Prince Andrew Romanov - Wikipedia In 1942, at the height of World War II, he entered the British Navy. He refused to accept an officer's post, preferring to be a simple sailor. He served on the light cruiser HMS Sheffield under the command of Admiral Sir Cecil Harcourt. He took part in the Arctic convoys and often sailed to Murmansk, where he performed the duties of an interpreter. Prince Andrew Andreevich became the first of the Romanovs to visit Russia after the revolution and the overthrow of their dynasty. He also took part in the Battle of the Atlantic, the Operation Torch and the landing of the Allies in Normandy. At the end of the war, he was serving in the Pacific Ocean. After demobilisation in 1946, he returned to England