1. The Romanov dynasty first achieved prominence when Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible.
2. 18 Romanovs ruled over Russia.
3. Unlike many other royal families, Romanovs didn’t strictly follow a pattern of primogeniture.

Anna of Russia, the Romanovs' first female ruler.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
4. Nicholas II was no longer the tsar when he and his family were murdered.
5. The British Royal Family were the carriers of hemophilia, not the Russians.

Queen Victoria was a carrier of the hemophilia gene that soon spread across Europe.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
6. Not every Romanov was killed in 1918—but Anastasia was not one of the survivors.
7. After the execution of the royal family, many other Romanovs went into exile.
8. The Soviets led a deliberate campaign of misinformation about the Romanovs’ fate.
9. Prince Philip was a key to identifying the Romanovs’ bodies.

Queen Elizabeth, left, and Prince Philip, right, in 1954.
Photo Credit: State Library of Queensland / Flickr (CC)