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His Imperial Higheness heir to the throne the Grand Duke Georgii Mihailovich

His Imperial Higheness Heir to the throne the Grand Duke

His Imperial Highness the Tsesarevich and Grand Duke Georgii Mihailovich was born on March 13th (new church calendar) 1981 in Madrid, on the eve of the 100th Anniversary of the martyrdom of his Great-great-grandfather Emperor Alexander II the Liberator (1/14 March, 1881). He was born of the marriage of H.I.H. the Grand Duchess Maria Wladimirovna to H.I.H. Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich (born H.R.H. Prince Franz-Wilhelm of Prussia). The baptism of the Grand Duke in the presence of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Kursk, in the Orthodox Church of Madrid, was attended by King Juan-Carlos I and Queen Sophia of Spain, King Simeon II and Queen Margarita of Bulgaria, and his godfather was King Konstantin II of Greece.

The early childhood of the Tsarevich was spent in St. Briac, France, and then in Paris. Until 1999, the Heir together with His August Mother, principally lived in Madrid where He completed college. He later studied at Oxford. From the time of His early childhood, the Grand Duke was educated in the spirit of the Orthodox Faith and in the awareness of His regal duty to His homeland.

The Tsarevich first visited Russia in April 1992, when the entire Imperial Family attended the funeral of the Grand Duke Wladimir III Kirillovich. Since then He has been many times in the Fatherland, always showing a lively interest in all aspects of the life of the people. Russia’s ancient Orthodox churches, and what He considers their uniquely special prayerful atmosphere, have made an indelible impression on the Grand Duke. Visits to military establishments and discussions with soldiers, sailors and officers of the Russian Army and Navy also interest and please Him deeply.

The Tsarevich occupies himself with sports and shoots well. Besides Russian, in which He always receives excellent marks, the Grand Duke speaks English, French and Spanish. He knows well and participates in the services of the Orthodox Church. On the 9th of April 1997, during the pilgrimage of the Imperial Family to the Holy Land, the Tsarevich and Grand Duke Georgii Mikhailovich, pursuant to the Russian Dynastic Law, took His dynastic oath to the Fatherland and to His August Mother. The ceremony took place in Jerusalem, in the Throne Room of the Patriarch’s residence, where the oath of His Imperial Highness was received by the Eminent Hierarch of the Holy Church and strict guardian of the purity of Orthodoxy, Patriarch Diodor of Jerusalem. The Patriarch gave His blessings to the Grand Duke and His prayer that the Grand Duke could defend the Orthodox Faith, serve Russia and her people, and inviolably preserve laws of the Russian Imperial Dynasty.