Princess Xenia Georgievna of Russia

Infobox Russian Royalty|princess
name = Xenia Georgievna
title =Princess Xenia Georgievna of Russia


imgw = 180px
caption = Portrait by Philip de László, c. 1920.
imperial house = House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
father =Grand Duke George Mikhailovich
mother =Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark
spouse = William Bateman Leeds
Herman Jud
issue =Nancy Leeds Wynkoop
date of birth =birth date|mf=yes|1903|8|22|mf=y
place of birth = Mikhailovskoe, Russian Empire
date of death =death date and age|1965|9|17|1903|8|22|mf=y
place of death = Glen Cove, New York, USA
place of burial=|

Xenia Georgievna (born August 22, 1903, Mikhailovskoe, Russia; died September 17, 1965, Glen Cove, New York) was the daughter of Grand Duke George Mihailovich of Russia and Princess Maria Georgievna of Greece and Denmark. Her older sister was Nina Georgievna, born in 1901. She and her sister left Russia in 1914 to spend the war years in England with their mother.

Xenia married twice, first to William Bateman Leeds (b. 19 September, 1902) at the age of eighteen, the son and heir of the American tin magnate. Willam was also the stepson of Xenia's maternal uncle Prince Christopher of Greece and Denmark. They wed in Paris on 9 October, 1921, theirs was seen as a splendid match and the couple was an influential one in New York's "Long Island North Shore" society, where they lived in their estate, Kenwood, at Oyster Bay. Xenia and William had a daughter on 25 February, 1925, Nancy Helen Marie Leeds, who married Edward Judson Wynkoop, Jr. in December 1945.

Xenia and William Leeds divorced in 1930. Her second marriage was with Herman Jud (b. 14 February, 1911). The wedding took place at Glen Cove, New York on 10 August, 1946. The couple had no children.

A common mistake in listing this family is to identify the daughter of Nancy Helen Marie Wynkoop (nee Leeds) incorrectly as being, instead, the daughter of Princess Xenia Georgievna by her second husband. This daughter, Alexandra Leeds Wynkoop, is erroneously and often listed as Alexandra Leeds Jud, born March 30 of 1959. Alexandra is the granddaughter of Princess Xenia Georgievna, born when her grandmother was 56 years of age.

In the summer of 1927, Xenia involved herself in the Anna Anderson/Anastasia Tchaikovsky affair by telephoning Gleb Botkin with an invitation for Anna to live as a guest at Kenwood. Xenia explains her hospitality: "I had heard that Botkin was arranging to bring 'the invalid' to the United States through a newspaper organization. This bothered me because I had heard so many conflicting stories. It then occurred to me that I should take her myself and avoid all this proposed publicity. For if she were indeed an impostor it would save much unpleasantness for my family, and if she were the real Anastasia it was ghastly to think that nothing was being done for her.... This solution would be simple, so it seemed to me."

As children, Xenia and her sister Nina had played frequently with the two youngest daughters of Tsar Nicholas II, Maria Nicholaevna and Anastasia Nicholaevna, as well as the youngest child and only boy, Tsarevitch Alexei. Both sisters possessed vivid memories of their second cousin, once removed Anastasia, who they described as "frightfully temperamental" and "wild and rough". According to Xenia, Anastasia "cheated at games, kicked, scratched, pulled hair, and generally knew how to make herself obnoxious."

Princess Nina even said, "Anastasia was madly jealous of me because I was taller than she was. As the daughter of the Emperor she thought she ought to tower over everyone."

Xenia was on a cruise with her husband William in the West Indies at the time of Anna's arrival in New York. She had arranged for Anna to stay with Annie Burr Jennings, a friend of Xenia's who lived in a Park Avenue townhouse. Upon her return, Xenia sneaked unannounced into Annie Jennings's crowded salon to observe Anna. After watching Anna offer her hand to Gleb Botkin, Xenia declared that she knew she was watching an equal. She stated, "It was so matter-of-course, so unforced--in no way a theatrical gesture. With it she radiated a natural grandeur and I was impressed on the spot."

Xenia recognized Anna Anderson as the Grand Duchess Anastasia at once, asserting that Anna was herself at all times, never giving the slightest impression of playing a part. The two remained great friends for life even after Anna Anderson to leave Xenia's home after quarreling. [ Massie, R, "The Romanovs The Final Chapter", p.181] Prince Christopher of Greece described the stay:

Pierre Gilliard, Swiss citizen and French tutor for the five children of Tsar Nicholas II from 1905 to 1918, pointed out that Princess Xenia had last seen her second cousin when Xenia was 10 and Anastasia was 12. [Kurth, "Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson", p. 215] Xenia responded that she didn't recognize Anastasia visually, but felt she was qualified to tell the difference between a member of the Romanov family and a "Polish peasant woman." Anderson bore a strong family resemblance to Tsarina Alexandra's family and her moodiness and temper also reminded Xenia of her cousin Anastasia. [Kurth, Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson, p. 216] It is interesting to note what Prince Dmitri, son of Grand Duchess Xenia, wrote about what Princess Xenia had stated,

Princess Xenia Georgievna Romanova Leeds Jud died on September 17, 1965, aged 62, survived by her second husband and by her daughter, Nancy Leeds Wynkoop, and by granddaughter Alexandra. Nancy Helen Marie Leeds Wynkoop died in Woodstock, Vermont on June 7, 2006, aged 81, survived by her husband Edward Judson Wynkoop, Jr. and their daughter Alexandra Wynkoop.

References

Sources

* "Anastasia" by Peter Kurth
* http://www.geocities.com/henrivanoene/genrussia4.html
* http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04E0DE113AF936A25755C0A9609C8B63
* http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wynkoop/webdocs/9181945.htm