Anatoly Alexandrovich Mordvinov - Russian nobleman, Colonel of the Life Guards Cuirassier Regiment of Her Majesty, and Adjutant to the last Emperor of Russia, Nicholas II, and his youngest brother, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich - was uniquely placed to observe the last years of the Empire. A teetotaler, affable and friendly, Mordvinov was nonetheless devoted to the Empire and Autocracy, and absolutely supported a way of life that hasn't existed since 1917. He was not only a valued aide to the young Grand Duke Michael, but was also a close friend and advisor - right up to the time when Michael began his fateful romance with the beautiful but twice-divorced Natalia Sheremeteva. Not being able to excuse what he saw as Michael's betrayal of the Imperial Family, Mordvinov requested a transfer; when it came, the transfer was to the retinue of the last Emperor himself. Neatly falling into line with other adjutants and household officers, Mordvinov made himself reliable and indispensable. A favorite of the four young Grand Duchesses, a friend to the misunderstood Empress, there was no adjutant mentioned more frequently in the Emperor's own letters and diaries. A witness to the halcyon days of Europe in the early decades of the twentieth century, Mordvinov provides a window into the intimate life of British, Danish and Norwegian Royal Courts; on the other end of the spectrum, he was also present on the Imperial train during the tragic, final days of Nicholas's reign. After the Emperor's abdication, Mordvinov remained at General Headquarters, serving in the Army until the Bolshevik Revolution. Five years after the Revolution, having escaped Russia with his wife and daughter, and living in exile in Bavaria, Mordvinov began writing his memoirs, which occupied him for several years. They eventually appeared in print in German, French and Russian, but it is here for the first time that they are presented in English. We have divided these important memoirs into two volumes. This first volume contains Mordvinov's memories of his service to Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich and Nicholas II from 1906 to 1917; they are also a rich account of life in royal and imperial circles in Great Britain, Denmark, Norway and Russia and contain new and unique insights into the people and events who made up the last heady days of Edwardian Europe.