As he was born while his father was Emperor, he was regarded to be "born in the Purple", the only one of Emperor Paul's children. Michael and his elder brother, Nicholas, became inseparable and were their father's favourites, "my little lambs" as they were called by the Emperor.
Michael was a cheerful but irresponsible child. He had a British nurse, Mrs. Kennedy, as so did Nicholas, Miss Lyon, and they would argue whose was the best. He had a sense of humor and loved jokes and anything to do with the military. Later on he was entrusted to a tutor, General Paskevitch.
Only as a teenager did his much older brother, Constantine, begin to take notice of him so that Michael would visit him in Warsaw. Constantine would tell him of the reign of their grandmother,
Catherine the Great, as well as of his own experiences.In May 1818 he visited his sister, Anna, in The Netherlands and in June 1818 he went to England. In 1821, not being well, he went to
Carlsbad for a cure. In 1822 he became engaged to Princess Charlotte of Wuerttemberg who, on converting to the Orthodox faith, became known as Helena Pavlovna. In St.Petersburg on 19 February 1824, they were married and became the parents of five children.
His brother, Constantine, had travelled five days to arrive only the day before the wedding, but was immediately taken by the charm of Helena Pavlovna. According to Constantine, she was less discreet than Grand Duke Nicholas's wife, but witty and sensitive. Constantine recognised a coolness from Michael towards his new wife but presumed Michael's shyness to be the cause; after all, he loved only two things, "the army and sleep".
Helena Pavlovna has been described by the critical Ivan Golovine as "a woman of superior understanding (who) often exposes herself to a degree of jealousy on the part of the Empress, which is betrayed in frequent petty domestic quarrels". The same Golovine, no friend of the
Imperial family, described Michael as: "he has a kind disposition, but a rough exterior, and has a propensity to make puns".
When Russian soldiers were slain in Poland, Michael wept while Constantine, rubbing his hands, asked: "What do you think of my Poles?" When Michael had to sacrifice soldiers at Brailoff, he
received the Order of St. George but refused to wear it. Michael felt close to his soldiers, helping them professionally as well as financially. Yet he was not popular as he was too severe and possessed a meticulous pedantry. He would strike soldiers on the parade ground so that Beckendorf had to talk to Grand Duke Michael about the manner in which he treated his soldiers. Even Emperor Alexander I had to take him to task, but without much success.
In 1825 Anna, Princess of Orange, visited St. Petersburg and enjoyed the feasts given for Michael's birthday. However, after she left she wrote to their eldest brother, Emperor Alexander I,
expressing her concern about Michael, wishing he was "happier at home". At the end of the same year she again asked the Emperor to keep her informed about the state of Michael's marriage.

In 1828 Anna again lamented that both Michael and his wife had so much but if only they were happier together. "If Helena had married a man who had really loved her, her talents would have been better utilised." And, "If Michael had married a suitable wife, he would have been an excellent husband."
In 1835 Michael took his wife and children to Bohemia. He also visited his sister, Maria, in Toeplitz where they were joined by Nicholas I and Alexandra. Sadly, Anna was unable to join her brothers
and sisters.
In 1847 he wanted to take a holiday for his health's sake even though he felt he would look quite ridiculous out of uniform. On 9 September 1849 while visiting Warsaw, he died as a result of a fall
from a horse.
After mourning him for a while, his wife reopened her house and salon again, maintaining the latter not only during the reign of Nicholas I but into that of Alexander II. According to Nicholas I she
was the "scholar of the family". During the Crimean War she nursed the soldiers at the front and founded an organisation for army nurses. In 1862, in St.Petersburg, she also founded a Conservatory for Music. She died in 1873.
 

Source: Leo van de Pas