Discussions about the Imperial Family and European Royalty > Rulers Prior to Nicholas II

Empress Catherine II

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investigator:
What sort of a woman was she?  Historians have payed more attention to her love life than her achievements.  And how did she die?

BobAtchison:
In the fall of 1796 Catherine was living at the Winter Palace.  Her last day dawned dark, cold and snowy.  As was her habit she rose early and had an extremely strong cup of coffee (distilled from a pound of beans), received a few people (including Platon Zubov) and she then went into her dressingroom.  After a while, when she did not come out her maid and valet went in.  They didn't see her anywhere so they went up to the door of her private toilet.  When there was no response to their calls and scratches on the door they opened the door slowly.  There, to their horror, they saw Catherine had fallen and was lying on the carpet senseless.  With great difficulty due to her girth they managed to extract her from the constricted space of her toilet and carried her out onto the floor in front of her bed. Later they placed her onto a mattress from a sofa.  She never regained consciousness.  Catherine died on November 6, 1796 with her son Paul his wife and children in the room with him.

Bob

LisaDavidson:
Catherine was certainly a complex person whose character cannot be described in a few short words. Like many women, her achievements are discussed less than her personal life. She was certainly a remarkable ruler for any age and a person of strong appetites.

Her son Paul was not an effective ruler, and their relationship was complex as well, and not a positive nor a very loving one.

Glebb:
 8).

The Memoirs of Princess Dashkova (Duke University Press) is very interesting read.

Providing valuable insights into politics and aristocratic life of Catherine's court, Dashkova's memoirs tell the story of a a Russian princess who was a playwright, author, President of the Academy of Sciences, and founder and Director of the Russian Academy.  She played an important role in the coup that brought Catherine to the throne, and she was one of the first women in Europe to hold public office

DOMOVOII:
Hi to all, From what I've read on the great lady surely the question of the legitimancy of the subsequent heirs to the throne is entirely unfounded. Her son Paul was from "the other side of the blanket" and therefore the Romanov line ended with Elizabeth surely....or am I wrong. I seem to remember reading in Massie's Nicholas and Alexandra that Nicholas was only by a tiny fraction (1 in 300 parts?) Russian. Making Alexeii 1 in 600?

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