Imperial Family

Categories / Capital/Imperial Court
IMPERIAL FAMILY, members of the Russian monarch's family, called by succession to the throne or by lawful marriage to those who had such right. Legal status of the Imperial Family was ratified by Emperor Pavel I in 1797 by the Resolution on the Imperial Family, which was changed in 1886 under Emperor Alexander III. Members of the Imperial Family had the right of title, annual income from appendages, a personal court, a coat of arms, and other privileges. In 1797-1917, the Imperial Family included (excepting the Emperors and the Empresses) 31 Grand Princes, 43 Grand Princesses, and 27 princes and princesses of Imperial blood, all of which lived almost exclusively in St. Petersburg. Old palaces and residences were bought for them and new ones built in St. Petersburg and its suburbs (see Grand Princes' Palaces). In the 19th - the early 20th century, members of the Imperial Family participated in all important events of Russian life. Male representatives of the Imperial Family served in the capital's guard units. For centuries, Grand Princes headed the guard and artillery (Konstantin Pavlovich, Mikhail Pavlovich, Mikhail Nikolaevich), and for decades they headed the St. Petersburg Military Command - including Nikolay Nikolaevich the Elder, Alexander Alexandrovich (future Emperor Alexander III), Vladimir Alexandrovich, Nikolay Nikolaevich the Younger, and the Navy - Konstantin Nikolaevich and Alexey Alexandrovich - as well as the military schools. Until the early 20th century, members of the Imperial Family initiated and headed the majority of scientific, charitable, and cultural organizations situated in St. Petersburg, playing an important role in the capital's secular life. Originally, members of the Imperial Family were buried in the SS. Peter&Paul Cathedral, and from the early 20th century in the Grand Princes' Burial Vault. Until 1917, there were monuments to members of the Imperial Family throughout the St. Petersburg suburbs, which have not been preserved, including ones to Grand Princess Alexandra Nikolaevna (1825-1844) in the Alexandrovsky Park at Tsarskoe Selo and in Alexandria, to Alexandra Pavlovna (1783-1801) in Pavlovsk, to Vyacheslav Konstantinovich (1862-1879) in Pavlovsk, to Elena Pavlovna (1784-1803) in Pavlovsk, to Mikhail Nikolaevich (1832-1909) in Peterhof, and to Prince Nikolay Alexandrovich (1843-1865) in St. Petersburg and Pavlovsk. In 1994, a monument to Prince Alexey Nikolaevich (1904-18) was installed in Peterhof (sculptor V.V. Zayko).

References: Скотт С. Романовы: Царская династия. Кто они были? Что с ними стало? Екатеринбург, 1993; Кузьмин Ю. А. Члены императорской фамилии на военной службе // Из глубины времен: Альм. СПб., 1999. Вып. 11. С. 3-20; Носков С. И., Шевыркова Н. А. Места Романовых в Санкт-Петербурге и его окрестностях, 1703-1917. СПб., 2000; Пчелов Е. В. Романовы: История династии. М., 2001.

Y. A. Kuzmin. Alexander III, Emperor
Alexandra Nikolaevna, Grand Princess
Alexandra Pavlovna, Grand Princess
Alexey Alexandrovich, Grand Prince
Elena Pavlovna, Grand Princess
Konstantin Nikolaevich, Grand Prince
Konstantin Pavlovich, Grand Prince
Mikhail Nikolaevich, Grand Prince
Mikhail Pavlovich, Grand Prince
Nikolay Alexandrovich, Grand Prince
Nikolay Nikolaevich (Jr.), Grand Prince
Nikolay Nikolaevich (Sr.), Grand Prince
Paul (Pavel) I, Emperor
Vladimir Alexandrovich, Grand Prince
Vyacheslav Konstantinovich, Grand Prince
Zayko Viktor Vladimirovich
Кузьмин Ю. А. Члены императорской фамилии на военной службе // Из глубины времен: Альм. СПб., 1999
Скотт С. Романовы: Царская династия. Кто они были? Что с ними стало? Екатеринбург, 1993
Пчелов Е. В. Романовы: История династии. М., 2001
Носков С.И., Шевыркова Н.А. Места Романовых в Санкт-Петербурге и его окрестностях, 1703 - 1917. СПб., 2000 Grand Princes' Palaces and Mansions (entry)
SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral
Grand Princes’ Burial Vault