Rantalinna was constructed in 1911–1913 by judge Fritz Wiik. The property was sold to prince Alexander von Oldenburg in 1915. The prince and the princess moved to the castle in 1916. Initially they only spent the summers there, but since 1918 they stayed throughout the year. During the Russian revolution they were hoping to be able to return to St. Petersburgh after the hostilities have ceased, but they never did.

When the couple settled into Rantalinna, they brought with them a 36-person serving staff, two Rolls-Royce automobiles, and a private ship.

The prince and the princess belonged to the Russian czar Nicholas II's circle of acquaintances – in fact, their son was married to the czar's sister. Both of them also belonged to the Romanov family. The princess' great-grandfather was Napoleon Bonaparte. They were related to other European royal families as well.

The prince and his father were well-known for their charity work. The prince's father founded a hospital for the poor in St. Petersburgh, as well as a law school, in which e.g. Pyotr Tchaikovsky studied. Prince Alexander was a patron for several hospitals, authorized by the Romanov family. His son's mother-in-law and czar Alexander III's wife, Marie Feodorovna, had personally requested that the prince would take care of the hospital institution. Amongst other things, he had the rabies vaccine transported to Russia from the Pasteur institute in Paris. Prince Alexander was a general and a statesman, and he was depicted in the latter role in a famous painting by Ilya Repin.