Princess of the Imperial Blood Catherine Ioannovna of Russia (Russian: Княжна императорской крови Екатери́на Ива́нновна; 12 July 1915 (O.S.) – 13 March 2007) was a great-great-granddaughter of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and a niece of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia. She was the last member of the Imperial Family born before the fall of the dynasty. She was also a second cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, as Catherine's grandfather Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia was the younger brother of Prince Philip's grandmother Olga, Queen of Greece. Her relation to Prince Philip makes her a second cousin, once removed of King Charles III of the United Kingdom. She is also the grandmother of actor Sebastian Arcelus.
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Life
Born in Pavlovsk Palace, she was the second child of Prince John Konstantinovich of Russia and Princess Helen of Serbia. After the Revolution, her father was arrested and deported from the capital and her mother followed her husband into exile. Catherine and her brother, Vsevolod, remained in the care of her grandmother, the Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavriekievna of Russia. On 18 July 1918, their father, Prince John, was killed, and their mother, Princess Helena, was arrested and spent several months in Soviet prisons. Grand Duchess Elizabeth was able to take Catherine and her brother to Sweden. Sometime later, they were reunited with their mother.