Following extensive research in St Petersburg, Moscow and Paris, this book reveals for the first time the story of Albert Henry Stopford, Edwardian man-about-town, member of the English aristocracy, dealer in object d'arts, and a regular guest at Romanov dinner tables. In the terrible turmoil of the Russian revolution he risked his life, rescuing Romanov jewels from the Vladimir Palace worth millions of pounds from under Bolshevik noses, and taking back to Britain in his Gladstone bag gems that were destined to adorn the rich and famous - queens, duchesses and film stars. Within months of his return to London, he was embroiled in a homosexual scandal and a trial at the Old Bailey; he died a broken man. Ninety years later, as an intriguing postscript to this extraordinary story, William Clarke unearthed an unclaimed Romanov bank account in London in the name of Grand Duke Andre; it has now been claimed by more than a score of his descendants.