This is a list of those members of the Russian imperial family who bore the title velikiy knjaz (usually translated into English as grand duke, but more accurately grand prince). This courtesy title was borne by the sons and male-line grandsons of the Emperor of all the Russias, along with the style of His Imperial Highness. They were not sovereigns, but members and dynasts of the House of the reigning emperor.
The title grand prince is the English translation of the Russian великий князь. The Slavic knyaz and the Baltic kunigaitis (both nowadays usually translated as prince) is a cognate of king.
Grand dukes by birth PictureNameFatherBornDiedNotesPeter FeodorovichCharles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp21 February 172817 July 1762succeeded as Emperor Peter III in 1762Pavel PetrovichPeter Feodorovich1 October 175423 March 1801succeeded as Emperor Paul I in 1796Alexander PavlovichPavel Petrovich23 December 17771 December 1825succeeded as Emperor Alexander I in 1801Konstantin Pavlovich8 May 177927 June 1831 Nikolai Pavlovich6 July 17962 March 1855succeeded as Emperor Nicholas I in 1825Mikhail Pavlovich8 February 17989 September 1849 Alexander NikolaievichNikolai Pavlovich17 April 181813 March 1881succeeded as Emperor Alexander II in 1855Konstantine Nikolaievich21 September 182729 January 1892 Nikolai Nikolaievich8 August 183125 April 1891 Mikhail Nikolaievich25 October 183218 December 1909 Nicholas AlexandrovichAlexander Nikolaievich20 September 184324 April 1865 Alexander Alexandrovich10 March 18451 November 1894succeeded as Emperor Alexander III in 1881Vladimir Alexandrovich22 April 184717 February 1909 Alexei Alexandrovich14 January 185014 November 1908 Nikolai KonstantinovichKonstantine Nikolaievich14 February 185014 January 1918 Nikolai NikolaievichNikolai Nikolaievich18 November 18565 January 1929 Sergei AlexandrovichAlexander Nikolaievich10 May 185717 February 1905 Konstantine KonstantinovichConstantin Nikolaievich22 August 185815 June 1915 Nikolai MikhailovichMikhail Nikolaievich26 April 185930 January 1919 Dimitri KonstantinovichKonstantin Nikolaievich13 June 186030 January 1919 Pavel AlexandrovichAlexander Nikolaievich11 October 186030 January 1919 Michael MikhailovichMikhail Nikolaievich16 October 186126 April 1929 Viatcheslav KonstantinovichKonstantin Nikolaievich13 July 186227 February 1879 George MikhailovichMikhail Nikolaievich23 August 186330 January 1919 Peter NikolaievichNikolai Nikolaievich22 January 186417 June 1931 Alexander MikhailovichMikhail Nikolaievich13 April 186626 February 1933 Nikolai AlexandrovichAlexander Alexandrovich6 May 186817 July 1918succeeded as Emperor Nicholas II in 1894Alexander Alexandrovich7 June 18692 May 1870 Sergei MikhailovichMikhail Nikolaievich7 October 186917/18 July 1918 George AlexandrovichAlexander Alexandrovich6 May 18719 August 1899 Alexander VladimirovichVladimir Alexandrovich31 August 187516 March 1877 Alexei MikhailovichMikhail Nikolaievich28 December 18751 March 1895 Kirill VladimirovichVladimir Alexandrovich30 September 187613 October 1938 Boris Vladimirovich24 November 18779 November 1943 Mikhail AlexandrovichAlexander Alexandrovich22 November 187813 July 1918succeeded briefly and only titularly as Emperor Michael II in 1917Andrew VladimirovichVladimir Alexandrovich14 May 187930 October 1956 Ioann KonstantinovichKonstantin Konstantinovich5 July 188618 July 1918Ioann Konstantinovich was born as a Grand Duke of Russia with the style Imperial Highness, but at the age of 9 days, an Ukaz of his cousin Emperor Alexander III of Russia stripped him of that title, as the Ukaz amended the House Law by limiting the grand-ducal title to grandsons of a reigning emperor. As a result, he received the title Prince of the Imperial Blood (Prince of Russia) with the style HighnessDmitri PavlovichPavel Alexandrovich18 September 18915 March 1941 Alexei NikolaievichNicholai Alexandrovich12 August 190417 July 1918
Grand dukes by pretence PictureNameFatherBornDiedNotesVladimir KirillovichKirill Vladimirovich 30 August 191721 April 1992On 8 August 1922 Vladimir's father declared himself Curator of the Russian throne. Two years later on 31 August 1924 his father went a step further and assumed the title Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias. With his father's assumption of the Imperial title Vladimir was granted the title of Tsesarevich (heir apparent) and Grand Duke with the style of Imperial Highness.Gabriel ConstantinovichKonstantin Konstantinovich15 July 188728 February 1955Gabriel Constantinovich kept in touch with his Romanov relatives during his long years in exile. He recognized Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia as Head of the Imperial House, and applied to Kirill for a title for his wife, to whom was granted the style of Her Serene Highness, Princess Romanovskaya-Strelninskaya. Gabriel himself was awarded the style of Grand Duke by Kirill's son Vladimir Kirillovich on 15 May 1939. He was the only Romanov prince to be elevated to this style.Mikhail PavlovichPrince Karl Franz of Prussia3 September 1943Franz Wilhelm married Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, civilly on 4 September 1976 at Dinard and religiously on 22 September at the Russian Orthodox Chapel in Madrid.Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser Band XIV. "Haus Preussen". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1997, p. 123, 153. Willis, Daniel A., The Descendants of King George I of Great Britain, Clearfield Company, 2002, pp. 575, 696. Before his marriage, he converted to the Russian Orthodox faith and was created a Grand Duke of Russia with the name Mikhail Pavlovich by his father-in-law Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia.de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. Le Petit Gotha. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery, Paris 2002, pp. 77, 99, 111, 799. (French) Massie, Robert K. The Romanovs: The Final Chapter. Jonathan Cape, 1995, pp. 263–264, 269–270, 274. , OCLC 185630578. Franz Wilhelm and Grand Duchess Maria had one son before divorcing on 19 June 1985 (they separated in 1982), at which point he reverted to his previous title.George MikhailovichMikhail Pavlovich13 March 1981George Mikhailovich was born to Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich (Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia) and Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia. As the grandson of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, Head of the Imperial House of Russia, he was regarded from birth as a member of the imperial family. In keeping with the status previously granted to his father, he was recognized as a Grand Duke of Russia with the name George Mikhailovich. Through his father’s lineage, he also holds the hereditary title of Prince of Prussia, which he continues to bear.
See also List of grand duchesses of Russia
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