Irina Yusupova

Countess Irina Felixovna Sheremeteva (née Princess Yusupova; Russian: Графиня Ирина Феликсовна Шереметева née Княгиня Юсупова; 21 March 1915, Petrograd, Russian Empire – 30 August 1983),^[1] known affectionately as Bébé, was a Russian aristocrat.

Princess Irina Felixovna Yusupova
Countess Nikolai Dmitrievich Sheremetev
Princess Irina Felixovna Yusupova, 1935.
Born	(1915-03-21)21 March 1915 Moika Palace, Petrograd, Russian Empire
Died	30 August 1983(1983-08-30) (aged 68) Cormeilles, France
Burial	Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery
Spouse	Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Sheremetev
Issue	Countess Xenia Nikolaevna Sheremeteva
Names Irina Felixovna Yusupova
House	Yusupov
Father	Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov
Mother	Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia

Life

Early life

Prince Felix and Princess Irina Alexandrovna Yusupovs with their daughter, Irina Felixovna Yusupova, called "Bébé", in 1916.

Princess Irina was the daughter of Prince Felix, the heir of one of the wealthiest families of Russia and of Europe. Her mother, Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia, was the daughter of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, the elder daughter of Tsar Alexander III and sister of Tsar Nicolas II. Through her mother's side, she was a descendant of Christian IX of Denmark.

After the February Revolution, the Yusupovs fled Russia and settled in Paris, leaving behind most of their wealth. At first, the little girl was raised by her paternal grandparents until, at the age of nine, they returned the little princess to her parents. According to her father, Prince Felix Yusupov Feliksovitch, his daughter received a poor education causing an alteration in the character of the girl, who became capricious. Princess Irina Felixovna Yusupova was raised by nannies and, whilst she adored her father, she was very distant with her mother.^[2]

Marriage

Princess Irina married on 19 June 1938 in Paris, France, Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Sheremetev (28 October 1904, Moscow, Russia – 5 February 1979, Paris, France), son of Count Dmitri Sergeievich Sheremetev and his wife Countess Irina Ilarionovna Vorontsova-Dashkova. His ancestors include Boris Petrovich Sheremetev and Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov. He worked with the shipping company, Vlasoff. He later contracted tuberculosis, and they moved to Greece for a climate better suited to his condition.

They had one daughter, Countess Xenia Nikolaevna Sheremeteva, born 1 March 1942 in Rome.

Death and burial

Princess Irina Felixovna Yusupova died on 30 August 1983 at Cormeilles in France. She was buried alongside her paternal grandparents and her parents at the cemetery Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery in Essonne, France).^[1]

Descendants

• Countess Xenia Nikolaevna Sheremeteva (born 1 March 1942, Rome, Italy), married on 20 June 1965 in Athens, Greece, to Ilias Sfiris (born 20 August 1932, Athens, Greece); had issue:
  • Tatiana Sfiris (born 28 August 1968, Athens, Greece), married in May 1996 in Athens, Greece, to Alexis Giannakoupoulos (born 1963), divorced, no issue; married Anthony Vamvakidis and has issue:
    • Marilia Vamvakidis (7 July 2004)
    • Yasmine Xenia Vamvakidis (17 May 2006)

Xenia Sheremeteva provided mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) in the 1990s in order to help identify bones recovered in Siberia in 1979 as the remains of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, who was executed in 1918 along with his wife and children. The test required a female line descendant, as mDNA is passed unchanged from mother to child, unless there is a mutation. In Sheremeteva's case, mDNA from their shared ancestor, Empress Maria Feodorovna, passed to her great-grandmother, Grand Duchess Xenia of Russia, then to her grandmother, Princess Irina of Russia, and then to her mother, Princess Irina Yusopova, and finally to her.^[3]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Irina Yusupova

8. Count Felix Nikolaievich Sumarokov-Elston 4. Count Felix Felixovich Sumarokov-Elston 9. Countess Elena Sergeievna Sumarokova 2. Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov 10. Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov 5. Princess Zenaida Nikolaievna Yusupova 11. Countess Tatiana Alexandrovna de Ribeaupierre 1. Princess Irina Felixovna Yusupova 12. Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia 6. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia 13. Princess Cecilie of Baden 3. Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia 14. Alexander III of Russia 7. Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia 15. Princess Dagmar of Denmark

Bibliography

• Mitterrand, Frédéric (2001) [1999]. Mémoires d'exil [Memories of exile] (in French). Paris, France: Pocket. ISBN 978-2-266-10451-7. OCLC 468744999.

References

1. "Irina Felixovna Youssoupoff Cheremeteva (1915 - 1983)". Find A Grave Memorial. Salt Lake City, UT, Usa: Find A Grave, Inc. 25 Apr 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
2. King, Greg (1995). The man who killed Rasputin : Prince Youssoupov and the murder that helped bring down the Russian Empire. A Birch Lane Press book. Secaucus, NJ, USA: Carol Pub. Group. ISBN 978-1-55972-295-7. OCLC 32549224.
3. David Brown (1 September 1995). "DNA Proves Bones Belong To Last Czar; Mystery of Nicholas's Missing Body Is Solved". Washington Post. Retrieved 21 June 2017.