Go back to Russia!
Tsar’s great great nephew in battle over ancient dirt track with farmer neighbour – who tells him:
HIS royal ancestors had to grapple with economic ruin and military defeat before being executed by the Bolsheviks.
But the present- day troubles of Prince Rostislav Romanov – the great, great nephew of the last tsar of Russia – are more genteel.
The 34-year-old, who lives in the Sussex countryside, is locked in a row with local farmer Andrew Dunlop over the prince’s plans to cover part of a centuries-old dirt track with block-paving.
Mr Dunlop, whose family have farmed in the village of Pett in East Sussex for generations, has been accused of conducting a campaign of harassment against Prince Rostislav.
In legal papers lodged with the High Court, the farmer was said to have called the prince an ‘environmental vandal’ and told him to ‘go back to Russia’.
Mr Dunlop, who runs an upmarket glamping site on his farm, allegedly called the prince ‘the most hated man in the village’ after planning permission was granted by the local council to pave the dirt track.
Prince Rostislav, an artist who was born in the US and educated at a private school in Dorset, claims the harassment has forced him to temporarily
‘He’s not asking to build the M25’
live elsewhere. Mr Dunlop, who denies harassment, was last week ordered by a High Court judge to keep away from the prince and his home. Both men claim rights over the lane which runs between their respective properties.
Prince Rostislav’s home has steps which provide walkers with access to the lane. Plans submitted to Rother District Council show that he intends to renovate part of his £650,000 home, Westcott House, and create a blockpaved drive in the northern part of the lane so he can drive up to his house.
But Mr Dunlop, an award-winning sheep breeder, insists the track is part of his farm and that Prince Rostislav should not be able to drive along it.
The prince’s mother Tia Romanov told the Mail yesterday: ‘It’s been an absolute nightmare and he has been pushed to the edge of a breakdown by all this.
‘It’s not like he is asking for the M25 to be built, all he wants is a small driveway so he can get a car up to his house.’ The farmer allegedly put up a gate, blocking traffic from entering the lane. But at last week’s court hearing, Mr Justice Bryan ordered Mr Dunlop to take down the gate. The judge said tensions boiled over on July 5 when Mr Dunlop and a companion allegedly arrived unannounced at Westcott and were ‘verbally aggressive’ to the prince. ‘They said that he should go back to Russia, that he should sell Westcott and they could get rid of him,’ Mr Justice Bryan said. ‘They also said he was the most hated man in the village. On July 8, due to the anxiety, stress and fear generated by this conduct, [the prince] moved out of Westcott.’ The judge said the prince is suing for defamation over Facebook posts allegedly written by Mr Dunlop. The farmer denies these claims. Mr Dunlop, who runs Lunsford Farm, also faces accusations that he obstructed a building contractor hired by Prince Rostislav. The prince says he has suffered disruption to his work due to inability to access his studio.
Mr Dunlop was not present in court due to farming duties. Mr Justice Bryan’s order, which prevents Mr Dunlop from speaking to the prince or entering his property, will remain in force until the case returns to court next month.
Prince Rostislav’s great-grandmother was Grand Duchess Xenia, the sister of Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia. Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until he was forced to abdicate after the February Revolution of 1917. He and his family were imprisoned by the Bolsheviks and executed the next year.
According to Tatler, the prince has one son, Leon, who lives with his mother in Hastings but he has split from the mother. Mr Dunlop said he was prohibited from speaking about the case.