Prince Andrew Romanoff

Andrew Andreievich belonged to the fourth branch of the Mikhailovich line of the House of Romanov. He was a great-great-grandson of Emperor Nicholas I and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in a straight male line. Through his grandmother, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, he was a great-grandson of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna.

Through his great-grandmother, Empress Maria Feodorovna, Andrew Andreievich was a great-great-great-great-grandson of King George II of Great Britain, and therefore related to the royal families of Britain, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Belgium, and Monaco. Additionally, through the same descent, Andrew Andreievich was related to the former royal families of Prussia and Germany, Greece, Romania, and Serbia sometime Yugoslavia.

Through the Belgian royal family, who are also descended from King George II's grandmother, Sophia of Hanover, Andrew Andreievich was further related to the former Italian, and Austro-Hungarian royal families, as well as the Bonaparte heirs of Emperor Napoleon.

Andrew Andreievich was born on 21 January 1923 in London, England, into the family of Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia (1897–1981) and his first wife Princess Elizabeth Fabricievna, née Duchess of Sasso-Ruffo and Princess of San-Antimo.[5] His godfather was the future King Edward VIII.[6]

The third child and youngest son in the family, Andrew Andreievich spent his childhood with his sister, Princess Xenia Andreievna, and his brother, Prince Michael Andreievich in the guest house of Windsor Castle, granted to his family by King George V. Until age 12, he studied at home and received a private traditional education, characteristic for the House of Romanov. Then he studied at Haileybury and Imperial Service College.

Following the end of the war, Andrew Andreievich became an intern on an English farm in Kent, learning to become an agronomist. He also worked in a special garden near London. Finding no further prospects in Europe, after the invitation in 1949 of his uncle Prince Vasily Alexandrovich, along with his cousin Prince Nikita Nikitich, and having only 800 dollars in his pocket, he emigrated to the United States on a cargo ship carrying racehorses, pigeons, and eight passengers.

After settling in California, he started working in a store, then worked with his uncle at California Packing, where he grew tomatoes using hydroponics and worked on the introduction of new varieties of vegetables.[7]

He studied sociology and criminology at the University of California at Berkeley. Then he worked as a broker in a shipping company and spent three years in Japan and Korea. After his return to San Francisco, Andrew Andreievich became a real estate agent. He also worked as a simple employee behind the chair factory and became a designer. He became a naturalised U.S. citizen on 20 December 1954.

Following the death of his second wife, he moved to the city of Inverness, Marin County, California, where he worked as a carpenter and joiner and later was engaged in a jewellery business.

He began to draw as a primitive artist, without a formal art education, drawing pictures by intuition and relying on imagination. Andrew Andreievich also engaged in artistic photography. After retirement, he devoted himself entirely to art. On his preferred medium of Shrinky Dinks (plastic sheets that shrink by two-thirds when cooked in an oven), he drew and painted, shrinking the inimitable scenes, then mounted them on painted panels. Andrew's artwork was firmly rooted in the traditions of American folk art. His work typically depicted personal memories, impressions of American news, culture, and scenes of domestic life.

Andrew Andreievich lived with his wife, the American painter Inez Storer, in Inverness, California. In 2007, he released an autobiography called The Boy Who Would Be Tsar, illustrated with his artwork. His work has been exhibited worldwide, including recent exhibitions at Gallery 16 in San Francisco.

He died on November 28, 2021 at an assisted living facility in San Anselmo, California.[8]

• His Highness Prince Andrew Andreievich of Russia

Since the Russian revolution members of the Romanov family have tended to drop the territorial designation "of Russia" and use the princely title with the surname Romanov.[9]

• The Boy Who Would Be Tsar: The Art Of Prince Andrew Romanoff
• Romanov Family Association
• NPR Interview, January 2007 with Andrew Romanoff: "The Boy Who Would Be Tsar"