He was the son of Admiral Prince Boris Vasilevich Golitsyn (1705–1769) and his wife Ekaterina Ivanovna Strešneva (or Streshneva).

His father was the grandson of Prince Boris Alekseyevich Golitsyn, the uncle of Emperor Peter I.

Following his marriage, his wife began to manage their household, quickly putting it in order and significantly increasing it.

[3] After the start of the French Revolution, they traveled from London to their large mansion on the Rue Saint-Florentin, Paris, before returning to Russia in the autumn of 1790 at the insistence of the Empress.

Upon their return, the family established itself in St Petersburg, and their home became a well-known refuge for French monarchist émigrés.