Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich (1859–1918) was the first-born son of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov and Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna of Russia and a grandson of Nicholas I of Russia.

Early life

Born in St Petersburg in the middle of the nineteenth century into the Romanov family, he had a very privileged childhood. Most royal children were brought up my nannies and servants so by the time Nikolai had grown up he lived a very independent life having become a gifted military officer and an incorrigible womanizer. He had an affair with a notorious American lady Fanny Lear . This affair let him into a plot to betray his family and so he was banished to the far reaches of the Russian empire never to see home again.

Later life

He lived for many years under constant supervision in the area around Tashkent, South Eastern Russia and made a great contribution to Tashkent by using his personal fortune to help improve the local area. In 1890 he ordered the building of his own palace in Tashkent to house and show his large and very valuable collection of works of art and the collection is now the center of the State museum of arts of Uzbekistan. He was also famous in Tashkent as a competent engineer and irrigator, constructing two large canals, the Bukhar-aryk (which was poorly aligned and soon silted up) and the much more successful Khiva-Aryk, later extended to form the Emperor Nicholas I Canal, irrigating 12,000 desyatinas, 33,000 acres (134 km²) of land in the 'Hungry Steppe' (Голодной Степь) between Djizak and Tashkent. Most of this was then settled with Slavic peasant colonisers.

Nikolai had a number of children by different women and one of his grandchildren Natalya Androssov Iskander Romanov died in Moscow in 1999.

Map of Uzbekistan

Death

Nikolai died on the 26th January 1918 and was buried in St George's Cathedral Tashkent (later demolished by the Soviet regime) and although the revolution had started he had a state funeral as he was so admired by the local population.

Family

Nikolai married Nadedja Alexandrovna von Dreyer (1861-1929) in 1882 there were two children from this marriage:

• Artemi Nikolaievitch Prince Iskander (1883-1919) killed in the Russian Civil War
• Alexander Nikolaievitch Prince Iskander (1889-1957) married 5th May 1912 Olga Iosifovna Rogovsk (1893-1962). Alexander and Olga were later divorced, their two children were:

- Kyrill Aleksandrovitch Prince Iskander (1914-1992) - Natalya Androssov Iskander Romanov (1917-1999) Alexander then married in 1930 Natalya Khanykov (1893-1982)

Nikolai also had the following children:

• Two children by Alexandra Abaza who died in 1894

- Olga who died in 1910 - Nicholas who died in 1913

• Three children by Daria Eliseievna

- Stanislas who died in 1919 - Nicholas who died in 1922 - Daria who died in 1966

External links

• Nikolia's Palace in Tashkent