Romanova, Vera Konstantinovna

Vera Konstantinovna was the last child in the large family of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich , born on April 11, 1906 . Her godmother was Empress Alexandra Feodorovna . She spent her early childhood in the estate near Ostashevo near Moscow on the bank of the Ruza River.

In childhood, she experienced a big shock when her father died of heart asthma in 1915 . Later, she recalled that she rushed to her mother with a shout: “Mama, Papa hat kein Luft!” (German) ( “Mom, dad can't breathe!” ). Then everyone wondered how she could open the heavy cabinet doors. After the death of her father in 1915, she lived with her mother in the Marble Palace before the revolution.

In 1918, she, together with her mother, brother George and nephews Vsevolod and Catherine, left Russia for Sweden , then for Belgium , and then for Germany . There Vera Konstantinovna studied, was engaged in sailing, was in the German yacht club "Hansa". In 1927, his mother died, Vera stayed in Altenburg with relatives. In the 1930s, she led many emigrant events in Berlin, especially Russian charity balls. From 1936 she headed the Berlin St. Prince-Vladimir Brotherhood ^[1] .

Without any complications, the great-granddaughter of the Russian emperor spent the whole war in Germany , because she was considered a German. At the end of the war, she and her relatives walked to the west on foot, fleeing the advancing Soviet forces. In the devastated post-war Hamburg , as a representative of the Red Cross, she divided time between the church and the hikes in hospitals and hospitals, camps for displaced persons, led the priests to the dying.

In 1945-1951 worked as a translator in the English branch of the Red Cross, in 1951 she moved to New York. She lived in the house of the Tolstoy Foundation (founded by Alexandra Tolstoy’s daughter of Leo Tolstoy ), whose employee was the son of her sister Teimuraz Bagration-Mukhransky . American citizenship is not accepted.

The princess of the imperial blood Vera Konstantinovna never recognized the dynastic rights of the Cyril branch of the Romanovs (the descendants of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich , who declared himself emperor) and as the honorary chairman she headed the "Association of the Members of the Romanovs House". In addition, she was an honorary comrade of the Russian Imperial Union-Order (Head of the Order - Konstantin Weimarn ) and an honorary member of the Supreme Monarchical Council (Chairman of the Council - Dmitry Weimarn ). These monarchical organizations considered it a “legitimate heir to the Russian throne”, since it was absolutely indisputable in all the requirements of the pre-revolutionary dynastic legislation belonged to the imperial family.

She was not married, had no children.

Vera Konstantinovna in recent years was the only one of the Romanovs who remembered the pre-revolutionary life and her legendary relatives. She was a living embodiment of the best traditions of the House of Romanov, enjoyed immense honor and respect in the circles of the Russian emigration. Often stayed at the home of Anna Smirnova-Marley (1917–2006) near the Orthodox Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville , USA. In memory of the fact that her father was the trustee of all military schools in Russia, including the cadet corps, foreign cadets invited her to all of their meetings and congresses.

She spent her last years in a Russian-American nursing home, where she died on January 11, 2001 . All the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad participated in the funeral.

She was buried in the cemetery of the Assumption Women's Novodiveevsky monastery in Nanuet, New York.

• Gavriil Konstantinovich (Vel. Kn.). In the marble palace: From the chronicles of our family . - New York, 1955.
• Grigoryan V. G. Biographical reference. - M .: AST, 2007.
• Dumin S. V. Romanovs: The Imperial House in Exile. - M .: Zakharov-AST, 1998.
• Pchelov, E.V. Romanovs: The History of the Dynasty. - M .: OLMA-PRESS, 2004.

• Princess Vera Konstantinovna (Neopr.) . Church of the Transfiguration. Tyarlevo. The appeal date is April 20, 2012. Archived May 15, 2012.