The later life and death of Princess Victoria Melita

During the First World War Princess Victoria Melita – daughter of Prince Alfred and granddaughter of Queen Victoria- worked as a nurse for the Red Cross and helped organise the motorised ambulance unit. When Victoria returned to St Petersburg in February 1917 following a trip to Romania, fears had began rising over the stability of the Russian monarchy, causing the lives of Victoria and her family to be in danger as trouble slowly surrounded their home. Fortunately the provisional government allowed the family to leave for Finland but only if they left all of their belongings behind. As a result, they arrived at Haikko with just the clothes they were wearing and a few jewels that Victoria had managed to stitch inside her corset. Two weeks later, Victoria, Kirill and their two children moved into a rented house in Porvoo. It was here that Victoria would soon give birth to the couples third and final child, Vladimir.

In autumn 1919 the family left Finland and moved to Munich in Germany before making their way to Zurich. When Victorias mother died the following year she inherited her French villa, Chateau Fakron, and Edinburgh Palace in Coburg, which soon became the family’s main home.

Over the next few years, Victoria began supporting the Nazi party for its anti-Bolshevik views. In 1922 she attended a rally as she believed they could help reinstate the Russian monarchy. However, like so many others she was oblivious to the parties more sinister side. In 1923 Kirill suffered a nervous breakdown and within a year began claiming that he was the guardian of the Russian throne. The couple tried to gain support to make Kirill Tsar but their efforts proved unsuccessful. By 1926 they had given up all hope and moved to Saint-Brian, where Victoria focused on bringing up her children.

In February 1936, Victoria suffered a stroke while attending the christening of one of her grandchildren in Amorbach, Germany. Tragically she passed away soon after on 2nd March, aged 59. She was buried on 10th March at Friedhof am Glockemberg in Coburg. Sixty years later, on 7th March 1995, her body was moved and reburied at the Grand Ducal Mausoleum in the Peter and Paul fortress in St Petersburg.

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