Мария Харвуд, председатель ОбществаМарина Щирская, член Общества Второго июля 2022 Общество Великой Княгини Елизаветы Романовой в Великобритании провело ряд мероприятий, посвящённых памяти Святой Царственной Мученицы Александры Феодоровны, чьё 150-летие со дня рождения отмечалось в мае этого года. (См. 5 номер журнала Общества «Romanov History UK») День начался с посещения дома княгини Ольги Романовой, внучатой племянницы Царя Николая Второго. Мы ехали по красивейшим окрестностям графства Кент, погода стояла великолепная, и мы готовились окунуться в атмосферу древнего королевского охотничьего поместья (первое упоминание в 13 веке) под названием Провендер, где в 40х годах 20 века поселился старший сын Вел. Кн. Ксении (сестры Царя Николая), Андрей. Поместье принадлежало его британской супруге Надин Макдугалл. В этом его позднем браке родилась горячо любимая дочь Ольга. Здесь Князь Андрей, уехавший из Крыма в 1918 году уже взрослым юношей, прожил последние свои годы в мирной идиллической обстановке и относительном достатке после многих лет эмигрантских мытарств. Ольга сохранила живые и тёплые воспоминания о своём папа и бабушке Ксении, которая доживала свой век в доме на территории Хэмптон Корт, предоставленном ей королевской семьей. Ольга Андреевна поделилась с нами своими семейными историями, подкрепляя их фотографиями, портретами и памятными вещами. Один из самых запоминающихся предметов - дорожный сундук с британского корабля «Мальборо», который вывез из Крыма ольгину прабабушку, Вдовствующую Императрицу Марию с дочерью Ксенией и ее многочисленной семьей. Когда мы слушали Ольгу Андреевну, ее рассказ об истории усадьбы и истории двух линий ее семьи - британской и российской, появлялось непередаваемое чувство концентрированной связи времён. Трудно было поверить, как все ещё близка к нам трагедия русской революции! И Святые Царственные Страстотерпцы вдруг показались такими близкими, ведь рядом с нами стояла их внучатая племянница! Потом мы погуляли по саду и попрощались с княгиней, покорённые ее обаянием, простотой и остроумием. Во второй половине дня состоялось традиционное ежегодное чаепитие в саду, в этот раз - в штаб-квартире Общества в Сент-Леонардс-он-Си. В прошлом году в тех же числах мы собирались на Острове Уайт, после церемонии закладки землицы из Алапаевска и Екатеринбурга в основание нашего Романовского монумента. Ровно год прошёл с того дня, когда мы отмечали 40 годовщину прославления Царственных Мучеников и Вел Кн Елисаветы. Сад благоухал, солнце слепило и грело, чай и угощения раздавались всем гостям в избытке, стараниями хозяев дома и членов Общества. После чаепития все перешли в дом, где в течение шести с половиной лет существования Общества проходили многие его мероприятия. Он пропитан духом викторианской эпохи и более похож на музей, где можно увидеть и немало романовских портретов, документов и вещей. В этой обстановке естественно и живо воспринимались воспоминания о Святой Императрице Александре Феодоровне, ее отношениях с бабушкой Королевой Викторией, о ее детских впечатлениях и о тех викторианских традициях, которыми она пропиталась в Англии и привезла с собой в Россию. Председатель Общества Мария Харвуд прочла несколько отрывков из книги Лили Ден, близкой подруги императрицы, которая оставила в своих воспоминаниях один из самых трогательных и правдивых ее портретов - человека глубоко верующего, искреннего, преданного друга, любящей жены и матери. Джон Харвуд, секретарь Общества, рассказал о связях Императрицы Александры и Вел Кн Елизаветы с Британским королевским домом.…

On 2nd July 2022, the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society, U.K. organized a RomanovDay dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna  (bornon 6th June 1872, Neues Palais, Darmstadt; murdered by Bolsheviks on 17 July 1918,Ekaterinburg).That included: visit to Provender, the Kent residence of Princess Olga Romanoff, great niece of Emperor Nicholas II;garden party at St Benedict, headquarters of the Society in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex;prayers to the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Holy Royal Martyrs of Russia at our headquarters;chamber music concert, performed by Alexander Groves (piano) and Henry Bristow (violin), and solo piano performance by Nazeli Manukyan;readings from the memoirs of the Alexandra’s Lady in Waiting Lili Den with comments by Dr Maria Harwood, Chairman of the Society;concluding words by John Harwood, Hon Secretary of GDERS;visiting newly built Orthodox chapel of the All-Merciful Saviour.  Report of the Society’s Visit to Provender, home of Princess Olga Romanoff by Nadia Slepova, Member of GDERS On the sunny morning of 2d July 2022 we arrived at the Provender House which is a breath-taking propertywith a walled garden near Faversham in Kent.  Princess Olga warmly welcomed our group and we had a light informal chat in front of the house. PrincessOlga invited us to a fascinating tour where she explained the mysteries of the house and about her familyand ancestors. In a friendly and informal way, Princess Olga was covering the history of the Provender, its extensiverestoration by architects Ptolemy Dean and Malcolm Simmonds. Together they revealed a house thatrepresents a fascinating record of English life over seven centuries. The tragedy happened in July 1918 when Tsar Nicholas II, Tsaritsa Alexandra, their 5 children and othermembers of the Romanov family, including Alexandra’s sister Grand Duchess Elizabeth, were murdered byBolsheviks.  Princess Olga took an important part in the commemorative events in July 2021, organized by GDERS onthe Isle of Wight at the Romanov Monument,  dedicated to the 40th anniversary of canonization of the Tsar’sFamily and Grand Duchess Elizabeth as Holy Martyrs. Provender dates back to the 13th century. In 1890 the house was rented to Princess Olga’s maternal great-grandmother. Then, in 1912 it was sold at an auction to her grandmother Sylvia McDougall. During the Second World War, Provender was requisitioned and used by army officers. It was then returned to the family after the war to Sylvia’s daughter, Nadine who in 1942 had married Prince Andrew Romanoff. Princess Olga is the cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, and many Romanovs were closely related to the BritishRoyal Family in the past. Princess Olga’s father, Prince Andrew was Tsar Nicholas II's eldest nephew, andTsar Nicholas II was the first cousin of King George V, Queen Elizabeth's grandfather.Olga was also related to the Queen's late husband, Prince Philip.

With the blessing of Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe (ROCOR) On 2nd - 4th July, 2021, the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society, UK  organized special events to celebrate the Fortieth Anniversary of the glorification, by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, of the Royal Martyrs and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, among the host of the New Martyrs of Russia.  The main ceremony took place on July 3 at the Romanov Monument at East Cowes (Isle of Wight) close to Queen Victoria's residence, Osborne House. A solemn ceremony was held to lay earth from the places where the remains of the martyrs were found in the base of the monument and the installation of a memorial plate recording this. As it was mentioned by the chairman, “the Monument stands on British soil and now it has Russian soil inside, in its heart”.  The flowers and the cloth with Romanov insignia were presented by local peopleRepresentative of the British Legion Father Paul ElliottPlacing of earth Alexander Groves and Father Paul Princess Olga's speech Three years after the Romanov monument (designed by Russian Sculptor Elena Bezborodova) was erected it became possible to organize the delivery of a small amount of soil to the UK. This was with the blessing and direct participation of Bishop Leonid of Argentina and South America, formerly Bishop of Alapaevsk, His Grace sent us an address which was read by Subdeacon Alexander Groves (Founder member of the Society) who presented the programme of ceremonies. The atmosphere around the monument was very warm although the weather was windy and rainy. The audience was quite big, as much as the epidemic restrictions allowed, and diverse. A talk on “The Canonisation of the Royal Martyrs of Russia - its meaning”  delivered by Reader John Harwood, Secretary of the Society, answered many questions from those who knew little about the historical and religious background. The placing of the earth, followed by a moleben, was performed by the Chancellor of the Diocese, Archpriest Paul (Elliott), who arrived at the southernmost point of Britain from his northern parish which is dedicated to the New Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth. The audience stood up to listen to the Gospel and was moved by the beautiful choral singing and Father Paul’s sermon on the topic of self-denial for Christ.  The ceremony was attended by the  President of the Romanov Family Association Princess Olga Andreevna Romanova, granddaughter of Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, by the Deputy Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight Mary Case, the representative of the Queen, by the Chairman of the Isle of Wight Council Lora Peacey-Wilcox, the Mayor of East Cowes Michael Paler and other notables who addressed words of welcome to the audience. The Russian and the British Royal anthems concluded the ceremony.  The programme of the weekend included other important events dedicated to the memory of the August Martyrs of Russia. After the ceremony, many guests visited the Royal Chapel of St Mildred, where Victoria, the eldest sister of St Elizabeth and…

Oxford, St Gregory and St Macrina’s House, 11-13th October 2019 CONFERENCE REPORT Report of the conference “Rescuing the Romanovs: Crimea – Malta – Britain, 1919-2019”, and other events organised by the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society, UK, in Oxford (October 11th-13th, 2019) dedicated to the Centenary of the British operation to rescue Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna from Crimea. Romanov commemorative events, organised by Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society UK, took place in Oxford during the weekend 11th-13h October at the House of St Gregory and St Macrina. The conference “Rescuing the Romanovs” and the new exhibition “Romanov Estates in Crimea” were dedicated to the Centenary of the British operation in Crimea to rescue the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna and other members of the Romanov Family. Under the title “The Last Days of the Romanovs” the Society also brought to Oxford their displays and collection of the photographs depicting the Imperial Family, Grand Duchess Elizabeth, Dowager Empress Maria and her daughters Grand Duchesses Xenia and Olga during the Great War and the tragedies of Ekaterinburg and Alapaevsk in July 1918. The exhibition was opened on the 11th October by the Society’s Chairman, Dr Maria Harwood, who welcomed the trustees, members and guests who had travelled from far and wide to Oxford (including from Russia, Japan and Switzerland) to participate in the Romanov weekend. She explained that the presented panels are the result of almost four years of the Society’s educational work. Father Stephen Platt then spoke words of welcome to Oxford and to the House of St Gregory and St Macrina where all the events were held. Mr Michael Wynne-Parker spoke on behalf of our sister society the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society and expressed a wish for continued friendly collaboration. A quartet from the choir of the Russian Orthodox cathedral (ROCOR) in Chiswick gave a most moving concert of liturgical hymns and Russian songs of the First World War.A special pilgrimage was made earlier the same day to Headington Cemetery and a Panikhida was served by Father Stephen at the grave of Archimandrite Nicholas Gibbes, tutor to the Imperial children. Flowers were laid by Maria Harwood on behalf of the Society, by Princess Olga Romanov and by Paul and Ludmila Kulikovsky. BISHOP IRENEI of London and Western Europe (ROCOR) opened the conference on the following morning with a wonderful exposition on the meaning of Royal Martyrdom. Starting with the words of St Paul about All being One in Christ he spoke about this oneness, and clear human differences of gender and social status which exist and have been sanctified by God. We live in an age which sweeps these distinctions away and rejects monarchy to the extent of violently subjecting rulers to martyrdom. This was an extremely penetrating discourse on the theological and Biblical meaning of martyrdom, monarchy and human differences. CORYNE HALL then discussed one episode illustrating the reaction of the British monarchy to the plight of the Romanovs: “Awkward Encounters: Meetings between Grand Duke Dmitry and George V,1918-1920″. This…

On Monday 16th September the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society organised a talk by by the well-known bishop, theologian and writer Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware). It was held at the lovely house of Alexander Groves and Paul Oxborough, members of our Society from the very beginning, in St Leonards-on-Sea. The subject of the talk was “The Eucharist as Sacrifice” and it drew an enthusiastic audience of thirty, some local and others who had travelled a long distance. We were very pleased that our patron, Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe (Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia) was also present and was able to introduce the Metropolitan to everybody.We are hoping to organise regular talks in the future which will connect, explicitly or implicitly, with the great sacrifice of the Russian Royal martyrs.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-UFiBbnSJw&ab_channel=OrthoAnglo

Presentation in Moscow of an English book dedicated to the memory of the Royal Family and to the first two Heads of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society: Grand Duke Sergei and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov. On March 2nd, in the Church of the Holy Martyr Tatiana at the Lomonosov Moscow State University, the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Memorial Fund and the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society (UK) held a joint presentation of the book “The Last Romanovs – Archival and Museum Discoveries in Great Britain and Russia”. The publication is an illustrated collection of contributions to the British-Russian Symposium, held in Windsor in June 2017 and organised by the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society. The articles cover various aspects of the lives of the last members of the Imperial House of Romanov and also present new information about documents and exhibits from various collections in Russia and the United Kingdom. The book (edited by Dr Maria Harwood) was released by the prestigious British publishing house PINDAR PRESS. The presentation was opened by the Rector of the church of St. Tatiana, Archpriest Vladimir Vigilyansky, who emphasized the importance of such events for our respective countries and for the Church.Dmitry Grishin, Chairman of the Sergiev Memorial Fund, and member of the IOPS, shared his impressions of his participation in the Windsor Symposium and the work of his British colleagues. IOPS Full Member Alexander Zakatov, Head of the Office of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, conveyed to the participants the greetings of IOPS Honorary Member Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, and thanked the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Society in the UK for the excellent collection.Pavel Kulikovsky, representing the Association of Descendants of the House of Romanov, and a member of the IOPS, recalled the events held in Russia in memory of members of the Tsar’s family.On behalf of the Chairman of the IOPS, Sergey Stepashin, the participants were welcomed by the Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Regional Branch of IOPS, Sergey Zhitenev. He spoke about the international activities of the Society and congratulated those present with the release of a wonderful book. A report on the work of the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society was presented by its chairman Maria Harwood. She spoke about the work done during the three years of the organization’s existence, which included pilgrimages to Russia by Orthodox Christians, holding historical exhibitions and educational events in the UK, as well as the unveiling of the memorial Cross to the Holy Royal Passion-bearers and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, on the Isle of Wight near the Palace of Queen Victoria. In conclusion, Maria Harwood thanked the contributors to the book and all those who attended the presentation. https://www.ippo.ru/science/article/v-moskve-predstavlena-britanskaya-kniga-posvyasche-405438