Pierre Gilliard

Infobox Person
name = Pierre Gilliard

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image_size = 250px
caption =
Pierre Gilliard with his pupils, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia and Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia at Livadia in 1911. Courtesy: Beinecke Library.

birth_date = 1879
death_date = death date|1962|5|30|mf=y
death_place = Lausanne, Switzerland

Pierre Gilliard (1879 - May 30, 1962), a Swiss citizen, was the French tutor for the five children of Tsar Nicholas II from 1905 to 1918. Years after the Imperial Family was assassinated by the Bolsheviks in July 1918, Gilliard wrote a book "Thirteen Years at the Russian Court," about his time with the family. In his memoirs, Gilliard described Tsarina Alexandra's torment over her son's haemophilia and how she trusted the starets Grigori Rasputin to heal the boy after he suffered from life-threatening complications of haemophilia. [Robert K. Massie," Nicholas and Alexandra," 1967]

In his memoirs, Gilliard wrote that he initially came to Russia in 1904 as a French tutor to the family of Duke George of Leuchtenberg, a cousin of the Romanov family. He was recommended as a French tutor to the Tsar's children and began teaching the elder children, Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia in 1905. He grew fond of the family and followed them into exile at Tobolsk, Siberia following the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Bolsheviks prevented Gilliard from joining his pupils in exile at Yekaterinburg in May 1918. He described his final view of the children in his memoirs:

Gilliard remained in Siberia for three years after the murders of the family, assisting White Russian investigator Nicholas Sokolov with his investigation. He married Alexandra "Shura" Tegleva, who had been a nurse to Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, in 1919. He became a French professor at the University of Lausanne and was awarded the French Legion of Honor. [Massie, pp. 525-526]

Gilliard became a vociferous opponent of Anna Anderson, the woman who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia. Tsar Nicholas's youngest sister, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, commented on Gilliard and Anna Anderson,

According to Peter Kurth, Gilliard was less certain she was an impostor when he first met her. [Peter Kurth, "Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson," Back Bay Books, 1983, p. 106] Gilliard and his wife, Shura, were asked by Anastasia's paternal aunt, Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia, to visit Anderson in the hospital in Berlin in 1925. Peter Kurth also alleges Shura noted that Anderson suffered from the same foot deformity that the Grand Duchess Anastasia had. [Kurth, p. 106] It is alleged by Peter Kurth that on a subsequent visit, Anderson spilled perfume from a perfume bottle into Shura's hand and asked her to moisten her forehead with it. Shura allegedly said the grand duchess used to do the same thing as a little girl so that Shura might be "as fragrant as a bouquet of flowers." [Kurth, p. 110] Gilliard, however, appeared skeptical when Anderson didn't admit to knowing him immediately and was silent in response when he asked her to "tell me everything about your past." According to Peter Kurth, Anderson's friend and lifelong supporter, Harriet von Rathlef, allegdedly wrote that she later spotted Gilliard in the hallway, looking agitated, and muttering in French, "My God, how awful! What has become of Grand Duchess Anastasia? She's a wreck, a complete wreck! I want to do everything I can to help the Grand Duchess." [Kurth, p. 111] Shura cried when she left Anderson, wondering why she loved the woman as much as she loved the grand duchess. According to Peter Kurth, Gilliard told Ambassador Zahle that, "We are going away without being able to say that she is "not" Grand Duchess Anastasia." [Kurth, p. 112] It is claimed the couple wrote several friendly letters to Anderson. [Kurth, p. 113] Some weeks later, Peter Kurth alleges that after investigating the woman's story, Gilliard reversed his position.

Gilliard wrote articles and a book entitled "The False Anastasia" against her and claimed she was a "vulgar adventuress" and a "first-rate actress." He also testified against her at a trial to determine whether she was truly the grand duchess. [Kurth, p. 116]

Gilliard was severely injured in a car accident in 1958 and died four years later of complications of the injuries in Lausanne, Switzerland. [Kurth, p. 300]

References

Books and Articles

* [http://www.alexanderpalace.org/2006pierre/introduction.html] * Gilliard, Pierre, "Thirteen Years at the Russian Court"
*Kurth, Peter "Anastasia: The Riddle of Anna Anderson," Back Bay Books, 1983, ISBN 0-316-50717-2
*Massie, Robert K., "Nicholas and Alexandra." 1967. ISBN 0-5754-0006-4
*Vorres, Ian, "The Last Grand Duchess", London, Finedawn Publishers, 1985 (3rd edition)