Let Romanov children rest in peace, tsar’s relatives plead
THE descendants of the Russian imperial family have called on the church to give them “closure”, allowing the bodies of two missing Romanov children to be laid to rest with their parents on the centenary of their murder.
Princess Olga, the great-niece of Tsar Nicholas II and president of the Romanov Family Association, said the burial of the brother and sister, along with their three siblings and parents, would finally allow their family to “rest in peace” together.
The princess, who lives in a 13th century mansion, Provender House in Kent, travelled with a dozen family members to St Petersburg yesterday to mark the 100th anniversary of the execution of the tsar, tsarina, their children and acquaintances, in a mystery which has absorbed the public for decades.
Prince Michael of Kent, a first cousin twice removed of Tsar Nicholas II, also flew to St Petersburg for the memorial, along with Princess Michael and several other members of the family now living in Britain.
They arrived in Russia in the midst of a simmering debate with the Russian Orthodox Church about the bones of their ancestors, which were found in two unmarked graves and proven by extensive DNA testing.
Some in the church have refused to recognise the bodies of the two Romanov children, which are now held in a state vault while they are investigated by a commission of state and church officials. The family and experts had hoped that the matter would be resolved by the time of the 100th anniversary of their deaths. A decision has now been postponed until at least 2020.
Yesterday, the members of the Romanov Family Association attended two memorial services in St Petersburg, visiting the Hermitage Museum, which was once the tsar’s Winter Palace, and taking part in a liturgy dedicated to the 100th anniversary with Georgy Poltavchenko, the governor.
They also paid their respects at Peter and Paul Fortress, where the remains of Nicholas II, his wife and three of his five children are buried. The Romanov women wore hats made “by imperial appointment” by Lady Laura Cathcart, whose ancestors were ambassadors to the court of Catherine the Great in the 18th century.
Princess Olga, speaking after the Russian services, told The Daily Telegraph the family now hoped for “closure”. She said: “What we really would like is to be able to bury them with their parents so the whole family can rest in peace. Then we can all move on.
“It would be nice to have a place that one can go and say a prayer for them all. That will be it then, really.”
The Church has said the remains must be tested further since the royal family are Orthodox saints, but it also appears to fear offending clergy including a bishop close to Vladimir Putin who believe the relics were destroyed in a Jewish conspiracy.
Other distant relatives of the tsar yesterday attended a different memorial in Yekaterinburg, where the family were executed, and met with the Russian Orthodox Church leadership.
On the exact anniversary of the 2.30am execution, more than 100,00 believers joined a 13-mile procession led by Patriarch Kirill from the execution site to the mineshaft where the remains were thrown.
Prince and Princess Michael travelled to Russia for the private family visit with the support of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, a spokesman said.
‘What we really would like is to be able to bury them with their parents so the whole family can rest in peace. Then we can all move on’