Main page / Members of the Imperial House / Her Imperial Highness, the Dowager Grand Duchess (de-jure Empress Dowager) Leonida Georgievna

Her Imperial Highness, the Dowager Grand Duchess (de-jure Empress Dowager) Leonida Georgievna

Her Imperial Highness the Dowager Grand Duchess (de-jure Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager) Leonida Georgiievna was born in Tiflis (Tbilisi) on September 23/October 6, 1914, into the family of H.R.H. Prince Georgii Alexandrovich Bagration of Mukhrani and H.R.H. Princess Elena Sigismundovna (born Novina-Zlotnicka).

One of the most ancient of European dynasties, the Bagrations claim descent from King David, the Psalmwriter, of the Bible. His descendant Bagrat was given the right by King Valarzij to crown the kings of ancient Armenia in 150 BC. In 298 AD a descendant of Bagrat, King Tiridat, took the Christian Faith and became an avid proselytizer of Christianity. The Georgian branch of the Bagrations started with King Bagrat, who came to Georgia in 575. The ruling house of Mukhrani began in 1469. Close ties between the Bagrations and Russia were established in 1564, when King Leo of Kahkety turned for protection to Ioann IV, the Thunderous. This process was finalized in 1783 with the signing of the Treaty of Georgievsk, according to which the Georgian Kingdom, while keeping its autonomy and its ancient monarchy, came under the suzerainty of the Emperors of Russia. However, during the reign of Emperor Alexander I, this agreement, which was signed “for time eternal,” was broken. With the death of King Georgii XII, Georgia became a part of the Russian Empire, and the Bagration dynasty was left without a throne (1801). However, the Bagrations never relinquished their royal position as Georgian dynasts.

When the elder branch of the House of Bagration died out at the end of the 19th century, the dynastic succession to the Georgian throne passed to the line of the Princes Bagration of Mukhrani. However, the practical reality of the times was certainly not conducive to declarations of Georgian monarchism. The grandfather and father of Grand Duchess Leonida were faithful in their service to the Russian Empire, but at the same time never relinquished their inherited position as Georgian dynasts and their hope that eventually the violations of the Treaty of Georgievsk perpetrated in 1801 would be made right.

The grandfather of the Grand Duchess, H.R.H. Alexander Iraklijevich Bagrationo of Mukhrani (de-jure King of Georgia), was assassinated with a group of hostages in 1918 by the Bolsheviks in Pyatigorsk. In 1921, when the Georgian Menshevik government headed by N. Dzhordani was overturned by the Georgian Bolsheviks, the family of the Princes Bagration of Mukhrani went abroad; but, in 1923, their longing for their homeland was so great, that they returned to Tiflis. At first they were even allowed to live in their ancestral home, but very soon the harassment and arrests began. They were forced to leave Soviet Russia for a second time; this time it was accomplished only through the help of the writer Maxim Gorky, who himself, at one time, was the recipient of the patronage of the Princes Bagration of Mukhrani.

In Nice, France, on November 6, 1934, H.R.H. Princesss Leonida Georgiievna was married to Sumner Kirby, whose English ancestors had established themselves in North America. In 1935 a daughter was born to them, Helene. However, in 1937 the couple divorced. At the beginning of the Second World War, friends helped the Princess settle in Spain. Soon She made the acquaintance of the Head of State of Spain, Generalissimo Franco. He was always extremely respectful to the former ruling houses of Russia and Georgia, and, when he saw the imperial couple for the first time after their wedding, that is to say, the Grand Duke Wladimir III Kirillovich and the Grand Duchess Leonida Georgiievna, he greeted them on bended knee, according to the old Spanish tradition.

In 1946 Grand Duke Wladimir III Kirillovich was approached by H.R.H. Prince Fernando of Bavaria and Borbon, Infante of Spain, regarding the upcoming wedding of his daughter the Infanta Mercedes of Spain to the brother of Grand Duchess Leonida Georgiievna, Prince Iraklij. The Infante asked the Grand Duke whether the marriage should be considered an equal marriage. In answer to this request, the Head of the Russian Imperial House corrected the historical record and by His Act of December 5, 1946 confirmed the Royal Status of the House of Bagration. Soon after this, by the will of God, the Grand Duke met His future Wife. They were married on August 13, 1948 in Lausanne (Switzerland). When the Grand Duke Andrej Wladimirovich came to make the acquaintance of the wife of his imperial Nephew, he told her: “Nothing can compare to the filth that was told about the Empress (Alexandra Feodorovna, Wife of Nicholas II). Whatever people do to you, or whatever they say, pay them no mind. Fulfill your destiny. Help Wladimir.” These words became the guiding light for the Grand Duchess for the rest of Her life. The Royal-Martyr, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, had to bear much slander and hatred from those who abhorred historical Russia, but She never became downtrodden, never surrendered. For 44 years the Grand Duchess shared the toils and labor of Her Husband, and to this day continues to help Her Daughter.

In 1957 the Father of the Grand Duchess Leonida Georgiievna, Prince Georgii Alexandrovich, died, and by right the position of Head of the Georgian Royal House passed to Her Brother, Prince Iraklij. At the present time the Head of the Georgian Royal House is Her Nephew, Prince Georgii Iraklijevich.

For the first time since the second departure from Her homeland, Grand Duchess Leonida Georgiievna visited Russia together with Her Husband, Grand Duke Wladimir III Kirillovich, in November 1991. Since that visit She has been back to Russia more than 30 times.

The death of Her husband was a great shock to the Grand Duchess. However, She did not lose Her fortitude or Her dedication to serving Her homeland. She never ceases to work for a renewal of Russia. She has overseen the formation of many charitable organizations, has supported thousands of orphans, invalids, the elderly, has been the patron of artists, performers and other representatives of Russian culture. In 1994, She oversaw the re-interment of Her Parents, Prince Georgii Alexandrovich and Princess Elena Sigismundovna, in the ancestral Burial Chapel of Georgian Kings in Mskhetu. In 1995 She was instrumental in arranging the re-interment in Peter and Paul Cathedral of Emperor Kirill I and Empress Victoria Feodorovna.

The Grand Duchess Leonida Georgiievna is loved by all who have had the privilege of making Her acquaintance. Her deep faith, Her royal simplicity, Her sincerity, compassion and sensitivity draw to Her the hearts of all, from kings and presidents to workers and farm laborers. The Grand Duchess very often says that She loved Georgia with all Her soul, but that from the time She became the wife of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, the interests of Russia have become all important to Her. For Her countrymen She will always be the epitome of the ideal Russian Tsaritsa, the companion and loyal supporter of the Tsar, whom Russian people from time immemorial have always called “Matushka” – our Mother.