The Rebel Romanov with Helen Rappaport

To Queen Victoria she was an Aunt, to Catherine the Great she was a Grand Daughter in Law and a sister to the King of Belgium. Her name was Juliane-Henriette of Saxe Coburg and she became known as the Rebel Romanov.

Born in 1781 in a small impoverished duchy of Germany, Julie’s quiet life took a fairy tale turn when she married into the Russian Imperial family, the Romanovs. But this world of Baroque splendour, of opulent palaces and grandeur had no happy ending. Taken to Russia at the age of 14 to save the Saxe-Coburg duchy from financial ruin, her husband Grand Duke Konstatin proved to be cruel and abusive.

She eventually found her way back to Germany where she lived for 20 years as a social pariah, denied divorce and forced to give up her two children. She then went to Switzerland where she entertained poets and philosophers, regaling them with tales from the Russian court.

Helen Rappaport recreates this extraordinary life. shedding new light on the Romanovs. Helen has spent her working life writing about Russian history, firstly as a translator, having read Russian at university, and for nearly thirty years as an Historian.