Romanov Family To Move And Live In Crimea

Prince Dimitri told journalists that he wished to come to live in Crimea permanently upon his arrival at the Crimean airport of Simferopol.
The Crimean authorities have promised to help Prince Dimitri Romanov, the oldest relative of last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, to move to live from Denmark to Crimea, Dmitry Polonsky, the vice-premier of the Crimean government, told TASS on Tuesday.

Prince Dimitri arrived in Crimea earlier on Tuesday for the first time since the peninsula’s reunification with Russia. Upon his arrival at Simferopol airport, Prince Dimitri told journalists that he wished to come to live in Crimea permanently.

“I would do that with great pleasure,” Prince Dimitri told TASS. Of course, I need to ask my wife first. We should also think about what to do with our house in Denmark. We can sell it and come here. Naturally, I would be glad to move here as soon as possible,” the prince stressed.

Prince Dimitri is travelling with his wife, Princess Theodora (Dorrit).

“I do not think there is going to be anything bad in it. A person will just return to his roots and will find himself in the best place on Earth at twilight age. If he really makes this decision, we will do everything we can to help him doing that,” Polonsky who met Prince Dimitri at Simferopol airport said.

Crimea’s head Sergey Aksyonov said the prince’s visit to Crimea was symbolic, adding that he was ready to meet with the distinguished guests.

“I have not received any proposals [to meet with the Romanovs], but if I get I will have no objections,” Aksyonov said.

In an interview with TASS Prince Dimitri said that Crimea had always been an important part of Russia. “My father loved Crimea the most,” he said. “And now I am able to visit Crimea, which belongs to Russia again.”

Prince Dimitri believes that Crimea’s reunification with Russia will give an impetus to its development. “The most important thing is that Crimea can move forward now. It is a point from where it can progress not only in economy but also in tourism and many other spheres,” Dimitri Romanov said.

“It is hard to explain what I feel now (when I arrived in Crimea). What a pleasure to see all these smiles. You are pleased and I am pleased. I do not care for what the world says,” Prince Dimitri said.

House of Romanov never asked for official status and property in Moscow — Chancellery head
During his trip to Crimea, Dimitri Romanov is planning to visit places linked to the history of the Romanov House: the Livadia Palace where a monument to Nicholas II was unveiled this summer and the Dulber Palace, which was his family’s summer residence in which he spent his young years. He will walk on the Yalta embankment from where a ship took his relatives away from Russia in April 1919 and hopes to visit Sevastopol, the city of Russia’s naval glory.

“I hope to realize my lifelong dream to visit Sevastopol, the city of Russian naval glory,” Dimitri Romanov said in a TASS interview. His grand uncle, Great Prince Nikolay Nikolayevich (Great Prince Nikolai Romanov Jr.), the commander-in-chief of the Russian army and Navy, used to be the honorary citizen of Sevastopol in pre-revolutionary Russia.

Members of the Russian Imperial Family will make a short tour of the Black Sea Fleet base.

Prince Dimitri Romanov devoted his whole life to the cause of restoring continuity in Russian history. It was he who accompanied the remains of Tsar Nicholas II and his family from Yekaterinburg, the Urals, where they had been executed at the start of Russia’s Civil War (1918-1920), to St. Petersburg.

Dimitri Romanov, 89, was born in Antibes, southern France, in May 1926. He spent many years in France, Italy and Egypt and worked at the headquarters of Denmark’s biggest bank.

“Neither me nor other members of the Romanov family are claiming anything except for the right to be useful to Russia,” the prince said. In the early 1990s, Prince Dimitri Romanov initiated the creation of a charitable fund to help orphanages and hospitals in Russia and preserve Russia’s cultural heritage.

The prince and his family currently live in Denmark.