Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia

, Baden, 1876. Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich was born at Peterhof Palace in 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). Known in the family as Miche-Miche, He was educated at home by private tutors. His demanding mother was a strict disciplinarian who did not show affection towards her children. He was a disappointment to his mother, who compared him unfavourably 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". During the years in the Caucasus, the Grand Duke excelled at horsemanship and started his military career. 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 State Council. Michael was shallow and not particularly bright, but he was tall and handsome. He became popular on the social circuit in the capital, spending a great deal of his time on endless parties, dancing and gambling. Tsar Alexander III referred to him as a 'fool'. ==Marriage==

Grand Duke Michael lived in St. Petersburg's Mikhailovsky Palace with his parents, but he intended to marry soon, and to house his expected family, he ordered the construction of a large residence in the imperial capital. The palace was built between 1885 and 1891. It was designed by architect Maximilian Messmacher in Neo-Renaissance-style with its front entrance on the Admiralty Embankment 8. The building was innovative for the end of the 19th century, having gas pipelines, electricity and a telephone. However, the grand duke was not destined to live there. By the time the palace was finished Grand Duke Michael had gone into exile from Russia. In the spring of 1886 the grand duke was in London in search of a wife. He made unsuccessful overtures for the hand of Princess Mary of Teck. While Mary's grandmother, the Duchess of Cambridge, was in favour of the marriage, both the Duke of Cambridge and Mary's father, the Duke of Teck were against it, considering the Romanovs to be "notoriously bad husbands". The same year Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich proposed marriage to Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine. But she was in love with her first cousin, Prince Henry of Prussia, she rejected him. In 1887 he proposed to Princess Louise, the eldest daughter of the Prince of Wales. He admitted to Louise that he could never love her and he was turned down for a third time. However, his mother and the Empress Maria Feodorovna made it impossible for him to marry Catherine. Olga Feodorovna opposed the misalliance vehemently. "He has so openly provoked me" she wrote of her son, mentioning his "lack of respect, affection and attention". To break off the relationship, the parents decided to send him abroad. When his mother heard of his morganatic marriage, she collapsed with shock and went by train to the Crimea to recover, but then had a heart attack and died, for which Michael was blamed. He was not allowed to attend his mother's funeral. ==Exile==

– the costumes they wore to the coronation of Edward VII two days earlier. Because of his morganatic marriage, Grand Duke Michael would spend the rest of his life living in exile in England, France and Germany. His wife was granted the title of Countess de Torby by her uncle Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Michael afforded this lifestyle as owner of a factory near Borjomi (Georgia) that bottled mineral water. Grand Duke Michael was involved in the construction of the St. Michael the Archangel Church in Cannes and in laying the cornerstones for hotels and casinos in the area. He was an excellent golfer and hosted parties with his wife. They became prominent figures in the international set in the French Riviera, where the grand duke came to be known as the "Uncrowned King of Cannes". In 1900, the grand duke began renting Keele Hall, a stately home in Staffordshire, a few miles from Newcastle-under-Lyme. During the ten years he lived there, he entered country society. Michael was very pleased when the town council of Newcastle-under-Lyme in late 1902 conferred on him the distinction of Lord High Steward of the borough. In 1903 he unveiled a statue of Queen Victoria in Newcastle-under-Lyme. The statue (with inscription to him) now stands in the Queen's Gardens by the Ironmarket. He was also a frequent visitor to North Berwick, a seaside resort in Scotland. In July 1901, Edward VII appointed him an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO), the house order of the royal family. Part of the year was spent at his villa in the south of France. The grand duke was the founder and president of the Cannes Golf Club, where he often played during the winter season. In the south of France, he usually met his relatives, particularly his sister Anastasia who owned a villa nearby. In 1903, Michael's father had a stroke and was moved to Cannes. The old grand duke was charmed by his daughter-in-law and his Torby grandchildren. The presence of Michael's father also frequently brought Michael's brother Alexander and his family to Cannes, and these were later followed by other grand dukes. He socialised there with other royalty who also stayed at the Riviera. Grand Duke Michael helped finance the Carlton Hotel in Cannes. During the Russo-Japanese War, Michael Mikhailovich organised a hospital for wounded Russian officers. While remaining "devoted" to Sophie, Michael nevertheless often fell in love with pretty girls. At the death of his father in Cannes on 18 December 1909, Michael was allowed to come to Russia for the funeral; ==Last years==

During World War I, Michael was made a chairman of the commission to consolidate Russian orders abroad, but was denied permission to come back to Russia and serve with its armed forces. Trying to help his country, he acted as an agent for Russian loans in France. (2025). Anastasia (Zia), the older daughter, in 1917 married Sir Harold Wernher, yielding her own comital title to accept the style and rank of an earl's daughter. Wernher, being extremely wealthy, provided substantial financial support for his in-laws, alleviating the loss of income from Michael's imperial estates. The grand duke's son, Michael, Count de Torby (known familially as Boy Torby), lost his employment and came to live with them, but the relationship was difficult, not least because Boy suffered a recurring form of depression. Between bouts of this he was a painter of some accomplishment. By 1925, the grand duke had become so troublesome that his son-in-law, Harold, regarded him as "perfectly crazy". On 4 September 1927, his wife died, aged fifty-nine. King George V wrote a letter of condolence and the Prince of Wales attended her funeral. By November, according to Harold, the grand duke was again behaving well, as he no longer had his wife to argue with. He survived her for less than two years. Grand Duke Michael contracted influenza and died in London on 26 April 1929, aged sixty-seven. He was buried with his wife in Hampstead Cemetery. ==Children==

Grand Duke Michael and the Countess de Torby had two daughters and one son. • Anastasia de Torby (Zia) (9 September 1892 – 7 December 1977); married London 20 July 1917 Sir Harold Wernher, 3rd Bt (1893–1973). They had one son and two daughters. Today Zia's grandchildren include the Duchesses of Abercorn and Westminster, the Countess of Dalhousie, and Rohays, Princess Alexander Galitzine. • Nadejda de Torby (Nada) (28 March 1896 – 22 January 1963); married London 15 November 1916 George, 2nd Marquess of Milford Haven, born Prince von Battenberg (1892–1938). They had one daughter Lady Tatiana Elizabeth Mountbatten, and one son David Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven • Michael Mikhailovich of Torby (Boy) (8 October 1898 – 8 May 1959), became a naturalised British subject in November 1938. ==Ancestry==