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For purposes of a novel I am writing I would like to know if an illegitimate son or daughter of a 19th century Russian tsar would have been recognized by the court. Would it matter if the birth was before or after the tsar's coronation?

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    What has your research shown you so far? Where have you already searched? What did you find? Please help us to help you. Can you explain why any relevant Wikipedia pages and/or google searches didn't answer the question? SE sites work best if the questions are supported by preliminary research Dec 5, 2019 at 16:23
  • Yes, I've done some searching of various sites without finding a definitive answer. It may be that there is no single answer: how such children were treated, whether they were recognized, or whether they could inherit apparently varied.
    – Suttroper
    Dec 5, 2019 at 21:46
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    It really helps if you document your prior research in your questions. That way, people don't duplicate your research, or simply tell you what you already know. You might find it helpful to review the site tour and Help Centre and, in particular, How to Ask. Dec 5, 2019 at 23:00
  • I guess Tsar Paul I doesn't count.
    – Spencer
    Aug 3, 2020 at 21:01
  • It would be the Emperor's coronation.
    – gktscrk
    Aug 4, 2020 at 4:10

1 Answer 1

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The term they used was "Royal Bastard" referring to an illegitimate child of a reigning monarch. How they were treated, "recognized by court", was entirely up to the ruling monarch.

Royal Bastards of Russian Monarchs include:

Other Notable royal bastards in history but not from Russia include:

I Also found this link listing general illegitimate children of monarchs.

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    Fitzroy is actually a common last name for that kind of child (the word is Anglo-Norman for "Son of the King")
    – T.E.D.
    Dec 5, 2019 at 17:24
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    another notable bastard en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Conqueror
    – jk.
    Aug 4, 2020 at 12:08
  • @jk Yeah that's an important one.
    – user27618
    Aug 4, 2020 at 21:30

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