Royal Central - Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
80 years ago, the brutal execution of Tsar Nicholas II and his family took place in Russia, with the family’s remains not being discovered for many decades later.
It was partly thanks to the late Prince Philip that the murder-mystery was solved, with His Royal Highness helping to identify the bodies of the Russian Imperial Family.
The Tsar, Tsarina Alexandra, their five children, and three servants were murdered by the Bolsheviks in a painful and botched execution in 1918. Their bodies were secretly buried and not discovered until 1979, and were identified only in 1988.
Prince Philip offered a blood sample in order to identify bodies which were found in unmarked graves. Philip, who was related to Tsarina Alexandra as her grand-nephew, helped provide a match of DNA. His Royal Highness provided the genetic key to help unlock the mystery.
The research was kept secret until just a few years ago, when it was revealed in a display in the Science Museum. The exhibit included graphs of the Tsar and Tsarina’s blood alongside details of Prince Philip’s blood.
Prince Philip, when once asked about visiting Russia, said that he would like to, but the “bastards murdered half my family.”