I am related to one of the Tsars - but how can I prove it?

Question

I am not sure which Tsar it was (Not Nicholas II) - Maybe his father or Tsar Alexander. He had an affair with the British Ambassador's wife who were based in St Petersburgh. As a result she got pregnant and bore him twin daughters. These children were totally not recognised as legitimate - but nevertheless one of the twin girls went on to have 14 children, and one of those children was my grandfather. How to get to the bottom of it though - 'cause I suppose tracing something that was deliberately covered up might be difficult? The girls were given the name of Ward - whether that was the Ambassador's name who took them on as his own, I dont know. Any ideas how to even begin to search this one?

Answer 1

GenevievesMom's is likely correct that you will never be able to PROVE it directly at this late stage, however, this said, you should be able to establish whether or not the legend is at least potentially true.

Specifically, you can trace back your grandfather's line until you reach the woman in question. With Census and governmental records, you should be able to find whether or not your great-great-grandmother's husband was in the British Foreign Service fairly easily. You didn't say how old you were, but given the number of generations, you'd prob. be looking at a mid-late 19th century Tsar, presumably Alexander II or Alexander III.

And indeed while Victorian mores would have hushed up the incident, there might be some mention of scandel in gossip-rags of the day in either the UK or Russia - although the availability of these sources may be minimal. Diplomatic correspondence, to the extent it still existed and has been classified, may also hint at the scandel.

Be prepared, however, to find that the whole story is hog-wash. Real research often destroys family stories - but that can be part of the fun.

BTW - DNA wouldn't help, as the Tsar's Y-chromosome DNA line wasn't passed to any illegitimate daughter (it only passes to sons). If you did have a male line, you'd have your answer, as a Romanov DNA profile was compiled by Dr. Peter Gill (of Cambridge, i believe) in connection with the identification of the bodies of Nicholas II and family and said profile was published (in part, i believe) in various forensic journals.

Answer 2

Impossible to prove...on many fronts. In order to do a DNA test you'd have to have DNA of a descendent of the Czar in question to compare it to...and which monarch do you propose to approach to give a sample?

Next, there's no way of proving that the man with whom the woman had the affair was actually the Czar and not a simple courtier or footman. Even if you did get a DNA test that said you have common Russian traits, it doesn't mean they came from the king and not from a commoner.

As for the name Ward, that wouldn't be so hard to trace. If you give us the names of the daughters, we can look up who their parents are listed as on the registry. Take that to the peerage files and we can tell you if the father was a diplomat or not.

I will say one thing about England, though. Anyone in the upper classes...which includes ambassadors...would not have allowed scandal in that age. If a woman became pregnant, the husband was always be the father of the children. No one would announce their indiscretions to the rest of "Society".

Answer 3

Nicolas II grow to be born AFTER my grandparents, so i might wish no longer! And my mom and dad have been young ones whilst he died.... A kin tale isn't a legend. there's a super hollow between the two. How do you come across out? 2 techniques: start up with your self and artwork backwards, one era at a time or choose for DNA sorting out. there have been incredibly some comments approximately DNA sorting out to verify if somebody is or isn't descended from him or perhaps pertaining to to him.

Answer 4

You're probably related to a my dear friend of mine.

Answer 5

http://www.dnaancestryproject.com/

My friend used this and was thrilled to find out she was part Cherokee Indian.

Answer 6

BLOOD ANALYISIS FO SHO' LADY