Prince Gabriel Constantinovich of Russia was the second son of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia and his wife, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mavrikievna of Russia. A great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I, he was born in Imperial Russia and served in the army during World War I. He lost much of his family during the war and the Russian Revolution. He narrowly escaped execution by the Bolsheviks and spent the rest of his life living in exile in France.

Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia was a grandson of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, and a poet and playwright of some renown. He wrote under the pen name "K.R.", initials of his given name and family name, Konstantin Romanov.