Prince Andrew Romanoff

Prince Andrew Andreievich
Head of the House of Romanov (disputed)
Tenure	31 December 2016 – 28 November 2021
Predecessor	Prince Dimitri Romanovich
Born	(1923-01-21)21 January 1923 London, England
Died	28 November 2021(2021-11-28) (aged 98) Inverness, California, U.S.
Spouse	Elena Konstantinovna Durnova ​ ​ (m. 1951; div. 1959)​ Kathleen Norris ​ ​ (m. 1961; died 1967)​ Inez Storer ​ ​ (m. 1987)​
Issue	Prince Alexis Andreievich Prince Peter Andreievich Prince Andrew Andreievich
Names Andrew Andreievich Romanov
House	Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
Father	Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia
Mother	Donna Elisabetta Sasso-Ruffo, Princess of San-Antimo
Religion	Russian Orthodox Church
Military career
Allegiance	Great Britain
Service	British Royal Navy
Years of service	1942–1946
Rank	Sailor
Battles/wars	World War II  • Battle of the Atlantic  • Arctic Convoys  • North African campaign  • Normandy landings  • Pacific Theater

Prince Andrew Romanoff (born Andrew Andreievich Romanov; 21 January 1923 – 28 November 2021) was a Russian American artist and author. He was a grand-nephew of Russia's last Tsar, Nicholas II. He was a great-great-grandson in the male line of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia and since the death of Prince Dimitri Romanov in 2016 a claimant to the headship of the House of Romanov. After Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh's death, Romanoff became the oldest living descendant of King Christian IX of Denmark.

Family bonds

Andrew Andreievich belonged to the fourth branch of the Mikhailovich line of the House of Romanov. He was a great-great-grandson of Emperor Nicholas I and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in a straight male line. Through his grandmother, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, he was a great-grandson of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna.

Through his great-grandmother, Empress Maria Feodorovna, Andrew Andreievich was a great-great-great-great-grandson of King George II of Great Britain, and therefore related to the royal families of Britain, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Belgium, and Monaco. Additionally, through the same descent, Andrew Andreievich was related to the former royal families of Prussia and Germany, Greece, Romania, and Serbia sometime Yugoslavia.

Through the Belgian royal family, who are also descended from King George II's grandmother, Sophia of Hanover, Andrew Andreievich was further related to the former Italian, and Austro-Hungarian royal families, as well as the Bonaparte heirs of Emperor Napoleon.

Childhood and education

Andrew Andreievich was born on 21 January 1923 in London, England, into the family of Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia (1897–1981) and his first wife Princess Elizabeth Fabricievna, née Duchess of Sasso-Ruffo and Princess of San-Antimo. His godfather was the future King Edward VIII.

The third child and youngest son in the family, Andrew Andreievich spent his childhood with his sister, Princess Xenia Andreievna, and his brother, Prince Michael Andreievich, in the guest house of Windsor Castle – granted to his family by King George V. Until age 12, he studied at home and received a private traditional education, characteristic for the House of Romanov. Then he studied at Haileybury and Imperial Service College.

Life in the United States

Following his discharge from the British Royal Navy at the end of World War II, Andrew Andreievich became an intern on an English farm in Kent, learning to become an agronomist. He also worked in a special garden near London. Finding no further prospects in Europe, after the invitation in 1949 of his uncle Prince Vasily Alexandrovich, along with his cousin Prince Nikita Nikitich, and having only 800 dollars in his pocket, he immigrated to the United States on a cargo ship carrying racehorses, pigeons, and eight passengers.

After settling in California, he started working in a store, then worked with his uncle at California Packing, where he grew tomatoes using hydroponics and worked on the introduction of new varieties of vegetables.

He studied sociology and criminology at the University of California at Berkeley. Then he worked as a broker in a shipping company and spent three years in Japan and Korea. After his return to San Francisco, Andrew Andreievich became a real estate agent. He also worked as a simple employee behind the chair factory and became a designer. He became a naturalised U.S. citizen on 20 December 1954.

Following the death of his second wife, he moved to the city of Inverness, Marin County, California, where he worked as a carpenter and joiner, and later was engaged in a jewellery business.

He began to draw as a primitive artist, without formal art education, drawing pictures by intuition and relying on imagination. Andrew Andreievich also engaged in artistic photography. After retirement, he devoted himself entirely to art. On his preferred medium of Shrinky Dinks (plastic sheets that shrink by two-thirds when cooked in an oven), he drew and painted, shrinking the scenes, then mounted them on painted panels. Andrew's artwork was firmly rooted in the traditions of American folk art. His work typically depicted personal memories, impressions of American news, culture, and scenes of domestic life.

Andrew Andreievich lived with his wife, the American painter Inez Storer, in Inverness, California. In 2007, he released an autobiography called The Boy Who Would Be Tsar, illustrated with his artwork. His work has been exhibited worldwide, including recent exhibitions at Gallery 16 in San Francisco.

He died on November 28, 2021, at an assisted living facility in San Anselmo, California.

Marriages and children

Prince Andrew married three times. He was married firstly in San Francisco on 9 September 1951 to Elena Konstantinovna Durnova (5 May 1927, Tokyo, Japan – 31 May 1992, Oakland, California). She was the only daughter of Russian nobleman Konstantin Afanasievich Durnovo (1896–1970) and wife Felixa Stanislavovna Zapalska (1903–2002). They had one son before divorcing in 1959:

• Prince Alexis Andreievich Romanov (born 27 April 1953, San Francisco). He graduated from St. Mary's High School in San Francisco, and then studied at the University of California, Berkeley. Currently, he owns a company which provides accounting and fiduciary services to individuals. He married on 19 September 1987 in Oakland, California, to Zoetta "Zoe" Leisy (born 25 November 1956, Memphis, Tennessee), daughter of Robert Leisy and wife Ellen Telfer. No issue.

He was married secondly to Kathleen Norris (1 March 1935, San Francisco – 8 December 1967, San Francisco) in San Francisco on 21 March 1961. She was a paternal granddaughter of American authors Charles Gilman Norris and wife Kathleen Norris. She died after pneumonia at age 32. They had two children:

• Prince Peter Andreievich Romanov (born 21 November 1961, San Francisco). He worked as an auto mechanic. His current job is also related to cars. He married on 2 May 2009 in Marin County, California, Barbara Anne Jurgens (born 1968). No issue. He is first in the line of succession to the title of the head of the Romanov Family.
• Prince Andrew Andreievich Romanov (born 20 February 1963, San Francisco). He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and works as a Project Manager. He married on 12 July 1986 in Point Reyes Station, California, to Elizabeth Flores (born 25 April 1964, San Francisco). She is daughter of Armando Flores and wife Cecil Sherrod. He is second in the line of succession to the title of the head of the Romanov Family. They have one daughter:
  • Princess Natasha Catherine Romanov (born 2 February 1993, Greenbrae, California). She graduated with honours in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2016.

He was married thirdly on 17 December 1987 in Reno, Nevada, to the American artist Inez Storer (née Bachelin; born 11 October 1933, Santa Monica, California). She is daughter of Franz Bachelin and wife Anita Hirschfeld.

Title and style

• His Highness Prince Andrew Andreievich of Russia

Since the Russian revolution, members of the Romanov family have tended to drop the territorial designation "of Russia" and use the princely title with the surname Romanov.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Prince Andrew Romanoff

8. Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia 4. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia 9. Princess Cecilie of Baden 2. Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia 10. Alexander III of Russia 5. Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia 11. Maria Feodorovna, born Princess Dagmar of Denmark 1. Prince Andrew Andreievich of Russia 12. Girolamo Ruffo, Prince of Spinoso 6. Frabrizio Ruffo, Duke of Sasso Ruffo 13. Elena Filomarino dei Principi della Rocca d'Aspro 3. Elisabetta Ruffo dei Duchi di Bagnara 14. Prince Alexander Vasilyevich Meshchersky 7. Princess Natalya Alexandrovna Meshcherskaya 15. Countess Elizaveta Sergeievna Stroganova

External links

• The Boy Who Would Be Tsar: The Art Of Prince Andrew Romanoff
• Romanov Family Association
• NPR Interview, January 2007 with Andrew Romanoff: "The Boy Who Would Be Tsar"