Oldest relative of last Russian Emperor Prince Dimitri Romanov dies in Denmark

PARIS, January 1. 2017 Prince Dimitri Romanov, the oldest relative of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, has died in Denmark, his wife Princess Feodora said. The prince was 90. According to his wife, last week he was taken to hospital due to a dramatic decline in health.

"Dimitri Romanovich died at hospital on the evening of December 31," Princess Romanova said.
Dimitri Romanov was born on May 17, 192n Cap d'Antibes, France, where his parents lived in emigration. His father, Roman Petrovich Romanov, was the second cousin and godson of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II.

A historian and a writer, Prince Dimitri lived in Denmark for the recent years where he headed a Romanov family’s charity foundation aimed at helping Russian hospitals and orphan homes. In October 2016, he came to Moscow for the last time to receive the Order of St. Alexander, a Russian state award, for his great contribution to the spread of the knowledge of Russia’s historical and cultural heritage.

Update MOSCOW, January 2. 2017 Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev expressed his condolences over the death of Prince Dimitri Romanov, the oldest relative of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II. The 90-year-old prince was taken to a hospital in Denmark last week suffering from serious health problems, his wife Princess Feodora said. He died on the evening of December 31.

"Accept my most sincere condolences over the death of Dimitry Romanovich Romanov. He was one of our most outstanding compatriots and, as the oldest in his family, he was by right the head of the Romanov Family Association," the Russian prime minister said in a telegram to Princess Feodora, published on the government’s website. "During our meetings in person I realized again and again that he never distanced himself from Russia and always helped his motherland with real deeds," the telegram reads. "The Prince helped Russian hospitals and orphanages, was engaged in searching and returning cultural values to Russia, helped to preserve historical knowledge, first of all the heritage of the Russian Emperor’s family."

Dimitri Romanov was born on May 17, 1926, in Cap d'Antibes, France, where his parents lived in emigration. His father, Roman Petrovich Romanov, was the Emperor’s second cousin and godson. A historian and a writer, Prince Dimitri lived in Denmark for the recent years where he headed a Romanov family’s charity foundation aimed at helping Russian hospitals and orphan homes. In October 2016, he came to Moscow for the last time to receive the Order of St. Alexander, a Russian state award, for his great contribution to the spread of the knowledge of Russia’s historical and cultural heritage.

Source: Tass

Russian royal family mystery 'solved'

British scientists believe they have helped solve a 90-year mystery surrounding the massacre of Russia's last royal family.

For decades there was speculation that some members of the Romanov family escaped the 1918 Bolshevik massacre.

However, the theory was challenged recently when the remains of two people were discovered in a grave in Siberia.

They were found close to the remains of Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Tsarina Alexandra and three of their four daughters, which were discovered in the 1990s.

DNA tests by scientists from the US and Austria earlier this year suggested they were the missing family members, the fourth daughter Maria and the heir apparent Alexei.

Dr Peter Gill, from Strathclyde University's Centre for Forensic Science, said he had "close to definite proof" that the remains were those of the two children.

Dr Gill said his job had been to ensure correct protocol had been followed during the research, and that the findings from Austria and the US were "consistent with each other in every detail".

He said: "We now have close to definite proof that the entire family was executed by the Bolsheviks and no one escaped.

"There is overwhelming evidence to support the contention that the remains found in the second grave are those of Alexei and one of the Romanov princesses."

The scientists were able to confirm the original remains to be found as those of the tsar and his family by using blood samples from living people.

They include Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who is a direct maternal descendant of the Tsarina.

Russian pathologists last year also investigated the remains and expressed confidence that they were those of the children.

Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra were killed with several of their children and servants during the Bolshevik massacre.

In Moscow, ceremonies are being held to mark the 90th anniversary of the murder of the last tsar and his family.

The family have been canonised as saints, and the remains identified as those of Nicholas II, his wife and three of their daughters were buried in 1998 in the former imperial capital of Saint Petersburg.

ITN - Thursday, July 17 05:11 pm