Who was Prince Yuri Galitzine? The Galitzine family can be traced back to the Middle Ages when they were Grand Dukes of Lithuania. In the 14th century one son became King of Poland, while his brother moved to Moscow to found a rich and powerful dynasty. Two hundred years later a member of the family was chosen to be Tsar of Russia. The Revolution of 1917 resulted in the loss of Galitzine estates, and Prince Yuri’s grandfather emigrated to Paris. Prince Yuri Galitzine was born in Japan in 1919 and spent his early years in Austria and France before being brought to England at the age of seven to learn the language and attend school. However, his family fell on hard times and Prince Yuri left school to become a glove-maker then a representative before gaining an apprenticeship with Fairey Aviation. With the outbreak of WWII he enlisted in the Middlesex Regiment. Having gained a commission in the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers he served in Northern Ireland, North Africa and El Alamein, followed by Tunis where he became liaison officer with the Free French. D-Day saw him commanding the Propaganda Unit of the United States 45th Division, and when the war ended he was involved with War Crimes investigations. After the war Prince Yuri worked as a journalist and press officer before starting his own public relations business in 1954. By 1982 he had become Regional Vice-President of an international group of 88 companies. Prince Yuri Galitzine developed a deep interest in local history and in particular that of Rutland where he lived for much of his life. He was a founder and long-standing chairman of the Society, becoming its President in 1989. Over the years he wrote and edited several books, including Domesday Book in Rutland: the dramatis personae (1986). In 2000 Prince Yuri generously donated his large collection of Rutland papers and books to the Society and they now form a major part of the reference library housed in the ‘The Prince Yuri Galitzine Room’ at Rutland County Museum. He died on 28th November 2002.