Russia: George Romanov is led by Bettarini. accompanied at the altar
Grand Duke George Mikhailovich Romanov married the Italian fiancée Victoria Romanovna Bettarini in St. Isaac’s Cathedral with hundreds of foreign guests. And the importance of the occasion was evident from journalist Jonathan Sacerdoti, a regular commentator on royal affairs for Sky News and a frequent contributor to The Spectator.
He told Express.co.uk: “For more than 100 years it would have been almost inconceivable that this wedding could take place in St. Petersburg.
“Although these titles don’t mean much anymore and any claim to royal status is now very weak, the two-day wedding promises to be quite a spectacle as a lavish relic of the extravagance of the old world.”
Ahead of the event, Mr. Sacerdoti added, “From exchanging Faberge wedding rings to gathering different descendants from several other exiled royal families, it will be like some kind of historical reenactment.
George Romanov, a member of the Romanov family with bride Rebecca Bettarini (Image: GETTY)
Rebecca Bettarini is from Italy (Image: GETTY)
“I heard that the last Bulgarian king, Simeon II, who later became his prime minister, will be there, as will Leka Zogu II, the title king of the Albanians, and Joachim Murat, who is descended from the King of Naples name.”
However, he cautioned royalty fans: “There will be a sense of old world grandeur, but it is literally not a royal wedding.”
The occasion was a banquet hosted by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a catering tycoon sometimes referred to as “Putin’s Chef”.
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Grand Duchess Mariya Vladimirovna Romanova, the mother of George Romanov (Image: GETTY)
Ms. Bettarini wore a dress designed by Rim Acra, which Beyoncé, Madonna, Angelina Jolie and Melania Trump also wore.
Russia’s last tsar Nicholas II, the first cousin of George V, the queen’s grandfather, was killed by a revolutionary firing squad together with his wife and five children in July 1918 in the basement of a merchant’s house in Yekaterinburg, a town in 1450 km (900 miles) east of Moscow.
Mikhailovich Romanov, 40, told the Russian news website Fontanka.ru choosing St. Petersburg as the venue: “This was the first place in Russia we went back to.
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Princess Lea of Belgium was one of the wedding guests (Image: GETTY)
Bridesmaids can be seen at George Romanov’s wedding (Image: GETTY)
“It’s very, very close to family.”
Mr. Michailowitsch Romanow was born in Spain as the son of the Russian Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna – the self-proclaimed heiress of the Russian imperial throne – and her husband Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia.
He lived in France and Spain for most of his life.
George Romanov and Rebecca Bettarini in the cathedral (Image: GETTY)
His great-grandfather, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, the brother of Tsar Nicholas II, escaped Bolshevik violence during the 1917 revolution in Finland.
He and his family later moved to Western Europe.
Reported guests included Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the brother of the Emir of Qatar, Queen Sofia of Spain, the mother of King Philip VI.
George Romanov is distantly related to Queen Elizabeth through his great-grandfather (Image: GETTY)
George Mikhailovich first visited Russia in 1992 and now lives in Moscow, where he works on a number of charity projects.
Ms. Bettarini, 39, converted to the Russian Orthodox faith last year and took the name Victoria Romanovna.
The Romanov dynasty ruled Russia for 300 years before Nicholas II abdicated in 1917 and put Russia on course for the Bolshevik Revolution, Civil War, and 70 years of communist rule.
The Orthodox Church of Russia sanctified Nicholas II in 2000 after being portrayed as a weak leader by Soviet authorities.
