“Prince Andrew Romanov”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Prince Andrew Andreevich Romanov (born 21 January 1923) is a Russian American artist and author. He is a grand-nephew of Russia's last emperor, Nicholas II. Since 31 December 2016, he is honorary president of the Romanov Family Association. He is a great-great-grandson in the male line of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia.

Family bonds

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

On the paternal side, Andrew Andreevich is related to the Danish Royal Family, the Greek Royal Family, the Leiningen Family and the House of Baden. On his mother's side, he is a descendant of the now-extinct line of the Dukes of Sasso-Ruffo (the former rulers of Bagnara),{{citation needed|date=July 2018}} and also a descendant of Russian noble families, including the Meshcherskys, Stroganovs and the barons von Vietinghoff.^[1] He is a distant relative of Queen Paola of Belgium, born princess Ruffo di Calabria.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}

Childhood and education

Prince Andrew Andreevich was born on 21 January 1923 in London, England, in 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.^[2] His godfather was the future King Edward VIII.^[3]

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

World War II

In 1942, at the height of World War II, he entered the British Navy. He refused to accept an officer's post, preferring to be a simple sailor. He served on the light cruiser HMS Sheffield under the command of Admiral Sir Cecil Harcourt. He took part in the Arctic convoys and often sailed to Murmansk, where he performed the duties of an interpreter. Prince Andrew Andreevich became the first of the Romanovs to visit Russia after the revolution and the overthrow of their dynasty. He also took part in the Battle of the Atlantic, the Operation Torch and the landing of the Allies in Normandy. At the end of the war, he was serving in the Pacific Ocean. After demobilisation in 1946, he returned to England.

Life in America

After the end of war, Andrew Andreevich became an intern on an English farm in Kent to obtain the profession of 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 on hydroponics and worked on the introduction of new varieties of vegetables.^[4] 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. Returning to San Francisco, Andrew Andreevich became an agent for the sale of real estate. He also worked as a simple employee and designer. He became a naturalised US citizen on 20 December 1954.^[1] After 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 Andreevich 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 draws and paints, shrinks the inimitable scenes, then mounts them on painted panels. Andrew's unique, utterly original artwork is firmly rooted in the traditions of American folk art. There is a refreshingly earnest humor in the choice of material and in the witty execution of Andrew's deceptively simple renderings. His work typically depicts personal memories, impressions of American news, culture, and scenes of domestic life.

Currently, Andrew Andreevich lives with his wife, the American painter Inez Storer, in Inverness. They reside in a house that is 110 years old, during which time it has been a tourist hotel, a private home, and, for the past four decades, a cozy nest for real-life royalty. In 2007, he released an autobiography called The Boy Who Would Be Tsar, which is illustrated with his artwork. His work has been exhibited worldwide, including recent exhibitions at Gallery 16 in San Francisco.

Marriages and children

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

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

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 a daughter of Franz Bachelin and Anita Hirschfeld.

Title and style

Ancestry