Trapped in a loveless arranged marriage to the immature future Czar, a young German Princess proves a skillful political infighter and rises to become Catherine the Great. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. He was a middling student and weak-willed (though not as stupid as he was later depicted), whose intense dislike for traditional learning was equally balanced by his passion for all things military. Whereas the premium cable series traced the trajectory of Catherine’s rule from 1764 to her death, “The Great” centers on her 1762 coup and the sequence of events leading up to it. Whether Catherine gave her implicit or explicit approval, Peter’s untimely death cast a pall over her early reign. Search for "Catherine the Great" on Amazon.com, Title: I have never been so happy.” Such all-consuming passion proved unsustainable—but while the pair’s romantic partnership faded after just two years, they remained on such good terms that Potemkin continued to wield enormous political influence, acting as “tsar in all but name,” one observer noted. But before this Prussian-born princess could reign, she had to overcome a loveless marriage to an unstable heir that resulted in a power struggle that turned deadly. The pair met on the day of Catherine’s 1762 coup but only became lovers in 1774. Her private life was admittedly not exemplary. Such a shame as I was so looking forward to this. Adapted from his 2008 play of the same name, the ten-part miniseries is the brainchild of screenwriter Tony McNamara. A weak and timid child, until his adolescence Count Alexey Bobrinsky didn’t know he was in fact the son of Empress Catherine the Great. Read on for the real story about how Catherine lived and loved. If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material. Catherine would later imply in her memoirs that the couple’s son Paul was fathered not by Peter, but by Catherine’s first lover, Sergei Saltykov (although his strong resemblance to Peter lead many to believe he was the boy’s father). She may have planned to offer him exile, but the quick political rise of the Orlov brothers and other co-conspirators cast doubt on that theory. Historians are still not sure about this, says Evgeny Pchelov, Ph. Born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, a principality in modern-day central Germany, in 1729, the czarina-to-be hailed from an impoverished Prussian family whose bargaining power stemmed from its noble connections. Bobrinsky’s numerous descendants still live in Europe and the USA. Peter was arrested later that day and forced to abdicate, ending his six-month reign. A friend of Voltaire and Denis Diderot, she carried on an extensive correspondence with most of the important personages of her time. Bobrinsky couldn’t get enough of drinking, high life and women. He moved to Russia’s then-capital, St. Petersburg, where he took the name Peter (Pyotr) and was forced to give up his Lutheran faith and join the Russian Orthodox Church. Still, even in this order, she named him “knyaz’ (Prince) Sitsky,” ranking him among the princes Sitsky, an old branch of the Rurikids that ended in the 17th century. Though Russia never officially adopted the Nakaz, the widely distributed 526-article treatise still managed to cement the empress’ reputation as an enlightened European ruler. Although her native language was German, she has to her credit a number of plays in Russian as well as a statement…. Jaques cites a Vigilius Ericksen portrait of the empress as emblematic of Catherine’s many contradictions. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Keep up-to-date on: (Photo illustration by Meilan Solly / Photos via Hulu and Getty Images), (Photo by Fine Art Images / Heritage Images / Getty Images). Pavel finally made the fact of Bobrinsky’s origin officially clear to Alexey himself. Catherine aligned herself with generals, admirals, and wealthy nobles, forming relationships that were as politically rewarding as they were pleasurable.