Prince Mikhail Cantacuzène

Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Cantacuzène, Count Speransky (Russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Кантаку́зин, граф Сперанский), was born on 29 April 1875 and died on 25 March 1955. He was a Russian military officer and member of the Cantacuzène family, with connections to both Russian nobility and Romanian aristocracy.

Early Life and Family Background

Mikhail was born in Poltava, within the Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire, which is present-day Ukraine. His birthplace was at his family’s estate called Bouromka. He was the eldest of four children born to Prince Mikhail Rodionovich Cantacuzène and Elisabeth Sicard. His siblings included two brothers, Prince Boris (1876–1905) and Prince Serge (1884–1953), and a sister, Princess Daria (1878–1944).

His family belonged to the Cantacuzène lineage, a branch of the Moldavian Cantacuzène family. The titles of Prince of Imperial Russia and Count Speransky were confirmed for his grandfather, Prince Rodion Nikolaevich Cantacuzène, in 1865 by Emperor Alexander II. The title of Count Speransky was inherited through his maternal line from Elisabeth Bagréeff-Speransky, whose family was of Russian and French Huguenot descent. The family’s princely titles came from the Romanian line of the Cantacuzène family, descended from Radu Cantacuzène, who served under Catherine the Great.

His mother’s family owned multiple estates and properties, including Bouromka, residences in Saint Petersburg, a villa in Crimea, and an apartment in Paris. She was exiled to Portuguese East Africa (Mozambique), where she was buried in Macequece (now Villa de Manica).

Education

Mikhail attended the Page Corps in Saint Petersburg and graduated from the Imperial Alexandrine Lycée.

Military Career

Mikhail's military service included participation in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) and service on the Polish front during World War I. He served as aide-de-camp, and later as Major-General and General, to Tsar Nicholas II. In 1914, he was wounded in battle, and in 1915, he commanded the South Russia Cossacks, leading 15,000 men in a notable cavalry charge.

Exile and Later Life

Following the Russian Revolution, the family fled Russia in 1917, departing from Petrograd to the United States via Finland. In the U.S., they settled first in Washington, D.C., where they sought support for a counter-revolution in Russia. The anti-revolutionary efforts ceased after the assassination of the Tsar and the death of his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich of Russia.

Subsequently, the family moved to Sarasota, Florida, where Mikhail was involved with the Palmer family enterprise. He managed large citrus groves, participated in the organization of the Palmer Bank in 1929, and served as Vice President of the bank.

Marriage and Children

In 1893, Mikhail married Julia Dent Grant, the granddaughter of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant. The marriage took place at Julia’s aunt Bertha Palmer’s home in Newport, Rhode Island. Julia adopted her husband's aristocratic titles and was styled Julia Dent Cantacuzène Spiransky-Grant. They resided in Saint Petersburg, later Petrograd, and on their estate in Ukraine, with three children born to them:

- Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Cantacuzène, Count Speransky (born 1900), who married three times.

- Princess Barbara "Bertha" Mikhailovna Cantacuzène, Countess Speransky (born 1904), who married Bruce Smith and later William Durrell Siebern.

- Princess Zinaida Mikhailovna Cantacuzène, Countess Speransky (born 1908), who married Sir John Coldbrook Hanbury-Williams and later divorced.

After her divorce from Mikhail, Julia returned to Washington, D.C., while Mikhail remained in Florida. Mikhail later married Jeannette Draper of Sarasota.

Death and Burial

Prince Mikhail died on 25 March 1955 and was buried at the Manasota Memorial Park in Sarasota, Florida.

Associations

During his time in Sarasota, he participated in organizations such as the American Legion, Elks, Kiwanis Club, County Fair Association, and Sarasota Chamber of Commerce.

Descendants

Through his children, Mikhail had descendants including grandchildren. His son, Prince Michael, and his daughters, Princess Bertha and Princess Zinaida, are noted for their own families, with Bruce Michael Smith (1932–1982) among his grandchildren.