Marie Vassiltchikov

Vassiltchikov's diaries were published by Chatto and Windus, Ltd, in the UK, in 1985, by Random House in 1987, and Vintage Books in 1988.

Vassiltchikov died in London of leukemia on 12 August 1978, after which, her brother, George Vassiltchikov, edited her diaries.

Vassiltchikov was survived by her four children: Marina Harnden, 15 September 1948, Anthony Harnden, born in Paris 13 February 1951, died in Cadaqués 4 January 1999; Michael Harnden, 10 October 1954; Alexandra Harnden, 18 March 1956,; her brother, Prince Yuri "Georgie" Vassiltchikov; and her sister, Princess Tatiana von Metternich-Winneburg, who was married to Paul Alfons von Metternich-Winneburg, a descendant of Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, wrote two books about her wartime experiences, and worked with the International Red Cross.

After von Trott zu Solz and others were executed in 1944, Vassiltchikov fled Berlin and traveled to Vienna, where she worked as a nurse. Her diary describes her time there as a descent from privilege to near-death, when, at the end of the war, she was found digging for food outside of a concentration camp by the United States Third Army under George S. Patton outside Gmunden, Austria, on 4 May 1945.

In 1940, Vassiltchikov and her sister, Princess Tatiana Vassiltchikova (Tatiana von Metternich-Winneburg) (1915–2006), traveled to Berlin where, as stateless persons, they were able to obtain work permits. After brief employment with the Broadcasting Service, Vassiltchikov transferred to the Auswärtiges Amt (AA), the German Foreign Ministry's Information Office, where she worked as the assistant to Dr. Adam von Trott zu Solz, a key member of the anti-Nazi resistance, a former Rhodes scholar, and a descendant of American founding father, John Jay.

Princess Marie Illarionovna Vassiltchikov (Russian: Мария Илларионовна Васильчикова; 11 January 1917 – 12 August 1978) was a Russian princess who wrote Berlin Diaries, 1940-1945, which described the effects of the bombing of Berlin and events leading to the attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler in the 20 July Plot.

Princess Marie ("Missie") Vassiltchikov was born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire on 11 January 1917. She was the fourth child of a member of the Fourth Duma, Prince Hilarion Vassiltchikov (1881–1969) and his wife, the former Princess Lidiya Vyazemskaya (1886–1946). Her family fled Russia in 1919, following the Bolshevik October Revolution by joining members of the Romanov family evacuated by the British fleet.

Vassiltchikov married U.S. Army Captain Peter Harnden (born in London on 9 April 1913) on 28 January 1946. They settled in Paris, where Harnden opened an architectural firm. After Harnden died in Cadaqués on 15 October 1971, Vassiltchikov moved to London where she worked on her wartime diaries.