On September 18, 1891, Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich was born in the estate of Ilyinskoye in the Zvenigorod district of the Moscow province. He passed away on March 5, 1942, in Davos, Switzerland. He was the son of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich and the grandson of Emperor Alexander II, as well as a cousin of Emperor Nicholas II.

Dmitry Pavlovich participated in the assassination of Rasputin and found himself in exile after the 1917 revolution. He was the only son and the second child of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich from his marriage to the Greek princess Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna, who died a few days after his birth from eclampsia. Dmitry was the great-grandson of Nicholas I on his father's side and the great-great-grandson on his mother's side through his grandmother, Queen Olga Konstantinovna of Greece.

After his mother's death, his father remarried the former wife of his subordinate, which led to his expulsion from Russia due to the morganatic marriage. Dmitry was taken in by Emperor Nicholas II at the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, and he was raised in the royal family until 1913.

The Grand Duke received an excellent military education, graduating from the Officer Cavalry School, and began service in the His Majesty's Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. His engagement to the emperor's daughter, Olga, was scheduled for June 6, 1912, but the mother of the Grand Duchess, Alexandra Fyodorovna, insisted on the breakup due to Dmitry's dislike for Grigori Rasputin.

During World War I, Dmitry Pavlovich served in the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment, participated in the campaign in East Prussia, and was awarded the Order of Saint George 4th class. He became known for his involvement in the assassination of G. E. Rasputin on the night of December 17, 1916, along with Prince Felix Yusupov and State Duma member V. M. Purishkevich.

After Rasputin's body was discovered, Dmitry Pavlovich and Prince Yusupov were arrested by order of Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna, which violated existing legislation. They were released only after the intervention of Nicholas II, and in defense of Dmitry Pavlovich, a letter was submitted to the emperor, signed by several members of the Imperial House.