Yekaterina II of Russia
Born Sophie Friederike Auguste Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst; assumed the name Yekaterina Alekseyevna upon her marriage.
Conspired againt her husband and succeeded him to the throne as Yekatarina II Empress of All the Russians in 1762
Daughter of Christian August Fürst von Anhalt-Zerbst (1690-1747) and Johanna Elisabeth Princess of Holstein-Gottorp (1712-1760)
Born: Stettin, Pomerania (now Szczecin, Poland) 2. May 1729
Married: Saint Petersburg 21. Aug 1745 Pyotr Fyodorovich, Tsarevich of Russia (Emperor Pyotr III in 1762) (1728-1762, murdered), her second cousin, son of Karl Friedrich Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (1700-1739) and Anna Petrovna Grand Duchess of Russia (1708-1728)
Issue of marriage:
Pavel I Petrovich, Emperor of All the Russians (1754-1801, murdered) m. 1773 Wilhelmine (Natalya Alekseyevna) Landgräfin of Hesse-Darmstadt (1755-1776); m. 1776 Sophia (Maria Fyodorovna) Duchess of Württemberg (1759-1828)
Anna Petrovna Grand Duchess of Russia (1757-1758)
Note: It is possible that Pavel I, who was born nine years after his parents wedding, was the son of Yekaterina’s lover Sergey Saltykov. Anna was possibly the daughter of another of Yekaterina’s lovers, Prince Stanislaw August Poniatowski
Natural issue by Graf Grigoriy Grigoryevich Orlov:
Graf Aleksey Grigoryevich Bobrinskiy (1762-1813) m. 1796 Anna Dorothea Freiin von Ungern-Sternberg (1769-1846)
Died: Saint Petersburg 6. Nov 1796 from a stroke
Buried: St Peter and St Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg
R. Massie “Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman” New York, 2011; Detlev Schwennicke “Europäische Stammtafeln. Neue Folge” Vol II; Vittorio Klostermann, 2005; www.ru.wikipedia.org