith of the Christian law governs the Russian empire." The Liturgy also included the names of the emperors and empresses of the Romanov dynasty and proclaimed the health of the current Head of the Russian Imperial House, HIH Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna.

At the end of the liturgy a short service of intercession was said for the Royal Passion Bearers - Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra and the royal children of Alexis, Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.

The Cathedral of the Dormition (also knowsn as the Assumption or Uspenski Cathedral) is located in the Moscow Kremlin. Russian monarchs were crowned here from 1587 to the last coronation of Tsar Nicholas II in 1896.

The Divine Liturgy was followed by a procession to the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael, which is the final resting place of Russia's rulers, including the Romanov dynasty.

The procession to the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael was accompanied by ‘the solemn ringing of bells’, a peal used for processions. After the short memorial service in the Cathedral a triumphal royal peal of bells was performed - revived by the bell-ringers of the Kremlin and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on the basis of the peal of bells in the coronation scene in Musorgsky’s opera ‘Boris Godunov’. It was performed on the bells of the first, second and third stages of the bell-tower of Ivan the Great, using the ‘Reut’ bell, which hangs in the Dormition belfry. The ‘Reut’ is the oldest 1000-pood (over 16 tons) Russian bell, and was cast in 1622 by the master-founder Andrei Chokhov. The inscription on the bell mentions Tsar Michael Feodorovich Romanov and his father, Patriarch Philaret Nikitich Romanov.

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 07 March, 2013