Grand duke Pavel Alexandrovich Romanov (1860-1919). Pavel was the youngest child of Alexander II and his 1st wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Growing up, Pavel was always very close to his only (surviving) sister Maria and brother Sergei (who was the closest in age to him). He was considered by all very kind and gentle, very religious, and accessible to people. As all Grand Dukes, he joined the Russian Army and even rose to General (despite his gentle nature). Pavel first married Princess Alexandra of Greece, and they had 2 children together: Grand duchess Maria Pavlovna (1890-1958), and Grand duke Dmitri Pavlovich (1891-1942). Sadly, Alexandra died during premature childbirth with Dmitri, who was also considered dead for a while. Pavel soon fell in love with the commoner Olga Valerianovna Karnovich, who was married at the time. The two soon began an affair and Pavel left his two young children in the care of his brother Sergei and his wife Ella. Pavel and Olga had their son Vladimir while Olga was still married. Soon she got divorced, but Nicholas II refused to grant their marriage. They married in secret, causing scandal, living in exile in France. The couple had two daughters while living in France, Irina and Natalia. Pavel and Olga were later pardoned by Nicholas II, and allowed to return to Russia. Nicholas also gave Olga and their children the title of Prince/ess Paley. WWI broke out and Pavel's military career came back. He tried to get Nicholas to grant a new Constitution in 1916, but failed. Even so, he was very close to the imperial family, even to Alexandra. When the Russian Revolution happened, Pavel was one of the unfortunate victims. Despite his poor health he was placed in the Peter and Paul Fortress where despite his wife's pleas, he never was freed. On January 29th, 1919, Pavel along with 3 of his cousins, was shot and buried in a mass grave. His remains were finally found and identified in 2011.
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