Grand Duchess Maria Kirillovna of Russia
Encyclopedia
Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich of Russia
Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich of Russia was a member of the Russian Imperial Family. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the deaths of Tsar Nicholas II and his brother Michael, Cyril assumed the Headship of the Imperial Family of Russia and later the title Emperor and Autocrat of all the...
and Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna
Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , was the third child and second daughter of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia...
. She was born in Coburg
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
when her parents were in exile because their marriage had not been approved by Tsar Nicholas II. She was generally called "Marie," the French version of her name, or by the Russian nickname "Masha." The family returned to Russia prior to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, but was forced to flee following the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
.
Early life
Maria was raised in Coburg and in Saint-Briac, France. She was born Princess Maria Kirillovna of Russia, but her father granted her the title of Grand Duchess Maria Kirillovna of Russia when he declared himself Guardian of the Throne in 1924. As a child, the dark-haired, dark-eyed Maria took after her maternal grandmother Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of RussiaMaria Alexandrovna of Russia
-Later life:She died in October 1920 in Zürich, Switzerland apparently after receiving a telegram addressed to her as "Frau Coburg"; she was buried in the Ducal Family's cemetery outside Coburg...
in appearance, with a wide, round face and a tendency to be overweight and to look older than her actual age when she was still a teenager. She was described as "shy and easy-going" but also had her share of mishaps. In 1924, when she was seventeen, the "flighty" Maria visited her aunt Queen Marie of Romania and carried on a flirtation with the son-in-law of a lady-in-waiting at the Romanian court. Her fifteen-year-old cousin, Princess Ileana of Romania
Princess Ileana of Romania
Princess Ileana of Romania was the youngest daughter of Ferdinand I of Romania, King of the Romanians, and his consort Queen Marie of Romania. She was born Her Royal Highness Ileana, Princess of Romania, Princess of Hohenzollern...
, spread rumors about the flirtation when Maria returned home, resulting in strained relations between Marie of Romania and Maria's mother Victoria. Eventually the conflict was smoothed over.
Marriage and issue
The following year, on 24 February 1925, Maria was engaged to a relatively minor prince, Friedrich KarlKarl, 6th Prince of Leiningen
Karl, Prince of Leiningen was the son of Emich, 5th Prince of Leiningen. He was the titular Prince of Leiningen from 1939 until his death.-Early life:...
(13 February 1898 – 2 August 1946), the hereditary Prince of Leiningen
Prince of Leiningen
The title of Prince of Leiningen was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, who elevated Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg to the rank of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire on 3 July 1779...
. Victoria was at her daughter's bedside when she gave birth to her first child, Emich Kirill, in 1926. She also attended the subsequent births of Maria's children. Maria had seven children in all, one of whom died in infancy during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Her husband was forced to join the German army and was taken captive by the Soviets at the end of World War II. He died of starvation in a Russian concentration camp in 1946. Maria, left with little money, struggled to support her surviving six children. She died five years later of a heart attack at age forty-four.
Maria had seven children:
- Emich Kirill Ferdinand HermannEmich, 7th Prince of LeiningenEmich Kyrill, Prince of Leiningen was the son of Karl, Prince of Leiningen. He was the titular Prince of Leiningen from 1946 until his death.-Early life:...
(18 October 1926 – 30 October 1991); married Duchess Eilika of Oldenburg, daughter of Nikolaus, Hereditary Grand Duke of OldenburgNikolaus, Hereditary Grand Duke of OldenburgNikolaus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg was the eldest son of Frederick Augustus II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg, last ruling Grand Duke of Oldenburg...
. They are the parents of Andreas, 8th Prince of Leiningen. - Karl Vladimir Ernst HeinrichPrince Karl of LeiningenKarl Vladimir Ernst Heinrich, Prince of Leiningen was the son of Karl, 6th Prince of Leiningen and Maria Kirillovna of Russia. Maria was the daughter of Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a paternal granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, and Cyril...
(2 January 1928 – 28 September 1990); married Princess Marie Louise of BulgariaPrincess Marie Louise of BulgariaPrincess Maria Louise of Bulgaria is the daughter of Tsar Boris III and Tsaritsa Ioanna and the older sister of Simeon II of Bulgaria. Her baptism in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church caused controversy at the time.-Biography:...
, daughter of Boris III of BulgariaBoris III of BulgariaBoris III the Unifier, Tsar of Bulgaria , originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver , son of Ferdinand I, came to the throne in 1918 upon the abdication of his father, following the defeat of the Kingdom of Bulgaria during World War I... - Kira Melita Feodora Marie Victoria Alexandra (18 July 1930 – 24 September 2005); married Prince Andrej of YugoslaviaPrince Andrej of YugoslaviaPrince Andrej of Yugoslavia was the third son of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Maria of Romania , the second daughter of King Ferdinand I of Romania and Marie of Edinburgh .-Exile:After the fall of monarchy in Yugoslavia...
- Margarita Ileana VictoriaPrincess Margarita of LeiningenPrincess Margarita of Leiningen was a Princess of Leiningen and Princess consort of Hohenzollern...
(9 May 1932 – 16 June 1996); married Frederick William, Prince of HohenzollernFrederick William, Prince of HohenzollernFriedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern was the head of the Princely House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.-Biography:Friedrich Wilhelm was born in Schloss Umkirch... - Mechtilde Alexandra (b. 2 January 1936)
- Friedrich Wilhelm Berthold (18 June 1938 – 29 August 1998)
- Peter Victor (23 December 1942 – 12 January 1943)