Royal titles might be grand, but one prince proudly turns in his title to become an American citizen. Barbara Hutton’s cousin Helena McCann finally has her debutante ball while others adjust to their new situations. Elder Princess Obolensky remains in mourning over her daughter. Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich tries to re-establish the Romanov throne. Prince Serge Obolensky gives up his royal title for American citizenship. Other people and subjects include: Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, Romanov family, Bolshevik Revolution, Anastasia Romanov, pretender to the throne(s), Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Katherine Middleton, Princess of Wales, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, US citizenship, American citizenship, dual citizenship, royal titles, Man in the Iron Mask Archival Music provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, www.pastperfect.com.
Royal titles might be grand, but one prince proudly turns in his title to become an American citizen.
Barbara Hutton’s cousin Helena McCann finally has her debutante ball while others adjust to their new situations. Elder Princess Obolensky remains in mourning over her daughter. Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich tries to re-establish the Romanov throne. Prince Serge Obolensky gives up his royal title for American citizenship.
Other people and subjects include: Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, Romanov family, Bolshevik Revolution, Anastasia Romanov, pretender to the throne(s), Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Katherine Middleton, Princess of Wales, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, US citizenship, American citizenship, dual citizenship, royal titles, Man in the Iron Mask
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Extra Notes / Call to Action:
Who Would Be Tsar of Russia Today? | Romanov Family Tree by UsefulCharts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMj08bfbi-g
Current Pretenders to the Thrones in Africa, Americas, Europe, Oceania by 360Data Comparison
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2O4buxzJmM
Lady Colin Campbell YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMlk9gp1WNndfOjs0_1gG3g
Share, like, subscribe
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Archival Music provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, www.pastperfect.com.
Opening Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
Section 1 Music: Top Hat, White Tie and Tails by Carroll Gibbons & Boy Friends, Album Sophistication – Songs of the Thirties
Section 2 Music: Royal Garden Blues by Benny Carter, Album Perfect Jazz
Section 3 Music: The Eyes Of The World by Louis Levy, Album The Great British Dance Bands
End Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
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AS THE MONEY BURNS
Podcast by Nicki Woodard
Episode 067 – To Be Or Not To Be A Prince
Series Tag
00:00
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
AS THE MONEY BURNS is an original podcast by Nicki Woodard. Based on historical research, this is a deep exploration into what happened to a set of actual heirs and heiresses to some of America’s most famous fortunes when the Great Depression hits.
Each episode has three primary sections. Section 1 is a narrative story. Section 2 goes deeper into the historical facts. Section 3 focuses on contemporary, emotional, and personal connections.
00:29
Story Recap
The summer ends after Frank Shields returns from Wimbledon, Barbara Hutton evades several royal liaisons, and Huntington Hartford’s secret marriage gets exposed.
Now back to AS THE MONEY BURNS
Title
00:45
To Be Or Not To Be A Prince
[Music Fade Out]
Episode Tag
Royal titles might be grand, but one prince proudly turns in his title to become an American citizen.
01:01
[Music – Top Hat, White Tie and Tails by Carroll Gibbons & Boy Friends, Album Sophistication – Songs of the Thirties]
Section 1 – Story
[Music Fade Out]
01:22
September has arrived with hints of Autumn around the corner. Another round of parties and celebrations will distract from the ongoing Great Depression.
September 10th, 1931, Oyster Bay, Long Island
Barbara Hutton’s cousin Helena McCann finally makes her debut. In the summer, Helena managed to bow at Buckingham Palace after missing her spring chance due to illness. Helena’s official debut is less extravagant than Barbara’s, as Helena is not the same level of the other Woolworth heiress – where Barbara inherits an equal amount as her aunts including Helena’s mother who is still surviving and with other siblings in the mix. Yet as another pressed dubbed 10 Cent Heiress, Helena gets all the appropriate notices in the papers and even Harper’s Bazaar.
02:14
The actual debut has all the necessary elements yet remains demure enough to not catch the same backlash of attention that her cousin Barbara’s more elaborate and ostentatious ball at the Ritz incited and yet reminiscently very similar to the earlier moonlit garden theme.
Helena’s event is held in the playhouse at Sunken Orchard, her Oyster Bay home with 1100 guests. A special annex of 100 x 50 is erected for the buffet style dinner with pale pink tablecloths filled with caviar, lobster tails, and ginger ale. Above, the night’s sky ceiling sparkles with tiny twinkling stars. A 40-piece orchestra plays as the guests dance on the indoor tennis courts now transformed into an outdoor garden with green carpet simulating grass, shrubs and flowers along the borders, and indirect lights on vine covered pedestals. Other decorations continue with the pink and green themes. The golden rays of sunset heighten the magical beauty of this 1931 season’s most lavish ball not to be outdone.
Like her cousin, Helena will spend this fall assisting and chairing several debutante committees for other balls and fundraisers as expected of the social set. The various events will be promoted as charities for the poor.
03:34
Even in bad and tough times, celebrations still must go on, but for others such enchanted moments are a more distant memory.
Meanwhile, over in New York City proper --
An elder lady in black walks around a Madison Avenue shop. She touches the fine velvet and silk fabrics. She glances over the sparkly jewels. She whiffs the elegant fragrance from the perfumes. All the luxuries once so readily available to her in a bygone era. Her husband has made a solid income off of music but nowhere close to their former noble lives. The shop attendants still address her as Princess. Yes, she was once a Princess in her native homeland. She sighs. Only her sadness is more than a loss of an opulent life. The elder Princess Lubov Obolensky still dresses in the color of mourning for her daughter Princess Anna Obolensky Troubetzkoy, who in July jumped to her death from the Eiffel Tower.
04:44
Little pockets here and there filled with titled foreigners, many dispossessed Russian nobles who 14 years after the Bolshevik Revolution have relocated and restarted their lives elsewhere. They bring their manners and cultures everywhere. A few pretenders run amongst them, like Grand Duke Kirill (Cyril) Vladimirovich. He is the first cousin of former Romanov Tsar Nicholas II and therefore claims to be the next in line in 1924 and emperor-in-exile in 1926. Ironically back in 1905, the Grand Duke is stripped of his previous royal style Imperial Highness, the royal allowance, and other honors by the Tsar in protest to an unapproved marriage with Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Tsar Nicholas II reinstated the style Imperial Highness after the death of Kirill’s father in 1908.
Kirill remains intent on re-establishing his claim to the throne, while another member in a long line of Russian nobility takes a different approach to life.
05:49
September 24th, 1931, District Court in New York City
Within the stone building, several gather for a highly prized ceremony.
Among them, the tall and charming Prince Serge Obolensky swears an oath becoming an official citizen of the United States. The act of becoming a US citizen means the Prince must relinquish his royal title, which he proudly does.
Still Serge is well known and for most of his life he will still be referred by the title. His children Ivan and Sylvia born with his American wife and heiress Ava Alice Astor will use their titles as well as their children and grandchildren. Since escaping from the Bolsheviks, Serge married into the Astor family, has served as a banker, and now works for his brother-in-law Vincent Astor managing several properties and becoming a hotelier. Serge has a natural air that while regal is always warm and inviting.
06:51
Unaware to most, this is a difficult period for Serge. He is separated from his beloved wife and trying to sort out the next course in his life.
Serge considers this day to be one of his proudest and humblest moments. In his own words stating, “I was granted one of the world’s greatest gifts, American citizenship.” He will later repay his gratitude in service with multiple missions as a US paratrooper behind enemy lines in Germany during World War II.
Alas very few adjust so well when the tides of fate change.
07:30
[Music – Royal Garden Blues by Benny Carter, Album Perfect Jazz]
Section 2 – History & Historiography
[Music Fade Out]
07:48
To be or not to be, royal that is. Like those born into wealth, rarely do royals or nobility willingly give up what their lifestyle or title could mean. Birthright is a hard and fast identity many cling to, and others will stake a claim with fake ones if need be to gain the same advantages. And yet, even those privileges have no permanent guarantees.
But oh how one will try…
08:18
To be fair, not everyone can gracefully make such a drastic change in their life especially into a negative or lesser situation, nor would they want to if they thought they might have even the slightest or remotest chance at any sort of restoration.
As mentioned in previous episodes, there are several dispossessed Russian nobility around the world due to the Russian Revolution and Bolshevik Revolution. In the 1920s, Paris is the center of many of these former nobles. Living the life in somewhat luxury where possible. Other have adjusted and made a relatively better life, while some will eventually descend into more impoverished conditions.
Is it any wonder then that there would be several who would try to reassert their claims or revive the past into their present situations? This is where history and people have an unusual and somewhat possibly twisted sense of self-inflated egos and at times darker humor.
09:14
As long as there are desired potential privileges, there will always be pretenders on the rise. Now there are complete and utter fakes. Regular people pretending to be the deceased or never was – there are no ends to examples in the French and Russian dynasties. Even the popular story Man in the Iron Mask plays with the idea of a pretender from the French King Louis XIV’s biological twin Phillippe who was thought to have died many years earlier.
The sudden, abrupt, and horrific nature involving the French Revolution and Bolshevik Revolution led to speculations on the survival of various royal family members. There are also plenty of people with no royal nor noble connections claiming to be such and duping those around them. Sometimes the pretense is known and tolerated as an enjoyable experience, while others get a lot more trickier especially if the ruse eventually involves more substantial restitution.
10:09
For the sake of focus and context, the biggest back then is Anastasia Romanov. She dramatically entered the scene when she attempted to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge in Berlin in February 1920. She would spend two years in a psychiatric ward when another woman then identified her as Grand Duchess Tatiana of Russia. A Tolstoy was called in to confirm and with another Russian Baroness who served as a lady-in-waiting pointed out the unknown patient was too short to be Tatiana or a Grand Duchess. Later, the patient identified herself as Anastasia Tschaikovksy and eventually the Romanov princess. In reality, “Anastasia” is revealed to be the Prussian born Franziska Schanzkowska more commonly known as Anna Anderson. The ruse went on for a while with different claims and counter claims. In the meantime, Anastasia is warned her worst rival would be Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich.
11:05
He too claimed a right to the Romanov throne. Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich is the second son of Grand Duke Vladimir, who was the third son of Tsar Alexander II. Kirill’s eldest brother Alexander died when Kirill was only 6 months old. It would be Kirill’s youngest brother Grand Duke Andrei who would bolster the fake Anastasia’s claims.
Now this is where things can get tricky when looking at history. Grand Duke Kirill is also mentioned in the newspapers as a pretender to the throne. Only he has both a legitimate and illegitimate claim, that is debated until this day.
11:44
First and foremost is the issue of Kirill’s marriage to his cousin Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. For the marriage to be legitimate, it would have to be performed in the Russian Orthodox Church and require the approval from both the British crown and Russian tsar. Over several meetings during their lifetime including the Tsar’s coronation in 1894, Victoria and Kirill would meet and instantly feel a pull and attraction, yet their union remained forbidden. Named after her grandmother Queen Victoria, Princess Victoria divorced her other cousin Grand Duke of Hesse Ernest Louis, who by the way is the brother of Tsarina Alexandra. The divorce caused further rifts between Alexandra and her cousin Victoria.
12:27
Only during the Russo-Japanese War, Kirill’s naval ship collided with an underwater mine, and he narrowly escaped with his life. This renewed his vigor to live life on his terms, and he secretly wed Victoria without approval and outside the Russian Orthodox Church. Tsar Nicholas II then stripped Kirill of his royal style, allowance, and other privileges, only to restore them upon Kirill’s father death as Kirill would now be the 3rd in line of succession for the Romanov throne.
12:59
This is where the second objection comes in. In February 1917, shortly before his cousin Nicholas II is forced to abdicate in March 1917, Kirill had sworn allegiance to the Russian Provisional Government in hopes of securing his position upon Nicholas II’s abdication. By June 1917, Kirill, Victoria, and their children escape to Finland, then Germany in 1920, and onto Paris thereafter. Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, and their children would be executed in July 1918.
13:35
Nicholas II’s brother Grand Duke Michael was imprisoned and executed in June 1918, however it would take until July 1924 for a London court to declare Michael as legally dead. Remember it would take many decades to confirm the death of Nicholas II and his family. Upon the pronouncement, Kirill declared himself “Guardian of the Throne” shortly thereafter then Emperor of all the Russias and in 1926 Emperor-in-Exile. He even declared himself the Soviet Tsar. A critic of capitalism, Kirill wanted to mix elements of monarchy and Soviet ideology, which is a bit contradictory since Soviet is communist with the intention of ending any and all monarchies.
14:20
Now another irony being that – can you really be a king, prince, grand duke, emperor, tsar, or whatever of a now defunct royal state?
Well Kirill spent his life trying to do just that, and so have his descendants and as well as other relatives.
In 1929, there were 29 known surviving members of the Romanov (Romanoff) family, and they seemingly supported Kirill’s claim and then his son’s as they fulfilled part of the royal protocol so desired to legitimately claim the throne. However as time goes on with a lack of direct male heirs, there are now at least 6 claiming the position. It gets very convoluted.
15:02
In the notes section and in the transcript, I will include links to 2 YouTube videos:
One goes through all the possible claimants if the Romanov throne was ever restored and/or the attempts to claim micronation status to legitimize a new one:
Who Would Be Tsar of Russia Today? | Romanov Family Tree by UsefulCharts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMj08bfbi-g
The second shows a list of several descendants who might or are trying to claim formerly lost royal lineages around the world. A few Bonapartes, a French Bourbon, and others among them…
Current Pretenders to the Thrones in Africa, Americas, Europe, Oceania by 360Data Comparison
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2O4buxzJmM
15:43
It seems odd and maybe even silly to see one cling to a past now far gone, but alas it is all too part of human nature. And we must also remember that up until the last century with the drastic change involving the toppling of 3 dynasties with World War I, that the majority of the world was ruled by monarchies. A succession crisis caused many issues, and some that would make a Game Of Thrones episode look tame.
In the very real present, this question comes up again in relation to the death of British Queen Elizabeth II and the succession of her son now King Charles III.
It is one thing to give up a title if it gives you nothing, but what will happen if holding onto it might give you everything?
Such is the complication of titles and even wealth, a fortune is not so easily discarded even if one despises it as our heirs and heiresses are learning.
16:42
[Music – The Eyes Of The World by Louis Levy, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Section 3 – Contemporary & Personal Relevance
[Music Fade Out]
16:58
Last week, Queen Elizabeth II of England passed away. The longest reigning British monarch who only recently celebrated her Platinum Jubilee and surpassed another record as the second longest reigning monarch in recorded history. I have covered this history in previous episodes.
Her death has meant a change in succession and royal lineage with the longest reigning Prince of Wales now ascending as King Charles III. His eldest son Prince William and Katherine have recently been designated the new Prince and Princess of Wales.
17:31
Questions remain about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and their children. Prior to the death, there has been speculation on Prince Harry and his visa / green card issues over his work in the United States.
I want to clarify the latter aspect. Some have questioned his visa classification or green card status. For his involvement with several startups, it was indicated he might have one of the special visa statuses. However that is completely unnecessary. Prince Harry by virtue of his marriage to the American citizen Meghan Markle will automatically qualify for an open visa which would convert to a green card within 2 years of marriage.
I am very well versed on immigration – visa and green card policies. During my marriage, I had to clear up my now ex-husband’s visa status and later convert it to a green card. We were married for 8.5 years, and it was certainly not a green card marriage.
18:22
The rights of the green card by marriage are due to the American spouse having the right to have the non-American spouse available. After a few more years, a green card can be converted into citizenship. A green card is essentially a permanent resident card and gives many rights (unrestricted work access) but restricted from voting. A naturalized citizen granted after immigration will have voting rights but cannot become president of the United States.
18:49
Due to laws in other nations, some choose to remain a permanent resident rather than becoming a naturalized citizen. Why? Certain countries do not permit dual citizenship and conversion to those countries requires renouncing one’s own prior citizenship. This was an issue many years ago with Mexico. Mexico would not permit dual citizenship, and only Mexican citizens were allowed to own or inherit property, thus many Mexicans in the United States remained permanent residents in order to protect their rights to ancestral property. That law changed several years ago.
19:21
The United States allows for dual citizenship with any country that does not force one to renounce their prior citizenship. Thus many European and former European Union countries are available – during my marriage I had debated dual citizenship with Turkey if they had been granted into the EU to open my own potential economic possibilities (I dream of working abroad), but alas that did not happen and the marriage is over so that possibility is over. Another requirement to gain US citizenship is that noble and royal titles must be relinquished. This is not forbidden to American citizens who are born with one or gain royal titles later, but only those wishing to become a US citizen.
20:05
Therefore an odd and strange conundrum. If Prince Harry eventually decides to become a US citizen, he must relinquish his royal titles. However even if he does relinquish his titles, Meghan Markle can keep hers indefinitely even if a divorce occurs due to current British laws. It is also alluded that Meghan has intentions to run for the US senate and president, though that seems preposterous if she insists on holding on to her royal titles.
I defer any questions to the wonderful Lady Colin Campbell’s YouTube videos where she often explains royal titles and protocol in various and similar situations.
Lady Colin Campbell YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMlk9gp1WNndfOjs0_1gG3g
As circumstances change, many struggle to adapt. There are several pretenders running around our story. Have you been able to spot them before our heirs and heiresses fall prey?
20:56
This year we have experienced some key historical moments in the making involving the beloved monarch Queen Elizabeth II from the monumental Platinum Jubilee celebration to the upcoming coronation of the new King Charles III. Recent episodes of As The Money Burns highlights British royals back in 1931 and up to the present day from Episode 58: Pomp and Circumstance to Episode 61: Served Well. Episode 59: Aftertaste covers the history of the title Prince of Wales. Future hints of the abdication crisis intertwines in our tales of heirs and heiresses.
If you enjoy As The Money Burns, then please share, like, & subscribe.
Hook
21:38
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Next when we return to AS THE MONEY BURNS…
Many marvel at several stunning new murals created by a famous painter for the opening of a grand hotel with an old familiar name.
Until then…
Credits
21:58
AS THE MONEY BURNS is an original podcast written, produced, and voiced by Nicki Woodard, based on historical research. Archival music has been provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, check out their website at www.pastperfect.com.
Please come visit us at As The Money Burns via Goodpods, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Transcripts, timeline, episode guide, and character bios are available at asthemoneyburns.com.
22:29
THE END.