THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THE ASSASSINATION OF GRAND DUKE MICHAEL ROMANOV , THE LAST TSAR OF RUSSIA is ahead of us on June 13 2018.

Filey Bay is the setting for some of the adventures of Grand Duke Michael Romanov, the last tsar of Russia, in the new compelling historical novel by Michael Roman…The Two Lives of Grand Duke Michael.  In 1918, Michael flew from Filey Bay to Denmark using Robert Blackburn Type L Seaplane.  Before he took off, he and his British secretary Nicholas Johnson buried a huge haul of Russian Imperial Crown Jewels on the cliff slopes in the bay.

The book is now being adapted for a screen version and Filey bay will be used extensively as a backdrop to the gripping adventures of Grand Duke Michael.  The book is on sale at Wrays in Filey or online with all major retailers.

Filey, set at the heart of a beautiful bay rendered by cobalt blue seas and within the backdrop of the towering White Cliffs of Speeton, is an unspoilt holiday resort on the spectacular Yorkshire Coast.

Its history is embedded in traditional occupations of arable farming and fishing.  The Filey `Cobble` is a very sturdy locally made fishing boat and can still be seen today on the Cobble Landing in sight of the famous Filey Brig which boasts a Roman outpost as a watchtower to marauding Norsemen in the early A.D. years.

Shortly after the start of the last century, the beach at Filey was the chosen location for developing Robert Blackburn’s Seaplanes, using the beach as a perfect platform for aviation trials.

In the novel, `The Two Lives of Grand Duke Michael,` Michael Romanov often visited Scarborough, and more so Filey, as he created a strong connection with the Blackburn Type L Seaplane, hoping to be a co-pilot on a Round Britain Race sponsored by the Daily Mail in 1914.  However, the outbreak of WW1 saw Michael returning to Russia to take command of a Cossack Cavalry regiment …The Savage Regiment.

When Michael secretly returned to the UK on a 2-week round journey from Petrograd in 1918 he met with Allied War Commanders and Heads of State at the Grand Hotel in Scarborough to become the Head of an Allied Invasion of Russia to remove Lenin and the Bolsheviks. Before returning to Petrograd, and having brought with him a huge amount of Russian Crown Jewels, he decided to bury these on the cliff slopes within the bay area.

The author from research and his own imagination, writes on the premise of credibility and therefore the well known missing Russian Romanov Jewels are still to be discovered.  The discovery of the coordinates, which were recorded in 1918, are found in the back of the watch which was stolen from the assassinated body of his British secretary Nicholas Johnson who accompanied Michael on his UK visit.  Nicholas Johnson died alongside Michael, but Michael was rescued by Sidney Reilly `Ace of Spies` and brought back to Britain for a second life under the protection of MI6.

It is not widely understood that Sidney Reilly was the British super spy in whom Ian Fleming modelled the modern-day JAMES BOND.

The centrepiece of the second part of the trilogy, now being written, is the discovery of the Jewels on the cliffs of Filey Bay?

For the residents of the Bay it is hoped that this novel will raise international awareness of the activities of Grand Duke Michael, raising its profile and attract interest in the Russian Crown Jewels and the past importance of aviation history with Robert Blackburn.

Further…. The alluring and mysterious OLGA BYSTROVIA secretly settles in the Bay with her son George after the death of her husband, the Grand Duke Michael in 1947.  In Filey she brings up George whilst in hiding from the KGB…. who want to finish off the only Romanov (George) who has a clear title to the Russian Imperial Throne.

The trilogy continues…….

For more information about Grand Duke Michael Romanov and his adventures, see the rest of the website.