Portrait of Grand duke Pavel Alexandrovich

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Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia was born on October 3, 1860, and died on January 30, 1919. He was the sixth son and youngest child of Tsar Alexander II of Russia by his first wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna. A brother to Emperor Alexander III and uncle to Nicholas II, Russia's last Tsar, he was a key figure in Russian history. Paul entered the Russian Army at a young age and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a general in the Calvary and adjutant general to his brother, Tsar Alexander III. He was also a Knight of the Order of St Andrew, one of Russia's highest honors. In 1889, Paul married Princess Alexandra of Greece, his paternal first cousin once removed. The couple had two children together before Alexandra died during childbirth in 1891. In his widowhood, Paul began a romantic relationship with Olga Karnovitsch, a married woman with three children. After obtaining a divorce for Olga and defying the Tsar's prohibition on marrying a divorcée, Paul married her in October 1902. However, as he had entered into a morganatic marriage, he was banished from living in Russia and deprived of his titles and privileges. Between 1902 and 1914, Paul lived in exile in Paris with Olga, who gave him three children. In the spring of 1914, he settled back in Russia with his second family. With the outbreak of World War I, Paul was appointed commander of the first corps of the Imperial Guard. However, his ill health forced him to serve only intermittently. During the last days of the Tsarist period, Paul remained close to Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, one of the few members of the Romanov family who did so. After the fall of the Russian monarchy, Paul initially stayed at his Palace in Tsarskoe Selo during the provisional government. However, with the Bolsheviks ascending to power, his palace was expropriated and he was eventually arrested and sent to prison. In declining health, Paul was shot by the Bolsheviks along with other Romanov relatives in the courtyard of the Peter and Paul Fortress on January 30, 1919. His remains were thrown into a common grave.