Prince George Alexandrovich Yuryevsky

Prince George Alexandrovich Yuryevsky#tag:ref|The prince's name varies depending on the source. One refers to him as Prince Georgy Alexandrovich Yuryevsky, Yourievsky, The morganatic marriage of George's parents on 6 July 1880, eight years after his birth, resulted in the legitimation of their three surviving children, and George gained the style of Serene Highness.

Family and early life George's mother, Catherine Dolgorukova, met Alexander II when he visited the Smolny Institute in the autumn of 1864. She became his mistress in July 1866, despite early resistance. Their affair caused great scandal at court, with Alexander's heir (the Tsarevich) in particular protesting, though it was to be in vain. The Emperor was devoted to Catherine and promised to marry her as soon as he was "free," meaning when his estranged and sickly wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna finally died. Alexander had ordered that if the circumstances called for it, Catherine, and not the child, must be saved; but mother and son both lived, and the father happily wrote "The Lord is so generous. I praised God, in tears I thank Him".

The devotion Alexander showed to his mistress and children concerned all around him, many feeling that the relationship damaged his reputation irreparably. In 1878, Alexander secretly had his children legitimated with noble status under the name of "Yuryevskii," clearly marking his second family as Russian, compared to the German heritage of his other children. When revolutionary groups like the Nihilist movement increased in power, the Emperor's "first family", as well as the princess and their children, removed themselves to the Winter Palace for security reasons, where their rooms were said to be directly above the dying Empress. The Emperor had believed he was in danger of assassination, and was consequently in favor of a speedy remarriage, as this would help to provide for his second family. The marriage was heavily criticized, with one source speculating that it "deprived [Alexander's] image of both the moral and cultural attributes that had come to justify autocratic power". Catherine took the title Princess Romanovskaia-Yurevskaia and the status of Serene Highness, along with her children. Catherine and their children began to appear at official family dinners, where George enjoyed playing with the Tsarevich's children, to the displeasure of the future emperor's wife. Indeed, the Emperor ordered research be done on the subject in order to evaluate how Catherine's coronation might be achieved. The Tsarevich was so upset by these plans that he threatened to leave for Denmark with his family, but he chose to stay after the Emperor threatened to replace him as heir by his half-brother. Another rumour suggested the Emperor might abdicate, at the urging of his wife, and go to live with her and their children in France.

Death of the Emperor Emperor Alexander II died on 13 March 1881, when after visiting his cousin Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna he was assassinated on the road leading back to the Winter Palace. His death stopped all plans for Catherine's coronation, which some considered fortunate, as they feared it would have caused lasting damage to the monarchy. George and his family attended the Emperor's funeral, but they were ignored as much as possible by the Imperial family, until Alexander III himself approached his father's widow and spoke to her.

Later years

After his father's assassination, George, along with his mother and sisters Olga and Catherine (brother Boris died the year he was born), went to live in Paris and Nice, France. George borrowed money from the other officers so that he could throw gold coins at girls during carnival season, and he did not pay back his debts. On 16 February 1900 in Nice, he married Countess Aleksandra Konstantinovna von Zarnekau, described by some as "a very beautiful woman". Her birth was similar to his own, as she was the daughter of Duke Constantine Petrovich of Oldenburg and his morganatic marriage with Georgian aristocrat Agrippina Japaridze, from the Japaridze family, titled Countess von Zarnekau. George and Aleksandra had one son: Alexander Georgiyevich Yuryevsky, Prince Yuryevsky (21 December 1900 – 29 February 1988); he married Ursule Anne Marie Beer de Grüneck and had a son named Hans-George (b. 1961), Financial troubles were another explanation attributed to their divorce. He was buried at St. Elizabeth's Church in Wiesbaden, Hesse.