GOTHA is an independent directory of royal and noble families. It is not affiliated with, and does not represent, the Almanach de Gotha or its publishers.
The Branches of the House of Romanov
The Romanovs who reigned until 1917 were, strictly speaking, a second Romanov line. The family that survives today divides into branches named after the sons of Emperor Nicholas I. This page explains both, using only the sources listed at the end. For the dynasty's history, see our House of Romanov page; for the disputed headship, see Who Heads the House of Romanov?
The Original Line and Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
The original Romanov dynasty began with the election of Michael Romanov in 1613 [1]. Its direct male line ended in 1762 with the death of Empress Elizabeth [1]. Later Romanovs, starting with Peter III, descended in the male line from the House of Holstein-Gottorp, a branch of the House of Oldenburg. They are sometimes called Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov [1]. Every emperor from Peter III to Nicholas II, and every Romanov alive today, belongs to this second line [1][2].
Four Branches From Nicholas I
The Russian Imperial House is divided into four branches, each descending from a son of Emperor Nicholas I (1796–1855) [2][3]. A 2023 genealogical handbook of the house, by Ivan Matveev, sets them out as follows [2]:
| Branch | Founder | Status according to the 2023 handbook | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandrovichi | Emperor Alexander II | All later reigning monarchs belong to it. It survives in both the male and female lines, but "is doomed to extinction" | [2] |
| Konstantinovichi | Grand Duke Constantine Nikolaevich | Male line extinct in 1973, female line in 2007 | [2] |
| Nikolaevichi | Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich the Elder | Male line extinct in 2016; survives in the female line | [2] |
| Mikhailovichi | Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich | Most living Romanovs belong to this branch | [2] |
A 2017 RIA Novosti reference note agrees: the Romanovs today are descendants of the four sons of Nicholas I, namely Alexander II and the Grand Dukes Constantine, Nicholas and Michael Nikolaevich. Most of them live in Western Europe and the United States [4].
The Last Male Members and a Link Between Branches
The genealogical tree published with source [3] puts names to the dates in the 2023 handbook. The last male Konstantinovich listed is Prince Vsevolod Ivanovich (1914–1973), a great-grandson of Grand Duke Constantine Nikolaevich. That matches the 1973 extinction recorded by Matveev [2][3]. The last male Nikolaevich listed is Prince Dimitri Romanovich (1926–2016), matching Matveev's 2016 date [2][3].
The branches are also linked by marriage. Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna (1875–1960), a sister of Nicholas II and so an Alexandrovna, married Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich (1866–1933), a grandson of Nicholas I [3]. Their son Prince Andrei Alexandrovich (1897–1981) was the father of Prince Andrew Andreevich (1923–2021), whose son is Prince Alexis Andreevich (born 1953) [3]. Alexis Andreevich's line is therefore Mikhailovichi in the male line and descends from Alexander III through Xenia [3].
Subdivisions of the Alexandrovichi
Within the Alexandrovichi, two further lines are named after younger sons of Alexander II: the Vladimirovichi, from Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, and the Pavlovichi, from Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich [3]. RIA Novosti calls one line of Alexander II's descendants the "Kirillovichi", after Grand Duke Kirill, and notes that it forms the "Russian Imperial House" [4].
- Vladimirovichi. Grand Duke Vladimir's son Kirill (Cyril) was the father of Vladimir Kirillovich (1917–1992) [3]. Vladimir Kirillovich was buried in 1992 in the Grand Ducal Burial Chapel of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St Petersburg [5]. His only child, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, and her son, Grand Duke George, belong to this line [3].
- Pavlovichi. Grand Duke Paul's son, Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich (1891–1942), made a morganatic marriage. His descendants took the surname Ilyinsky in exile [1].
Morganatic Lines
Matveev's handbook also covers descendants of members of the imperial house through morganatic marriages made before 1917 [2]. It separately records the descendants of Nicholas I's eldest daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, by her marriage to Duke Maximilian of Leuchtenberg, and those of Paul I's daughter, Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna, by her marriage to Prince George of Oldenburg [2].
The Branches and the Headship Dispute
The branches matter because the headship of the house is disputed. Matveev names three descendants who in some form claim the throne or the leadership of the Romanovs [2]:
- Maria Vladimirovna (Vladimirovichi), who declared herself head of the Russian Imperial House in 1992 after her father's death;
- Prince Karl Emich of Leiningen, who has called himself heir to the throne since 2013;
- Prince Alexis Andreevich, who since his father's death in 2021 has been regarded as head of the Romanov family and is supported in that status by most descendants of the imperial house, though he does not claim the throne [2].
The Romanov Family Association, founded in 1979, groups most other descendants. Its statute leaves dynastic questions to the Russian people [6]. The Association published a list of living male descendants of Nicholas I dated 15 September 2014. Among others, it names sons of Prince Andrew Andreevich, Prince Paul Dimitrievich and Prince Rostislav Rostislavich [7]. The list predates later deaths and births, so GOTHA cites it only as the Association's 2014 snapshot. GOTHA takes no side in the dispute.
Licence: contains material adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). This article is released under the same licence. Primary and institutional sources are summarised or briefly quoted.