From Romanov to Windsor

Few people realise that King Charles III is a direct descendant of the Romanovs, the dynasty who by 1917 ruled one sixth of the surface of the earth. Their story encompasses great wealth and unlimited power, palace coups and murders, as well as at least one heir allegedly killed by his own father.

The direct line then passes through the royal family who ruled Greece from 1863 and whose later members spent their lives in and out of exile. The first Greek monarch, Charles’s great-grandfather, was assassinated. Charles’s grandfather was tried by a kangaroo court and, members of his family believed, only saved from execution by the swift action of Britain’s King George V.

This is a remarkable story of Royal intrigue, European scandal and international co-operation. By looking at the Romanov past of King Charles III, Coryne Hall offers a fascinating insight into the history of Britain’s monarchy.