Did anastasia's grandmother survive

1. Biography of Anna Anderson
2. Early Years and Mysterious Appearance
3. Controversial Identity
4. Recognition and Legal Battles
5. Life in the United States and Controversial Marriage
6. Legal Battles and Later Life
7. Death and Controversy

Biography of Anna Anderson

Anna Anderson, also known as Anastasia Romanov, claimed to be the daughter of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. According to the official version, the entire imperial family was executed on July 17, 1918. However, Anna insisted that she, Princess Anastasia Nikolaevna, had survived.

Early Years and Mysterious Appearance

On the night of February 17, 1920, a young woman attempted to jump from the Bendler Bridge in Berlin. She was saved by a nearby police officer. In the hospital, it was discovered that the unknown woman had multiple gunshot scars on her back and a star-shaped scar on her head. She was severely emaciated, weighing only 44 kg at a height of 170 cm. She was also in a state of shock and seemed mentally unstable. She claimed to have come to Berlin to find her aunt, Princess Irene, the sister of Empress Alexandra, but was not recognized or listened to at the palace. According to Anna, she tried to commit suicide due to shame and humiliation. She was admitted to a psychiatric clinic in Dalldorf, where she stayed for a year and a half. Despite attempts to establish her true identity, she often answered questions randomly and in a Slavic language other than Russian. Some claimed that she spoke fluent Russian, but others disagreed.

Controversial Identity

Anna suffered from severe melancholy and could spend days in bed. Various people who had connections to the Russian imperial court visited her in the hospital, but her true identity remained unknown. Some believed she was Princess Anastasia, while others insisted she was an impostor. Regardless, everyone agreed that her manners, behavior, and etiquette indicated a person of high society.

Recognition and Legal Battles

Thanks to extensive press coverage of the "princess's" story, Alexei Volkov, a former chamberlain of Alexandra Feodorovna, traveled to Berlin and openly declared that he could not assert that she was not Grand Duchess Anastasia. However, Anna's health deteriorated due to bone tuberculosis. In 1925, Pierre Gilliard, a Swiss man who had previously been a tutor to the imperial children, declared her an impostor. Gilliard conducted his own investigation into Anna's history since her arrival in Berlin. Other individuals also investigated her claims.

Life in the United States and Controversial Marriage

In 1928, invited by Grand Duchess Xenia Georgievna, Anna moved to the United States. However, due to her unbearable character, she did not stay long in the duchess's house and relocated to the Garden City Hotel. It was there that she registered under the name "Anna Anderson," which eventually became her permanent name. Anna remained in the United States and occasionally had to be hospitalized in psychiatric institutions. She was warmly received almost everywhere as the "last Russian princess," and many people tried to offer her hospitality and assistance, to which she readily accepted.

Legal Battles and Later Life

In 1932, Anna returned to Germany, where preparations were made for a trial that would recognize her as a grand duchess and grant her access to the Romanov inheritance. In 1968, at the age of 70, Anna married her longtime admirer, Jack Manahan. By that time, her character had become even more unbearable, but Manahan remained loyal to her. In late 1983, Anna was admitted to a psychiatric hospital due to her worsening condition.

Death and Controversy

Anna Anderson passed away on February 12, 1984. Her body was cremated, and according to her wishes, her grave was marked as "Anastasia Romanov. Anna Anderson." Experts' opinions on whether Anderson was the real daughter of the emperor or a simple impostor remained contradictory. When the remains of the imperial family were exhumed in 1991, two bodies were missing from the common grave, one of which was believed to be that of Grand Duchess Anastasia. DNA tests did not confirm Anderson's connection to the Russian imperial family but matched the Schanzkowski family. According to one theory, the woman was actually Franziska Schanzkowska, a worker at a Berlin factory.

Anna Anderson is considered one of the most successful impostors in the world, able to maintain her role for half a century.