Journalists were invited to the home of Nicholas Romanovich last week to get a preview of the items of his personal collection which will go under the hammer this month. Among the items are letters, photographs and other personal belongings of his ancestors, including his great-great uncle, Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholayevich.

Nicholas told journalists that his decision to sell these heirlooms is in the hope that they will help shed further light on the history of the Russian Imperial family in anticipation of the 400th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in 2013.

"Of course, I am sorry to part with all of this, but I am 90 now. I made the decision," he told journalists.

In 1915, Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholayevich was relieved of his duties as Commander-in-Chief when Tsar Nicholas II took over the military lead, but Nicholas Romanovich, who was born four years after the Tsar's murder in 1918, has kept his Grand Uncle's military cap, that he's selling at the Geneva auction. "When I found this, I tried it of course, not because I wanted, but because I knew, that if it didn't really fit me, and you see on these photographs, it never reached the back of his (Nicholas Nicholayevich) head", Nicholas Romanov told journalists.

The auction which consists of some 3,000 items will be held at Hôtel des Ventes of Geneva on December 10th.

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 03 December, 2012

Nicholas Romanovich at his home in Switzerland presents his personal collection of Romanov memorabilia to journalists, which included letters, photographs and other personal items of his ancestors.  

In the framework of the forthcoming Special Russia sale, Bernard Piguet, director and chief auctioneer at the Hôtel des Ventes of Geneva, invited journalists to a press conference on November 29th that was attended by Nicholas Romanovich, head of the Romanov Family Association.

The eldest living representative of the House of Romanov and a direct descendant of Emperor Nicholas I answered questions by journalists and commented on the photographs and letters of Tsar Nicholas II and his uncle Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholayevich, supreme commander of the armies of the Russian Empire which will be part of the upcoming auction on December 10, 2012.

Initially, the press conference was to be held in Geneva; however, the weather forced the 90-year-old to change his plans. Instead, journalists were invited to his home in the town of Rougemont, located in the eastern Swiss canton of Vaud.

“These documents lay in a box owned by my grandfather for a very long time,” said Nicholas Romanovich, “then - they were handed down to my father - and then to me. I hope that the letters will fall into the hands of competent people who will one day write a new biography about my ancestors.”

Letter from Tsar Nicholas II to Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholayevich

Photographs and cabinet cards of Tsar Nicholas II

 Grand Duke Peter Nicholayevich (his grandfather), Nicholas Romanovich as a child, Prince Roman Petrovich (his father)

© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 30 November, 2012

On September 26 Nicholas Romanovich Romanov, the eldest living representative of the House of Romanov and a direct descendant of Emperor Nicholas I, celebrated his 90th birthday. A historic and preserver of family traditions, he has for nearly a quarter of a century headed the Romanov Family Association, ITAR-TASS reports.

“In our family – from the first sovereign to our day – I am the first man to live to the age of 90. None of the Romanovs, beginning from Mikhail Fyodorovich, reached such an age,” Prince Nicholas notes.

His father – Prince Roman Petrovich – was the godson and third cousin of the last emperor and his mother – Princess Praskovia Dmitrievna (née Countess Sheremeteva) – was the daughter of Dimity Sheremetev, a childhood friend and aide-de-camp of Nicholas II. His parents got married in exile and his father was among to the last of the White Army forces to depart from the Crimea during the Civil War, taking with him a handful of dirt from his motherland. “He could not return, but that bottle filled with earth from the Crimea remained with him wherever he moved,” Prince Nicholas recalls.

Born in Cap d'Antibes near Antibes, France, Prince Nicholas nonetheless speaks perfect Russian, thanks to the efforts of his parents, who as he says instilled in him “the Russian spirit.” Prince Nicholas lived and studied in Rome. In 1942 the 19-year-old Nicholas turned down an offer by the Fascist government to rule occupied Montenegro.

In 1989 he became the President of the Romanov Family Association. “Neither I nor any of the other Romanov lay claim to anything – only to the right to be of use to Russia,” Nicholas says. One of the organization’s activities is providing philanthropic support to hospitals and kindergartens in Russia.

© Russkiy Mir. 01 October, 2012