Queen Victoria's granddaughter returns to Russia

The relics of Grand Duchess Elizabeth, one of the most respected saints in the Orthodox Church, have arrived at Moscow's Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy, which she set up in 1909, after 90 years overseas.

Elizabeth Romanova, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England, married into the last tsar's family when she was nineteen.

She converted to Orthodoxy and devoted her life to charity by trying to improve healthcare and education. She became a nun after her husband, Grand Duke Sergey Aleksandrovich, was shot dead by a terrorist.

After she and other members of the tsar's family were killed by the Bolsheviks during the Communist Revolution in 1917, her relics were taken abroad and have been kept in Jerusalem since 1921.


Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill has held a liturgy to mark the return of the relics to where they belong. Among those assisting the event are relatives of Grand Duchess Elizabeth and descendants of Russia’s most prominent noble families.

Documents and personal belongings of the Romanov family members have also been brought to the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy for a temporary exhibition. It is timed to coincide with its 100th anniversary.

Sources:RT,www.otechestvo.org.ua