Paul I of Russia which event the Russian Imperial Crown was crafted by court jewellers. The 8-year-old Paul retained his position as crown prince. In 1772, her son and heir, Paul, turned eighteen. Paul and his adviser, Panin, believed he was the rightful tsar of Russia, as the only son of Peter III. His adviser had also taught him that the rule of women endangered good leadership, which was why he was so interested in gaining the throne. Distracting him, Catherine took trouble to find Paul a wife among the minor princesses of the Holy Roman Empire. She chose Princess Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstad, who
Duke Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg 1809 to Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia. Duke George, who had been appointed governor on the Volga, died six month after Peter Georgievitch, his second, was born. Peter's mother Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia was the favorite sister of Tsar Alexander I of Russia who took his two nephews, Peter and his older brother Alexander, under his protection. The brothers lived in Russia until his mother married King William I of Württemberg in 1816. They moved to Württemberg and were educated in Stuttgart. At the death of his mother, less than three years later, Peter and his brother