Prince Yuri Galitzine, (1919-2002)
Michael Rhodes
emigre dynasty, died 28 November, 2002, after a short illness. He was
83.
He was born at Yokohama, 18 February, 1919, the son of Prince Nikolai
Alexandrovich Galitzine [1899-1963], by his wife the former Emma
Lilian Fawcett-Hodgson.
Press reports say that among the Prince's ancestors was the lady
portrayed as *the old Countess* in Pushkin's *Queen of Spades*.
Another press report says that Yuri's father [or grandfather ?] was
the Tsar's last military attache in London.
Prince Yuri was [according to press reports] *the wealthy head of a
public relations firm.*
Galitzine was four times married. His first marriage, in 1944, was to
Constance Higginson. This marriage ended in divorce in 1951. He
married secondly, in 1952, Sheilagh Sanford-Johnson. This marriage
ended after nine years, in 1961. His third marriage, in November,
1965, was to Gwyneth Tighe, the 1950s/60s TV announcer. Miss Tighe was
granted a decree nisi in the High Court Family Division [May, 1976].
An order was made for joint custody of their seven year old son. His
fourth union, at Chelsea Register Office, in November, 1976, was to Dr
Jean Mary Shanks, a Harley Street clinical pathologist.
His fourth bride made headlines in 1981 with the discovery on a
rubbish tip of secret medical records from Dr Shank's practice of
thousands of well-known people, including members of the Royal Family,
politicians and actors.
The records were found on the tip by a journalist, who first spotted
records referring to Mr [now Sir] Edward Heath. The records [weighing
half a ton] were said to include information on the Duchesses of Kent
and Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Bedford, Sir Denis Thatcher,
Mr John Cleese, Rudolf Nureyev, Sir David Frost, Bill Cotton, Lady
Lucan, and the Queen's racing manager Lord Carnarvon, Lord Oaksey and
Dudley Moore..et al.
Dr Shanks fled the furore for the calm of Menorca. The fourth wife
died in 1999.
Prince Yuri is survived by two sons and three daughters.
The funeral takes place at Clipsham Church, at 12 noon, 6 December,
2002.
--
Michael Rhodes.
