and Tamara Karsavina. Grand Duke Andrei sat next to his hostess during the dinner, but accidentally spilt a glass of red wine on her. Mathilde, attracted to the young grand duke, seven years her junior, took the incident as good omen. Age 28, Mathilde had been the mistress of Tsar Nicholas II when he was heir to the throne. Their two-year relationship ended with Nicholas' engagement to his future wife, Alexandra. Mathilde was ambitious and eager to maintain her close relationship with the Romanovs. She subsequently began a long time affair with Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia, Nicholas and Andrei's first cousin once removed. As she was not in love with Sergei, but enjoyed his company and protection, Mathilde pursued a relationship with Grand Duke Andrei, the third Romanov to become involved with her. By July 1900, they became lovers, traveling together that summer to Biarritz and Paris. In the autumn 1901, they visited several Italian cities, including Venice, Padua, Florence and Rome. Grand Duke Sergei tolerated their affair, remaining a close and loyal friend to the famous ballerina, but the relationship between the two grand dukes grew tense. They tried to avoid each other and maintain civility while sharing the same woman for almost two decades. The relationship between the three complicated further as Mathilde became pregnant. The baby was conceived around mid-September 1901, before her trip to Italy. On 18 June 1902, Mathilde gave birth to a son. Both grand dukes were at first convinced they were the child's father. After the Revolution, Kschessinska and Grand Duke Andrei maintained that Andrei was the father. The child, who became known within the family by his nickname, Vova, received the name and patronymic Vladimir Sergeievich. No surname was made public until 1911. The birth certificate showed Sergei as the father. Grand Duke Sergei was devoted to the child, looking after mother and son until his exile and subsequent execution following the fall of the Russian monarchy. The question of Vladimir's paternity remains unresolved. However, most sources attribute the paternity to Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, whom the child resembled. A Russian Grand Duke In 1903, Grand Duke Andrei purchased his own palace. The building, located at 28 English embankment, previously belonged to Baron Pavel von Derviz, a Russian railway magnate of noble German descent. After the Baron's death, his son inherited the mansion, and in 1889, enlisted the architect Alexander