Maria Vladimirovna on Monarchy

As the 400th anniversary of the end of the Time of Troubles (1605-13) and the establishment of the Romanov Dynasty approaches, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna released this address to the people who ought to be her subjects. At a time when it too often seems that most of the would-be occupants of vacant thrones have little or no interest in restoration, it is refreshing to see one of them commit explicitly to that beautiful goal, not for her own benefit but for that of her country. Long live Empress Maria I!

The Head of the Imperial House is not, as some mistakenly believe, a “pretender to the throne,” but is rather the hereditary head of a familial institution that preserves the ideas and traditions of the millennium-long monarchical Family-State that is Russia.

For the Imperial House to abjure the idea of a monarchy is as senseless as the Church abjuring faith in God. For me to betray the centuries-old ideals of our Ancestors for the sake of some short-term political advantage would be debasing, hypocritical, and dishonorable. I am sure that this is understood not only by those who share my beliefs, but also by those who do not.

I affirm my belief that legitimate hereditary monarchy is the only form of government that is divinely ordained, and I am convinced that it is compatible with any age, including our own, and could be suitable for and useful to our multi-national country.