Andrew Romanoff

1923 - 2021

Prince Andrew Romanoff
1923-2021
Prince Andrew Andreevich Romanoff of Inverness passed away on November 28, 2021 at the age of 98, surrounded by his family. He was the third child of Prince Andrei Alexandrovitch of Russia and Donna Elisabetta Ruffo di Sant'Antimo; grandson of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovitch and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia; great grandson of Emperor Alexander III and grand- nephew of Czar Nicholas II. His godfather was the future King Edward VIII. Prince Andrew was the oldest living descendant of King Christian IX of Denmark. He was born in London and grew up on the grounds of Windsor Great Park at Frogmore Cottage.

Andrew attended Imperial Service College in Windsor and then enlisted in the British Royal Navy, served in World War II, served in the Russian Convoys and was at the landing in Normandy on "D" Day. At the invitation of his Uncle Prince Vasili who resided in Woodside, California, he emigrated to the U.S in 1948. He later moved to San Francisco, and then attended UC Berkeley to study criminology. He joined the Russian Gymnastic Sokol Group and became the head of the organization. During this period, he married (divorced) the late Elena Konstantinovna Dourneva. They had a son, Alex.

He then married the late Kate Norris, who died suddenly in her 30's. They had two sons, Peter and Andrew. He eventually moved to Inverness in West Marin where he met his wife, the artist Inez Storer, and spent the past 47 years until his death.

It was in West Marin that he developed his love of art, becoming a founding member of Gallery Route One in Point Reyes where he regularly exhibited both his photography and small, iconic "Shrinky Dinks" which were painted on plastic, depicting various stories about politics, his own history and other narrative scenes. He soon began to exhibit these small works and larger works throughout the United States as well as in Russia. He was known as an "outsider" artist and had exhibitions in several museums including the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, the Missoula Museum of Art in Montana, Turner Carroll Gallery in Santa Fe, Smith Andersen Editions in Palo Alto as well as in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia.

Besides his artistic career, he had a small manufacturing plant in downtown Point Reyes Station designing and fabricating crystal and silver jewelry. He was also renowned for his love of hunting wild mushrooms and could often be seen hiking with his cut-off golf club to help him in his search for elusive mushrooms.

In the early 1990's, a group of scientists found the bones of Czar Nicholas II and his family, confirmed by using Andrew's DNA during their scientific investigation. The film "The End of a Legend" details the discovery of the bones.

Andrew visited Russia on many occasions including to St. Petersburg in 1996 when all the living Romanoffs were invited by the government for the official burial of the bones of the Czar and his family. It was the first time that most of the surviving family in Europe and his brother, Michael from Australia, and his sister, Xenia from France, had been together in many years. He visited St. Petersburg again in 2006 for the re-burial of his great-grandmother Empress Maria Feodorovna in St. Petersburg. His last visit there was in 2013, the year marking the 400th anniversary of House of the Romanovs.

National Geographic documented Andrew's DNA testing for a short documentary about the final discovery of the last two children of the Czar, his only son, Alexei and daughter Anastasia. Again, his DNA was an authentic match. These bones still await a final burial in Moscow.

Andrew's illustrated autobiography, "The Boy Who Would be Czar", was published in 2006 by Griff Williams of Gallery 16, San Francisco and includes his small narrative paintings as well as his personal family photos.

The family held a Trisagion, private viewing and funeral at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in San Anselmo, California. His final resting place is in Olema, California in his treasured West Marin.

Andrew's kind heart and beloved lively spirit will be greatly missed by so many, especially those in West Marin. He is survived by his wife Inez Storer (née Bachelin), his sons Alex (Zoe), Peter (Barbara), Andrew (Beth), Inez's children, Elena (late Bob Nitzberg), Lisa, Chris, John and his grandchildren Sam, Matthew and Natasha.