The Chancellery of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. The Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, is deeply saddened to announce that on December 5, 2023, Mrs. Elsa Spoletini Cacciatore, the grandmother of Her Serene Highness Princess Victoria Romanovna, passed away. She was 100 years old.

• Elsa Spoletini Cacciatore as a young woman Elsa Spoletini Cacciatore as a young woman
• Elsa Spoletini Cacciatore in a recent photo Elsa Spoletini Cacciatore in a recent photo
• Elsa Spoletini Cacciatore with her great-grandson, Prince Alexander Georgievich Elsa Spoletini Cacciatore with her great-grandson, Prince Alexander Georgievich
•  

Elsa Spoletini Cacciatore was born on March 25, 1924, in Rome to Giovanni Crisostomo Spoletini (b. in Bellegra on May 4, 1895; d. in Rome on April 29, 1988) and Benedetta Regina Maria Ciani (b. in Bellegra on July 21, 1897; d. in Rome on February 10, 1979). The couple had married on December 18, 1919, in Bellegra.

Elsa Spoletini married Giulio Cacciatore (b. in Melito di Porto Salvo, Reggio Calabria, on June 2, 1916; d. in Rome on October 14, 1988) on November 10, 1944, in Rome. Their daughter, Carla Virginia Cacciatore (b. in Rome on April 30, 1945), married on August 13, 1977, in Kinshasa (Republic of Zaire, presently the Democratic Republic of the Congo) Roberto Amedeo Simeone Bettarini (b. in Taranto on May 5, 1947). From this marriage was born on May 18, 1982, Rebecca Virginia Bettarini, Her Most Serene Highness Princess Victoria Romanovna.

Her Serene Highness wrote the following about her late grandmother on social media: “Farewell, grandmother! You have had a wonderful life, a life we could only dream about. You lived a century without illness. You had a large family, and that was the most important thing to you. You loved us all in your own special way. You personified the values of your time, and you reminded us of a world that no longer exists. And you were the center of our time in Rome. “See you at Nonna’s” was the first phrase that everyone around us—friends, family members, and acquaintances—learned immediately after meeting someone from our family. Now there will no longer be your delicious dishes, no more knitting pillowcases, no more of your stylish clothes for our Alexander or little treats for the dogs, no more of your bits of advice on how to live a long life. You were a women of a different time, of a world of class and modesty that no longer exists. We will cherish our memories of you. And although our loss is unimaginable, we feel grateful that, because your perseverance, you were able to achieve all your goals: to live a good and happy life, even to the age of 100 years old, and be surrounded by those you loved most. I love you! Good-bye, dear grandma!”

May the Lord pour out His merciful on the soul of the newly reposed servant, Grandmother Elsa!