On September 26 Nicholas Romanovich Romanov, the eldest living representative of the House of Romanov and a direct descendant of Emperor Nicholas I, celebrates his 90th birthday. A historic and preserver of family traditions, he has for nearly a quarter of a century headed the Romanov Family Association, ITAR-TASS reports.

“In our family – from the first sovereign to our day – I am the first man to leave to the age of 90. None of the Romanov, beginning from Mikhail Fyodorovich, reached such an age,” Prince Nicholas notes.

His father – Prince Roman Petrovich – was the godson and third cousin of the last emperor and his mother – Princess Praskovia Dmitrievna (née Countess Sheremeteva) – was the daughter of Dimity Sheremetev, a childhood friend and aide-de-camp of Nicholas II. His parents got married in exile and his father was among to the last of the White Army forces to depart from the Crimea during the Civil War, taking with him a handful of dirt from his motherland. “He could not return, but that bottle filled with earth from the Crimea remained with him wherever he moved,” Prince Nicholas recalls.

Born in Cap d'Antibes near Antibes, France, Prince Nicholas nonetheless speaks perfect Russian, thanks to the efforts of his parents, who as he says instilled in him “the Russian spirit.” Prince Nicholas lived and studied in Rome. In 1942 the 19-year-old Nicholas turned down an offer by the Fascist government to rule occupied Montenegro.

In 1989 he became the President of the Romanov Family Association. “Neither I nor any of the other Romanov lay claim to anything – only to the right to be of use to Russia,” Nicholas says. One of the organization’s activities is providing philanthropic support to hospitals and kindergartens in Russia.

Russkiy Mir Foundation Information Service