Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, Princess Nicholas of Greece

A portrait of Princess Nicholas of Greece by Philip de Laszlo, 1914. 

Princess Nicholas of Greece was born as the Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia. She was born on January 17, 1882, the only daughter and youngest child of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovitch of Russia and Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, otherwise known as the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna. Maria Pavlovna set out to become the grandest of all the grand duchesses, so grand that she rivalled her sister-in-law, the glamorous Czarina Maria Feodorovna, and her niece, the aloof Czarina Alexandra Feodorovna.

Elena had three older brothers: Kirill, Boris, and Andrei. They spoke English as their first language since they were raised by an English nanny. Elena was a difficult child because of her temper, which sometimes went out of control. A four-year-old grand duchess, while posing for the artist Henry Jones Thaddeus,  grabbed a paper knife and threatened her nurse, who stood behind Thaddeus. The painter recalled the incident and later said that "the little lady then transferred her attentions to me, her black eyes ablaze with fury.”

Raised by a notoriously snobbish mother, Elena was raised with a keen awareness of her social position. In fact, Empress Maria Feodorovna, Grand Duchess Vladimir’s social rival, felt sorry for the "poor little thing.” Despite being “really quite sweet,” Elena could be “vain and pretty grandiose."  She also remarked that the young lady "has a very brusque and arrogant tone that can shock people."

A young Grand Duchess Elena (leaning on her father Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovitch) poses with her family.  Image from Wikimedia Commons

Her difficult attitude reached its climax when she broke her engagement with Prince Max of Baden, much to her mother’s enragement. Saint Petersburg’s social circles gossiped  for weeks and Elena’s notoriety as a difficult lady became even more evident. In 1899, rumours swirled that the seventeen-year-old grand duchess was to be engaged to Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. The truth is, the heir to the Habsburg thrones fell in love and morganatically married Countess Sophie Chotek.

In 1900, Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark, sought the hands of Grand Duchess Elena for marriage. The pair had first met in Livadia in 1894  and, again, in 1896 at the coronation of Elena’s cousin, Czar Nicholas II. It would take four years before a romance would bud between the two. The haughty Grand Duchess Vladimir, at first, refused to allow her only daughter to marry the third son of the king of the poorest kingdom in Europe.  She only relented when she realized that her only daughter had no other marital prospect. After all, Elena and Nicholas were related  -  his mother, Queen Olga, was a granddaughter of Czar Nicholas I through one of his sons, Grand Duke Constantine Nicholaevitch.

The couple married on August 29, 1902, in Tsarskoye Selo. True to the Romanov fashion, the grandest of the grand duchesses threw a fabulous wedding for her daughter, well-attended by the emperor and empress of Russia, the king and queen of the Hellenes, and members of European royalty and Russian nobility.  As a wedding gift, the czar gave the couple a palace in Athens, later known as the Nicholas Palace. They honeymooned at Ropsha Palace before they settled in the Greek capital. The following year, Elena gave birth to her first child, Olga. This would be followed by two more daughters in quick succession: Elizabeth, born in 1904, and Marina, born in 1906. 

Prince and Princess Nicholas of Greece on their wedding day at the portrait hall of Catherine Palace. Image from Wikimedia Commons

By now, she was addressed as Princess Nicholas of Greece, but Elena's "grand manner" was said to have stirred the Greek royal court. She allegedly snubbed her sisters-in-law,  the extremely wealthy but eccentric Princess Marie Bonaparte (Princess George), and the beautiful and pious Princess Alice of Battenberg  (Princess Andrew ). British diplomat Francis Elliot shared that Elena allegedly refused to greet Marie because she thought they did not belong on the same pecking order since her grandfather, French businessman Francois Blanc, was a commoner who made his wealth from the casino in Monaco. Elliott claimed that she "drew back her skirts as if not to be touched by her.”   She also looked down on Princess Andrew because of the latter's morganatic blood.

The Russian Revolution and the subsequent overthrow of the Romanovs from power in 1917 meant the immediate demise of Elena’s fortunes. Deprived of the income from her Russian estates, she, together with her family, found themselves with limited means, at least by the Romanov standards.  Matters turned from bad to worse when the turmoil in Greece resulted to the banishment of the Greek royals.  What followed were years of itinerant living. The family settled first in Switzerland, then back again in Greece, before moving to Florence, San Remo, London, and, finally, Paris.  Despite the loss of their income, the Nicholases managed to live quite comfortably.

Prince and princess Nicholas of Greece with their three daughters. Image from Wikimedia Commons

In 1922, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna died at her villa in Contrexeville. Despite her reduced circumstances, her fortune in jewelry remained intact and she left this to  her children, the division of which was based according to the gemstones. The diamonds went to her only daughter, Prince Nicholas, the pearls to Grand Duke Kirill, the emeralds to Grand Duke Boris and the rubies to Grand Duke Andrei.  Princess Nicholas raised money by selling off jewelry. She sold the stunning Vladimir Tiara  to Queen Mary in 1921 £28,000  - already a stupendous amount back then. Prince Nicholas, meanwhile, earned decent money from his paintings, which he signed  “Nicholas Leprince.” Princess Marie Bonaparte also bailed out the family while their income was further augmented by the lease of Nicholas Palace to Hotel Grand Bretagne. 

While in exile, Princess Nicholas preoccupied herself with philanthropic causes, most especially in helping Russian émigrés who fled the Bolshevik regime. She helped establish a Greek cemetery in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois and an orphanage near Saint-Germaine-en-Laye. She also supported homes for aged  and orphan refugees. Elena also focused on raising her daughters, especially finding each with a suitable husband. Her eldest, Princess Olga (1903-1997), married Prince Paul of Yugoslavia in 1923. Her second daughter, Elizabeth, married Count Theodor of Toerring-Jettenbach. The youngest and most celebrated, Marina, married Prince George, Duke of Kent in 1934.

 The family returned to Greece in 1935 following the restoration of the monarchy. Three years later, Prince Nicholas died in Athens and in the same year, her oldest brother, Grand Duke Kirill, also passed away. Elena's haughtiness extended to her own family. She snubbed the wives of her two other brothers, Boris and Andrei, over their morganatic marriages. It was only with Kirill, who married their first cousin, Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,  with whom Elena had maintained a close relationship.

In 1941, the Nazis invaded Germany. The Greek royals fled, except for Princess Nicholas and her sister-in-law, Alice, who remained and worked tirelessly, organizing soup kitchens and helping the poor and wounded. The sisters-in-law finally warmed up to each other and their friendship strengthened for years. After the liberation of Athens, Elena was accused of conspiring with the Germans. In December 1944, Elena was forced out from her home and she sought refuge with Alice in the home of their brother-in-law, Prince George. The monarchy was once again restored in 1946.  The war had cut Elena from her daughters. Finally , in 1947, she was able to see Princess Olga once more. She reunited with Elisabeth and Marina in 1949, both she did not see for eight years.

Princess Nicholas of Greece spent the remaining years of her life in Greece, where she remained close with King Paul and Queen Frederica. She died in her home on March 13, 1957 and was interred alongside Prince Nicholas at the royal cemetery on the ground of Tatoi Palace.