Kati Dadeshkeliani, the daughter of Prince Alexander and Princess Eristavi, was born in Georgia in 1891. Her father, an inspector of State Forests, was assassinated in 1909.

During the First World War Dadeshkeliani joined the Russian Army. A member of the 4th Tarter Regiment, she served as an ambulance driver on the Austrian front before being wounded in 1916.

After the war Dadeshkeliani lived in Georgia. However, when the Russians took control of the country in 1921 the family moved to Paris. An account of Dadeshkeliani's wartime experiences, Princess in Uniform , was published in 1934.