Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia - A Russian Grand Duke

A Russian Grand Duke

At twenty-six, the fair-haired Grand Duke was reserved, intelligent, well read and refined. Over six feet tall, his extremely slim figure was accentuated by a corset, worn in the manner of Prussian officers.

With his closely cropped hair and neat beard, Serge Alexandrovich cut an impressive figure. When Consuelo Vanderbilt, then Duchess of Marlborough, met him in Moscow, she considered him to be "One of the handsomest men I have ever seen." Described by his brother-in-law Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse as "tall and fair with delicate features and beautiful light green eyes". Very self-conscious, he held himself very stifflyand with a hard expression on his eyes.

He stood very straight - aided by the Prussian fashion for corsets to improve the male figure whilst on horseback - and had a habit of playing with one of his jeweled rings, turning it around his finger. He kept his feelings rigidly in check and many mistook his reserve for pride. Few had the chance to know him well. He was noted for his adherence to the Church, took a deep interest in Russian antiques and art treasures and was interested in archaeology attending and sometimes chairing meetings of the Archeological Congress.

While shy and reserved, he made no secret of his disapproval of fashionable society and its lax ways, and he defied all criticism. He found it hard to cope with opposition and easily lost his temper . In his home, he demanded tidiness, order and discipline, and expected to be obeyed. His niece, Marie Queen of Romania remembered him: “Dry, nervous, short of speech, impatient, he had none of the rather careless good humor of his three elder brothers . . . but for all that we loved him, felt irresistibly attracted to him, hard though he could be. Few perhaps cherish his memory, but I do." Many other family members including his nephew Kyril, Princess Marie of Greece and Prince Gabriel left good impressions about him in their books of memoirs.