Quotes

There are probably greater painters than Noel, greater novelists than Noel, greater librettists, greater composers of music, greater singers, greater dancers, greater comedians, greater tragedians, greater stage producers, greater film directors, greater cabaret artists, greater TV stars. If there are, they are fourteen different people. Only one man combined all fourteen labels - The Master.

If the Third World War is fought with nuclear weapons, the fourth will be fought with bows and arrows.

It never entered my father's mind nor my mind ever to do a job other than at one's best ability.

My trophy value exceeded my military usefulness.

I am much more intelligent than you think.

...Olga, Marie, Anastasia and Tatiana were all very beautiful. I remember I had always secretly hoped to marry Marie... (Lord Louis laughs softly).

Russia was an autocracy at that time, the Tsar had absolute power and was answerable only to God. Yet anyone less like an autocrat than my uncle Nicky would be hard to imagine...he was a very, very kind-hearted simple charming man. But at the same time he was rather weak and indecisive.

'The Tsar was my father's first cousin...and the Tsarina was my aunt on my mother's side. Another aunt, Elizabeth, had married the Grand Duke Serge. So our Russian connections were very close. We used to see each other quite often either in Germany, or in Russia. I loved my Russian family and I loved Russia too.

These old family photograph albums bring back memories of all the happy times we had together in that almost unbelievable world before the Revolution. In this photo with my cousins I was just ten...my little cousin the Tsesarevich Alexei is in the carriage. He was heir to the Russian throne and was younger than me by about four years and in very poor health sometimes... he was a haemophiliac, which was a great worry to us all.

He was never happier than when he was outside playing with his children. I remember he would purchase us all chocolate-ices, and after, settle down with a long book to read quietly in peace.