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Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia (Russian: Михаил Михайлович; 16 October 1861 – 26 April 1929) was a son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a grandson of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. He was raised in the Caucasus, where he lived between 1862 and 1881 with his family, and was educated by private tutors. As Romanov tradition demanded, he followed a military career. He served in the Russo-Turkish War in 1877, became a Colonel and was adjutant at the Imperial court. In 1891 he contracted a morganatic marriage with Countess Sophie von Merenberg, a morganatic daughter of Prince Nicholas William of Nassau and a granddaughter of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. For contracting this marriage without permission, Emperor Alexander III of Russia, stripped him of his military titles and banished the couple from Russia. For some years he lived in Wiesbaden, Nassau and in Cannes. He settled permanently in England in 1900, leasing Keele Hall in Staffordshire and later Kenwood House on the outskirts of London. He became a prominent member of British society, one of his daughters marrying into the British aristocracy and another marrying a great-grandson of Queen Victoria. He lost his fortune with the fall of the Russian monarchy in 1918. Three of his brothers were killed by the Bolsheviks, but he escaped the Russian Revolution because he was living abroad. He spent his last years living under reduced circumstances with the financial help of his son-in-law Sir Harold Wernher. ==Early life== Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich was born at Peterhof Palace outside St. Petersburg on , the third child and second son of the seven children of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and his wife, Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna (born Princess Cecile of Baden).〔Cockfield, '' White Crow'', p. 17〕 Known in the family as ''Miche-Miche'',〔Cockfield, '' White Crow'', p. 17〕 he was a year old when, in 1862, the family moved to Tiflis, Georgia on the occasion of his father's being named Viceroy of the Caucasus. Grand Duke Michael spent his youth in the Caucasus, where his family lived for twenty years. He had a spartan upbringing that included sleeping on army cots and taking cold baths.〔Alexander, '' Once a Grand Duke'', p. 16〕 He was educated at home by private tutors.〔Alexander, '' Once a Grand Duke'', p. 16〕 The relationship with his parents was troublesome. His father, occupied in military and governmental endeavors, remained a distant figure.〔Alexander, '' Once a Grand Duke'', p. 20〕〔Cockfield, ''White Crow'', p. 7〕 His demanding mother was a strict disciplinarian who did not show affection towards her children.〔Alexander, '' Once a Grand Duke'', p. 21〕 He was a disappointment to his mother, who compared him unfavorably with his more intelligent eldest brother, Grand Duke Nicholas. Michael was considered the least gifted of the seven children and his mother referred to him as "stupid".〔Cockfield, ''White Crow'', p. 17〕 During the years in the Caucasus, the Grand Duke excelled at horsemanship and started his military career.〔Cockfield, ''White Crow'', p. 17〕 As a young man, he served in the Russo-Turkish War and became a colonel. He loved the military life and served in the Egersky (Chasseurs) Regiment of the guards.〔Alexander, '' Once a Grand Duke'', p. 149〕 In 1882, when Grand Duke Michael was twenty years old, he returned with his family to St. Petersburg upon his father's appointment as chairman of the Council of Ministers. Michael was shallow and not particularly bright, but he was tall and handsome.〔Cockfield, '' White Crow'', p. 17〕 He became popular on the social circuit in the capital, spending a great deal of his time on endless parties, dancing and gambling.〔Cockfield, '' White Crow'', p. 17〕〔Alexander, '' Once a Grand Duke'', p. 149〕 Tsar Alexander III referred to him as a ‘fool’.〔Cockfield, ''White Crow'', p. 17〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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