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Gilded Prism: The Konstantinovichi Grand Dukes and the Last Years of the Romannov Dynsty
GILDED PRISM had its genesis in a series of articles that appeared in the last issue of Atlantis In the Courts of Memory, which was dedicated to the remarkable Konstantinovichi Family and their legacy. Here, thanks to the guidance and assistance of publisher Arturo Beéche, we present a re-working of some of this content, with a number of very significant additions. When the former Soviet Union crumbled in 1991, a wave of nostalgia for the glittering world of the Romanovs swept through Russian imaginations. Names and places long forgotten took on a new vibrancy, and faded photographs and flickering newsreels vividly brought to life a vanished epoch. With the revival of interest in the last Imperial Family came discovery of their multitude of relatives, the Grand Dukes and Duchesses, Princes and Princesses who had enchanted and scandalized their contemporaries. The accomplishments of the Konstantinovichi Family, in particular, found resonance in this revived interest. No other single branch of the Romanov Dynasty had reached such heights, nor left such lasting legacies; even sailors in the Soviet Navy, walking down Leningrad's wide avenues in the last years of Communist rule, still sported the characteristic striped shirts introduced by Konstantin Nikolaievich in the 19th Century. GILDED PRISM is sure to become the gold-standard for research and knowledge on this previously little-known, yet immensely important branch of the Russian Imperial Family. Greg King is the author of seven internationally published works, including the United Kingdom bestseller The Duchess of Windsor (1999), and The Fate of the Romanovs (2003). His latest book is The Court of the Last Tsar. Penny Wilson, Russian historian and Romanov scholar, is the author of the critically acclaimed The Fate of the Romanovs (2003).
251 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
108 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 14, 2018
This covers all of your obscure Konstantinovichi descendants, focusing mostly Konstantin Nikolaevich, the forebearer, and his poet son Konstantin Konstantinovich (KR) though providing full life recounts for everyone. Gilded Prism provides a lot of new information, some that is usually not mentioned in other talks of the Romanov family like about the regular Princes like Ioann or his thieving uncle Dimitri, but also some newer research about KR's poetry and homosexuality, the result of recent opening of the archives. While not outstanding writing, it did its job and wasn't too dry. The main issue with this book was the printing of it. It does not hold together very well due to its stiffness and has many lines with one very spread out word, italics incorrectly placed, fonts changing. The grammar of the writing was fine, but the printing was a distractor at times.
February 26, 2025
This was a look at a much overlooked branch of the Russian Imperial Family. Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaievitch and his wife, Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna, presided over a very colorful bunch of characters. Their eldest son was accused of stealing valuable diamonds from his mother and declared insane, another son became his father's heir and was a brilliant poet in his own right, a daughter became Queen of Greece, and another daughter was sent away to relatives in Germany because of her difficult behavior and illness.
It's a fascinating look at the Konstantinovichi family. The book's main drawback is its editing mistakes. However, lovers of Romanov history will definitely enjoy it.
It's a fascinating look at the Konstantinovichi family. The book's main drawback is its editing mistakes. However, lovers of Romanov history will definitely enjoy it.
March 27, 2010
This book tells the story of the virtually unknown Konstantinovichi branch of the Romanov family - the descendents of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaievich (son of Tsar Nicholas I). Greg King and Penny Wilson are great biographers - their research is amazing (from the Russian archives to interviews with the living descendents) and so is their writing style.
No member of the family was ignored (which was surprising, because the book is not even 200 pages long) - from the patriarch Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaievich, to his great-granddaughter Ekaterina Ivanovna, the last Romanov born in Russia before the Revolution (and still living today). Most of the book is dedicated to Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaievich, but understandably - he's by far the most interesting man in the family and the one there's more information about. One of the most intelligent men in the Romanov family, Konstantin was a poet, writer, military man, father, proud Grand Duke and a man who hid a secret for more than a century. The book also has many of his poems, hidden in Soviet Archives for decades, and that had not been published before.
It was especially interesting to learn about the Romanovs that have been mainly ignored by history - such as wayward Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich, most of Grand Duke Konstantin's children, Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinova. The amount of (unbiased!) information given about them is surprising, and even if they were not influential in the grand scheme of things, their stories give more background on the Romanovs and makes it easier to understand how the family worked between themselves.
I was also happily impressed that King & Wilson did not once forget about the Konstantinovichi and started talking about Nicholas & Alexandra or the Revolution. A nice change from many biographies on the Romanovs.
Finally, this book is a testament to the great men and women who lived fulfilling and interesting lives in Imperial Russia and outside of it, as well as to those who lost their lives (some, as Princes Ivan, Igor and Konstantin, in the most brutal and cruel Romanov murders by the Bolsheviks) to Communism and the Russian Revolution, and whose only sin was to be born a Romanov.
No member of the family was ignored (which was surprising, because the book is not even 200 pages long) - from the patriarch Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaievich, to his great-granddaughter Ekaterina Ivanovna, the last Romanov born in Russia before the Revolution (and still living today). Most of the book is dedicated to Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaievich, but understandably - he's by far the most interesting man in the family and the one there's more information about. One of the most intelligent men in the Romanov family, Konstantin was a poet, writer, military man, father, proud Grand Duke and a man who hid a secret for more than a century. The book also has many of his poems, hidden in Soviet Archives for decades, and that had not been published before.
It was especially interesting to learn about the Romanovs that have been mainly ignored by history - such as wayward Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich, most of Grand Duke Konstantin's children, Grand Duchess Vera Konstantinova. The amount of (unbiased!) information given about them is surprising, and even if they were not influential in the grand scheme of things, their stories give more background on the Romanovs and makes it easier to understand how the family worked between themselves.
I was also happily impressed that King & Wilson did not once forget about the Konstantinovichi and started talking about Nicholas & Alexandra or the Revolution. A nice change from many biographies on the Romanovs.
Finally, this book is a testament to the great men and women who lived fulfilling and interesting lives in Imperial Russia and outside of it, as well as to those who lost their lives (some, as Princes Ivan, Igor and Konstantin, in the most brutal and cruel Romanov murders by the Bolsheviks) to Communism and the Russian Revolution, and whose only sin was to be born a Romanov.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews