Princess Victoria Romanovna

Princess Victoria Romanovna of Russia (née Rebecca Virginia Bettarini; born 18 May 1982) is an Italian businesswoman and philanthropist. The daughter of an Italian diplomat, she grew up in Paris, Venice, Baghdad, and Rome. After completing her studies at the Libera University International degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli, she worked in event management and institutional relations in trade disputes at Finmeccanica, presenting to the World Trade Organization and lobbying in the European Union. In her capacity at Finmeccanica, Princess Victoria also worked as a negotiations impact analyst for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the Transatlantic Free Trade Area. She left Finmeccanica in 2017 and founded Carre, a consulting and management company based in Rome. Since 2017, she has served as the director of the Russian Imperial Foundation.

In 2021, she married Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia in an elaborate ceremony at Saint Isaac's Cathedral. She converted from Catholicism to Russian Orthodoxy prior to the wedding, adopting the name Victoria Romanova. The wedding was the first royal wedding to take place in Russia since the Russian Revolution in 1917. Because her marriage was deemed morganatic by Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, she uses the title of Princess with the style Her Serene Highness instead of the title Grand Duchess with the style Her Imperial Highness.

She is also a princess of the Prussian House of Hohenzollern, as her husband is the son of Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia, who is a descendant of Wilhelm II, German Emperor.

Early Life and Family

Princess Victoria was born Rebecca Virginia Bettarini in Rome on 18 May 1982 to Carla Virginia Cacciatore and Roberto Amedeo Simeone Battarini. Her father, an Italian diplomat who served as an ambassador to Luxembourg and Belgium, was created a knight of the Imperial Order of Saint Anna and granted hereditary nobility by Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia for his support in constructing St. Catherine Russian Orthodox Church in Rome. Her mother was a philanthropist and charity founder.

Princess Victoria spent the first years of her childhood in Paris and Venice before moving to Baghdad in 1988. She and her mother returned to Rome in August 1991 when the Iraqi Army invaded Kuwait. Her father, serving as the Italian charge d'affaires, remained in Baghdad until January 1992 to help evacuate Italian nationals and to close the Italian embassy. From 1991 to 1993, she attended school in Rome. In June 1993, her father was appointed as the Italian Consul General in Venezuela. The family moved to Caracas, where Princess Victoria attended Colegio Agustin Codazzi. In 1996 the family moved to Brussels, where she attended one of the European Schools and graduated in 2000.

Education and Career

In 2004, Princess Victoria graduated from the Libera Universita International degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli in Rome with a degree in political science. She went on to obtain a master's degree in European and international law with a focus on armed conflict and trade disputes. She obtained a second master's degree in ceremonial and international protocol. While living in Rome, Princess Victoria volunteered with the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to distribute food to the poor and became an active member of the Association of Italian Historic Houses.

In 2005, Princess Victoria began working at Finmeccanica, an Italian defense contractor, working in event management for the Farnborough Airshow. In December 2005, she transferred to the company's institutional relations department where she analyzed trade disputes in the aviation sector that were presented to the World Trade Organization. In 2010, she transferred to the company's office in Brussels and became an accredited lobbyist within the European Union. She worked as an negotiations impact analyst for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the Transatlantic Free Trade Area.

In 2017, Princess Victoria became the director of the Russian Imperial Foundation and founded a consulting and management company called Carre.

Personal Life

In 2019, Princess Victoria began studying the Russian Orthodox faith under the guidance of Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western American. On 12 July 2020, she converted from Catholicism to Orthodoxy in a ceremony at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg officiated by Metropolitan Barsanuphius of St. Petersburg and Ladoga and Archpriest Alexander Tkachenko. She took the name Victoria, in honor of Saint Victoria and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

In 2020, Princess Victoria was made a Dame of the Imperial Order of Saint Anastasia the Holy Great Martyr Alleviatrix of Captives by Grand Duchess Maria for her humanitarian effects and charity work. She was also made Dame of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George by Prince Carlo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Castro.

Marriage and Issue

In 2017, Princess Victoria began a relationship with her childhood friend Grand George Mikhailovich of Russia, the son of Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia and Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia. On 14 September 2020, in accordance with Romanov tradition, Grand Duke sent a formal request to his mother for permission to marry Victoria.

Grand Duchess Maria granted permission for the marriage on 27 September 2020. A betrothal service took place on 24 January 2021, at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Ipatievsky Monastery.

The couple married in a civil ceremony in Moscow on 24 September 2021 after receiving a blessing from Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. Upon her marriage, which was deemed morganatic, she received the title and style Her Serene Highness Princess Victoria Romanovna from her mother-in-law.

On 30 September 2021, a reception was held at the Vladimir Palace. On 1 October 2021, the couple were married in a religious ceremony presided over by Metropolitan Barsanophius of St.Petersburg and Ladoga at Saint Isaac's Cathedral. Wedding guests included Helene Kirby, Countess Dvinskaya, Tsar Simeon II and Tsarista Margarita of Bulgaria, Boris, Prince of Turnovo and Miriam, Dowager Princess of Turnovo, King Faud II of Egypt; Muhammad Ali, Prince of Sa'id and Noal, Princess of Sa'id; Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza and Isabel Heredia; Prince of Beira; Prince David Bagration of Mukhrani; Leka, Crown Prince of Albania and Elia, Crown Princess of Albania; Prince Philipp of Liechtenstein; Princess Lea of Belgium; Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, Prince of Venice; Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta and Princess Olga of Greece, Duchess of Aosta; Prince Louis Alphonse Bourbon, Duke of Anjou and Marie Marguerite, Duchess of Anjou; Prince Charles-Philippe, Duke of Anjou; Boris, Hereditary Prince of Montenegro; Joachim, Prince of Pontecorvo; and Prince Charles-Henri de Lobkowicz.

Following the religious ceremony, Princess Victoria and Grand Duke George attended a reception on Vasilievsky Island and a gala at the Russian Museum. The following day, on 2 October 2021, they hosted a brunch at the Constantine Palace. The wedding was the first royal wedding to take place in Russia in over a century, since the Russian Revolution.

On May 22, 2022, the Imperial House of Russia announced that Princess Victoria was expecting their first child in autumn. Later on July 21, the Russian Imperial House announced that the couple were expecting a boy. Princess Victoria gave birth to a son in Moscow on 21 October 2022. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, as head of the Imperial House of Russia, announced that her first grandchild will be called "His Serene Highness Prince Alexander Georgievich Romanov."

Honors

Russian Dynastic Honors

-House of Romanov: Dame, Special Class of the Imperial Order of Saint Anastasia

Foreign Dynastic Honors

-House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies: Dame of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George

Title

24 September 2021 Her Serene Highness Princess Victoria Romanovna

House: Romanov (by marriage)

Religion: Russian Orthodox, prev. Roman Catholic

(https://en.wikipedia.org)