Name Sergei 8th | House House of Beauharnais | |
 | ||
Parents Princess Anastasia of Montenegro, George Maximilianovich, 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg Grandparents Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg Great-grandparents Eugene de Beauharnais Similar People Grand Duchess Maria Nik, Grand Duke Nicholas, Nikola I Petrovic‑Njegos, Princess Milica of Montenegro, Duchess Alexandra Petrovna | ||
Sergei Georgievich, 8th Duke of Leuchtenberg (4 July 1890 – 7 January 1974) was the son of George Maximilianovich, 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg and his second wife Princess Anastasia of Montenegro. He succeeded his half-brother Alexander Georgievich as Duke of Leuchtenberg from 1942 until his death.
Contents
Background and early life
Prince Sergei was born on 4 July 1890 in Peterhof, Russian Empire to George Maximilianovich, 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg and Princess Anastasia of Montenegro. Like his father, Sergei was styled His Imperial Highness from birth. George's first wife, Duchess Therese Petrovna of Oldenburg, died in 1883, leaving a young son. Sergei's father remarried six years later, when he caught the attention of Princess Anastasia of Montenegro at her sister Milica's wedding. George and Anastasia soon married and produced two children, Sergei and Elena. Anastasia divorced her husband in 1906 in order to marry Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia.
Later years
Sergei introduced Alexander Andreyevich Svechin to his step-father Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, who was known for his religiosity and interest in mysticism. Grand Duke Nicholas died in 1929, and Sergei attended his funeral along with his sister Princess Elena.
Sergei died 16 December 1974 in Rome and was buried in the non-Catholic cemetery for foreigners in Testaccio, Rome, Italy. He was the last Duke of Leuchtenberg (now living descendants of the Duke of Leuchtenberg are descended from a morganatic marriage, which is why they lost their dynastic status of the members of the Russian Imperial House and the right to the Bavarian ducal title).