Romanov Family: Nicholas II's Household, the Wider Dynasty and Descendants
The Romanov family: Nicholas II, Alexandra and their five children, the grand dukes and duchesses of the wider dynasty, who was killed and who escaped in 1917-1919, and the disputed headship claims among descendants today.
Last updated September 2026
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The Romanov family usually means the last imperial household. That is Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and their five children. All of them were killed in 1918.
The name also covers the much larger dynasty that ruled Russia from 1613. That includes its grand dukes and grand duchesses. It includes the descendants who live around the world today.
This page covers the close family and the wider dynasty. It also covers who died and who escaped after the revolution. And it covers the dispute over who leads the family now.
TL;DR: Nicholas II and Alexandra had four daughters and a son. The girls were Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. The boy was Alexei. All were killed in Yekaterinburg in July 1918. Other Romanovs were killed elsewhere in 1918-1919. Nicholas's mother, his sisters and several cousins escaped abroad. Their descendants are split over who heads the family.
Nicholas II's immediate Romanov family
| Name | Born | Role | Fate | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholas II | 1868 | Emperor, 1894-1917 | Abdicated 1917; killed 1918 | Reviewed |
| Alexandra Feodorovna | 1872 | Empress; born Princess Alix of Hesse | Killed 1918 | Reviewed |
| Olga | 1895 | Eldest daughter | Killed 1918 | Reviewed |
| Tatiana | 1897 | Second daughter | Killed 1918 | Reviewed |
| Maria | 1899 | Third daughter | Killed 1918; remains identified 2008 | Reviewed |
| Anastasia | 1901 | Youngest daughter | Killed 1918 | Reviewed |
| Alexei | 1904 | Son and heir; had haemophilia | Killed 1918; remains identified 2008 | Reviewed |
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The four sisters sometimes signed letters together as "OTMA", from their initials. The Alexei Romanov page covers Alexei's life. For July 1918, see Romanov execution.
Nicholas and Alexandra
Nicholas married Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine in November 1894. It was weeks after his father died. She took the Russian name Alexandra Feodorovna when she became Orthodox. She was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria through her mother, Princess Alice. Nicholas was also related to the British royal family.
His mother, Maria Feodorovna, and Queen Alexandra, wife of Edward VII, were sisters. That made Nicholas a first cousin of George V.
The wider Romanov family
The dynasty included every ruler from Michael I in 1613. It also had many grand dukes and grand duchesses. They never reigned.
By the early 1900s there were dozens of adult Romanovs. Many had their own palaces and army posts. Many married into other royal houses. The full list of rulers is on the Romanov dynasty hub.
| Family member | Relation to Nicholas II | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Maria Feodorovna | Mother | Dowager empress; escaped in 1919 |
| Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich | Brother | Declined the throne in March 1917; killed near Perm in 1918 |
| Grand Duchess Xenia | Sister | Escaped in 1919; lived in England |
| Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna | Sister | Escaped; later lived in Denmark and Canada |
| Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna | Sister-in-law, Alexandra's sister | Founded a religious community; killed at Alapayevsk in 1918 |
| Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich | Cousin | Proclaimed himself emperor in exile in 1924 |
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Who was killed after 1917
The Yekaterinburg killings were not the only deaths. In June 1918 Bolsheviks killed Nicholas's brother Michael near Perm. On 18 July 1918, the day after Yekaterinburg, they killed Alexandra's sister Elizabeth at Alapayevsk. Several other Romanovs died with her. The victims were thrown into a mine shaft.
In January 1919 four grand dukes were shot in Petrograd. The Russian Orthodox Church later made Elizabeth Feodorovna a saint.
Who escaped
Many Romanovs survived because they were in Crimea, far from Petrograd, when the revolution spread. In April 1919 a British warship, HMS Marlborough, took them into exile. Maria Feodorovna and other relatives were on board.
The dowager empress went back to her native Denmark. She died there in 1928. Nicholas's sister Xenia settled in England. His sister Olga later moved to Canada.
The Anastasia legend
For decades rumours claimed that one of the children had survived. Most often the story was about Anastasia. The best-known claimant, Anna Anderson, appeared in Berlin in 1920.
She kept up her claim until she died in 1984. DNA tests in the 1990s showed she was not related to the Romanovs. Alexei and Maria were found and identified in 2007-2008. That accounted for all seven members of the close family.
Who leads the Romanov family today
Headship of the family
Head of the House of Romanov.
Status: Disputed Rival claims. No legal title.
Note: The Russian Imperial House names Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna as its head. It relies on the house's old laws of succession. She is a granddaughter of Grand Duke Kirill.
The Romanoff Family Association was founded by other descendants. It rejects her claim and publishes statements disputing her title. No Romanov has reigned since 1917, so the headship is an honorary claim. This site records it as disputed.
Sources: Russian Imperial House, "Dynastic Succession" (archived 2025); The Romanoff Family Association, press statements.
Marriages into other royal houses
Romanovs married into most of Europe's royal families, and the other way round. Nicholas I married a Prussian princess. Alexander III married a Danish princess, and Nicholas II a Hessian one.
Romanov daughters married into the royal houses of Greece, Denmark and German states. So several of today's monarchs have Romanov ancestors. They include King Charles III. His father, Prince Philip, descended from Nicholas I through Queen Olga of Greece.
DNA work identified the Romanovs. But a home test cannot link you to them. See our guide to the best DNA test for ancestry. It compares five kits and bundles. It also explains what they can and cannot show.
Artifacts and collections
Museums in Russia and abroad hold Romanov treasures. They range from photographs, letters and uniforms to jewelled Easter eggs. The Fabergé firm made those eggs for Alexander III and Nicholas II.
The State Hermitage in Saint Petersburg holds one of the largest state collections. So does the Armoury Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin. In Britain, the Royal Collection holds photos of the family with their British cousins.
To read more, see our guide to the best books about the Romanovs. It picks eight. They run from the whole dynasty to the family's last months.
Verdict: the Romanov family in brief
In the narrow sense, the Romanov family was seven people. They were Nicholas II, Alexandra and their five children. All were killed in July 1918. DNA evidence now accounts for all of them.
In its wider sense it is a dynasty of three centuries. Some of its members were killed after the revolution. Others escaped abroad. The one open question on this page is who heads the family today. Rival descendants still dispute it.
Sources checked for this page
- Britannica, "Nicholas II: Abdication and death"
- History.com, "Romanov family"
- Britannica, "Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich"
- Royal Collection Trust, "Maria Feodorovna, Dowager Empress of Russia (1847-1928)"
- PubMed, "The identification of the Romanovs: Can we (finally) put the controversies to rest"
- Russian Imperial House, "Dynastic Succession" (archived 2025)
- The Romanoff Family Association
Questions people also ask
Who was in Nicholas II's immediate family?
His wife Alexandra Feodorovna, their four daughters, Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, and their son Alexei. All seven were killed in Yekaterinburg on the night of 16-17 July 1918.
Did any Romanovs survive the revolution?
Yes. Nicholas II's mother, the dowager empress Maria Feodorovna, his sisters Xenia and Olga, and a number of grand dukes and their families escaped abroad, many from Crimea in 1919.
Did Anastasia survive?
No. DNA testing of the remains found in 1991 and 2007 accounts for all seven members of the family, and tests in the 1990s showed that Anna Anderson, the best-known claimant, was not Anastasia.
Who leads the Romanov family today?
The question is disputed. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna's Russian Imperial House presents her as head. The Romanoff Family Association, representing other branches, rejects that claim. No Romanov has reigned since 1917.
What happened to Nicholas II's mother?
The dowager empress Maria Feodorovna left Crimea on the British warship HMS Marlborough in April 1919 and returned to her native Denmark, where she died in 1928.