Count Mikhail Mikhailovich de Torby was the youngest child and only son of
Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich and his morganatic wife
Countess Sophie von Merenberg. The marriage was not only
morganatic but also illegal under the Imperial
house laws and caused a scandal at the Russian court. The Grand Duke was forbidden to return to Russia for life so he moved to England. Mikhail was educated at
Eton College. While there, he contracted
measles, and went to
Switzerland to recover. While there, he began displaying symptoms of his
bipolar disorder, and later he later lived in a mental hospital in Uxbridge. A gifted artist, his work is distinguished by "pleasant colours and free style." He had a special fondness for Chinese subjects and their works created mainly on rice paper in a thin Chinese-style. He was a collector of
Chinese porcelain, which he often portrayed in his still lifes. He also served as a theatre artist. He took British citizenship in 1938, when he was forty years old. He died 25 April 1959 without issue. ==Ancestry==