The Fairy Princess

Princess Patricia's parents chose the name 'Patricia' for her because she was born on St.Patrick's Day in 1886. Her first name was 'Victoria' after her grandmother, Queen Victoria.

The Princess lived in different countries during her childhood and adolescence. Together with her parents and older siblings, Princess Margaret and Prince Arthur, she lived in India and Canada.

Nicknamed 'Princess Pat', she
was an attractive and charming girl who was matched with many suitors, including the kings of Spain and Portugal, Alfonso and Manuel. She was also matched with the Russian Grand Duke Michael. She apparently refused to even be in the same room as Prince Alfonso. According to the New York Times, this enabled her beautiful cousin, Ena, to seize her chance. She apparently begged her reluctant uncle, King Edward VII, to let her marry the future King.

She'd been associated with so many suitors that she was surrounded by an aura of romance. The press nicknamed her 'the fairy princess.'



Princess Patricia in Canada

Princesss Patricia's father became the Governor-General of Canada in 1912. As her mother was ill, 'Princess Patsy' hosted parties and dinners for her father. The Canadians liked her charm and love of outdoor sports so she became popular in Canada. She also did a lot of charity work.

The family returned to England and the Princess's mother died in 1917. However, the Princess became the Colonel-in-Chief of a Canadian regiment named after her, the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry. The Princess designed their badge and colours. She personally embroidered the first colour of her regiment.

Princess Patricia's Marriage

Princess Patricia eventually married the naval commander, Captain Alexander Ramsay, in Westminster Abbey. She relinquished her royal titles becoming Lady Patricia Ramsay but she remained in the line of succession. They eventually lived in Ribsden Hall in Windlesham which she inherited from her aunt, Princess Louise.

The couple had one child, Alexander. He also became a Captain in the forces and lost a leg in World War Two.

Princess Patricia's Art

Like her aunt, Princess Louise, 'Patsy' was a talented artist. She was taught by A.S. Hartrick, who had known Gaugain and Van Gogh. The Princess travelled to many different countries with her husband and liked to paint tropical landscapes.

She left over 600 paintings behind when she died in 1974.

Dear Misha - Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich

This week I was blessed to hold in my hands original letters, postcards and photographs from the Tsar's younger brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich ('Misha') of Russia, and the sense of the man that came from being among his things was so lovely.
It often seems that the 'also-rans' of history - the bit part players who are so often behind the scenes - have stories to tell which are at least as remarkable as those who stand centre-stage.
As with the major players, history so often writes off these people in one or two superficial sentences, as though anyone's life can be narrowed down to a footnote in history.
Misha has been various described as the person who most wounded his brother by his betrayal (by marrying in secret without the consent of the Tsar) or as a romantic whose views were or little consequence but whose father - Alexander III - thought him of better Tsar-material than his elder brother, Nicholas. Again, it's so glib and so easy to pass these fleeting judgements on people of the past.
To my mind - and this became even clearer among his personal possessions - Misha was a romantic soul in a beautiful physique, with such handsome features, and with a very brave heart. Like many younger sons, he was seeking a purpose and was basically hanging around like an understudy in a play on the off-chance that someday he might be called into the main role. Having neither the ambition for power not the self-seeking mentality that compels some people to plot and intrigue, he simply followed his heart. No one with a thinking mind could spend his/her life living out some second-hand role, and though Misha did - briefly - appear to betray his brother, by marrying the 'commoner' Natasha, he was a truly noble soul with such a deep love for his country and his family.
Sadly, I think, he was 'hooked' by a woman who used him for her own ambition; who constantly slandered his family and who was downright cruel to him in some of her letters.
Where Misha really came into his own was during the war when, permitted to return to Russia, he proved himself not only a kind and brave leader of one of the most eclectic regiments in the Russian army, but also as someone who could read the signs of the times.
While much has been - rightly to my mind - made of the discovery of the missing bodies of the Imperial Family, it is so tragic that Misha's last resting place remains a mystery. Somewhere in some deep, dark archive, his murderers' accounts of his end must be stored. Perhaps one day, even though his physical remains are probably nothing more than dust now, it will be possible to place a memorial at the site of this lovely man's murder.