Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia - Exile

Exile

Because of his morganatic marriage, Grand Duke Michael would spend the rest of his life living in exile in England, France and Germany. His wife was granted the title of Countess Torby by her cousin the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. The couple initially lived in Wiesbaden, Nassau, where Sophie’s family once reigned. Two of their three children were born there. In 1899, they settled more permanently, in Cannes where they had a villa, named Kazbek, after a mountain in Georgia. They lived comfortably. Five footmen, a butler, a valet, a lady’s maid, a governess, a nursery maid and six chefs attended them. Michael afforded this lifestyle by being the owner of the factory near Borjomi (Georgia) that bottled mineral water.

In 1900, the Grand Duke began renting Keele Hall, a stately home in Staffordshire, a few miles from Newcastle-under-Lyme. During the ten years he lived there, he entered the English social country life. Michael was very pleased when the town council of Newcastle-under-Lyme conferred him the distinction of Lord High Steward of the borough. He was also a frequent visitor of North Berwick, a seaside resort in Scotland. In July 1901, King Edward VII appointed him an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO), the house order of the royal family.

Part of the year was spent at his villa in the south of France. The Grand Duke was the founder and president of the Cannes Golf Club, where he often played during the winter season. In the South of France, he usually met his relatives, particularly his sister Anastasia who owned a villa nearby. In 1903, Michael's father had a stroke and was moved to Cannes. The old Grand Duke was charmed by his daughter-in-law and his Torby grandchildren. The presence of Michael's father also frequently brought Michael's brother Alexander and his family to Cannes, and these were later followed by other Grand Dukes. He frequented many other European royals who also stayed at the Riviera. At the time of the Russo-Japanese war, Michael Mikhailovich shaved off his beard and stopped dyeing his hair. He was described as a born autocrat, single-minded, and a stickler for protocol.

In 1908, Michael published a novel, Never Say Die, about a morganatic marriage, written in resentment at not being allowed back into Russia. In the preface he wrote :" Belonging, as I do, to the Imperial Blood, and being a member of one of the reigning houses, I should like to prove to the world how wrong it is in thinking - as the majority of mankind is apt to do- that we are the happiest beings on this earth. There is no doubt that we are well situated, but is wealth the only happiness in the world ?". While remaining "devoted" to Sophie, Michael nevertheless often fell in love with pretty girls.

At the death of his father in Cannes on 18 December 1909, Michael was allowed to come to Russia for the funeral; however, his wife refused to go with him as she still resented the insults which had marred their marriage so many years before. After leaving Keele, the Grand Duke moved with his family to Hampstead in 1909, taking a long lease on Kenwood, a manor house owned by the Earl of Mansfield, overlooking London’s Hampstead Heath. Michael became President of the Hampstead General Hospital, to which he donated an ambulance, as well as President of the Hampstead Art Society. They lived in splendor, enjoying a privileged place in English society. Every year Grand Duke Michael and his wife would visit Edward VII in Windsor Castle or Sandringham and attend luncheons at Buckingham Palace.

After the death of Edward VII, Grand Duke Michael, pushed by his wife, tried in vain to obtain an English title for her. In 1912, King George V wrote to Nicholas II about "that good fool Michael, who I am sure bores you with as many grievances as he does me." Nicholas had written to George to tell him that Grand Duke Michael had asked his permission for his wife to accept a British title and that he had given consent, subject of course to George’s agreement. In his reply George pointed out "I have not the power to grant a title in England to a foreign subject and still more impossible in the case of a Russian Grand Duke." Gloomily accepting that the Grand Duke would be turning up to make a formal request for his wife’s title, George added that "I do not look forward to our interview with any pleasure, as I fear I have no alternative but to refuse his request”.

Not only they did not get the title for Sophie, but the couple’s position in English society was threatened when in the same year Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, Nicholas II's younger brother, chose England for his exile after also contracting a morganatic marriage. The arrival in England of another and more senior Grand Duke Michael provided an uncomfortable reminder of the scandal which had once attached to Michael Mikahilovich and his wife. As a result, they never received the newcomers at Kenwood. Their refusal to open their doors to the couple meant that many others in English society followed suit, with the result that Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich and his wife were effectively marginalized.

In September 1912, Grand Duke Michael was allowed to visit Russia for the centenary (centennial) of the Battle of Borodino, and was restored to the honorary colonelcy of the 49th Brest Regiment.