The Queen’s third cousin Princess Olga Romanoff ‘is in talks to star in Celebrity Big Brother’ – after Sarah Ferguson denied show involvement
The Queen’s second cousin Princess Olga Romanoff is reportedly in talks to star in the new series of Celebrity Big Brother.
The Sunday Mirror reports that the 73-year-old aristocrat is being considered for the line-up after Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson ruled herself out.
It is understood ITV wants someone with royal connections to take part in the show, which returns in March, after Sarah, 64, denied being involved.
In December, her representative said: “The Duchess will not be appearing on the show.”
Olga could join a host of stars in the Big Brother house, including Shirley Ballas, Rebekah Vardy and Louis Walsh.
The Queen’s second cousin Princess Olga Romanoff is reportedly in talks to star in the new series of Celebrity Big Brother.
The Sunday Mirror reports that the 73-year-old aristocrat is being considered for the line-up after Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson ruled herself out of the list.
Princess Olga has appeared in a number of Channel 4 shows including The Royal House of Windsor and Celebrity Detox.
A source said of Olga’s potential involvement: “They’re confident a Celebrity Big Brother return will really attract attention, so they’re thinking outside the box.
“Sarah’s decision to rule herself out was a blow, so when Princess Olga’s team agreed to a virtual meeting, they were keen to meet her and see what she had to offer.”
A Big Brother spokesman said: “Any suggestions for housemates for Celebrity Big Brother are pure speculation.”
Despite her aristocratic background, the outspoken princess leads a serious lifestyle and has previously said she was not suited for royal life.
Olga told Telegraph that she would make a “lousy imperial princess”, adding that she would “rather shovel crap than be very glamorous and dressed up every day.”
Princess Olga added that if she had to compare herself to a Downton Abbey character, it would be Lady Sybil – the non-conformist aristocrat who eloped with a chauffeur.
Dubbed the Queen’s “rebellious cousin” because of her outspoken manner, Olga said she believed the nickname didn’t really apply to her because she never took drugs or strayed from convention when she was younger.
It is understood ITV wants someone with royal connections to take part in the show, which returns in March, after Sarah (pictured), 64, denied being involved.
Olga (pictured) could join a host of stars in the Big Brother house, including Shirley Ballas, Rebekah Vardy and Louis Walsh.
Princess Olga has appeared in a number of Channel 4 shows including The Royal House of Windsor and The Big Celebrity Detox.
Princess Olga is depicted here with her parents Nadina and Prince Andrei Alexandrovich Romanov.
She said she never drank or “behaved” when she was younger, but admitted she wanted to rebel against the establishment.
In a conversation with the publication, she also insisted that the interviewer call her Olga, adding: “Nobody attaches importance to titles anymore.”
The Romanov family has ruled Russia since the 17th century. But their reign ended in a bloody revolution in Russia, in which 15 members of the royal family were killed.
The Bolsheviks killed Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and five children in 1918, ending the Russian monarchy.
Princess Olga Romanova is the daughter of Nadine Sylvia Ada MacDougall and Prince Andrei Alexandrovich, the eldest nephew of Tsar Nicholas II, who fled Russia on a British warship in 1919.
He “should have been shot,” says Princess Olga, who believes the family fled Russia “by a thread.”
The Romanovs are connected to the British monarchy because Victoria’s daughter Princess Alice was the mother-in-law of Tsar Nicholas II and the grandmother of his children, including Anastasia.
Olga Romanova is descended from Nicholas’s sister, Grand Duchess Xenia.
Prince Philip was also a relative of the Romanovs through his parents.
Philip was the great-nephew of Alexandra Romanova, wife of Tsar Nicholas II and the last Tsarina of Russia.
This means that King Charles III, Prince William and Prince Harry are also related to the Romanovs.
When the remains of Nicholas’s two children, believed to be Maria and Alexei Romanov, were discovered in a field in 2007, Prince Philip’s DNA was used to identify them.
Nicholas II was the last ruler of Russia and also a cousin of King George V, Elizabeth’s grandfather.
There is another connection between families through the female line.
Queen Elizabeth’s great-grandmother, Queen Alexandra of Denmark, who married King Edward VII, had a sister, Maria Feodorovna, who married Alexander III of Russia.
Princess Olga’s grandmother Xenia settled in Great Britain with the help of her cousin, King George V.
Family tree showing our royal family’s connections to the Romanovs.
Other celebrities reportedly in talks to take part include WAG’s Rebekah Vardy (pictured) and former X Factor judge Louis Walsh.
A TV insider said: “The team don’t just want big names – they want stars who will bring something truly intriguing.” Louis is the figure they want in the house, he has something to say and he’s not afraid to say it” (Louis Walsh pictured, 2021).
She says that after they left Russia, her family lived at Buckingham Palace for a while.
Queen Elizabeth was the great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and Prince Philip was Victoria’s great-great-grandson. Members of the royal family were second cousins.
Victoria is widely known as the “Grandmother of Europe” as her children married into different royal families across the continent.
Through her mother, Princess Olga is also descendant of William Paterson, who founded the Bank of England in 1694.