Catherine the Great

In 1773, Catherine the Great arranged for the marriage of the Grand Duke Paul, her son and heir, to the German princess, Wilhemina of Hesse-Darmstadt. This happy marriage ended three years later with the princess's death in childbirth. Catherine then imported another German princess for her son, Sophia Dorothea of Württemburg. Fearing that the newlyweds would become a center of opposition if her political rivals chose to rally around them, Catherine arranged that their activities be closely monitored; the young couple were retired to a palace outside the capital of St. Petersburg where they spent most of their time until the end of Catherine's reign. The Grand Duke and Duchess resented the Empress for removing them from participation in governmental...