A good, rare group of thirteen signatures by various members of the Russian Royal family on two sides of an 8vo sheet of printed stationery from H.M.S. Marlborough.

Included are

Maria Feodorovna (1847-1928, Empress Consort of Russia, mother of Tsar Nicholas II),

Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna (1875-1960, Sister of Tsar Nicholas II) and her sons

Prince Rostislav Alexandrovich (1902-1978)

Prince Vasili Alexandrovich (1907-1989)

Prince Nikita Alexandrovich (1900-1974) and

Prince Dmitri Alexandrovich (1901-1980), all nephews of Tsar Nicholas II, as well as her only daughter

Princess Irina Alexandrovich (1895-1970), niece of Tsar Nicholas II and wife of Prince Felix Youssoupoff, also

Prince Dmitri Orbeliani,

Prince Sergei Obolensky (1890-1978),

Prince Wiasemsky,

Princess Nadejda Petrovna (1898-1988, signed as Princess Orloff) and

Prince Felix Youssoupoff (1887-1967) who participated in the murder of Grigori Rasputin.

At the head of the page appears an A.N.S., with initials, by an unidentified individual, although evidently the collector of the signatures, ‘Keep very carefully! Signatures of some of the Russian Royal family that were taken off in the evacuation of Russia, undertaken by H.M.S. “Marlborough” - April 1919’. With integral leaf bearing several ink annotations in an unidentified hand. Some light overall age wear, otherwise VG

The rare grouping of signatures were all obtained on board H.M.S. Marlborough after the British battleship (along with H.M.S. Nelson) had been sent by King George V of Great Britain to Yalta in the Crimea in order to rescue the Romanovs.

While on the ship, Prince Felix Youssoupoff enjoyed boasting about the murder of Rasputin.