Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia (1878–1918)
Born 1878 CE, died 1918 CE.
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia (Russian: Михаил Александрович; 4 December [O.S. 22 November] 1878 – 13 June 1918) was the youngest son and fifth child of Emperor Alexander III of Russia and youngest brother of Nicholas II. He was designated Emperor of Russia after his brother abdicated in 1917 and proclaimed him "Emperor Michael II", but Michael declined to take power a day later. Michael was born during the reign of his paternal grandfather, Alexander II. He was then fourth in line to the throne after his father and elder brothers Nicholas and George. After the assassination of his grandfather in 1881, he became third in line and, in 1894, after the death of his father, second in line. George died in 1899, leaving Michael as heir presumptive to Nicholas II. The birth of Nicholas's son Alexei in 1904 moved Michael back to second in line, but Alexei was gravely ill with haemophilia and Michael suspected the boy would die, leaving him as heir. Michael caused a commotion at the imperial court when he took Natalia Sergeyevna Wulfert, a married woman, as a lover.
Text from the Wikipedia article Grand_Duke_Michael_Alexandrovich_of_Russia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.