Title of the heir apparent or presumptive in the Russian Empire
Imperial Standard of the Tsesarevich.
Coat of Arms
Tsesarevich
[1]
(
Russian
:
цесаревич
,
IPA:
[ts?s??r?ev??t?]
) was the title of the
heir apparent
or
presumptive
in the
Russian Empire
. It either preceded or replaced the
given name and patronymic
.
Usage
[
edit
]
It is often confused with "
tsarevich
", which is a distinct word with a different meaning: Tsarevich was the title for any son of a
tsar
, including sons of non-Russian rulers accorded that title, e.g.
Crimea
,
Siberia
,
Georgia
.
[2]
[3]
Normally, there was only one
tsesarevich
at a time (an exception was
Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich
, who was accorded the title until death, even though law gave it to his nephew), and the title was used exclusively in Russia.
The title came to be used invariably in tandem with the formal style "Successor" (
Russian
:
наследник
,
romanized
:
naslednik
), as in "His Imperial Highness the Successor Tsesarevich and
Grand Prince
". The wife of the
Tsesarevich
was the
tsesarevna
(Russian:
цесаревна
).
[4]
History
[
edit
]
In 1721
Peter the Great
discontinued use of "tsar" as his main title, and adopted that of
imperator
(emperor), whereupon the title of tsarevich (and "tsarevna", retained for life by
Ivan V
's daughters) fell into a state of disuse.
[2]
The Emperor's daughters were henceforth referred to as
"tsesarevna"
(Peter had no living son by this time). In 1762, upon succeeding to the imperial throne,
Peter III
accorded his only son
Paul Petrovich
(by the future
Catherine the Great
) the novel title of
tsesarevich
, he being the first of nine Romanov heirs who would bear it.
[2]
However, at the time the title was conferred, Paul was recognised as Peter's legal son, but not as his legal heir. Nor would he be officially recognised as such by his mother after her usurpation of the throne.
More often he was internationally referred to by his other title of "
Grand Duke
" (actual meaning in Russian language is "
Grand Prince
"), which pre-dated
tsesarevich
, being a holdover from the
Rurikid
days before the grand dukes of
Muscovy
adopted the title of tsar. When Paul acceded to the throne in 1796, he immediately declared his son
Aleksandr Pavlovich
tsesarevich
, and the title was confirmed by law in 1797 as the official title for the heir to the throne (incorporated into Article 145 of the Fundamental Laws).
[2]
In 1799 Paul I granted the title
tsesarevich
to his second son
Constantine Pavlovich
, who, oddly, retained the title even after he renounced the throne in 1825 in favor of their younger brother,
Nicholas I
.
[2]
Thenceforth, each Emperor's eldest son bore the title until 1894, when
Nicholas II
conferred it on his brother
Grand Duke George Aleksandrovich
, with the stipulation that his entitlement to it would terminate upon the birth of a son to Nicholas, who was then
betrothed
to
Alix of Hesse
. When George died in 1899, Nicholas did not confer the title upon his oldest surviving brother
Michael Aleksandrovich
, although Nicholas's only son would not be born for another five years. That son,
Alexei Nikolaevich
(1904?1918), became the Russian Empire's last
tsesarevich
.
Tsesarevich of Russia
[
edit
]
Tsesarevna of Russia
[
edit
]
The wife of an heir-tsesarevich bore the title
Tsesarevna
(
Russian
:
Цесаревна
) ? Grand Duchess. In first years of Russian Empire the female heirs of
Peter I of Russia
bore this title: his daughters
Elizabeth of Russia
(born 1709),
Anna Petrovna
(1708?1728) and Natalia Petrovna (1718?1725). This word is not to be confused with
Tsarevna
, used before 18th century for all the Tsar's daughters and daughters-in-law.
Many princesses from Western Europe, who converted to
Orthodox Christianity
and changed their given names accordingly, were given the
patronymic
Fyodorovna
not
because their fathers were named
"Theodore", but as an allegory based on the name of
Theotokos of St. Theodore
, the patron icon of the Romanov family.
[5]
Post-monarchy
[
edit
]
After claiming the Russian throne in exile in 1924
Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich
designated his son,
Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich
,
Tsesarevich
.
[2]
Since 1997 the title has been attributed to Vladimir's grandson,
George Mikhailovich Romanov
, whose mother,
Maria Vladimirovna
, conferred it on him in her capacity as
pretender
to the throne.
[2]
Those who refer to him by a dynastic title, however, more usually address him as "grand duke".
[
citation needed
]
Until the end of the empire most people in Russia and abroad, verbally and in writing continued to refer to the Sovereign as "tsar". Perhaps for that reason the title of
tsesarevich
was less frequently used to refer to the heir apparent than either "tsarevich" or "grand duke".
[
citation needed
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Sometimes transliterated as
Cesarevich
or
Caesarevich
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Macedonsky, Dimitry (June 2005). "Hail, Son of Caesar! A Titular History of Romanov Scions".
European Royal History Journal
.
8.3
(XLV). Arturo E. Beeche: 19?27.
- ^
Burke's Royal Families of the World II
. Burke's Peerage Ltd. 1980. p. 65.
ISBN
0-85011-029-7
.
- ^
Chisholm, Hugh
, ed. (1911).
"Cesarevich"
.
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 767.
- ^
"Елисавета Феодоровна"
.
Православная энциклопедия
. Retrieved
2010-03-23
.