coronation of Britain's King George V in Westminster Abbey. In November the same year, he was Russia's emissary at the coronation of Vajiravudh the King of Siam. On his way back to Europe, he visited Egypt and Greece. Between 1910 and 1914, he wore the uniform of colonel of His Imperial Highness the Tsarevich Atamansky Guards Cossack Regiment. In 1914, he became a major general. War When World War I broke out, Boris Vladimirovich was put in command of the Guards regiment of the Ataman Cossacks. It was a nominal position, and he managed to stay away from the fighting. He commanded this regiment during the War between 1914 and 1915. Thereafter, he was attached to the general headquarters and was made Field Ataman for the commander in chief on 17 September 1915. He served in the army without real distinction. His military responsibilities were only vaguely defined and he did not change his ways during the war, continuing his life of pleasure and idleness. Military service was a burden to Boris, who sought every opportunity that would make him return to St. Petersburg. Even during the war Grand Duke Boris gave many parties at his luxurious mansion, furnished in the English style, which at night was a gathering place for the "golden youth" of St. Petersburg. The grand duke was famous for his hospitality, cheerful disposition, passion for entertainment, gourmet cuisine and excellent wines. In spite of Boris' reputation, his ambitious mother wanted to arrange a splendid marriage for him. In February 1916, she tried to marry him to Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, Tsar Nicholas II's eldest daughter. She was his first cousin once removed. Olga, overprotected by her parents, was an inexperienced girl of twenty. Boris was thirty-eight with a long line of mistresses linked to his name. Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna turned him down. The refusal provoked the enmity of Boris' mother. Maria Pavlovna and her family, the "Vladimirovichi", plotted to depose Tsar Nicholas II and gain power themselves. Towards the end of the monarchy, they were involved in a conspiracy to put Boris' brother Kyril on the throne. Boris' Anglophobia got him into trouble during the War. In June 1916, he was having supper at military headquarters while drunk, and in the presence of several officers of the British Military mission, he lambasted Great Britain. His behavior was so insulting that the British Ambassador made a formal