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
Peter II of Russia During the reign of Catherine I, young Peter was ignored; but by the time she died in 1727, it had become clear to those in power that the only male-line grandson of Peter the Great could not be kept from his inheritance much longer. The majority of the nation and three-quarters of the nobility were on his side, while his uncle, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI (Peter's uncle on his mother's side), persistently urged Peter's claims through the imperial ambassador at Saint Petersburg. Through the efforts of Menshikov, Peter was named Catherine's heir apparent, even though Catherine had two