Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia

Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia (Mikhail Aleksandrovich Romanov; Russian: Михаи́л Александрович Рома́нов) (4 December 1878 – 13 June 1918) was the youngest son of Emperor Alexander III of Russia.

At the time of his birth, his paternal grandfather (Alexander II of Russia) was still the reigning Emperor of All the Russias. Michael was fourth-in-line to the throne following his father and elder brothers Nicholas and George. After the assassination of his grandfather in 1881, he became third-in-line, and in 1894 after the death of his father, second-in-line. George died in 1899, leaving Michael as heir-presumptive to the throne. The birth of Nicholas's son Alexei in 1904 temporarily moved Michael back to second-in-line, but Alexei inherited the blood-clotting disorder haemophilia and was not expected to live. When Nicholas abdicated on 15 March 1917, Michael was named as his successor instead of Alexei. Michael, however, deferred acceptance of the throne until ratification by an elected assembly. He was never confirmed as Emperor, and following the Russian Revolution of 1917, he was imprisoned and murdered.

Given that he never reigned, his brother Nicholas II is regarded as the last actual, or de facto Tsar of Russia, and Michael is relegated to a largely forgotten footnote of history. Nevertheless he is sometimes referred to by historians as Michael II and the last Tsar of Russia.