Great-grandson of Russian Tsar Dies Alone in Australia

Source: The Telegraph

November 25, 2015

Leonid as a child with Grand Duchess Olga (left) and parents Rut and Guriy Photo: east2west

A great-grandson of Russia’s Tsar Alexander III has died in a small town in outback Australia but his remains were left in a morgue for two months because authorities were unaware of his identity.

Leonid Kulikovsky, 72, a distant relative of both the Queen and Prince Philip, died while walking his dog at a caravan park on September 27 in Katherine, a remote town in the Northern Territory, where he lived alone.

A member of Russia’s exiled Romanov family, he was the son of Guriy, whose mother was Grand Princess Olga, the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexander III, Russia’s penultimate Tsar.

Grand Duchess Olga with grandchildren Leonid (L) and Kseniya Photo: east2west

His identity was only discovered after the head of Russia’s Orthodox Church in Australia visited Moscow recently and was told a member of the Romanov family had died in the Northern Territory. The funeral will take place in the territory next Monday following a request by his sister, who lives in Denmark.

Mr Kulikovsky moved from Denmark to Sydney in 1967 but he made little of his royal lineage and it went largely unnoticed. He worked in water management until retiring seven years ago.

Mr Kulikovsky’s great-grandmother’s brother was Prince William of Denmark whose son was Prince Andrew of Greece – the father of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. His great-grandmother’s sister was the wife of King Edward VII, the great-grandfather of the Queen.

Following his retirement, Mr Kulikovsky travelled around the country in a camper van which was stolen and damaged while he was in Katherine – so he decided to stay in the town.

Leonid as a teenager (C) with Grand Duchess Olga, meeting her biographer Photo: east2west

Peter Byers, the owner of the caravan park where Mr Kulikovsky lived, said he was known as “Old Nick” – possibly a reference to his relative Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, who was executed along with his family in 1918.

“Old Nick decided it was all a bit much for him and traded his Winnebago for a car. He rented a small unit from us and stayed put,” Mr Byers told The Northern Territory News.

“He said he’d made a few friends in Katherine and was happy here … He got on with everybody. He loved his dog and took great care of him. He was great reader and had a huge number of books on Vikings.”