Church and Emperor
Sir: Your comments on the Grand Duke Wladimir (`Exiled by Anglicans?' 20 January) are both completely incorrect and discourteous.
I am not sure whether Christopher Howse, the author, is quoting Mrs Sophia Goodman and her colleagues or not, as quotation marks have not been used. If he is, then they are most definitely out of order as all main authorities, such as The Eastern Church by Arthur P. Stanley, DD, (London 1861), clearly state that the Church and the Emperor are inseparable. Disloyalty and disrespect by officers of any branch of the Russian Orthodox Church should not be tolerated.
Three books set out the matter of succession to the Imperial Throne of Rus- sia. All are considered by academics to be correct. Firstly there is Burke's Royal Families of Europe. This is ten or so years out of date now but nothing on this subject is significantly different. The second,
LETTERS
Louda and MacLagan's Lines of Succes- sion (London 1981) and the third Succes- sion to the Imperial Throne of Russia edited by the Most Reverend Antony, Archbishop of Los Angeles and South California (1984) remain available.
These books clearly state that there can be no doubt that HIH The Grand Duke Wladimir is the heir and all state it categor- ically. The 1917 Court Calendar, published in Russia at the beginning of that year places Wladimir's father, the Grand Duke Kyril, as next male heir to Nicholas II's murdered brother Michael. Kyril declared himself Emperor in Exile in 1924. There- for the Grand Duke Wladirnir has every right to use this title. Moreover, on 11 October 1938 at a family gathering of Romanoffs, the Grand Dukes Boris, Andrew and Dimitry, Prince — subse- quently Grand Duke — Gabriel and Prince Vsevolode all swore oaths of allegience to Wladimir as Head of the House. Prince Andrew Alexandrovich also confirmed his oath by letter dated 1 November 1938 to Grand Duke Andrew Vladimirovich.
The Tolstoy-Miloslavsky family union took place under Nicholas II who announced that they would henceforth carry the title 'Count'. Although in the listings for 1917, it remained unsigned by the Tsar because of his abdication and this was promulgated later by the Grand Duke Kyril
Gregory Lauder Frost
The Monarchist League, BM 'Monarchist', London WC1
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