But as her marriage disintegrated and she fell out of favor with Elizabeth, she became increasingly independent, strategically cultivating political alliances and taking the lovers Massie asserts fathered her children, though other biographers find the historical record more ambiguous.Īfter Elizabeth’s death in 1761, Peter’s reign as emperor was brief. Brought to Russia as a teenager and married off by the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna to her awkward, unattractive, and increasingly bizarre nephew and heir, Peter (who trained dogs in his private apartments, organized his servants into military parades, and refused to consummate the marriage), Catherine was at first enchanting and anxious to please: the ideal princess bride.
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