Greg King - The resurrection of the Romanovs: Anastasia, Anna Anderson, and the Worlds Greatest Royal Mystery

Contents

Copyright 2011 by Greg King and Penny Wilson. All rights reserved

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

Photo credits: pages 30, 36, 49, 50, 61, 68, 69, 81, 82, 115, 149, 154, 171, 178, 184, 200, 202 bottom, 203, 204 top and bottom, 205, 206 top and bottom, 224, 229, 230, 233, 240, 241, 244, 246 top and bottom, 279 top and bottom, 282, 298, 299, 306, and 307: Ian Lilburn Collection; pages 52, 260, 327, and 328: Katrina Warne; page 72: Staatsarchiv, Darmstadt; pages 80 and 280: Annelies Dogterom and Alex Uitvlugt; page 216: Michael Fulda Collection.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

King, Greg, date.

The resurrection of the Romanovs : Anastasia, Anna Anderson, and the Worlds Greatest Royal Mystery/ Greg King and Penny Wilson.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-470-44498-6 (cloth); ISBN 978-0470-89086-8 (ebk); ISBN 978-0-470-89093-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-0-470-89106-3 (ebk)

1. Anderson, Anna. 2. Anastasiia Nikolaevna, Grand Duchess, daughter of Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia, 19011918Legends. 3. Anastasiia Nikolaevna, Grand Duchess, daughter of Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia, 19011918. 4. PrincessesRussiaBiography. 5. Romanov, House ofBiography. 6. Impostors and impostureCase studies. I. Wilson, Penny, 1966 II. Title.

DK254.A7K56 2011

947.08092dc22

[B]

2010016887

To Professor Doctor Eckhart Franz of the Staatsarchiv, Darmstadt, and Ian Lilburn for their generous assistance; and to the immortal memory of Dr. Louis Pedrotti

Authors Note

The multitude of titles, styles, and linguistic complexities contained within this book need a brief explanation. Nicholas II ruled over the Russian Empire from 1894 to 1917. The formal title, adopted by Peter the Great in 1721, was emperor , although Nicholas preferred the older, more Slavic form of tsar . His wife, Alexandra, was empress , although she was widely referred to as tsaritsa in Russian; tsarina , familiar to some readers, does not exist in the Russian language. Their son and heir, Alexei, was properly titled tsesarevich , while Anastasia and her sisters were grand duchesses , meant to convey a higher rank than mere European princesses. Russians use two names: a Christian name, and a patronymic, derived from his or her father. The masculine form takes the fathers name and adds - vich to the ending, indicating son of. Nicholas II was thus Nicholas Alexandrovichson of Alexander. The feminine form adds - evna or - ovna to the end of the fathers Christian name; Anastasia was thus Anastasia Nikolaievna, daughter of Nicholas. With no disrespect, we have tried to escape, as much as possible, the often cumbersome and repetitious use of titles and, after initially introducing them in the pages of the book, have simply referred to many of the Russian actors in the Anna Anderson drama using their Christian names and patronymics. Readers may find it beneficial to refer to the cast of characters as an aid to keep names and relationships in order.

In transliterating Russian names, we have followed the Library of Congress system, with some exceptions. Christian namesand those names familiar to English-speaking readershave been rendered in English: thus we have Nicholas rather than Nikolai, and Tchaikovsky in place of the unfamiliar Chaikovskii. But a whole host of issues arise in a book such as this, which begins in Russia and takes readers through Germany and to modern Poland, not the least of which is consistency in spelling. We have tried to obey German rules of grammar and spelling when dealing with a sometimes mind-boggling galaxy of witnesses, interested parties, and Romanov relatives in the Anderson case, but havent attempted to cloak everything in an accurate veil; instead of referring to Empress Alexandras brother Ernst Ludwig as grand duke von Hesse und bei Rheinhis correct German titleweve gone with the simpler grand duke of Hesse. Certain inconsistent spellings and usages, especially among Anna Andersons relatives, are documented and explained in the notes rather than in the actual text.

In Russia, before the Revolution, the Julian calendar was in use; in the twentieth century, this lagged thirteen days behind the Gregorian calendar, used in the West. We have given dates according to the Gregorian calendar, but noted the use, in letters, of the Julian calendar by including the reference OS (for Old Style).

Acknowledgments

The poor, unfortunate friends and family of those of us who call ourselves authors have to endure absences, preoccupation, missed birthdays and holidays, and other turns of fate that can seem inexplicable, egregious, and dangerously selfish as we labor over laptops and try to reconcile gut instinct when telling a story with demonstrable fact. They put up with it all, and deserve to be noted.

For twenty-five years, Christopher Kinsman has been a true and constant friend; Penny Wilson thanks him for his longtime interest and support, and looks forward to many more Friday nights sinking beers at the Yardhouse or the Falconer. Penny Wilson works at Riverside City Gym in Riverside, California, the best little gym in the Inland Empire. Over the past few years, the staff there has undertaken extra hours and extra duties to accommodate the writing and research schedule of the resident author. For their unswerving support, Penny thanks Arthur Bruckler, Greg English, Carlos Mata, Tom Mishler, and Ed Gardner; the Perez family: Emilio Sr., Maricela, and Emilio Jr.; Wellington Porter, Madeline Pruett, Josh Sweeten, Cousin James, Tommy Gutierrez, and Allison Wondolleck. Special thanks to Jennifer Hawkins, who is never less than a complete inspiration. Penny also thanks members of City Gym who have given kind words and encouragement, including David Armstrong, Dr. Ron Bailey, Carlos and Laurel Cortes, David Edgin, Tom Foley, Michael William Grey, Francisco Guerra, Billie McWhorter, Mike Luvisi, Chad Trenham, Seton Williams, Raz Williams, Ali Yahyavi, and Donna Zeeb. The Internet has introduced the possibility of friendships with people one may neveror only seldommeet. Simon Donoghue has provided much-needed stress relief, humor, perspective, and advice throughout the entire process of researching and writing this book, despite his own busy schedule directing theater productions, and Penny thanks him from the bottom of her heart. Mike Pyles has proven a wonderful friend and sounding board. Penny also thanks the members of Planetsocks for their enduring good sense, wicked wit, and peculiar sort of wisdom. And finally, Pennys boss, personal trainer, personal friend, and body-builder extraordinaire, Oscar Shearer, has proven an excellent friend, mentor, and 5:00 a.m. philosopher; Penny looks forward to many more years of workouts, coffeehousing, and conversation.