Maltese ‘aristos’ at first Romanov wedding on Russian soil since 1917

The Maltese representatives of the Russian Imperial House participated at the various celebrations of the first imperial wedding to take place on Russian soil after the 1917 revolution.

The Maltese contingent to St Petersburg was made up of Count Peter Sant Manduca, Countess Alexandra Sant Manduca, Nob. Irina Malikova, Nob. Gabriel L Zammit, Nob. Marco Spiteri Binett and Nob. Martin Bonnici.

“They joined the crème de la crème of European aristocracy at the several religious and social events that took place between 30 September and 2 October,” the delegation said in a statement from the Russian Nobility Assembly.

With Grand Duke George Romanov, fourth from left.

The Maltese delegation are members of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St.George, a charitable organisation that designates members as ‘knights’. Peter dei Conti Sant Manduca, a former mayor of Mdina, is the holder of a title of nobility granted to his father John in 1999 by Prince Ferdinance of Bourbon Two Sicilies. But the Sant Manducas trace their lineage to Salvatore Baldassare Sant, the 1st Count Sant, a title of nobility granted in 1770 by the Austrian empress Maria Theresa. The present holder is John Sant Cassia, eighth Count Sant and 13th Baron of Għeriexem and Yabia.

Knight moves… members of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St.George include Archbishop Charles Scicluna and former EU ambassador Richard Cachia Caruana

The Russian wedding was of a descendant of Russia’s Romanov dynasty, Grand Duke George Mikhailovich Romanov, who tied the knot with Rebecca Virginia Bettarini at St Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg, marking the country’s first royal wedding since the Bolshevik revolution overthrew the monarchy a century ago.

“Malta has a long-standing tie with the Russian Imperial house, since when emissaries were sent to Malta to form diplomatic relations with the Order of St John; to when Russian aristocrats found exile in Malta, to the birth in Malta of H.I.H. the Grand Duchess Victoria of Russia on the 25 November 1876 at San Anton Palace in Attard,” the Maltese delegation said.

Victoria was the daughter of Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh and son of Queen Victoria and Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia, the daughter of Emperor Alexander II of Russia.

The Russian Nobility Assembly consists of the descendants of the Russian emigres who, before 15 March 1917, belonged to the Russian Nobility, their descendants, persons ennobled after 1917 by the successive heads of the Imperial House of Russia, and by those who support the values ​​of the association.

The Russian Nobility Assembly was established in Malta in 2018, and forms part of an international network of delegations which operate according to the rules and regulations of the head branch located in Moscow. The objective of the Assembly is “to revive the greatness of Imperial Russia and to preserve its cultural, historical and spiritual heritage by uniting the descendants of the Russian noble families and other individuals who wish to carry its values.”

The Assembly was established in its present form in 1990 after the fall of communism, however, Catherine the Great created the Russian Nobility Assembly in 1785. It was abolished as a result of the October revolution of 1917 after the execution of the Romanovs.

The Head of the Russian Imperial House of Romanov, H.I.H. The Grand Duchess Maria of Russia is the high patron of the Russian Nobility Assembly.