![]() ![]() ![]() One was the Tsar’s great niece, and the second was a Duke in Scotland. Genealogists were able to identify two distant relatives. That meant genealogists had to dig deep into the Tsar’s family tree and find living relatives who also had maternal consanguinity (or a blood relationship) with a shared female ancestor. Where were the two missing Romanov children? And how could they further confirm the Tsar’s identity and convince skeptics? Mismatched Lettersįorensic investigators also found a nephew of the Tsar living in Toronto, but he refused to cooperate. That meant the Empress and three of her daughters were indeed buried in the mass grave.īut questions still lingered. The mtDNA in the remains matched Prince Philip. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth, was also a direct descendent and he agreed to supply a DNA sample. She was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Males also inherit the maternal mtDNA but do not pass it on to their offspring.įorensic genealogists constructed a family tree to determine which relatives of the royal family were still living, and if they would be willing to give a blood sample. ![]() For women, that means they have the same mtDNA as their mother, grandmother and so-forth. Whereas people inherit their nuclear DNA from each parent, mothers exclusively pass on mtDNA. Investigators tested the bones’ mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is found outside the nucleus and acts as a power station for the cell. ![]() And perhaps even more pressingly, could scientists be sure the grave truly belonged to the Romanovs and not some other unfortunate family?įor the investigation to move forward, forensic genealogists had to step in. For starters, two of the Romanov children were missing. But it would prove difficult to determine whether these bones belonged the murdered Romanovs. Historians long suspected that four servants had been buried along with the royal family. The DNA tests revealed that skeletons four and seven were the parents of skeletons three, five and six. The skeletons were numbered one through nine. This enabled them to identify that nine people were buried in the grave. Scientists began by testing the short tandem repeat (STR) markers on the nuclear DNA. The bodies had been dumped together, and they decomposed over time, leaving behind disorganized bone fragments. Investigators weren’t certain how many people were buried in the mass grave. Were they telling the truth? Scientists were eager to solve the mystery, but it wasn’t going to be easy. In the past, several people claimed to be one of the children who miraculously survived, including a few who claimed to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia. So when the geologist found a mass grave, he kept his discovery secret until after the Communist regime collapsed in 1991.Īfterwards, an excavation began when the geologist revealed the hidden grave, and the remains were given to scientists for DNA testing. The Red Army was secretive about the executions, and the ruling Communist party didn’t permit inquiries into the historic event. The Tsar, Empress Alexandria, their four daughters and one son were all believed to have perished.īut no one knew for sure. The Bolsheviks placed the family under house arrest, and then suddenly executed them in 1918 - an event that toppled Russia's last imperial dynasty. More than 60 years earlier, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne while under pressure from the Red Army, an army created in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. ![]()
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