“And she is recognized by the Russian Orthodox Church” that’s literally the only thing that matters

I really want a tiny artificial island in the Mediterranean with some old guy on it yelling "I AM THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA"

What I find crazy is that there have been multiple impostors pretending to be Princess Anastasia, which were apparently so notable that they made an animated movie about the whole thing. Fun fact: Anastasia's name comes from the Greek word for "resurrection," which sort of makes the idea of her having impostors somewhat more justified.

I have had the privilege of seeing/visiting the palace where Grand Duchess Olga lived in St. Petersburg after she married Peter of Oldenberg, and the house where shed died in utter poverty in Toronto, very near to where I live. She bore her greatly reduced circumstances with grace and dignity.

"Most of the photos of the Russian imperial family you've seen were taken by my cousins-thrice-removed-in-law" is the best flex I've heard in a while

I was born in Finland. My grandfather, born in 1895 (Finland was back then a Grandutchy of Russia), lived and served in the army quite near the Russian border, and for reasons I have never known, got some of the furniture of the Romanovs, including a piano, which my family then gave to a local museum. I remember for instance the chairs, all of them carrying the Romanov seal underneath. They have always fascinated me very much, and God knows where these items have ended up after my grandparents died. Major world history mixed up with little personal stories.

I really love the details you add and how well you describe something that is rather complex; genealogy is difficult. I also really loved your little personal tidbit information that's very neat.

Very interesting, educational and fun! Thank you so much for sharing it with everybody on the web.

"this is not an easy question" Bolsheviks: *THAT'S THE POINT*

Royal families have demonstrated an ability to adapt when they are close to running out of royal heirs. When the rules don't work anymore, they simply change the rules.

My grandpa submitted DNA for a Y-Chromosome Genealogy testing project. They were able to up his genetic marker count recently and were running both it and several other samples. My grandpa shares a distant male ancestor with the Romanov family. DNA testing is pretty cool like that.

Thanks for a fascinating video. I fully agree with you on who is the best candidate - your argument of why was what I was thinking myself while listening to your video.

If the micronation island takes off then Russia will be the only nation in the world that is simultaneously the largest in the world AND the smallest.

Note to self: Ask your next girlfriend about her great grandfather's cousins.

The question itself is really easy to answer, it is Andrew though it gets much much harder when you start thinking about who would be after Andrew and this video is basically all about that. Well made!

Thanks for the upload! That's a very interesting question!

I too have my own indirect link to the Tsar & his family. A great-aunt of mine (who was the same age as Anastasia), was from the gardener family for the family. I grew up hearing first-hand stories of what the girls were like, particularly Anastasia, whom my great-aunt played with as kids. My great-aunt use to light up when she talked about her time growing up with the Romanovs. Never once said a single thing to disparage them as people, even Nicholas, she always spoke well of him as a great family man.

Last time I was this early, Nicholas ii was getting tattoos in Japan

You have done some in depth study. I love the way you presented the family pedigree by highlighting the lines of succession. You made following the lineage easy to follow. Thank you!

That's a very cool video ! Based on the information I have received I'm rooting for Maria. And based on the pictures she's the one with most royal aura.

This channel helped me to decide on studying History in Uni. I was like "If I am sitting here watching long history videos for fun, then why not get a degree in History?" so thanks! lol.

Not sure how you came to the decision that 'Kirill' was pronounced 'Kayrill'.

Wow that's really interesting - thanks for the video!

Your family connections to Tzars are so cool!

Maria has a son in Spain, and Maria's husband is a Prince of the Hohenzollern family, therefore making their son, George Mikhailovich Romanov, the great great grandson of Kaiser Wilhelm II. I think Maria and George have very strong claims to the House of Romanov. However, I'm not sure if George has any heirs of his own. I don't even think he's married and he's 39, so there's a chance the line might die with him.

UPDATE: I passed my exam lmao and then I went and got a 511 on my MCAT thanks y’all 😂❤️ (also, I’m not a pharmacist. I’m in undergrad) Me, should be studying for my pharmacology exam: I wonder who would be the current Tsar of Russia? 🧐

„...was forced to abdicate..“ Lol He was murdered, along with his wife and 5 children

This is so insanely interesting!! Very cool!

In 1991 I think it was, Vladimir and his grandson visited his birthplace in Porvoo, Finland. His parents had fled Russia in a horse drawn sleigh over the frozen waters and sought refuge at a friend’s manor house just outside the town. This place is today a famous hotel, spa, and restaurant and Vladimir could stay in the actual house of this birth. At the time my husband and I owned and managed the local radio station. Vladimir granted us an interview! So we spent a very nice afternoon with them at the manor. Vladimir was a gentle and soft spoken man, who loved his people and his greatest wish was to visit mother Russia. And later he got to do that! He told us about being raised as a future tsar, and his grandson was being educated in the same manner. He had no interest to rule and dominate, he just wanted to be an inspiring father figure to his people ...

Talking about Grand Duches Maria's claims to russian crown, there's one not too well known, but technically quite essential detail. When her grandfather, Grand Duke Kirill, proclaimed himself emperor in exile, he decided to forgot one quiete significant episode from 1917 - the fact that in February 1917 he recognized the Provisional Government and nd the February Revolution BEFORE the abdication of Nicholas and his brother Mikhail. By that according to the laws of Russian Empire Grand Duke Kirill committed high treason and lost all possible rights to the throne.

I have enjoyed watching this, and your narration

Great video and I love your personal connection :-)

Kirill lost all rights to the throne when he declared his loyalty to the provisional government right before the addiction of Nicholas II. He broke his sworn oath to the crown, therefore he and his entire line are disqualified. Further, Kirill married Victoria Melita without permission of the tsar, they were first cousins and they were not married in a Russian Orthodox Church. Pauline Law was breached on three different counts on this marriage. This resulted in Kirill being banished from Russia (temporarily) and removed from succession. His name was stricken off the list. Nicholas later forgave Kirill for this marriage and reinstated him, however Kirill was NOT reinstated in the church records as being back in the succession line. Therefore, Kirill was not a legitimate claimant for two very good reasons. Thus, his son Vladimir and granddaughter the current Maria would have lost their succession rights as well due to Krill's violations. This branch are not legitimate claimants.

He: what if Russia wants to be a monarchy again... Meanwhile Putin: Yes😏

I purchased two of your charts (both excellent) ERFT - NE & ERFT - W. It would be informative to have a chart showing who the present day heirs are for the Houses of Hohenzollern (Germany/Prussia, Romania) , House of Hapsburg (Austria Hungary) and for the House of Bourbon (France) .

Andrew Romanoff did marry the daughter of a nobleman. His first wife was Elena Konstantinovna Durnova, daughter of Konstantin Afanasievich Durnova. The family of Durnova is a noble family name from Russia so a claim could be made that she is nobility as well even if it goes back a few generations. Since Andrew Romanoff died in 2021. His position as head of the Romanoff family could go to his only son with Elena, Alexis Andreevich Romanov.

my mother lost an original picture of the last Tsar family, which was brought by my great grandmother. cried a whole ass river

I had the opportunity to talk to Prince Paul Ilyinsky in the late-90s and asked if he ever considered himself an heir to the throne. He said he never thought much about it and more often thought about his time as a Marine Lt Colonel, because that was what he was more proud of. He seemed like a cool guy and was super nice to this inquisitive teen.

Our family have a photo album of our fore-bearers enjoying a summer holiday with the Romanov’s at one of their palaces. It is so tragic what happened to this family,

Great video. Thanks!

Xenia would be poetic af given her father was involved in killing Rasputin lol

I actually met and had dinner with The Grand Duchess Maria in 1994 in Madrid! Her son was also there and at the time Boris Yeltsin had recognised her and her son as the rightful heirs as other family members also were claimants. This lady was very regal and her English, Spanish and French were flawless. She told me many stories about European royalty. One story was of the funeral of the King of Norway where she was relegated to a room for defunct royals and therefore was ignored by our own Prince Phillip which amused and annoyed her as they are related. It was a surreal evening but we had quite a few Johnny Walkers and soda and she was great fun but so interesting and she hoped that her son would eventually become Tsar again.

Idk if you already have a video of the House of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha, but I really want one. In some point of the history they were in almost every great marriage of their time. England, Russia, Brazil, etc It's quite interesting

Since the revolution was a shock of great magnitude, comparable to the The Time of Troubles (Smuta) in Russia from 1598 to 1612, I believe that the search for candidates for the throne among the members of the deposed House of Romanov should be stopped. In my opinion, a new Zemsky Sobor should be held - a procedure during which the Romanov dynasty was brought to the throne, and a new ruling dynasty should be elected on it. There is another option: technically, we can use the precedent that took place after the suppression of the line of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, when power passed to the next oldest branch of the Rurikovich - Shuisky. From this, for example, it follows that technically the next oldest clan, the Odoevskiye, should have become tsars, but it was cut short in 1869. There are quite a lot of princely families descending from Rurik, and if you wish, you can establish which of the currently existing branches is the first in seniority at the moment. By the way, this is a rather interesting topic, I suggest the author of the channel to make a video about it.

Your chart is actually missing Grand Duchess Olga, Czar Nicholas II youngest sister. She survived and had 2 sons, whether her next of kin wanted and could’ve ruled is another matter, but you should’ve included her and her own lineage too.

Georgian House of Bagrationi looks pretty interesting. I hope there will be a video about it soon.

Very interesting. Thank you.

You seem to be confusing nobles (Maria's mother was Princess Bagration) and royals. A non-morganatic marriage in this case would mean it was between two royals, not nobles. Nobles were considered commoners by royalty. Both Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, were commoners even though both were daughters of earls. Emperor Alexander II's 2nd marriage was morganatic even though his wife was a princess: she was from a noble family, not royal family. I never understood why if Paul I changed the rules of succession, a later Emperor couldn't change it back. Grand Duke Kirill's wife was not German. She was the ex-wife of Ernest of Hesse and by Rhine, but was the daughter of Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (2nd son of Queen Victoria) and Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia (daughter of Alexander II and sister of Kirill's father).

Useful Charts can you do Who be King of Romania today if Romania decided to restore its monarchy

If I had to drop either morganatic rule or male-line rule, I would probably drop morganatic rule which seems to be a very late introduction to succession concepts. I doubt the original rulers of Russia, the Rurikids would care much about the nobility of the mother. Some of them were even born to concubines. But they were concerned about the male-line. Also, you can't maintain the morganatic rule forever in modern day situations but you can track male line descent easier. My personal pick would be Rostislav btw since I think being aligned with the country and having male-line descent fits more to the original concept of kingship.

Vraisment, Merci d'avoir expliqué ces lignées aux personnes qui se soucient encore de l'histoire. Il est assez important de connaître les têtes couronnées d'Europe et d'ailleurs.

very good work

May the Romanov family rest in God's grace.

*Make a video of the Kingdom of Georgia and the Bagrationi dynasty until today*

Fascinating!

I’ve seen Mrs Maria attending a wedding last year, her son I think in Russia, on UKposts. Very powerful images to see the line continues.

Remain calm. The Regent endures. Alexei lives. The Holy Russian Empire shall endure. There is much to be done.

Kirill marched with the revolutionaries in 1917, wearing a red band on his arm when Nicholas was overthrown, he was a coup, he hoped to be appointed by the provisional government as the new Czar. Nicholas's mother disapproved of Kirill, and claimed that he was expelled from the line of succession along with his descendants for high treason to Emperor Nicholas II. Maria has already given many statements where she despises Nicholas II and her children, when she hears the exhumation of the bodies recently, they called her to attend a ceremony, she did not want to go, saying that the last reigning Emperor was not of her family. She doesn't even care about the legacy of the last Emperor, just like her grandfather Kirill and great-grandfather Vladimir, she has her eye only on the crown. Vladimir always envied Alexander III and his descendants, Vladimir and Kirill considered themselves more worthy than Nicholas. There are several texts relating to this ambition of the Vladimir lineage

Interesting question, reasonably well explained...even with odd omission other commenters have referenced.

I love how people will argue about which one of them has a title that no longer exists.

Wow I am impressed by your wifes relationship to the official Czar's Photographer. I learned that my grandfather was the official bagpiper to the Laird of Butte, his brother Angus was the official bagpiper to Andrew Carnegie, and their father was the official bagpiper to the Clan Chief Cluny MacPherson! All these men are direct decendants of the macPherson piper who led the Clan into the Culloden battle. 1745. Family trees make history come alive.

Who would be Tsar of Russia today? TNO Players: :)

Long ago sometimes in 1967 I was told by my paternal grandfather that his great grandfather was from Russia ,Somewhat linked to the Tsars. The story was my grandfather's great grandfather was forced leave the palace of the Tsar ,when surrounded by the Russians who wanted Tsar Nicholas II out. This story was hard to believe then ,till my late father told me one day that my grand father was very fond of Russian history and was living in imaginative world where he became one of the Tsars.

The video really sounds like some kind of audio files used in IELTS or English-related exams :)

This is the only channel I can play at 2x speed and still understand every word.

Who would be Tsar of Russia today? Putin has just entered the conversation!

Agree about Maria! And what a cool family about your family's connection.

My maternal grandfather was a Fredericks/Freedericksz/Фредерикс (spelled several ways depending on how whichever branch of the family wanted to spell it and which country they lived in) who was the last Minister of the Imperial Court of Russia. Count Fredericks/Freedericksz/Фредерикс was his cousin. Buried in Finland. SUOMI

This was so fun to watch and wonder "what if!?" Thank you for putting these together.

I searched about the tsars before a week ago- now I'm extremely interested in russian history. It was helpful. Thanks a bunch!

Hello, You explain well matters which usually can get confusing. Here is still a suggestion to make your presentations even better: When somebody looks at your genealogical charts on a regular size smartphone the individual images of persons and their names are in fact close to indistinguishable. This is a pitty. You can please explore how to zoom into the larger picture to make the portrait photo of the person you just talk about much larger and many viewers very happy. I am sure there is a way to do the zoom effect with a bit of additional effort. One way can be that you simply include a cut out image of the genealogical tree each time you talk about a particular person long enough. I will now have a look at your other videos. P.S. in this video you could have mentioned just for general information, that with Peter the Great having children with a former communer and house maid the rule of morganatic or not was at the discretion of the Tsar. Therefore all claimants to the throne who followed are supposed to be the descendants of a woman who started as a maid and not much is known about her ancestry. Maybe you can also explore a bit the situation created by the designation of Michael by his older brother in 1917 in the abdication text. The ensuing decision of Michael to "let the people vote for a Tsar" is indeed still a valid legal act. 100% up to now. Because the Provisional Government of Russia was based on the free decision of Michael to sign that document in 1917 to let the People of Russia decide. Kerenski maybe tried to outsmart everybody, but this doesn't change the fact that Michael's decision was rightful and legal. (Not to forget that even Nikolas II and his family lived under the regime of the Provisional Government). Michael got his power from the Tsar who is supposed to have this position through God, and Michael who was more down to Earth in the approach gave his People a time to make choices about the future. The criminal Gang of Lenin overthrow the ailing legitimate Provisional Government and everything that followed is only founded on this illegal toppling in 1917 of the last 100 % legitimate Regime (Kerenski & Co) . Including the USSR and Russian Federation today which are fruits and descendants of the Lenin coup and not of the last Tsar's rightful decisions. To restaure full "rights" according to the former Monarchy, the Plebiscite wanted by Michael, sabotaged by the Bolchevics should take place. And in such a free voting for monarchy or not or whatever, the question who is going to be the next Tsar or Tsarina is also a choice to be made by the People.

fascinating.

How utterly fascinating! Thanks for another great video! I enjoyed it very much.

I've been obsessed with the Romanovs since I was 9. This is amazing. And to hear a Romanov lives in the same state as me made my heart skip a beat.

Thank you for helping me to pass 15 minutes. This is all humbug, Sir! There are no monarchist parties in Russian Federation. And Russians just laugh at any thought that it might be possible to bring back czars as czars of Russia. But must compliment you for the time you might have spent sifting through information, collating it and presenting it in a manner that could be understood.

FACTS: 1. Maria Vladimirovna's husband was a Hohenzollern (and therefore, German) prince named Franz Wilhelm Prinz von Preussen and together they had a son named George Mikhailvich before they divorced the year thereaft. 2. Franz Wilhelm was the grandson of Prince Joachim, who would have become the King of Ireland had the Central Powers won World War 1.

Happy New Year Matt and family, can't think of a better way to start the year than watching your vids

Yay! A new video, I kept wondering why you didn't update yesterday, then I realized wait, it's only Thursday.

I just want to say that Rostislav Romanov looks so handsome in this photo 👉👈

My great great grandfather was also a European Jewish artist that migrated to Ellis island, he was the official cabinet maker to the Tsar’s Family!

Last time I was this early, the Russia still had a tsar

Me who has not listened to Anastasia (Broadway) in a very very long time : "ah yes, the princess Anastasia Romanov who lived and ran away in Paris with derek klena"

Спасибо за объяснение этих родословных людям, которые все еще заботятся об истории. Довольно важно знать о коронованных особах Европы и не только.

The problem with championing Maria is that her son, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich Romanov, married an Italian woman not of noble birth, therefore making this clearly a morganatic marriage.

I love how they didn’t allow women to inherit the throne when Catherine the Great was probably the greatest monarch Russia has seen.

What a groovy connection to the official photographers! Wow! I agree with you. It’s Maria for me as well.

Царица Мария "Tsaritsa Mariya" (Czarina Maria) sounds cool and fun to say. She even resembles my late grandma a little also of Russian ancestry. Our surname literally contains "slav".

You are correct in your choice of Maria for head of the Romanov’s. Her mother is of Royal blood just as the Romanov’s. Many royal families keep their titles when in exile so loosing land or not being in Russia does not disqualify her any more than Alexander being forced to abdicate for his mistakes.

Last time I was this early the Nicholas the II and his family were still alive

I'm afraid I totally disagree with you on your choice of Princess Maria Vladimirovna as next Empress of Russia. As has been pointed out earlier, her grandparents, Kirill and Victoria were first cousins, which is against Orthodox law. In addition Victoria was a divorcee which didn't go well at the time. We must also remember Kirill's disloyalty to Nicholas II at the time of the revolution, and his mother's backstabbing and plotting against both Nicholas and Alexandra in the years leading up to the revolution. The Vladimirs always wanted the throne. At the time of the Borki train disaster in 1888 when Alexander III and his family were almost killed, Alexander III is reputed to have said "Won't Vladimir be disappointed" Maria's son, Prince George, who is in fact a Prince of Prussia, was married just over a week ago to an Italian lass named Rebecca Bettarini, the daughter of a diplomat. Her family is not of royal or even noble descent, although Maria Vladimirovna has seen fit to ennoble them which she has no right to do. They look a nice couple and I wish them well, but really, its all so pretentious! Other Romanov descendants don't carry on this way, Its a decision to be made by the Russian people, who at this stage at least, seem reluctant for the monarchy to return.

This I found very interesting. I think I agree with the conclusion and decision that you made . It makes total sense. I’m not even Russian, I’m a little bit German ( from my maternal family line … ) Alexandra was a German Princess from Hesse in the Northern part of Germany. She also was an original “ Lutheran “ before becoming a Russian Orthodox. I’m a Lutheran , so I kind of wonder if I could’ve maybe had some kind of “ tie “ to Alexandra in some way . That would be interesting.

Plain and simple... Nicholas II didn't deserve their fate, and no matter who is the heir today, the destruction of Nicky and his family was a historical tragedy.

Thank you for bringing up the DNA evidence that all of Nicholas' kids were dead. I still keep seeing people referring to someone as one of his kids, living today / dying recently.

But what if instead of restoring Romanovs on the throne, Russia (for some inexplicable reason) decided to restore Rurik's descendants (or Rurikids) to the throne of Russia? That would be an interesting video to watch.

Fun Fact: Andrew Andreevich Romanov was a direct descendant of King Christian IX of Denmark (Through Emperor Alexander III's Wife).

In ancient Russia, the word tsar was used to name the emperors of Byzantium and Rome. That is, in the Russian tradition, tsar = emperor.

You and Lindsey Holiday are my Royal core comfort youtuber

They kind of sort of have a CZAR today: Vladimir I of the House of Putin

Very interesting.

Je suis passionnée d’Histoire Russe. Ma Famille ayant eu des relations avec les Grands Exilés Russes en France et Celle-ci, ayant toujours aimé et soutenu les Exilés. Aussi cette Culture avec la mienne m’a toujours été proche et sensible. ❤️🇷🇺❤️