Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia before World War I broke out, Grand Duchess Anastasia visited her brother, Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia, and his family in England. When many eagerly greeted the outbreak of war, after the Austrian ultimatum, she wrote to Tsar Nicholas II: ""I hope that the war will not happen and that we even can say ‘perhaps in a few days, we’ll all be together again'"". The conflict split her family. Her son was a reigning prince in Germany and her younger daughter was the Kaiser's daughter in law. On the opposite side, her brothers in Russia were fighting to defeat
Prince Rostislav Alexandrovich of Russia “of Russia” and use the princely title with the surname Romanov. Prince Rostislav Alexandrovich of Russia Prince Rostislav Alexandrovich of Russia (2 November 1902 – 31 July 1978) was the fifth son and sixth child of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna. He was a nephew of Tsar Nicholas II, Russia's last tsar. Prince Rostislav Alexandrovich was the sixth child and fifth son of HIH the Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich ‘Sandro’ (1866–1933) and HIH the Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna (1875–1960). His parents were paternal first cousins once removed. Consequently, Prince Rostislav was the great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas