Prince Mikhail Cantacuzène
Encyclopedia
Mikhail Mikhailovich Cantacuzène, Prince Cantacuzène, Count Speransky (29 April 1875 – 25 March 1955) was an Imperial Russia minister Chief of Staff to Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia. The title of Count Spiransky has been alternatively spelled "Speransky" and "Speranski".
, the Russian statesman under Alexander I of Russia
; the Prince's father had inherited the Speransky title, unusually and on basis of special remainder, from his own maternal grandmother, who was a daughter of the first Count Speransky. The title of count was confirmed in 1872. The Russian princely titles of the Cantacuzène were inherited via the Romanian line of Cantacuzène, with the service of Michael's great-grandfather Radu, Rodion Matveevich, Cantacuzène, who came from Romania to serve under Catherine the Great. The princely titles were confirmed at that time (c. 1772) under the Russian tradition of military service granting transfer of foreign titles. In a matter of fact, they were not strictly princely in Romania, but they claimed spuriously the male line descent from emperors of Constantinople.
His mother's family were French Huguenots who also emigrated to the Russia of Catherine the Great; her family's wealth included the estate of Bouromka, several apartments in St. Petersburg, a villa in the Crimea
, and an apartment in Paris
.
, Ukraine. His military career formed the basis of his life before and after his diplomatic service, as he served in both the Russo-Japanese War
of 1904-1905, and on the Polish front during the first World War.
(née Honoré.) Aunt and niece travelled throughout Europe to promote interest in the World's Columbian Exposition
as well as to collect art. The couple married in the home of her aunt Bertha Palmer
in Newport, Rhode Island, on 22 September 1899. Miss Grant assumed her husband's titles and was styled Julia Dent Cantacuzène Spiransky-Grant
.
Prince and Princess Cantacuzène resided in St. Petersburg (later Petrograd) or at their estate in Ukraine
during their early married years, with the Princess giving birth to their three children, Mikhail Mikhailovich, Barbara or "Bertha" Mikhailovna, and Zinaida Mikhailovna. Princess Cantacuzène remained in St. Petersburg during World War I
in which Prince Cantacuzène served as aide-de-camp and later Major-General, and finally General, in the service of Tsar Nicholas II. He served with distinction and was wounded in battle in 1914; as commander of the South Russia Cossacks, in 1915 he led 15,000 men in what has been called the last great cavalry charge against a fortified position in military history. The family left Russia in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution
; in 1917, they escaped from Petrograd with her jewels sewn into her clothing, and escaped via Finland to the United States. The couple moved to Washington, D.C. and attempted to attract support for a counter-revolution in Russia, but after news of the assassination of the Tsar and of his brother, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia
, ended their activism. The couple relocated to Sarasota, Florida, joining the firm founded by her aunt Bertha Palmer
.
Prince Mikhail and Princess Julia Dent Grant Cantacuzène divorced on 27 October 1934, after which Mrs. Julia Grant Cantacuzène, having re-established her U.S. citizenship and reverting to non-aristocratic title and style, moved back to her native Washington, D.C.
Prince Cantacuzène remained in Sarasota, Florida. His former wife's cousins (sons of Bertha Palmer
), Honore and Potter Jr., had remained in Sarasota after their mother's death. They expanded their agricultural and business enterprises, and brought (former Prince) Michael Cantacuzene into the Palmer corporate structure. He managed the 1200 acres (4.9 km²) Hyde Park citrus groves, helped organize the Palmer Bank when it opened in 1929, and became Vice President of the bank. He later married Jeannette Draper of Sarasota, who survived him. After his death in 1955, local obituaries noted his extensive participation in community activities: American Legion, Elks, Kiwanis Club, County Fair Association, and Sarasota Chamber of Commerce.
, a Russian branch of which is an offshoot of the Moldavian
branch. The titles of Prince
of Imperial Russia and of Count Speransky (Spiranky, Sperensky) were confirmed to Mikhail's grandfather Prince Rodion Nikolaevich Cantacuzène. in 1865 by Alexander II
; the title had formerly been held by Mikhail Speransky
(1772–1839), Russian statesman and one-time adviser to Tsar Alexander I. The father of Prince Rodion Nikolaiovich Cantacuzène, Prince Nikolai Rodionovich Cantacuzène, became a Russian subject at an unknown date; in turn, his father, Prince Rodion Nikolaiovitch Cantacuzène, had emigrated from Moldava to Russia (Ukraine
) and had died in Russia but not as a Russian citizen.
Family Background
Prince Michael (or Mikhail) was Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Cantacuzène, son of Prince Mikhail Rodionovich Cantacuzène and Elizabeth Siscard, was born on 29 April 1875 in Ukraine, then part of Imperial Russia. He was born at his family's estate which was known as Bouromka, in Poltava, the eldest of four children. He had two younger brothers and a younger sister. Prince Mikhail was the great-grandson of Count Mikhail SperanskyMikhail Speransky
Count Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky was probably the greatest of Russian reformers during the reign of Alexander I of Russia. He was a close advisor to Tsar Alexander I of Russia and later to Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, he is sometimes called the father of Russian liberalism.-Early life and...
, the Russian statesman under Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
; the Prince's father had inherited the Speransky title, unusually and on basis of special remainder, from his own maternal grandmother, who was a daughter of the first Count Speransky. The title of count was confirmed in 1872. The Russian princely titles of the Cantacuzène were inherited via the Romanian line of Cantacuzène, with the service of Michael's great-grandfather Radu, Rodion Matveevich, Cantacuzène, who came from Romania to serve under Catherine the Great. The princely titles were confirmed at that time (c. 1772) under the Russian tradition of military service granting transfer of foreign titles. In a matter of fact, they were not strictly princely in Romania, but they claimed spuriously the male line descent from emperors of Constantinople.
His mother's family were French Huguenots who also emigrated to the Russia of Catherine the Great; her family's wealth included the estate of Bouromka, several apartments in St. Petersburg, a villa in the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
, and an apartment in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Early Life and Education
Prince Mikhail Cantacuzène's family consisted of himself as oldest son (b 1875,) Prince Boris (1876–1905,) Princess Daria (1878–1944,) and Prince Serge (1884-1953.) Mikhail attended school in St. Petersburg was the Page Corps School, and later became a graduate of the Imperial Alexandrine Lycée in LvivLviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Ukraine. His military career formed the basis of his life before and after his diplomatic service, as he served in both the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
of 1904-1905, and on the Polish front during the first World War.
Marriage and Family
Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Cantacuzène had a distant cousin, Prince Grigorii L'vovich Kantakuzen (1843–1902), who was also a diplomat, serving as Russian representative to the U.S. from 1892 to 1895. But in 1893, Prince Mikhail was attached to the Russian embassy in Rome. In that context, he met Julia Dent Grant, first born grandchild of US President Ulysses Simpson Grant, who was traveling in Europe with her maternal aunt, Bertha PalmerBertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer was an American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist.- Biography :Born Bertha Matilde Honoré in Louisville, Kentucky, her father was businessman Henry Hamilton Honoré...
(née Honoré.) Aunt and niece travelled throughout Europe to promote interest in the World's Columbian Exposition
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
as well as to collect art. The couple married in the home of her aunt Bertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer was an American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist.- Biography :Born Bertha Matilde Honoré in Louisville, Kentucky, her father was businessman Henry Hamilton Honoré...
in Newport, Rhode Island, on 22 September 1899. Miss Grant assumed her husband's titles and was styled Julia Dent Cantacuzène Spiransky-Grant
Julia Dent Cantacuzène Spiransky-Grant
Julia Dent Grant Cantacuzène Spiransky, Princess Cantacuzène, Countess Spiransky, was an American author and the first born grandchild of Ulysses S. Grant and Julia Grant, born in the White House during her grandfather's presidency. She was the daughter of Frederick Dent Grant, and Frederick's...
.
Prince and Princess Cantacuzène resided in St. Petersburg (later Petrograd) or at their estate in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
during their early married years, with the Princess giving birth to their three children, Mikhail Mikhailovich, Barbara or "Bertha" Mikhailovna, and Zinaida Mikhailovna. Princess Cantacuzène remained in St. Petersburg during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in which Prince Cantacuzène served as aide-de-camp and later Major-General, and finally General, in the service of Tsar Nicholas II. He served with distinction and was wounded in battle in 1914; as commander of the South Russia Cossacks, in 1915 he led 15,000 men in what has been called the last great cavalry charge against a fortified position in military history. The family left Russia in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
; in 1917, they escaped from Petrograd with her jewels sewn into her clothing, and escaped via Finland to the United States. The couple moved to Washington, D.C. and attempted to attract support for a counter-revolution in Russia, but after news of the assassination of the Tsar and of his brother, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia was the youngest son of Emperor Alexander III of Russia.At the time of his birth, his paternal grandfather was still the reigning Emperor of All the Russias. Michael was fourth-in-line to the throne following his father and elder brothers Nicholas and...
, ended their activism. The couple relocated to Sarasota, Florida, joining the firm founded by her aunt Bertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer was an American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist.- Biography :Born Bertha Matilde Honoré in Louisville, Kentucky, her father was businessman Henry Hamilton Honoré...
.
Prince Mikhail and Princess Julia Dent Grant Cantacuzène divorced on 27 October 1934, after which Mrs. Julia Grant Cantacuzène, having re-established her U.S. citizenship and reverting to non-aristocratic title and style, moved back to her native Washington, D.C.
Prince Cantacuzène remained in Sarasota, Florida. His former wife's cousins (sons of Bertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer was an American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist.- Biography :Born Bertha Matilde Honoré in Louisville, Kentucky, her father was businessman Henry Hamilton Honoré...
), Honore and Potter Jr., had remained in Sarasota after their mother's death. They expanded their agricultural and business enterprises, and brought (former Prince) Michael Cantacuzene into the Palmer corporate structure. He managed the 1200 acres (4.9 km²) Hyde Park citrus groves, helped organize the Palmer Bank when it opened in 1929, and became Vice President of the bank. He later married Jeannette Draper of Sarasota, who survived him. After his death in 1955, local obituaries noted his extensive participation in community activities: American Legion, Elks, Kiwanis Club, County Fair Association, and Sarasota Chamber of Commerce.
Children
- Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Cantacuzène, Count Spiransky (b. 21 July 1900), St. Petersburg, married firstly Clarissa Curtis, daughter of Thomas Pelham Curtis and Frances Kellogg Small, secondly Florence Bushnell Carr, thirdly Florence Clarke Hall. He had a son and a daughter from his first marriage.
- Princess Barbara Mikhailovna Cantacuzène, Countess Spiransky (b. 27 March 1904), St. Petersburg, married firstly Bruce Smith, secondly William Durrell Siebern. She had no issue noted in public references.
- Princess Zinaida Mikhailovna Cantacuzène, Countess Spiransky (b. 17 September 1908), St. Petersburg, married Sir John Coldbrook Hanbury-Williams, son of Major-General Sir John Hanbury-WilliamsJohn Hanbury-WilliamsMajor-General Sir John Hanbury-Williams GCVO, KCB, CMG. John Hanbury-Williams was the youngest son of Ferdinand Hanbury-Williams, of Coldbrook Park, Monmouthshire. After attending Wellington College, he went on to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and in 1878 he was commissioned into the 43rd...
and Annie Emily Reiss. She had no issue noted in public references.
Titles and Family History
Cantacuzène was titled and styled HH Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Cantacuzène. He was a member of the Cantacuzino familyCantacuzino family
The Cantacuzino or Cantacuzène family is an old boyar family of Wallachia and Moldavia, a branch of Greek Kantakouzinos family, allegedly descended from the Byzantine Emperor John VI Cantacuzenus. No definite genealogical links between Byzantine Greek and Romanian Cantacuzinos have been established...
, a Russian branch of which is an offshoot of the Moldavian
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
branch. The titles of Prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
of Imperial Russia and of Count Speransky (Spiranky, Sperensky) were confirmed to Mikhail's grandfather Prince Rodion Nikolaevich Cantacuzène. in 1865 by Alexander II
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
; the title had formerly been held by Mikhail Speransky
Mikhail Speransky
Count Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky was probably the greatest of Russian reformers during the reign of Alexander I of Russia. He was a close advisor to Tsar Alexander I of Russia and later to Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, he is sometimes called the father of Russian liberalism.-Early life and...
(1772–1839), Russian statesman and one-time adviser to Tsar Alexander I. The father of Prince Rodion Nikolaiovich Cantacuzène, Prince Nikolai Rodionovich Cantacuzène, became a Russian subject at an unknown date; in turn, his father, Prince Rodion Nikolaiovitch Cantacuzène, had emigrated from Moldava to Russia (Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) and had died in Russia but not as a Russian citizen.