List of grand duchesses of Russia explained

This is a list of those members of the Russian Imperial House who bore the title velikaia kniaginia (Russian: великая княгиня) or velikaia knazhna (Russian: великая княжна) (usually translated into French and English as grand duchess, but more accurately grand princess). This courtesy title was borne (usually) by daughters and male-line granddaughters of the emperors and empresses of Russia, as well as by wives of grand dukes of Russia, all along with the style of Her Imperial Highness.

Grand duchesses of Russia

PictureNameFatherBornDiedMarriageNotes
Anna PetrovnaPeter Alexeievich17081728Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
(m. 1725)
Elizabeth Petrovna
later, Elizabeth, Empress of Russia
Peter Alexeievich17091762Ascended the throne in 1741.
Natalya AlexeyevnaAlexei Petrovich17141728Died unmarried.
Anna LeopoldovnaKarl Leopold, Duke of Mecklenburg17181746Duke Anton Ulrich of Brunswick
(m. 1739)
Assumed title rather than received it.
Anna Petrovna Peter Feodorovich17571758Died in infancy.
Alexandra PavlovnaPavel Petrovich17831801Archduke Josef, Palatine of Hungary
(m. 1799)
Elena PavlovnaPavel Petrovich17841803Friedrich Ludwig, Hereditary Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
(m. 1799)
Maria PavlovnaPavel Petrovich17861859Karl Friedrich, Hereditary Duke of Saxe-Weimar
(m. 1804; d. 1853)
Catherine PavlovnaPavel Petrovich17881819Duke Georg of Oldenburg
(m. 1809; d. 1812)
Wilhelm I, King of Württemberg
(m. 1816)
Pavel Petrovich17921795Died in infancy.
Anna PavlovnaPavel Petrovich17951865Willem II, King of the Netherlands
(m. 1816; d. 1849)
Maria Alexandrovna Alexander Pavlovich17991800Died in infancy. 
Elizabeth Alexandrovna Alexander Pavlovich18061808Died in infancy. 
Maria NikolaievnaNikolai Pavlovich18191876Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg
(m. 1839; d. 1852)
Count Grigori Stroganov
(m. 1854)
Olga NikolaievnaNikolai Pavlovich18221892Karl, Crown Prince of Württemberg
(m. 1846; d. 1891)
Mikhail Pavlovich18251846Died unmarried.
Alexandra NikolaievnaNikolai Pavlovich18251844Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel
(m. 1844)
Mikhail Pavlovich18261845Adolf, Duke of Nassau
(m. 1844)
Catherine MikhailovnaMikhail Pavlovich18271894Duke Georg August of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
(m. 1851; d. 1876)
Alexandra Mikhailovna Mikhail Pavlovich18311832Died in infancy.
Anna Mikhailovna Mikhail Pavlovich18341836Died in infancy.
Alexandra AlexandrovnaAlexander Nikolaievich18421849Died in infancy.
Olga KonstantinovnaKonstantin Nikolaievich18511926George I, King of the Hellenes
(m. 1867; d. 1913)
Maria AlexandrovnaAlexander Nikolaievich18531920Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh
(m. 1874; d. 1900)
Vera KonstantinovnaKonstantin Nikolaievich18541912Duke Eugen of Württemberg
(m. 1874; d. 1877)
Anastasia MikhailovnaMikhail Nikolaievich18601922Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
(m. 1879; d. 1897)
Xenia AlexandrovnaAlexander Alexandrovich18751960Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich
(m. 1894; d. 1933)
Elena VladimirovnaVladimir Alexandrovich18821957Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark
(m. 1902; d. 1938)
Olga AlexandrovnaAlexander Alexandrovich18821960Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg
(m. 1901; ann. 1916)
Nikolai Alexandrovich Kulikovsky
(m. 1916; d. 1958)
Maria PavlovnaPavel Alexandrovich18901950Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland
(m. 1908; div. 1914)
Prince Sergei Mikhailovich Putyatin
(m. 1917; div. 1923)
Olga NikolaievnaNikolai Alexandrovich18951918Died unmarried.
Tatiana NikolaievnaNikolai Alexandrovich18971918Died unmarried.
Maria NikolaevnaNikolai Alexandrovich18991918Died unmarried.
Anastasia NikolaievnaNikolai Alexandrovich19011918Died unmarried.
Maria KirillovnaKirill Vladimirovich19071951Karl, 6th Prince of Leiningen
(m. 1925; d. 1946)
Born as Princess of Russia and Grand Duchess after her father's headship of the House of Romanov.
Kira KirillovnaKirill Vladimirovich19091967Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia
(m. 1938)
Born as Princess of Russia and Grand Duchess after her father's headship of the House of Romanov.
Maria VladimirovnaVladimir Kirillovich1953Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia
(m. 1976; div. 1985)
Born as Grand Duchess of Russia and later Crown Princess of Russia and Head of the House of Romanov after the death of her father.

After 1917 no such daughter was born into the deposed imperial house who would have been entitled to the title grand duchess - i.e., had been a male-line granddaughter of a reigning emperor; although such would have been technically possible, as there lived sons of reigning emperors and their daughters would have been so entitled

Grand duchesses of Russia by marriage

PictureNameHusbandDate of marriageBornDiedNotes
Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-LüneburgAlexei Petrovich25 October 171129 August 169413 November 1715 
Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst
Catherine Alexeievna
Peter Feodorovich1 September 17452 May 172917 November 1796Known to history as 'Catherine the Great'; became Empress Consort when her husband succeeded as Peter III in 1762 and became Empress Regnant 9 July 1762 on deposing her husband.
Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt
Natalia Alexeievna
Pavel Petrovich10 October 177325 June 175526 April 1776
Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg
Maria Feodorovna
Pavel Petrovich7 October 177625 October 17595 November 1828Became Empress when her husband succeeded as Paul I in 1796.
Louise of Baden
Elizabeth Alexeievna
Alexander Pavlovich9 October 179324 January 177916 May 1826Became Empress when her husband succeeded as Alexander I in 1801.
Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Anna Feodorovna
Konstantin Pavlovich26 February 179623 September 178115 August 1860Annulled 1820.  
Charlotte of Prussia
Alexandra Feodorovna
Nikolai Pavlovich13 July 181713 July 17981 November 1860Became Empress when her husband succeeded as Nicholas I in 1825.
Charlotte of Württemberg
Elena Pavlovna
Mikhail Pavlovich19 February 18249 January 18072 February 1873 
Marie of Hesse and by Rhine
Maria Alexandrovna
Alexander Nikolaievich28 April 18418 August 18243 June 1880Became Empress when her husband succeeded as Alexander II in 1855.
Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg
Alexandra Iosifovna
Konstantin Nikolaievich11 September 18488 July 18306 July 1911 
Alexandra of Oldenburg
Alexandra Petrovna
Nikolai Nikolaievich6 February 18562 June 183825 April 1900 
Cecilie of Baden
Olga Feodorovna
Mikhail Nikolaievich28 August 185720 September 183912 April 1891 
Dagmar of Denmark
Maria Feodorovna
Alexander Alexandrovich9 November 186626 November 184713 October 1928Became Empress when her husband succeeded as Alexander III in 1881.
Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Maria Pavlovna
Vladimir Alexandrovich28 August 187414 May 18546 September 1920 
Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg
Elizabeth Mavrikievna
Konstantin Konstantinovich27 April 188425 January 186524 March 1927 
Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine
Elizabeth Feodorovna
Sergei Alexandrovich15 June 18841 November 186417 or 18 July 1918 
Alexandra of Greece and Denmark
Alexandra Georgievna
Pavel Alexandrovich17 June 188930 August 187024 September 1891 
Milica of Montenegro
Militza Nikolaevna
Peter Nikolaievich26 July 188926 July 18665 September 1951 
Maria of Greece and Denmark
Maria Georgievna
George Mikhailovich12 May 19003 March 187614 December 1940 
Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Victoria Feodorovna
Kirill Vladimirovich8 October 190525 November 18762 March 1936 
Anastasia of Montenegro
Anastasia Nikolaievna
Nikolai Nikolaievich29 April 19074 January 186825 January 1929 
Leonida Bagration of Mukhrani
Leonida Georgievna
Vladimir Kirillovich13 August 19486 October 191423 May 2010Wife and mother of the heads of the House of Romanov in exile.
Although male grand dukes of Russia (sons or male-line grandsons of reigning emperors) existed after 1917, when the imperial house was deposed, none of them contracted an equal marriage after that date; so the title grand duchess was not gained by marriage thereafter — though it would have been technically possible.

Note that a grand duke or grand duchess as a translation is not necessarily associated with a grand duchy; see the relevant articles for more information.

A Russian grand duchess was styled as Her Imperial Highness. With the exception of Charlotte-Christine, women marrying into the Imperial family converted to Russian Orthodoxy (except for the Montenegrin and Greek princesses, who were already Orthodox). They also took Russian names — of the 17 converts: four took patronyms using their fathers' names, eight took Fyodorovna (after the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God), three took Alexeievna, one Alexandrovna (her husband's name) and one Pavlovna (her husband's patronym, the late Paul I); eight also changed their own given name.

See also