View source for Catherine Pavlovna of Russia

{{Short description|Queen consort of Württemberg from 1816 to 1819}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{family name hatnote|Pavlovna||lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{no footnotes|date=February 2013}}
{{Infobox royalty
|consort=yes
| name        = Catherine Pavlovna
| title       = Duchess George of Oldenburg
| succession  = [[List of consorts of Württemberg|Queen consort of Württemberg]]
| image       = File:RSLB Frau in rot Katharina von Russland.jpg
| caption     = Portrait by [[Johann Friedrich August Tischbein]]
| reign       = 30 October 1816 &ndash; 9 January 1819
| spouse      = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Duke George of Oldenburg]]|1809|1812|end=d.}}
* {{marriage|[[William I of Württemberg]]<br>|1816}}
}}
| house       = [[House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov|Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov]]
| father      = [[Paul I of Russia]]
| mother      = [[Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)|Duchess Sophie Dorothea of Württemburg]]
| issue       = Duke Alexander Georgievich of Oldenburg<br>[[Duke Peter of Oldenburg]]<br>Princess Maria, Countess of Neipperg<br> [[Sophie of Württemberg|Sophie, Queen of the Netherlands]]
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1788|5|21|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Catherine Palace]], [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Russian Empire]]
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|1819|1|9|1788|5|10|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Stuttgart]], [[Württemberg]]
| religion    = [[Russian Orthodox]]
|burial_place=[[Württemberg Mausoleum]], Stuttgart
|burial_date=
}}

'''Catherine Pavlovna of Russia''' ({{langx|ru|Екатерина Павловна}}; {{OldStyleDate|21 May|1788|10 May}} &ndash; 9 January 1819) was [[Queen of Württemberg]] from 30 October 1816 until her death in 1819 as the wife of [[William I of Württemberg]].

Catherine was born as the fourth daughter of [[Paul I of Russia|Emperor Paul I of Russia]] and [[Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)|Duchess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg]]. She firstly married [[Duke George of Oldenburg]] in 1809 until his death in 1812, remarrying to William I of Württemberg in 1816.

==Early life==
[[File:Dmitry Levitzky - Catherina Pavlovna of Russia as child.jpg|thumb|left|200px|1790s portrait by [[Dmitry Levitzky]]]]
Ekaterina was born in [[Pushkin, Saint Petersburg|Tsarskoye Selo]] and named after her grandmother, [[Catherine the Great]]. Described as beautiful and vivacious, she had a happy childhood and her education was carefully supervised by her mother. Ekaterina received the best education and constantly furthered her education through reading new literary publications and personal contacts with various outstanding persons. Known as Katya in the family, she was very close to her siblings, particularly her eldest brother [[Alexander I of Russia|Tsar Alexander I]]. Throughout her life she would maintain a close relationship with him. It was said that she was Alexander's favorite sister and one of the few persons he loved unconditionally. His letters to her are expressed in phrases like ''"I am yours, heart and soul, for life",'' ''"I think that I love you more with each day that passes"'' and ''"to love you more than I do is impossible".'' Although Paul and Maria Feodorovna were initially disappointed at the birth of a fourth daughter, Ekaterina later became her mother's favorite daughter.
[[File:The_Six_Children_of_Paul_I_of_Russia_(1790s,_after_Maria_Fedorovna).jpg|alt=Grand Dukes Alexander and Konstantin Pavlovichi: Grand Duchesses Alexandra, Elena, Maria and Ekaterina Pavlovna|left|thumb|Grand Dukes Alexander and Konstantin Pavlovichi: Grand Duchesses Alexandra, Elena, Maria and Ekaterina Pavlovna. From a cameo made by Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna in 1790]]

==First marriage==
While the [[Napoleonic Wars]] were still in progress, the childless [[Napoléon I of France|Napoléon I]] arranged his divorce from his beloved but aged wife [[Joséphine de Beauharnais|Empress Joséphine]] in order to marry a princess of high birth, get connected to royalty and beget the much desired heir. While the divorce itself did not happen until 1810, Napoleon was on the lookout for a new wife for some years previous to that, and seriously considered Ekaterina as a candidate – in addition to everything else, such a marriage would also provide strategic advantage by drawing the Russians to his side. The matter was broached or hinted at by the French delegation, at the behest of [[Talleyrand]], at a meeting between them and the Russians at Erfurt in 1808. Ekaterina's family was utterly horrified, and the Dowager Empress immediately arranged a marriage for her daughter to her nephew, [[Duke George of Oldenburg]].

Thus, Ekaterina was married to her first cousin [[Duke George of Oldenburg]] on 3 August 1809. George was the second son of [[Peter, Duke of Oldenburg]] and his wife, [[Duchess Frederica of Württemberg|Duchess Friederike of Württemberg]]. The couple resided in [[Tver]], where George had been appointed governor general. Catherine lived a lavish court life and entertained with balls, grand dinners and similar events in the pattern of the Imperial court, to create "a Small Saint Petersburg" in Tver. The couple were quickly blessed with two sons: Peter George in 1810 and [[Duke Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg|Konstantin Friedrich Peter]] 1812. Although the match had been arranged by their families, Ekaterina was devoted to her husband and the marriage was harmonious. It was said that he was not handsome but Ekaterina cared for him deeply, and his death in 1812, due to typhoid fever, was a very severe shock to her. They had been married barely three years, and Ekaterina, now the mother of two infant sons, was only 24 years old.

While residing in Tver with George, Ekaterina supported [[Nikolay Karamzin]] to write his later famous historical work. Tsar Alexander adopted reactionary ideas from a patriotic group which she dominated. In 1812, some conspirators who planned to depose Tsar Alexander had the ambitions to put her on the throne as Empress Catherine III. In 1812, she supported the suggestion to summon a national militia and formed a special regiment of chasseurs which took part in many of the great battles of the era.

==Queen consort of Württemberg==
[[File:Service-pnp-ppem-01800-01826v.jpg|thumb|''Portrait of the Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna'' by [[Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky]], 1910. ([[Tver Museum]])]]
Following the death of her husband, Ekaterina spent much of the next few years with her siblings, especially her brother the Tsar with whom she had a very close relationship. During 1813–1815, she [[Allied sovereigns' visit to England|travelled to England]] with her brother [[Alexander I of Russia|Tsar Alexander I]] to meet the [[George IV|Prince Regent]]. She was again with her brother during the [[Congress of Vienna]] in 1815. She was not without influence upon his political acts during these trips. She also promoted the marriage between her youngest sister [[Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia|Anna]] and [[King William II of the Netherlands|William II of the Netherlands]] during this time.

In England, Ekaterina met her first cousin, the Crown Prince William of Württemberg. It was love at first sight for the couple. However, William was married to Princess [[Caroline Augusta of Bavaria]]; he took the drastic step of divorcing her. The background to this turn of events is that William and Caroline Augusta had hastily married each other in order to avoid a political marriage devised by Napoleon. They had never got on with each other, and both of them claimed, at the time of seeking an annulment, that their marriage had never been consummated. The annulment was duly granted by the papacy on grounds of non-consummation. Shortly afterwards in 1816, Caroline Augusta married [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis I of Austria]] and became [[List of Austrian consorts#Empress of Austria|Empress Consort of Austria]].

Very early in the year 1816, Ekaterina was married to the newly divorced William. The wedding was held in [[Saint Petersburg]]. The couple immediately had a daughter, Marie Frederikke Charlotte, who was born on 30 October 1816, perchance the very day on which Ekaterina's father-in-law [[Frederick I of Wurttemberg]] died. The day therefore marked her husband's accession as king, and Ekaterina, now Queen Katharina of Württemberg, became active in charity works in her [[Kingdom of Württemberg|adopted homeland]]. She established numerous institutions for the benefit of the public. She supported elementary education and organized a charity foundation during the hunger of 1816. In 1818, she gave birth to another daughter, [[Sophie of Wurttemberg|Sophie Frederike Mathilde]], who would marry Ekaterina's nephew [[William III of the Netherlands|William III of Orange]] and become Queen of the Netherlands.

==Death==
In January 1819, six months after the birth of her youngest child, Ekaterina died at [[Stuttgart]] of [[erysipelas]] complicated by [[pneumonia]]. She was thirty years old, and left behind four children, the eldest of whom was barely eight years old. The children were dispersed across two different families,  After her death, her surviving husband built [[Württemberg Mausoleum]] in [[Rotenberg (Stuttgart)|Rotenberg]], Stuttgart, dedicated to her memory. William later married again; his next wife was his first cousin, [[Pauline Therese of Württemberg|Duchess Pauline Therese of Württemberg]].

==Issue==
Ekaterina had two sons with [[Duke George of Oldenburg]]:
* Duke Peter Georg Paul Alexander of Oldenburg (30 August 1810 – 16 November 1829)
* [[Peter of Oldenburg (1812-1881)|Duke Konstantin Friedrich Peter of Oldenburg]] (26 August 1812 – 14 May 1881); married [[Princess Therese of Nassau-Weilburg]] and had issue

With the [[William I of Württemberg|King of Württemberg]], she had two daughters:
* Princess Maria Friederike Charlotte of Württemberg (30 October 1816 – 4 January 1887); married Count [[Alfred von Neipperg]] (1807–1865), eldest son of Count [[Adam Albert von Neipperg]] and his first wife, Countess Teresa of [[Pola family|Pola-Treviso]] (1778–1815), stepson of [[Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma]].
* [[Sophie of Württemberg|Princess Sophie Friederike Mathilde of Württemberg]] (17 June 1818 – 3 June 1877); married King [[William III of the Netherlands]].

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
| boxstyle_1 = background-color: #fcc;
| boxstyle_2 = background-color: #fb9;
| boxstyle_3 = background-color: #ffc;
| boxstyle_4 = background-color: #bfc;
| 1 = 1. '''Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia'''
| 2 = 2. [[Paul I of Russia]]
| 3 = 3. [[Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)|Duchess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg]]
| 4 = 4. [[Peter III of Russia]]
| 5 = 5. [[Catherine the Great|Catherine II of Russia]]
| 6 = 6. [[Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg]]
| 7 = 7. [[Princess Friederike of Brandenburg-Schwedt]]
| 8 = 8. [[Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp]]
| 9 = 9. [[Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia]]
| 10 = 10. [[Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst]]
| 11 = 11. [[Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp|Princess Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp]]
| 12 = 12. [[Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg]]
| 13 = 13. [[Princess Marie Auguste of Thurn and Taxis]]
| 14 = 14. [[Frederick William, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt]]
| 15 = 15. [[Princess Sophia Dorothea of Prussia]]
}}

==Bibliography==
{{Commons category}}
*Arturo Beeche. ''The Grand Duchesses''
*Detlef Jena. ''Katharina Pawlowna. Großfürstin von Russland – Königin von Württemberg''
*W. Bruce Lincoln. ''The Romanovs: Autocrats of All the Russias''

==Sources==
* [http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/Russia_Heads.htm Guide 2 Women Leaders]

{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[House of Romanov|House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov]]|10 May|1788|9 January|1819|[[House of Oldenburg]]}}
{{S-roy|de}}
{{S-bef|before=[[Charlotte, Princess Royal]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[List of queens consort of Württemberg|Queen consort of Württemberg]]
|years=1816–1819}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Pauline Therese of Württemberg]]}}
{{End}}

{{Russian grand duchesses}}
{{Duchesses of Oldenburg by marriage}}
{{Princesses of Württemberg by marriage}}
{{Queens consort of Württemberg}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1788 births]]
[[Category:1819 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Pushkin, Saint Petersburg]]
[[Category:People from Tsarskoselsky Uyezd]]
[[Category:House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov]]
[[Category:Crown princesses of Württemberg]]
[[Category:Duchesses of Oldenburg]]
[[Category:Queens consort of Württemberg]]
[[Category:Princesses of Württemberg by marriage]]
[[Category:Grand duchesses of Russia]]
[[Category:Burials at the Württemberg Mausoleum]]
[[Category:18th-century women from the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:18th-century people from the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:19th-century women from the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:19th-century people from the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Daughters of Russian emperors]]
[[Category:Children of Paul I of Russia]]
[[Category:Daughters of dukes]]
[[Category:Daughters of counts]]