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TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY NICOLAS CHEVIRON The Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna (L) and Osman Selahaddin Osmanoglu (R), grandson of the sultan Mehmed V attend the historical ceremony at the Russian consulate in Istanbul, on December 12, 2009. Some members of the Russian imperial Romanov and of the ottoman sultans families met late saturday in Istanbul, an historical gathering for the two dynasties, both dethroned in the beginng of the 20th century, after centuries of conflict. The Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, considered by some russian monarchists as the head of the imperial house of Russie, and Osman Selahaddin Osmanoglu, grandson of the sultan Mehmed V (1909-1918) by his mother and of the sultan Murad V (1876) by his father, met officually at the consulate of Russia in Istanbul. They attended together a charity ball given on the occasion of the celebrations of the 210th anniversary of the birth of the famous russian poet Alexandre Pouchkine. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY NICOLAS CHEVIRON The Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna (L) and Osman Selahaddin Osmanoglu (R), grandson of the sultan Mehmed V attend the historical ceremony at the Russian consulate in Istanbul, on December 12, 2009. Some members of the Russian imperial Romanov and of the ottoman sultans families met late saturday in Istanbul, an historical gathering for the two dynasties, both dethroned in the beginng of the 20th century, after centuries of conflict. The Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, considered by some russian monarchists as the head of the imperial house of Russie, and Osman Selahaddin Osmanoglu, grandson of the sultan Mehmed V (1909-1918) by his mother and of the sultan Murad V (1876) by his father, met officually at the consulate of Russia in Istanbul. They attended together a charity ball given on the occasion of the celebrations of the 210th anniversary of the birth of the famous russian poet Alexandre Pouchkine. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)
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