Friday, September 22, 2017

Prince Andrew of Russia weds Nadine McDougall

September 21, 1942

Prince Andrew of Russia, the eldest son of the late Grand Duke Alexander and Grand Duchess Xenia, was married today to Miss Nadine McDougall, daughter of Lt. Col Herbert McDougall of Provender, Faversham in Kent.

The wedding was a "blend of modern wartime England and the ancient regime of Czaristic Russia," according to the New York Times.

The couple was married in two religious ceremonies, the first was Anglican, which took place in the bride's home church at Norton, in Kent.  This ceremony was officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury.  This was followed by a Russian Orthodox ceremony at Sheldwich, where a Russian choir "sang hymns in their native tongue. "

The bride was attended by three young pages. Viscount Throwley, the 2-year-old of the Earl and Countess of Sondes; Robert Mercer, the nephew of General Ritchie and Jeremy Pemberton, son of Colonel and Mrs. Douglas Pemberton.

The Countess of Sondes is the bride's sister.

The bride wore a gown of "white satin, with a court train.  She also wore a "Russian headdress in pearls, with a long white tulle veil."

The bride's father was unable to give his daughter away, as he is serving in Africa.  His brother, Major Arthur McDougall, DSO, gave her away at the Anglican ceremony, while at the Russian service,  Robert Hodgson, who was the British agent in Nationalist Spain during the civil war, "served in the same capacity as Major McDougall.

Prince Andrew's brother, Prince Dimitri, served as best man,.

The reception was held at Lee's Court, Sheldwich, the home of the Earl and Countess of Sondes.  Prince Andrew's first wife, Elisabetta Ruffo-Sasso, was killed in an "air raid when a bomb hit Hampton Court."

Prince Andrew is a nephew of the late Emperor Nicholas II.  His mother, Grand Duchess Xenia, is a first cousin of the late King George V, as their mothers were sisters.

[Princess Olga is the only daughter of Prince Andrew and his second wife. ]


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