List of grand duchesses of Russia
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This is a list of those members of the Russian Imperial House who bore the title velikaia kniaginia (Russian: великая княгиня) or velikaia knazhna (Russian: великая княжна) (usually translated into French and English as grand duchess, but more accurately grand princess). This courtesy title was borne (usually) by daughters and male-line granddaughters of the emperors and empresses of Russia, as well as by wives of grand dukes of Russia, all along with the style of Her Imperial Highness.
Grand duchesses of Russia
After 1917 no such daughter was born into the deposed imperial house who would have been entitled to the title grand duchess - i.e., had been a male-line granddaughter of a reigning emperor; although such would have been technically possible, as there lived sons of reigning emperors and their daughters would have been so entitled
Grand duchesses of Russia by marriage
Picture | Name | Husband | Date of marriage | Born | Died | Notes |
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Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg | Alexei Petrovich | 25 October 1711 | 29 August 1694 | 13 November 1715 | |
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Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst Catherine Alexeievna |
Peter Feodorovich | 1 September 1745 | 2 May 1729 | 17 November 1796 | Known to history as 'Catherine the Great'; became Empress Consort when her husband succeeded as Peter III in 1762 and became Empress Regnant 9 July 1762 on deposing her husband. |
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Wilhelmina Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt Natalia Alexeievna |
Pavel Petrovich | 10 October 1773 | 25 June 1755 | 26 April 1776 | |
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Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg Maria Feodorovna |
Pavel Petrovich | 7 October 1776 | 25 October 1759 | 5 November 1828 | Became Empress when her husband succeeded as Paul I in 1796. |
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Louise of Baden Elizabeth Alexeievna |
Alexander Pavlovich | 9 October 1793 | 24 January 1779 | 16 May 1826 | Became Empress when her husband succeeded as Alexander I in 1801. |
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Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Anna Feodorovna |
Konstantin Pavlovich | 26 February 1796 | 23 September 1781 | 15 August 1860 | Annulled 1820. |
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Charlotte of Prussia Alexandra Feodorovna |
Nikolai Pavlovich | 13 July 1817 | 13 July 1798 | 1 November 1860 | Became Empress when her husband succeeded as Nicholas I in 1825. |
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Charlotte of Württemberg Elena Pavlovna |
Mikhail Pavlovich | 19 February 1824 | 9 January 1807 | 2 February 1873 | |
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Marie of Hesse and by Rhine Maria Alexandrovna |
Alexander Nikolaievich | 28 April 1841 | 8 August 1824 | 3 June 1880 | Became Empress when her husband succeeded as Alexander II in 1855. |
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Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg Alexandra Iosifovna |
Konstantin Nikolaievich | 11 September 1848 | 8 July 1830 | 6 July 1911 | |
Alexandra of Oldenburg Alexandra Petrovna |
Nikolai Nikolaievich | 6 February 1856 | 2 June 1838 | 25 April 1900 | ||
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Cecilie of Baden Olga Feodorovna |
Mikhail Nikolaievich | 28 August 1857 | 20 September 1839 | 12 April 1891 | |
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Dagmar of Denmark Maria Feodorovna |
Alexander Alexandrovich | 9 November 1866 | 26 November 1847 | 13 October 1928 | Became Empress when her husband succeeded as Alexander III in 1881. |
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Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Maria Pavlovna |
Vladimir Alexandrovich | 28 August 1874 | 14 May 1854 | 6 September 1920 | |
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Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg Elizabeth Mavrikievna |
Konstantin Konstantinovich | 27 April 1884 | 25 January 1865 | 24 March 1927 | |
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Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine Elizabeth Feodorovna |
Sergei Alexandrovich | 15 June 1884 | 1 November 1864 | 17 or 18 July 1918 | |
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Alexandra of Greece and Denmark Alexandra Georgievna |
Pavel Alexandrovich | 17 June 1889 | 30 August 1870 | 24 September 1891 | |
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Milica of Montenegro Militza Nikolaevna |
Peter Nikolaievich | 26 July 1889 | 26 July 1866 | 5 September 1951 | |
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Maria of Greece and Denmark Maria Georgievna |
George Mikhailovich | 12 May 1900 | 3 March 1876 | 14 December 1940 | |
Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Victoria Feodorovna |
Kirill Vladimirovich | 8 October 1905 | 25 November 1876 | 2 March 1936 | ||
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Anastasia of Montenegro Anastasia Nikolaievna |
Nikolai Nikolaievich | 29 April 1907 | 4 January 1868 | 25 January 1929 | |
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Leonida Bagration of Mukhrani Leonida Georgievna |
Vladimir Kirillovich | 13 August 1948 | 6 October 1914 | 23 May 2010 | Wife and mother of the heads of the House of Romanov in exile. |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Imperial_Standard_of_the_Grand_Duchess_of_Russia.svg/250px-Imperial_Standard_of_the_Grand_Duchess_of_Russia.svg.png)
Although male grand dukes of Russia (sons or male-line grandsons of reigning emperors) existed after 1917, when the imperial house was deposed, none of them contracted an equal marriage after that date; so the title grand duchess was not gained by marriage thereafter — though it would have been technically possible.
Note that a grand duke or grand duchess as a translation is not necessarily associated with a grand duchy; see the relevant articles for more information.
A Russian grand duchess was styled as Her Imperial Highness. With the exception of Charlotte-Christine, women marrying into the Imperial family converted to Russian Orthodoxy (except for the Montenegrin and Greek princesses, who were already Orthodox). They also took Russian names — of the 17 converts: four took patronyms using their fathers' names, eight took Fyodorovna (after the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God), three took Alexeievna, one Alexandrovna (her husband's name) and one Pavlovna (her husband's patronym, the late Paul I); eight also changed their own given name.