 It should be pointed out, however, that it was not in the Grand Duchess's character to frequent sophisticated receptions very often. She was obliged to attend them very rarely, more out of courtesy. When this occurred, she said these receptions were 'something from another world. Once, however, in September, 1954, one such 'high-class' visit helped the Grand Duchess boost her image in the eyes of certain naive people in her entourage: "Marina, the Duchess of Kent (the daughter of Helen Vladimirovna), came to visit us. She was really beautiful and very nice. She called to say she wanted to come Saturday, September 4, at 10:30 am. Before she arrived, Tihon and Agneta cleaned up our house (which I was really glad of, since I know I do let things go at times!). A lot of policemen showed up and posted themselves behind the bushes, in the fields and in our garden. My children were so happy with her visit. They jumped around her, poured her a glass of wine and didn't let us speak together, but she really wanted to. She said that Xenia was fine and I know that Xenia really likes Marina and is glad when Marina visits her. So, we were very glad and our closest neighbours were also very glad and admired her beauty. Other people's opinions of me have gone up. Since this visit, when I go walking past gardens of ladies I don't know, they call me into their yards and ask me questions about my relationship with people of high birth. A store owner Tve been dealing with for three years said to me, 'You must feel very proud that a real duchess visited you' Tihon laughed so hard and was glad and made up all kinds of replies which I didn't use!!"
To be sure, some naive Canadians could not imagine that living among them was the Grand Duchess, the porphyrogenite child of the Emperor of Russia, Alexander III and sister of the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II. Thus, through her birth, Grand Duchess Olga was in no way inferior to an English duchess who was at the very most a great grand-daughter of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Duchess Olga's humility was nonetheless so great and so natural that people considered her an equal. Only those closest to her, as well as Russian emigre's, understood the true picture, however. Precisely because of her dislike for worldly dinner parties and receptions, Grand Duchess Olga preferred to send her paintings to Denmark rather than exhibit them in Canada, since local custom would have required her first of all to create a certain favourable publicity around her name and this would have taken away from her creativity:
Grand Duchess Olga nonetheless won recognition as a painter on both sides of the Atlantic. Although she herself did not like to frequent Canadian high society, people the world over sought her out and would invite her to their hospitable homes in order to express their appreciation and give their respect. Sometimes this resulted in serendipitous occurrences: some people who thought they weren't acquainted with the Grand Duchess before their visit discovered they had mutual acquaintances! It was on these occasions that her younger son Gury loved to repeat, "Haven't I always said that Denmark was big, but the world is small?" Yes, indeed, the bonds of love and artistic creation linked the Russian Grand Duchess and the grand-daughter of the King of Denmark with the entire world! The running of a private farm did not turn out as it did in Denmark, so the Grand Duchess soon exchanged it for a small house in Cooksville, a Toronto suburb. It was here that relatives would visit the Grand Duchess: Her Highness Princess Vera Constantinovna, His Highness Prince Vassily Alexandrovich, Marina, the Duchess of Kent and Lord Mountbatten with his wife. Even Queen Elizabeth II invited the Grand Duchess and her son Tihon Nikolaevich to lunch with her aboard the royal yacht Britannia. In 1951, former officers from across Canada and the United States gathered at the home of Grand Duchess Olga to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Akhtyrsky Regiment. It was upon that occasion the Grand Duchess became Patroness of the Association of Russian Cadets of Toronto.
The idea for the creation of the Russian Relief Program in the name of Grand Duchess Olga rose nonetheless from the destiny of this humble but very Great Lady. The Christian beginnings of rendering help to one's neighbour, inculcated by the Grand Duchess in her eldest son, Tihon Nicholaevich, have been the source of inspiration for our work. These high ideals are what guide us now and will do so forever.
The opening of the current exhibition in Ekaterinburg was carefully planned to coincide with the Days of Remembrance and Homage to the Tsar held every year at this time in Ekaterinburg. Thousands of Russians faithful to the Orthodox religion make an annual pilgrimage to the Church on the Blood, a shrine to the Tsar and his family who were assassinated on that site during the night of July 16-17, 1918.
Mrs. Olga Nikolaievna Kulikovsky-Romanoff
Daughter-in-law of Grand Duchess Olga President of The Russian Relief Program in the name of Grand Duchess Olga |
© Historical Magazine «Gatchina Through The Centuries»