Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)

Uncommon card · No. 105646

Mariya Feodorovna (Russian: Мария Фёдоровна; 25 October 1759 – 5 November [O.S. 24 October] 1828), born Duchess Sophie Dorothee of Württemberg (Sophie Marie Dorothee Auguste Luise), became Empress of Russia as the second wife of Emperor Paul I. She founded the Office of the Institutions of Empress Maria. Daughter of Duke Frederick Eugene of Württemberg and Princess Friederike of Brandenburg-Schwedt, Sophie Dorothea belonged to a junior branch of the House of Württemberg and grew up in Montbéliard, receiving an excellent education for her time. After Grand Duke Paul (the future Paul I of Russia) became a widower in 1776, King Frederick II of Prussia (Sophie Dorothea's maternal great-uncle) and Empress Catherine II of Russia chose Sophie Dorothee as the ideal candidate to become Paul's second wife. In spite of her fiancé's difficult character, she developed a long, peaceful relationship with Paul and converted to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1776, adopting the name Mariya Feodorovna. During...

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