Product Description
Russian Court at Sea. Francis Welch. On 11th April 1919, less than a year after the murder of Tsar Nicholas II and his family, the British battleship HMS Marlborough left Yalta carrying twenty members of the Russian Imperial Family into perpetual exile. They included the Tsar's mother, the Dowager Empress Marie, and his sister, the Grand Duchess Xenia, Prince Felix Youssoupov (the murderer of Rasputin), and Grand Duke Nicholas, once Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armies. As the ship prepared to set sail, a British sloop carrying 400 White Russian soldiers drew up alongside. The soldiers stood on deck and sang the Russian National Anthem. Poingnantly, the Dowager Empress stood on deck alone. According to the HMS Marlborough's First Lieutenant, nobody dared to approach her. The Russian Court at Sea vividly recreates this unlikely voyage, with its bizarre assortment of warring characters and its priceless cargo of treasures including rolled-up Rembrandts and Faberge eggs.
UK: Short Books, 2011. 1st printing, hardcover, 224 pages. A few photos. Dustjacket in a clear protective jacket cover. Former owner wrote his name boldly and large on the first page, rest of the book is about fine with some page tanning. 1 copy only.
