The Queen’s third cousin, Princess Olga Romanoff, is reportedly in talks to star in the new Celebrity Big Brother series.
The Sunday Mirror reports that the 73-year-old aristocrat is being investigated for a role in the line-up after the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, ruled herself out.
It is thought ITV wants someone with a royal connection on the show, which returns in March after Sarah, 64, denied her involvement.
Her spokesperson said in December: ‘The Duchess will not be appearing on this show.’
Olga could join a host of rumored stars in the Big Brother house, including Shirley Ballas, Rebekah Vardy and Louis Walsh.
The Queen’s third cousin, Princess Olga Romanoff, is reportedly in talks to star in the new Celebrity Big Brother series
The Sunday Mirror reports the 73-year-old aristocrat is being investigated for a role in the line-up after the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, ruled herself out
Princess Olga has done a string of Channel 4 shows including The Royal House of Windsor and The Big Celebrity Detox.
A source said of Olga’s possible involvement: ‘They are determined that the Celebrity Big Brother comeback will be a real attention grabber, so they are thinking outside the box.
‘Sarah’s decision to self-exclude was a blow, so when Princess Olga’s team agreed to a virtual meeting, they were very interested in meeting her and seeing what she had to offer.’
A Big Brother spokesperson said: ‘Any housemate suggestion for Celebrity Big Brother is pure speculation.’
Despite her aristocratic origins, the outspoken princess has a no-nonsense attitude and previously said she was unsuitable for royal life.
Olga told the Telegraph that she would have been a “worthless imperial princess,” adding that she would “rather create s*** than have to be very charming and dressed every day.”
Princess Olga added that if she were to compare herself to a character from Downton Abbey, it would be Lady Sybil – a non-conforming aristocrat who ran off with a driver.
Olga was branded the Queen’s “rebellious cousin” for her outspoken ways and said she felt the nickname didn’t really apply to her because she never did drugs or strayed from convention growing up.
It’s thought ITV wants someone with a royal connection on the show, which returns in March after Sarah, 64, (seen) denied her involvement
Olga (seen) could join a host of rumored stars in the Big Brother house, including Shirley Ballas, Rebekah Vardy and Louis Walsh
Princess Olga has done a string of Channel 4 shows including The Royal House of Windsor and The Big Celebrity Detox
Princess Olga is pictured here with her parents, Nadine and Prince Andrei Alexandrovich Romanoff
She said she never drank or “messed around” as a young woman, but admitted she would have liked to rebel against the establishment.
Speaking to the publication, she also insisted that the interviewer call her Olga, adding: ‘No one cares about titles anymore.’
The Romanov family ruled Russia since the 17th century. But their reign came to a bloody end with the Russian Revolution, in which fifteen members of the royal family were murdered.
The Bolsheviks murdered Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and their five children in 1918, ending the Russian monarchy.
Princess Olga Romanoff is the daughter of Nadine Sylvia Ada McDougall and Prince Andrei Alexandrovich, the eldest cousin of Tsar Nicholas II, who fled Russia on a British warship in 1919.
He ‘was in danger of being shot’, says Princess Olga, who believes the family managed to escape Russia ‘by the skin of their teeth’.
The Romanoffs are linked to the British monarchy because Victoria’s daughter, Princess Alice, was mother-in-law of Tsar Nicholas II and grandmother of his children, including Anastasia.
Olga Romanoff is descended from Nicholas’ sister, Grand Duchess Xenia.
Prince Philip was also related to the Romanovs through his parents.
Philip was the second cousin of Alexandra Romanov, wife of Tsar Nicholas II, and the last Tsarina of Russia.
This means that King Charles III and Prince William and Prince Harry are also related to the Romanovs.
When the remains of two of Nicholas’ 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 the first cousin of King George V, Elizabeth’s grandfather.
There is another connection between the families on the female side.
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 Britain with the help of her cousin King George V.
A family tree showing our royal family’s ties to the Romanoffs
Other celebrities in talks to take part include WAG Rebekah Vardy (pictured) and former X Factor judge Louis Walsh
A TV insider said: ‘The team doesn’t just want big names, they want stars who will bring something really intriguing. Louis is exactly the kind of figure they want in their home, he has something to say and is not afraid to say it’ (Louis Walsh photo 2021)
She says her family lived in Buckingham Palace for some time after fleeing Russia.
Queen Elizabeth was a great-great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Philip was Victoria’s great-great-grandson – the royal married couple were third cousins.
Victoria is widely known as the ‘grandmother of Europe’ because her children married into different royal families in different countries of the continent.
Princess Olga is also one through her mother descendant of William Paterson, who founded the Bank of England in 1694.