Cllr Karl Love shares detail of this upcoming visit to his ward. Ed
Russian princess and descendant of the House of Romanov, HH Princess Olga Andreevna Romanov, will be making a visit to East Cowes, Isle of Wight later this month.
Mr and Mrs Kulikovsky-Romanov will also be flying in from Russia to lay flowers at the Romanov monument on Jubilee Recreation Ground at 11am on Sunday 13th October. Members of the public are welcome to attend.
Mayor to host event
Cllr Karl Love and partner David Hill will introduce them to Cllr Michael Paler, Deputy Mayor of East Cowes, who will host the visit.
Princess Olga will be invited to plant a tree to commemorate their visit to Jubilee Recreation ground and then have a guided tour of Osborne House with a private visit to Barton Manor, if time allows.
Love: “Our town is proud of its Heritage”
Cllr Love said
“We are delighted to welcome back our friends from the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society and HH Princess Olga on her first visit to the Monument erected last year by the people of East Cowes and the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society.
“This is the only monument of its kind that exists to Tsar Nicholas II and the Imperial family in Europe. Our town is proud of its Heritage.”
Hill: “Wonderful to see the story kept alive”
David Hill said,
“I am very excited and humbled to be welcoming our honoured guests to our town.
“The Imperial Family are depicted in a recent television series titled ‘The Last Tsar’ so its wonderful to see the story kept alive with the descendants of The Imperial Family visiting our Town.”
Family connections
HH Princess Olga Andreevna Romanov is a Russian princess and descendant of the House of Romanov. She is the president of the Romanov Family Association and the great niece of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. She is almost the last survivor of her generation of the imperial family.
Paul Kulikovsky, was the great-great-grandson of Emperor Alexander III.
The Russian connection to East Cowes
Tasr Nicholas II first visited the Isle of Wight and East Cowes as a young man where he attended the Osborne Naval Academy. The most famous visit was in 1909 when the Tzar and the Imperial family were pictured at Barton Manor.
The Russian and British royal families were closely related, as both Tsar Nicholas and the Tsarina were first cousins of King George V. The King’s grandsons David and Bertie (the future Edward VIII and George VI) were cadets at the naval college at Osborne in East Cowes, although Bertie was ill during the royal visit. The Tsarina, granddaughter of Queen Victoria had spent holidays at Osborne as a young child.
The Romanov Monument
The Monument concept was that of David Hill, local resident who coordinated events locally and its construction.
Maria Harwood from the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society coordinated events in Russia where the Monument was designed and the bronze cast.
This was a community and international effort with donations from the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Romanov Society, East Cowes Town Council and Isle of Wight Council.
Image: © Bryn Jones via Karl Love
