and changing her name to Catherine, she married Grand Duke Peter, grandson of Peter the Great and heir to the Russian throne. The marriage was unhappy, but the couple did produce one son, Paul.

Catherine the Great was the most powerful woman of her time ... Eventually, in 1754, Catherine gave birth to a son Paul, although she would later imply in her memoirs that Paul was the son of her ...

Often referred to as the “Russian Hamlet”, Paul is a tortured figure who struggles to cope with his father’s death and his mother’s new lovers. Taken from Catherine at birth and raised by his great ...