Editing Felix Yusupov (section)

==Exile==
[[File:Yusupovirina.jpg|thumb|Prince Felix Yusupov and Princess Irina Alexandrovna in 1915]]
[[File:In exile Irina and Felix.jpg|thumb|Yusupovs in exile 1930's]]

On 2 March, one week after the [[February Revolution]], Nicholas abdicated the throne. Following the abdication, the Yusupovs returned to the Moika Palace before they went to [[Crimea]]. They later returned to the palace to retrieve jewels (including the blue Sultan of Morocco Diamond, the [[Polar Star Diamond]], and the [[Marie Antoinette Diamond Earrings]]) and two paintings by [[Rembrandt]], "''Portrait of a Gentleman with Tall Hat and Gloves''"<ref>{{Citation |last=Rijn |first=Rembrandt van |title=Portrait of a Gentleman with a Tall Hat and Gloves |date=1656–1658 |url=https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.1206.html#provenance |access-date=2025-02-07}}</ref> and "''Portrait of a Lady with an Ostrich-Feather Fan''."<ref>{{Citation |last=Rijn |first=Rembrandt van |title=Portrait of a Lady with an Ostrich-Feather Fan, |date=1656–1658 |url=https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.1207.html#provenance |access-date=2025-02-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Chapter XXVI - Lost Splendor - Felix Yussupov |url=https://www.alexanderpalace.org/lostsplendor/XXVI.html |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=www.alexanderpalace.org}}</ref> The sale proceeds of the paintings helped sustain the family in exile. The paintings were bought by [[Joseph E. Widener]] in 1921 and are now in the [[National Gallery, Washington|National Gallery]] in [[Washington, DC]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.1207.html|title=Art Object Page|work=nga.gov|access-date=5 August 2015}}</ref>

In Crimea, the family, along with other relatives (Irina's mother [[Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia|Xenia Alexandrovna]], her grandmother [[Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark)|Maria Feodorovna]], her five uncles and their spouses, her grand-uncles [[Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1856–1929)|Nicholas Nikolayevich Romanov]] and [[Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia|Peter Nikolaevich]] with their spouses and children) boarded a British warship, [[HMS Marlborough (1912)|HMS ''Marlborough'']], which took them from [[Yalta]] to [[Malta]]. On the ship, Felix enjoyed boasting about the murder of Rasputin. One of the British officers noted that Irina "appeared shy and retiring at first, but it was only necessary to take a little notice of her pretty, small daughter to break through her reserve and discover that she was also very charming and spoke fluent English."<ref>King, p. 209</ref>

From Malta, they travelled to Italy and then to Paris. In Italy, lacking a visa, he bribed the officials with diamonds. In Paris, they stayed a few days in the [[Hôtel de Vendôme (place Vendôme, Paris)|Hôtel de Vendôme]] before they went on to London. In 1920, they returned to Paris.

The Yusupovs lived in the following places in France:
* 1920–1939: 37, Rue Gutenberg then 19 rue de La Tourelle in [[Boulogne-sur-Seine]]<ref>''Almanach de Gotha'', 1936, 3ème partie, p. 698.</ref>
* 1939–1940: they rented a mansion in rue Victor-Hugo, [[Sarcelles]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fr.topic-topos.com/maison-de-felix-youssoupov-sarcelles|title=Maison de Félix Youssoupov|work=Topic-Topos|access-date=5 August 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303190834/http://fr.topic-topos.com/maison-de-felix-youssoupov-sarcelles|archive-date=3 March 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* 1940–1943: they moved to rue Agar and 65 rue La Fontaine ([[16th arrondissement of Paris]])
* from 1943 until their deaths: 38 rue Pierre-Guérin ([[Auteuil, Paris|Auteuil]])

The Yusupovs founded a short-lived [[Haute couture|couture]] house, [[IRFĒ]], named after the first two letters of their first names.<ref>{{cite news |title=Russian revival at Irfe |author=Suzy Menkes |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=1 July 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/style/01iht-rirfe.html}}</ref>

Irina modeled some of the dresses the pair and other designers at the firm created. Yusupov became renowned in the Russian émigré community for his financial generosity. Their philanthropy, their continued high living, and poor financial management extinguished what remained of the family fortune. Felix's bad business sense and the [[Wall Street crash of 1929]] eventually forced the company to shut down.<ref name="ODT">{{cite news |title=Russian label Irfe rises from its ashes in Paris |newspaper=[[Otago Daily Times]] |date=2 July 2008 |url=http://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/fashion/11857/russian-label-irfe-rises-its-ashes-paris}}</ref> (A new business under the same name was started by others in Paris in 2008.)<ref name="ODT" />