George’s bride, Rebecca, is the daughter of Ambassador Roberto Bettarini, an Italian diplomat, and his wife Carla Virginia Cacciatore, and is the Director of the Russian Imperial Foundation. She recently converted to Russian Orthodox, and is now styled as Victoria Romanova. Her wedding dress is reportedly designed by Hollywood favourite Reem Acra.
As befits a royal bride, she will also wear the Lacis Tiara from Chaumet. According to the jewellery house, it is a modern revisiting of the traditional Russian kokoshnik, which is the same style of tiara worn by Princess Eugenie on her wedding day in 2018. The tiara has been designed to look like a sail being blown by the wind, in tribute to George’s naval connections. It is set with a total of 27.03 carats, featuring two central diamonds of 5.02 and 2.21 carats respectively, as well as 438 pavé diamonds.
George’s great-grandfather, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, was amongst the Romanov family members who managed to escape the Russian Revolution, which resulted in Tsar Nicholas II and his wife and five children being assassinated in 1917. While he found refuge in Finland, other Romanovs who managed to flee settled in London, after being rescued by King George V’s ship, HMS Marlborough.
Grand Duke George Mikhailovich Romanov and Victoria Romanovna BettariniOLGA MALTSEVA / Getty Images
The last major royal wedding to take place in Russia was that of the Tsar and his German bride, Princess Alix of Hesse, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. It took place at the Winter Palace in St Petersburg on 26 November 1895. His younger sister, Grand Duchess Olga was married in 1901, while his younger brother, Grand Duke Michael, was married in 1912.
