Everything about Natalia Princess Brassova totally explained
Her Excellency,
Natalia Brassova,
Countess Brasova (also known as
Natalia Sheremetyev-Romanovskaya; ;
June 26 1880–
January 26 1952) was a
Russian noblewoman. Born a commoner,
Natalia Sergeyevna Sheremetyevskaya (or Cheremetevskaya; ) became part of the
Romanov Dynasty.
The daughter of a
Moscow lawyer, she first married at 16 to Sergey Mamontov (nephew of
Savva Mamontov), rehearsal accompanist for Opera Mamontov, and later at the
Bolshoi Theatre, with whom she'd a daughter, Natalia "Tata". Finding Sergey socially "dull", she soon
divorced him and married
Rittmeister (
Captain) Wulffert, an army officer serving in the Regiment of
Cuirassiers under
Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov (
1878–
1918), brother of
Tsar Nicholas II.
Natalia was twenty-eight years old when she met Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov, and it was said to be love at first sight for both parties. They soon became inseparable lovers, and the Grand Duke wrote to his brother the Tsar, as required, requesting his permission for them to marry. Not only because Natalia was divorced but also because she wasn't of royal blood, the Tsar refused to approve the marriage. According to Russian law, Mikhail, the
heir presumptive to the Russian throne if the gravely ill
Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia died, would lose all his rights to the Russian throne if he married without the Tsar's consent. For some time Grand Duke Mikhail lived with Natalia. She gave birth to a son on
July 24,
1910 and was named
George in honor of
Grand Duke George, Michael's late brother.
Eventually Mikhail ignored his brother's decree and
secretly married Natalia in
Vienna on
October 15,
1911 in a
Serbian Orthodox Church. The significance of the venue was that this marriage couldn't be put aside by Tsar Nicholas or the
Russian Orthodox Church. For this action she and Mikhail were removed from imperial succession by his brother Nicholas and
exiled to
England in disgrace. Natalia wasn't entitled to be known as Grand Duchess. Nicholas II later titled Natalya and her son Countess Brasova and Count Brasov, and legitimatized George, although he still held no claim to the throne.
Upon the outbreak of
World War I, Mikhail Alexandrovich requested Nicholas' permission to return home and return to the army, with the understanding his wife and children would certainly come too. He returned home as a Russian general, leading the
Savage Division (Дикая Дивизия) formed from
Chechens and
Daghestani. It was widely believed at the time that this relatively low position in the Army was Nicholas II's punishment for Mikhail's marriage. Mikhail nevertheless earned the military's highest honor, the
Cross of St. George. He, unlike his brother, the Tsar, was a relatively popular military leader.
In March
1917 after Nicholas abdicated in his favor, Grand Duke Mikhail refused to succeed his brother as Tsar until it was decided by the will of the people. Mikhail and his family were first placed under house arrest in
Gatchina, then later Mikhail was exiled to the remote city of
Perm. Mikhail managed to smuggle his son and stepdaughter out of the country to join his
mother's family in
Denmark. Natalia later obeyed her husband's orders and escaped from
Russia to
London with a
Danish passport, disguised as a
Red Cross nurse. In July
1918, her husband was murdered in Perm, Russia by the
Cheka.
Natalia Romanova died of cancer at the Laennec charity hospital in
Paris on
January 26 1952 in complete poverty, and is buried in
Cimetière de Passy in
Paris with their only son
Georgi Romanov (Count Brassov), who died at age 20 in an automobile accident on
July 22,
1931.
Like her, her daughter Tata (1903-1969) also married thrice. In 1921, at 18, she married, against her mother's wishes, future
BBC broadcaster
Val Gielgud, but they divorced in 1923. She later married composer and music critic
Cecil Gray, with whom she'd a daughter, Pauline, in 1929 but also divorced. Her third and last marriage was to Michael Majolier, with whom she'd a second daughter, Alexandra.
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