Anna/Anastasia: Russia’s fake Princess

Lost Russian Princess or History’s greatest imposter? The mystery of Anastasia Romanov has fascinated for decades.

Did she die at 17 or live to the ripe old age of 87? Could a suicidal asylum inmate called Anna Anderson, really be a Russian Princess and if so, how did she survive against all odds?

It’s a story with twists and turns for days – and it all starts in a basement in a far flung corner of Russia…

Colourised image of Russia’s last Royal family, The Romanovs                     (warning the next three paragraphs are pretty bleak…) 

On July 17^th 1918, the Russia’s royal family were led to a basement. There they were photographed, lined against a wall and told they were to be executed.

Within seconds soldiers descended. The Father, Tsar Nicholas ll was shot point blank in head. His children, Tatiana, Olga, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei were not so lucky. They were shot, stabbed, beaten and bayoneted, until the soldiers were sure the job was done.

All it took was a few blood soaked minutes and the Romanov dynasty was snuffed out; centuries of royal rule and tradition…gone…just like that.

Or was it?

Anastasia Romanov was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas ll of Russia and she really owned the role of little sister.

Anastasia was the Romanov wildcard. She spent her days getting into scrapes, getting out of those she scrapes and (as shown in the above pic) becoming one of the first adopters of the selfie (see I told you she was the ultimate little sister!)

When the news of the Romanov family murders started to spread, people were desperate for a ray of hope. That somehow someone had gotten out. So you can see why all these hopes were pinned to the Romanov most full of life – Anastasia.

For years the newspapers were full of rumors that secretly Anastasia was alive and inevitably this led to a parade of faux Anastasias, all desperate for 15 minutes of fame and all almost immediately shown to be frauds.

But much like Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy, everyone has to grow out of the fantasy. As time moved on, the cold hard truth became more inevitable. And so, two years after the Romanovs deaths, Anastasia still hadn’t turned up and hope that she ever would started to vanish.

But then… a young woman jumped off a bridge in Berlin and everything changed. 

I told you! Twists and turn for days!!!

The woman was taken to a German asylum. With no ID and the woman refusing to say who say was, she became known as:

Madame Unknown

As well as sounding like Marvels next villain, Madame Unknown wasn’t your average German asylum patient, for one thing, she spoke with a Russian accent. She also held herself with an unusual poise and had hastily stitched up wounds.

In the mind of one patient, Clara Peuthert, this could only mean one thing:

Madame Unknown was a Russian Princess!

Clara was so sure of this, that she told everyone she could, all about her friend from the asylum who was totally a Princess!

…and everyone believed her.

Yeah, don’t look for the logic in this, There is none.  

Soon former Russian big wigs and Romanov servants were descending upon the  asylum to check out this potential Princess.

But Madame Unknown refused to speak to any of them.

Then a former Romanov lady in waiting visited. She took one look at Madame Unknown and declared her too ‘short to be Tatiana’. Madame Unknown stared at the woman and said:

‘I never said I was Tatiana’ 

Madame Unknown was in fact Anastasia Romanov…well at least that’s what she said. She also explained that she didn’t go by Anastasia anymore, but rather Anna Tchaikovsky.

Names aside, Anna/Anastasia had a lot of questions to answer! First up was:

How the living fuckity are you alive?

Anna said that the bayonets used by soldiers to kill the Romanovs had in fact been blunt and thus had failed to kill her because she was wearing a corset padded with jewels.

Anna fell to the floor and played dead. When it was over, a kindly soldier –named Alexander Tchaikovsky – carried her to safety.

Alexander nursed her to health and the two had a child together, with Anna taking on his last name. However, Alexander died and her child was taken away. That’s why Anna came to Berlin…to kill herself!

Yup, that all seems fully legit and sound

Aside from this (lets be real – batshit) story, Anna bore a resemblance to Anastasia and could pick out and name Romanov family members when shown photographs.

Anna also spoke in a Russian accent BUT she didn’t actually know a word of Russian.

You might argue that this could be considered a bit of an issue for someone claiming to be a Russian princess, who was born and raised in Russia and spoke Russian…yet Anna’s supporters were having none of this, they were adamant that Anna’s lack of ability to speak Russian was down to amnesia caused by her trauma!

But don’t worry, not everyone believed the amnesia line! In fact the majority Russia’s surviving aristocracy didn’t buy into what Anna was selling. And they had good reason not to.

In 1927 a Berlin newspaper published a report that suggested Anna was in fact a missing polish factory worker called Franziska Schanzkowska.

Franziska Schanzkowska and Madame Unknown had an uncanny resemblance and Franziska’s brother swore in court that Anna was in fact Franziska.

Not only this, but after being caught up in a factory explosion, Franziska had been declared insane. Shortly after this diagnosis, Franziska went missing and within weeks Madame Unknown was dragged out of a Berlin canal.

Franziska Schanzkowska/Anna Tchaikovsky/Anastasia Romanov/Madame Unknown/

But despite all of this – some people still believed that Anna was who she said she was.

They believed this for decades! They believed it so much that they took Anna into their homes, where she was nothing short of a nightmare to live with (you know…because she was really ill and getting no help)

They even funded a 30 year long series of court cases, in an attempt to help Anna get the Romanov fortune. Which ultimately proved fruitless.

Anna/Anastasia in the 1950s

In 1984, Anna (now called Anna Anderson) died in America; 60 years on from being found in the asylum, she still claimed to be Anastasia Romanov.

Then in 1991, the graves of the Romanov family were found (missing two skeletons).

Finally, DNA testing proved that Anna had not been a Romanov

In fact, Anna had probably been a missing polish factory worker called Franziska Schanzkowska.

The mystery finally ended in 2007. When the remaining two bodies of the Romanov family were discovered. One was Alexei and the other was Anastasia.

You’d think this was the end of the Anna/Anastasia Saga…

Nope! 

Still. STILL. People say that Anna Anderson is in fact Anastasia Romanov.

These aren’t only people in one dark corner of Reddit. In 2014 a historian, Veniamin Alekseyev, released a book claiming that Anna Anderson was Anastasia. Because apparently, almost 100 years on, we just cant let this one go. 

This was really interesting, where can I find out more? You should totally check out Helen Rappaports book, The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra (admittedly not a catchy title, but an amazing book)

It gives a great insight not just into the life of Anastasia, but also her three sisters, Tatiana, Olga and Maria.

The Princess in the tower, and the skeleton under the floorboards

The excellently named Sophia Dorothea was born in 1666 the only child of the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who ruled the Celle portion of the Duchy of Brunswick. Sophia’s mother was the Dukes long standing mistress Éléonore Marie d’Esmier d’Olbreuse, who he quickly married after Sophia’s birth.

It was a scandalous start to a life that would see Royal coverups, affairs and murder. With Sophia cementing her place in history as England’s lost Queen.

A miniature of Sophia Dorothea

By the time Sophia reached marrying age she was something of a certified beauty, skilled at a whole host of ‘womanly pursuits’ (i.e music and sewing…) and was funny and smart to boot. Girl was a catch!

Sadly for Sophia, she had no say in who she married. So rather than marrying any of the eligiable suitors who she might have lived happily ever after with, she had to go with her parents first choice -her first cousin George Ludwig.

In addition to being her cousin, George was THE WORST. Rude, loud, and aggressive but not too smart, George was notoriously quick to anger. He was also vindictive and obnoxious.

The only thing going for George was the fact that he was heir to Hanover.

A marriage between George and Sophia would mean that George’s family would rule both Hanover and Celle. So despite the fact that Georges family hated Sophia (due to her low birth) all parties involved were for the marriage.

Well, apart from Sophia. Who when told about the engagement, promptly threw Georges portrait across the room.

To be fair to Sophia, look at George…wouldnt you want to chuck his portrait?

The marriage, unsurprisingly, didn’t get off to a good start.

Sophia struggled to fit into her new world. Not helped by her new mother in law who constantly called Sophia out and bitching about her with the court.

Sophia’s new husband was not any better (like you were expecting him to be…) he was stand off-ish and spent very little time with his new wife, going away whenever he could.

He also created a network of spies so he could know what Sophia was doing at all times – which is super normal and healthy.

By the way, this kind of behaviour is a HUGE red flag and sign to get the fuck out

Yet, somehow the pair had not one but two babies, with George (who later became King George ll of England) both in 1683 and Sophia (later, Queen of Prussia) in 1687. With an heir and a spare in the bag, George saw his job as over.

So George started having very public affairs, notably with two women nicknamed The Beanpole and The Elephant.

To add to this, George was physically abusive towards Sophia.  He would beat her in public and on one occasion nearly strangled her, an act of violence that was witnessed by a room full of people.

That was just what George did it public. We don’t know what went on behind closed doors, but we can imagine.

Sophia with her children

Neglected and isolated, Sophia found solace in an old friend. Swedish Count, Philipp Christoph von Königsmark (try saying that 5 times fast).

The pair had had met in Sophia’s homeland just before her marriage to George. Whilst Sophia had gone to Hanover, Phillip traveled to England, becoming a favourite in the court of Charles ll and creating something of a Casanova like persona – bedding countless countesses (and the odd Duchess).

The rekindled friendship with Phillip was a life line for Sophia. She started to become healthier and happier, something that was noted by Hanovers courtiers. Though they knew George wouldn’t approve of the friendship, the court did. Sophia was overdue some happiness.

But then Philipp and Sophia became more than friends.

The pair were spotted writing each other love messages on the palace windows, and exchanging romantic letters; one notable line from Philipp is:

“I embrace your knees”

This was a very dangerous game. But the pair continued and by 1690 things had gotten serious. With the couple spending as much time together as possible, and using codes and confidantes to communicate when apart.

Philipp Christoph von Konigsmark

In 1692, George’s Dad, the King of Hanover, was shown the couples love letters. Angry, he promptly sent Philipp away to fight with the Hanoverian army – with any leave request turned down.

But Philipp was not that easily deterred. He abandoned the army and rode to be with Sophia.

At this point, George found out about the affair. He confronted Sophia and shouting quickly escalated into violence. Sophia only survived the encounter thanks to servants who pulled George off her

George- Future King and notorious dick

Following this terrifying meeting with her husband, Sophia and Philipp hatched a plan to escape Hanover together and elope.

BUT the plan was quickly foiled – word got round to George and his Dad and the lovers plans were put to an abrupt stop.

Philipp was ambushed, and in an attack that would later be covered up, he was murdered.

Several court insiders would admit on their deathbeds to being involved in the death, but none would say how Philipp died or where his body lay.

Popular legend said Philipp’s body was covered in quicklime and buried under the still bloody floorboards of the castle

Hysterical, Sophia was held under house arrest in her rooms.

George managed to divorce Sophia and she was found guilty of malicious desertion.

Then George ordered that his wive be locked away in Castle Ahlden. Her right to see her children was cut and the only visitor permitted was to be her mother.

Sophia remained captive, locked away in her castle, for 30 years. Until she died in 1726.

But what happened to George? Well George went on and became King of Great Britain and Ireland- King George l, the first of the Hanoverian line.

When he arrived in England he turned up speaking very little English and with his two loyal mistresses in tow- The Beanpole and The Elephant. But rumours of his ill fated wife and her lover continued to swirl. Dogging George until still his dying day.