Grand Duchess Mila of Russia

Portrait by Frances Eleanor Clouet,

**Grand Duchess Mila of Russia**, later **Princess Victoria Charlotte of Hesse-Darmstadt** (11 March 1891 – 2 September 1945) was the tenth child out of twenty-one and tenth daughter of Vladimir, Emperor consort of Irene, and of Aldís II, High Empress of Irene. She was a granddaughter of High Empress Katherine II of Irene and her husband, Emperor consort, Bjørn II of Irene.

Born a Russian Grand Duchess, Mila spent her early life in Russia and spent three years in Great Britain, where her parents attempted to move to only to be rejected by the British Royal Family. In 1899 her father was called away on the excuse of important military duties, and her mother sent her to the Irene Empire (her birthplace); as the youngest daughter of her parents she could never inherit the throne of Russia (due to her gender), or the throne of Irene (due to her rank and age). A favorite of the young Princess Elisabeth, Mila treasured her much younger cousin, often taking her on adventures; even reading her stories at bed-time. At the time of her younger cousin`s birth, the young Grand Duchess (aged 6 at the time) had traveled secretly back to Russia to avoid the would-be assassins (Princess Elisabeth of Saxe and by Gotha, Grand Duchess Margaret Elizabeth of Coria, and Princess Julia of Greece and Denmark); only after she was within the walls of the palace was news released that the Grand Duchess had come to see her newly-born cousin. The would-be assassins were caught, taken back to their respective countries for trials, and then sentenced to the death penalty for attempting to assassinate the Grand Duchess.

She would marry a sixth cousin, Francis Ernes Ludwig, and the couple would have three, their youngest daughter being named Elisabeth after her younger cousin-in-law, Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine. At the start of WW1, the Grand Duchess would flee with her children and husband back to the Irene Empire; tragedy struck when he was assassinated by an angry monarchist. Their youngest daughter (Elisabeth) would cry out for her assassinated father, and the Grand Duchess struggled to raise her children without a father; eventually her siblings arrived from the rapid-destabilizing Russian Empire with their husbands/wives, with only her youngest brother (Timur) refusing to leave Russia.

## Birth

Her parents, nicknamed 'Vlad' and 'Iris,' were third cousins who married at the instigation of the Russian imperial family to strengthen the political and economical alliance between the Russians and the Ireneians. The marriage was an unhappy one from the start, both parties wanted to divorce each other right away; the youngest Grand Duchess grew up in an already-shattered and divided household. The Empress was already 92-years-old when she conceived/gave birth to the youngest Grand Duchess. The entire household was fond of the youngest Grand Duchess, as she had a fiery but warm personality like her mother, and a thirst for knowledge lie her father; her father however saw her only as an obstacle to divorcing his wife and attempted to have her murdered by both assassins and poison mixed in her food. Fearing for the safety for her youngest daughter, she was often sent away to other places including the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, where she was kept until her father`s mood improved significantly.

### Childhood

Margaretta Eagar, a governess for the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II, described Mila as "a quiet but intelligent child, protective over the young Princess Elisabeth and cunning when it came to manipulating situations for a homefield advantage." The five-year-old Mila adored the young Princess Elisabeth, even tutoring her in science (Mila`s favorite subject), mathematics, politics, dancing, how to be a lady, singing, and music; it could be said that they did everything together from the time the Princess was born to the time that she died. However she fell ill on the morning of Queen Victoria`s eightieth birthday in 1899, at age seven, becoming too ill to travel; she eventually recovered enough strength to travel to Windsor Castle from Malta. Mila`s grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, brought nine-year-old Mila to see Queen Victoria on her death bed on 22 January 1901.