Irina Feliksovna Yusupova-Sheremeteva (1915-1983) is the only child of Felix Feliksovich Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston, a representative of one of the most eminent and richest families in Russia. Her father is widely known for participating in the murder of Grigory Rasputin. However, her ancestors include not only princes from the Yusupov family, but also Russian emperors.
Mother, Irina Alexandrovna Romanova-Yusupova, is a princess of imperial blood, daughter of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, granddaughter of Emperor Alexander III, niece of Emperor Nicholas II.
Irina's future parents were married in the winter of 2014 in the church of the Imperial Anichkov Palace. The marriage of this couple was the last in the Romanov family before the outbreak of the First World War in the summer.
Irina Feliksovna Yusupova's childhood in Russia
Irina Feliksovnaya is the last offspring of the dying family of the Yusupov princes, who was born on Russian soil. She was born in one of the 56 luxurious palaces of this incredibly wealthy family on 1915-21-03. Irina received the title of "Princess Yusupova, Countess Sumarokova-Elston". The huge palace of her ancestors, which became for her a "maternity hospital", still flaunts on the embankment of the Moika River in St. Petersburg.
The girl immediately became a universal favorite; she was affectionately called "Baby" and "Baby". Irina's father later wrote in his memoirs: "Hearing the first cry of a newborn, I felt like the happiest of mortals …".
The great-grandmother, the widow of Emperor Alexander III, Maria Feodorovna, became the godmother of her first great-granddaughter, and her great-uncle, Tsar Nikolai Alexandrovich, became the godmother. The newborn was baptized in the home church of the Yusupov Palace.
Father's mother, the first beauty of Russia Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova, happily turned into a grandmother:
It would seem that the child had great luck from birth - a girl of such high blood became the heiress of an untold fortune. But at the age of 4, she had to leave Russia for good.
Together with her parents, great-grandmother Maria Fedorovna, grandmothers Ksenia Romanova and Zinaida Yusupova in April 1919, she sailed from the Yalta coast aboard the British battleship Marlboro. The ship, which was sent for Maria Fedorovna by her nephew King George V, took the high-born refugees through Malta to Great Britain. The native land and almost all the fabulous riches owned by Irina's parents remained in an unattainable distance.
Irina Feliksovna Yusupova's life abroad
Felix and Irina Yusupov moved from London to France and settled in Paris. They lived on Pierre Guerin Street for about 45 years. In 1924, the IrFe fashion house was created, which existed until 1931. Since 2008, it has been revived by a new owner.
Both grandmothers, whom she constantly visited, took part in Irina's upbringing. She spent most of her time with Princess Zinaida Yusupova, who lived in Italy. After the death of her husband in 1928, the princess concentrated entirely on her granddaughter.
"Baby" grew up, turned into a beautiful girl and met her love - Count Nikolai Sheremetev. The lovers could not get married, because the groom was diagnosed with tuberculosis and he went to Switzerland for treatment. Their romance continued by correspondence for two years.
Finally, on June 19, 1938, in Rome, Irina Feliksovna got married in the Russian church with Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Sheremetev (1904-1979), becoming related with another no less noble family. Their only daughter, Ksenia, appeared on 1942-01-03.
The Second World War was going on. Irina Feliksovna's husband worked for the Italian state radio. When the allies entered Italy, he was deported to the Soviet Union as an "accomplice," according to the Yalta Agreement, along with other Russians. But he managed to escape when the train passed through Germany.
At the end of the war, the Sheremetevs moved from Rome to Greece, the climate of which was well suited for the health of Nicholas. A fantastic story happened there: in Athens, Irina, the daughter of Felix Yusupov, met and became friends with Maria Valrave Boissewein, the wife of the Dutch ambassador to Greece. Subsequently, it turned out that Maria was the granddaughter of Grigory Rasputin.
The grave of the Yusupovs at the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery and the descendants of Irina Feliksovna Yusupova
Irina Yusupova-Sheremeteva passed away on 1983-30-08 in Cormeuil-en-Parisi, which is located eighteen kilometers from Paris. She was buried in the cemetery of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois in the same grave in which grandmother Zinaida Yusupova was buried in 1939, father Felix Yusupov in 1967, and in 1970 mother Irina Yusupova-Romanova, in 1979 husband Nikolai Dmitrievich Sheremetev.
Irina's daughter lives in Greece. Ksenia Nikolaevna and Ilias Sfiri got married on 20.06.1965. Their daughter Tatiana appeared in Athens on 28.08.1968. She bears the surname of her husband Vamvakidis, in marriage with whom she had two daughters: in 2004, Marilia, in 2006, Yasmin -Ksenia.
