Roksolana II

Roksolana II (Roksolana Melania Vesna; 12 May 1920 – 3 March 2021) was Queen of Ukraine from 14 June 1949 until her abdication of 10 May 1974.

Roksolana II was born as the first child of Melania IV and Mykhaylo, Duke of Sevastopol. She became Queen in June 1949 following the death of her mother, at the time her younger brother Heorhiy, Duke of Dnipropetrovsk was expected to become King but due to health issues he chose to pass his succession rights to Roksolana. For most of her reign she was considered visionary and forward thinking until her 1966 decision to adopt a matrilineal primogeniture for Ukraine thus giving her first born daughter rights to the throne regardless of whether she had older sons, this move was heavily critcised by the Ukrainian people who were more in favour of a absolute primogeniture which would see her first born become monarch regardless of gender. This move is often considered as the beginning of the end for Roksolana's reign as more questionable decisions led to her abdication from the throne in fear of a revolution.